Complete List of Star Ratings to 2012 Films

Below are my star ratings for films (listed in alphabetical order) that debuted in Los Angeles theaters in 2012. Documentaries are listed with the notation (D).


A quick (approximate) guide to my ratings:

• 4 stars = excellent
• 3 ½ stars = very good
• 3 stars = good
• 2 ½ stars = mildly recommended
• 2 stars = mildly discommended
• 1 ½ stars = poor
• 1 star = very poor
• ½ star = distasteful, both artistically and otherwise
• 0 stars = fails on the most rudimentary technical level and/or requires unique condemnation

• Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (D): 3 ½ stars
• The Amazing Spider-Man: 3 stars
• Amour: 3 stars
• Anna Karenina: 2 stars
• Any Day Now: 1 ½ stars
• Arbitrage: 2 ½ stars
• Argo: 4 stars
• Attenberg: 2 stars
• Bachelorette: 1 ½ stars
• Ballplayer: Pelotero (D): 1 ½ stars
• Barbara: 3 ½ stars
• Beasts of the Southern Wild: 1 ½ stars
• Beauty is Embarrassing (D): 1 ½ stars
• Being Flynn: 1 star
• Beloved: 2 stars
• Bernie: 3 ½ stars
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: 1 ½ stars
• Bill W. (D): 2 ½ stars
• Bonsai: 1 star
• The Bourne Legacy: 2 stars
• Boy: 1 ½ stars
• Brave: 1 ½ stars
• Brooklyn Castle (D): 4 stars
• Bullhead: 1 ½ stars
• Bully (D): 3 stars
• The Cabin in the Woods: 1 ½ stars
• California Solo: 1 ½ stars
• The Campaign: 1 ½ stars
• A Cat in Paris: 3 ½ stars
• Celeste and Jesse Forever: 1 ½ stars
• The Central Park Five (D): 2 ½ stars
• Chasing Ice (D): 2 stars
• Chico & Rita: 3 stars
• Cirkus Columbia: 3 stars
• Cloud Atlas: 2 ½ stars
• The Cold Light of Day: 1 star
• Compliance: 1 star
• Contraband: 2 stars
• Cosmopolis: 1 star
• Craigslist Joe (D): 1 ½ stars
• Crazy Eyes: 1 ½ stars
• Damsels in Distress: 1 star
• Dark Horse: 1 ½ stars
• The Dark Knight Rises: 1 ½ stars
• Darling Companion: 1 star
• The Deep Blue Sea: 3 ½ stars
• Delicacy: 3 stars
• Detachment: 1 ½ stars
• Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (D): 4 stars
• The Dictator: 1 ½ stars
• Django Unchained: 4 stars
• Dredd 3D: 1 star
• Easy Money: 2 stars
• Elena: 1 ½ stars
• Elles: 1 ½ stars
• End of Watch: 3 stars
• The Expendables 2: 1 ½ stars
• The Eye of the Storm: 1 star
• Farewell, My Queen: 1 ½ stars
• Fightville (D): 3 ½ stars
• First Position (D): 3 stars
• The Five-Year Engagement: 1 star
• Flight: 3 ½ stars
• Footnote: 3 ½ stars
• For a Good Time, Call…: 1 star
• The Forgiveness of Blood: 3 ½ stars
• 4:44 Last Day on Earth: 1 star
• Free Men: 2 stars
• Friends With Kids: 2 stars
• Gerhard Richter Painting (D): 2 stars
• The Girl: 1 ½ stars
• Girl Model (D): 2 stars
• Gone: 1 ½ stars
• The Good Doctor: 1 ½ stars
• Goodbye First Love: 1 ½ stars
• Goon: 2 stars
• The Green Wave (D): 2 ½ stars
• The Grey: 1 star
• The Guilt Trip: 2 ½ stars
• Haywire: 1 ½ stars
• Headhunters: 3 stars
• Hell and Back Again (D): 3 ½ stars
• Hello I Must Be Going: 2 ½ stars
• Hit and Run: 1 ½ stars
• Hitchcock: 3 stars
• Hope Springs: 1 ½ stars
• How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? (D): 1 ½ stars
• How to Survive a Plague (D): 4 stars
• The Hunger Games: 1 ½ stars
• Hyde Park on Hudson: 1 ½ stars
• Hysteria: 2 ½ stars
• I Wish: 1 ½ stars
• The Impossible: 3 stars
• The Imposter (D): 3 stars
• In Darkness: 1 ½ stars
• The Inbetweeners: 1 star
• The Intouchables: 1 ½ stars
• The Invisible War (D): 4 stars
• The Island President (D): 4 stars
• Jack Reacher: 3 stars
• Jeff, Who Lives at Home: 2 stars
