From 'Amour' to 'Zero,' Kevin Lally's top ten of 2012

Even the toughest critics are acknowledging that 2012 was an exceptional year for movies. I saw several dozen films—from satisfying escapist entertainment to more demanding arthouse fare—that were well worth my time. And my personal top ten is so varied, this year it was simply too difficult to rank them in order of preference. Here, in alphabetical order, are this editor's favorite films of 2012.

Amour: Michael Haneke's drama about an elegant, long-married French couple facing debilitating
illness is an uncompromising portrait of the inevitable challenge we all must face: our own mortality. You need to brace youself for its painful intimacy, but you'll be dazzled by the brave, breathtaking performances of its two leads, French cinema icons Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva.

Argo: Yes, Virginia, Ben Affleck can direct. Although its climax breaks with the real story to ratchet up suspense, this account of the improbable scheme to rescue six Americans hiding in the residence of the Canadian ambassador during the 1979-81 Iran hostage crisis retains a vivid "You Are There" power. The plan involves a fake movie called Argo, so this nail-biting tale also includes some hilarious swipes at Hollywood.

The Avengers:  The year's best popcorn movie. Cult TV auteur Joss Whedon scored a massive blockbuster with this gathering of Marvel superheroes including Iron Man, Thor and Captain America that delivers all the thrills and sly humor a comic-book fan could want.

Les Misérables: King's Speech director Tom Hooper made the bold decision to have his cast sing
live in the long-awaited movie version of the beloved stage show, and the gamble pays off with an immediacy that prerecording could never deliver. Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne and newcomer Samantha Barks all have standout numbers in this handsomely produced and enthralling translation of the Victor Hugo classic.

Lincoln: Daniel Day-Lewis is the man to beat for the Best Actor Oscar for his remarkable incarnation of our 16th President. The screenplay by acclaimed playwright Tony Kushner offers a fascinating inside look at the deals, deceptions and compromises behind the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment which finally ended our country's abhorrent embrace of slavery.

Miss Bala: Based on a true story, Gerardo Naranjo's pulse-quickening drama charts the nightmarish odyssey of a naive beauty queen who has the misfortune to cross paths with a Mexican drug cartel. Her journey is harrowing, unpredictable, and streaked with moments of dark humor. This movie truly deserved a wider audience.

Moonrise Kingdom: The inimitable Wes Anderson does it again, but this time with more heart. His tale of two 12-year-old runaways experiencing first love is filled with the director's trademark quirkiness and meticulous design detail, but those determined kids gave his latest movie an accessibility that made it one of the year's top arthouse crossovers.

Searching for Sugar Man: A documentary that unfolds as a mystery story, Malik Bendjelloul's film introduces most of the world to Sixto Rodriguez, a well-reviewed folksinger who dropped out of sight after his two albums flopped in the early 1970s. But amazingly, his records became huge in South Africa, buoying the spirits of the anti-apartheid community. Sugar Man not only chronicles Rodriguez's enigmatic life, but has brought long-overdue recognition to this woefully undervalued musician. (And yes, I now own his CDs.)

Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell delivered the most engaging and satisfying comedy of the year, centered on an unlikely romantic duo consisting of a recently institutionalized manic-depressive and a highly volatile young widow. Bradley Cooper has his best movie role to date, and 22-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is simply a revelation as the screen's brightest new comedienne.

Zero Dark Thirty: Kathryn Bigelow follows The Hurt Locker with an even more impressive
achievement, a thoroughly detailed account of the ten-year pursuit of Osama bin Laden which tells us something we didn't know: A persisent, single-minded female CIA agent was key to the discovery of his compound in Abbottabad. The film's events are so recent, it borders on documentary, and the lengthy recreation of the raid on bin Laden's hideout sure feels like the real thing.

This strong movie year demands a list of ten runners-up, and here they are: Anna Karenina, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Farewell My Queen, Flight, Hope Springs, In Darkness, Looper, Skyfall, The Well Digger's Daughter, and Wreck-It Ralph.