Top 20 movies of 2012

10. The Raid

Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian

An English-speaking Welshman directing an unrelentingly rapid, ultra-violent, gun-ho, Indonesian martial arts thriller, claustrophobically filmed in quite probably a very muggy Jakarta? It's an odd combination, but it certainly paid off. The Raid stands up as not only the best action movie of 2012 but one of the best action movies of the last 10 years. And all this coming from someone who watched it with half the subtitles missing off the bottom of the screen.

Evans' movie unravels at unapologetic speed with some skilful editing - and it doesn't let up for the entire running time. With little downtime between the action, you're left with your adrenaline pumping and your brow sweating. The Raid cares not for character development, back story, emotion and, luckily for me, dialogue - it knows precisely where its strengths lie and it goes directly for the jugular. It's dazzlingly entertaining as a result.

Cops shooting their way out of buildings may have been the 'in' thing this year, with Dredd and End Of Watch following suit - but it was The Raid that started the craze. It's this decade's Hard Boiled. Rob

Defining moment: The hallway fight – newcomer and martial arts expert Iko Uwais takes out four machete-wielding assailants with unprecedented ease. The fist-flying, leg-breaking turbo-fight is as beautifully choreographed as a dance scene - just a particularly violent one.

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9. Brave

Directors: Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell
Voices Of: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

Being an adult is rubbish. Rewatching a bunch of classic Disney films recently, it's clear now there are bits for adults that went straight over my stupid childish head - yet as an adult I no longer have the same sense of childish wonder at the playful (read: naughty) antics of Dumbo and Pinocchio. So what's changed over the years? Children know when someone is being naughty and revel in it; adults know why someone is being naughty and feel the urge to stop it. And I don't know about you, but right now I'd rather be at the short end of the age spectrum.

Addressing the bit in the middle, Brave is like a Big Book of Teenage Angst. Scottish Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) is on the cusp of becoming an adult. Shirking the responsibilities awaiting her, Merida struggles to establish independence in the face of tradition and her overly-insistent mother. Worst of all she's expected to marry one of three wildly unsuitable suitors. It's all so unfair this Princess lark! If only there was something she could do... some kind of magical spell that could change everything...

So far so cheesy, but that's mostly the point. The best Disney films trade on stories of family and belonging, and Brave feels like a hark back to the Disney fairytales of old. Of course it's still a Pixar film - delivering the expected stunning visuals - but it's notable that one of the first films since Disney bought Pixar should be so recognisably 'both'. A bit like how Julian Lennon and Sean Lennon both look like John Lennon, but not like one another. You know what I mean.

Preserving the traditions of Disney is one thing, but providing a positive and believable female role model is a bold step that represents progress in a space normally reserved for cowboys and spacemen. Children watching now will look back in 15-20 years and see what the big deal was. Of course we can see that now, because we're adults. And although some of the wonder of animated features may have worn off, we can watch Face/Off whenever we want. Being an adult is brilliant. Luke

Defining moment: At an archery contest to decide her future, Princess Merida takes matters into her own hands and shows the boys how to fire and arrow or two. Year of the bow!

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8. The Muppets

Director: James Bobin
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper

Easily the biggest feel-good film of the year, if The Muppets didn’t leave you with a massively stupid grin plastered across your face as you left the cinema then, quite frankly, I don't want anything to do with you. Jason Segel, the mastermind behind the whole operation, manages to simultaneously make the Muppets relevant again, introduces them to a new audience and serves up a delicious slice of welcome nostalgia for long-time devotees.

While the simple 'Let's get the band back together' story plays it safe, Segel and co-writer Nicholas Stoller skilfully and carefully set about telling us what our favourite felt critters have been up to by way of montages and musical numbers. It's tongue-in-cheek, very funny, aimed squarely at grown-up fans and is all the better for it.

Throw in a smorgasbord of famous faces more than happy for a fleeting moment in a Muppet movie, and Bret McKenzie's unbelievably catchy - not to mention Oscar-winning - soundtrack, and Kermit and gang's long-term appeal is assured for years to come. Getting reacquainted with The Muppets, tapping your feet along to the songs and gurning like a child was the most fun you could have in a cinema in 2012. Rob

Defining moment: The opening song and dance number, Life's A Happy Song, sung by Jason Segel and Walter. The perfect way to set the tone for these rejuvenated Muppets and a song you'll be humming long after the film finishes.

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7. Avengers Assemble

Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson

Imagine having to write The Avengers. Just imagine that being your job. It's only literally the biggest superhero movie ever; the culmination of five summer blockbusters and the coming together of Marvel's A-list stablemates. No biggie. Though he never had a blank page to start from thanks to Zak Penn's initial pass, Joss Whedon nonetheless pulled off the impossible: writing an exciting, spectacular, cohesive event movie that's more than worthy of its banner stars, while managing not to short shrift any of them.

Despite having a roster including Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Captain America and Scarlett Johansson in a tight leather onesie, the film's best character is Agent Coulson. A guy in a suit with a gun. That's the wonder of Whedon: making even the peripheral characters feel vital. His understanding of The Avengers' entire range of do-gooders and troublemakers is what makes it work; the fact he serves them so well while also making the movie uproariously funny is little short of a miracle. Can you remember laughing so hard during The Dark Knight Rises?

Bright and colourful where Batman is serious and shadowy, The Avengers is the perfect antidote to the modern superhero movie: all cowls, scowls and growls. With guys like Robert Downey Jr, Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth all jostling for screen time, nothing less than a gigantic crowd-pleaser would do. Thanks to Joss, that's what we got. Ali

Defining moment: Hulk deals with Loki the only way he knows how: eloquent discourse on the fickle nature of entitlement. No, wait. By SMASHING.

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6. Rust & Bone

Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure

The clue is in the name really: "killer" whales. Lovely creatures to look at, but quite why anybody would entertain the notion of getting in the water with one is a mystery. Cue Stephanie - played by another lovely creature to look at, Marion Cotillard (is this bit sexist? Sorry, it's New Year's Eve I'm trying to get drunk, don't hate) - a killer whale trainer who has clearly never seen Orca. Rust & Bone is an against-the-odds love story featuring tragic characters with loads of baggage, by the way. Do you see where this is heading?

One unforgettable Katy Perry-soundtracked mishap later, a wheelchair-bound Stephanie hooks up with bouncer/kick boxer ('Kickbouncer'? Nobody let Van Damme steal this) Ali, who has issues of his own. Look, Inception it ain't; Rust and Bone is a wonderfully shot love story between damaged characters, which asks nothing more than you invest a little bit in the performances and go along for the ride. At times you can practically hear the clacking sounds getting further apart as the emotional rollercoaster climbs into place.

Rust & Bone may have passed through UK cinemas pretty much unnoticed, but it did gangbusters on the festival circuit, and is the sort of film that'll appear on Film 4 sooner or later as part of a Europhile season. Oh, and if a love story between a disabled killer whale trainer and a kickbouncer doesn't sound wanky enough for you, it's all in French too. Luke

Defining moment: What else? Stephanie losing her legs to the music of Katy Perry. Bizarrely funny but ultimately tragic. Maybe stick to dolphins next time?

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