The Five Most Surprising Movies Of 2012

This year I saw and reviewed over 130 movies here. And now that the calender has flipped over, it's time for all kinds of best and worst lists. This week we've posted the Five Worst Movies, and now it's time for The Five Most Surprising Movies of 2012.  And we are using "surprising" to the positive.

2012 was not overly memorable at the movies.   Yes, revenues were way up but so were ticket prices.  I think it's always fun to go to the movies with low expectations and have a gem play out right there in front of you.  Sadly, this doesn't happen near enough.  There were a ton of extremely average movies made last year.  That to me was the prevailing takeaway from 2012.  But there were some real fun surprises too!  To qualify for this list, it's based on when they were released to local theaters.


The Five Most Surprising Movies Of 2012


1/  Salmon Fishing In The Yemen - Strange title, great little movie.  This very original story with Ewan McGregor, and Emily Blunt.  This is kind of a few movies rolled into one.   Very funny at times, emotional at times, makes a nice statement, and doesn't take itself too seriously.  McGregor picks his projects wisely and Blunt is so charming, she's tough not to love. Very nice little movie. Don't let the title scare you away from the Red Box.


2/  Man On A Ledge -  This came and went without any fanfare at all.  Very cool story with a great cast featuring new and old schoolers.  Story gets huge originality points, and builds nicely to a great crescendo.  Funny at times, and enough action to keep you riveted. This was very well done.  Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris, and Ed Burns.   This is worth a rental. You will not be blown away, but you will be entertained.


3/  People Like Us - This movie looked so average in the trailers, and was so entertaining in it's release.   Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer and Olivia Wilde.  A very compelling story and characters that you know, and you grow to really care about.   Pfeiffer hasn't been this good in a long time in her supporting role.   I loved Banks.  She was great, and drove this movie to be more than it would have been without her.   Rent this, great date night movie.


4/  Ghost Rider 2 -  Released in February and in the end, just flat out fun.  This was panned by some critics, and I liked it more than many.  But this is the "surprising" section, and I was surprised by this. Yeah, Nicolas Cage overacts again at times, but it sort of worked for me in this role.   I think this falls under the "mindless fun"  category.   Short, tidy, and yes, good wins over evil.   The door is open for more and that may not be the best idea.  But for me, this was surprising.


5/  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter -  The title alone is ridiculous, but this was not done as fact. It was done on folklore, legend, and outright fiction.   This is surprising in the sense that I expected so little, and in the end, this was a bunch of fun.  This did not take itself too seriously, and was handled fairly well.  Please no more, one and done.  More mindless fun.


There's the Five Most Surprising Movies of 2012.   Next is the Five Most Disappointing Movies Of 2012.  It'll be up this week.  If you have an opinion or thought, feel free to email me, scott@wqmx.com

Let's recap too the Five Most Surprising Movies of 2011, and see how they match up.