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi (D): 3 ½ stars
• Just 45 Minutes From Broadway: 1 star
• Katy Perry: Part of Me (D): 2 stars
• Keep the Lights On: 2 stars
• The Kid With a Bike: 3 1/2 stars
• Killer Joe: 4 stars
• Killing Them Softly: 2 ½ stars
• King of Devil’s Island: 2 stars
• Last Call at the Oasis (D): 1 ½ stars
• A Late Quartet: 2 stars
• Lawless: 3 stars
• Lay the Favorite: 1 ½ stars
• Les Misérables: 2 stars
• Liberal Arts: 2 ½ stars
• Life of Pi: 1 ½ stars
• Lincoln: 2 stars
• Little White Lies: 3 stars
• Lola Versus: 1 ½ stars
• The Loneliest Planet: 2 stars
• Looper: 2 ½ stars
• Magic Mike: 3 stars
• Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (D): 3 ½ stars
• Marley (D): 2 stars
• Marvel’s The Avengers: 1 ½ stars
• The Master: 2 stars
• Miss Bala: 2 stars
• Monsieur Lazhar: 2 stars
• Moonrise Kingdom: 1 star
• Never Stand Still (D): 2 stars
• Nobody Else But You: 3 stars
• Norwegian Wood: 2 ½ stars
• Not Fade Away: 1 ½ stars
• Nuit #1: 1 ½ stars
• On the Ice: 1 ½ stars
• On the Road: 2 ½ stars
• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia: 3 stars
• One Day on Earth (D): 1 ½ stars
• The Oranges: 2 ½ stars
• Oslo, August 31st: 1 ½ stars
• The Other Dream Team (D): 3 ½ stars
• The Paperboy: 3 stars
• Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (D): 3 ½ stars
• Paranorman: 1 ½ stars
• Parental Guidance: 1 ½ stars
• Paul Williams: Still Alive (D): 2 ½ stars
• People Like Us: 1 ½ stars
• Perfect Sense: 1 ½ stars
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 2 stars
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits: 1 ½ stars
• Pitch Perfect: 1 ½ stars
• Planet of Snail (D): 3 ½ stars
• Polisse: 3 stars
• Premium Rush: 1 ½ stars
• Prometheus: 2 stars
• Promised Land: 2 stars
• The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (D): 1 ½ stars
• Quartet: 1 ½ stars
• The Queen of Versailles (D): 2 stars
• The Raid: Redemption: ½ star
• Rampart: 1 ½ stars
• Return: 2 ½ stars
• Robot & Frank: 2 stars
• Rock of Ages: 1 ½ stars
• A Royal Affair: 1 ½ stars
• Ruby Sparks: 1 ½ stars
• Rust and Bone: 3 ½ stars
• Safe: 2 stars
• Safe House: 2 stars
• Safety Not Guaranteed: 3 stars
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: 1 ½ stars
• The Salt of Life: 2 ½ stars
• Samsara (D): 2 ½ stars
• Savages: 3 ½ stars
• Scenes of a Crime (D): 3 ½ stars
• Searching for Sugar Man (D): 3 ½ stars
• The Secret World of Arrietty: 2 stars
• Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: 1 ½ stars
• The Sessions: 3 stars
• Seven Psychopaths: 2 stars
• 17 Girls: 2 stars
• Silver Linings Playbook: 1 ½ stars
• Skyfall: 3 stars
• Sleepwalk With Me: 1 ½ stars
• Smashed: 2 ½ stars
• Somewhere Between (D): 3 ½ stars
• Sound of My Voice: 3 ½ stars
• Sparkle: 1 star
• Stand Up Guys: 1 star
• Stars in Shorts: 1 ½ stars
• Surviving Progress (D): 1 ½ stars
• Take This Waltz: 2 stars
• Taken 2: 1 star
• Ted: 2 paws
• 10 Years: 3 stars
• Thin Ice: 2 stars
• This is 40: 3 stars
• This is Not a Film (D): 3 stars
• This Means War: 1 ½ stars
• This Must Be the Place: 2 ½ stars
• 360: 3 stars
• To Rome With Love: 4 stars
• Total Recall: 3 ½ stars
• Trishna: 1 star
• The Trouble With Bliss: 1 star
• Trouble With the Curve: 1 ½ stars
• The Turin Horse: 3 stars
• Turn Me On, Dammit!: 3 stars
• 21 Jump Street: 1 ½ stars
• 2 Days in New York: 1 ½ stars
• Undefeated (D): 3 ½ stars
• Unforgivable: 1 ½ stars
• Union Square: 1 ½ stars
• Unraveled (D): 4 stars

• Wagner’s Dream (D): 3 stars
• Wallander: The Revenge: 2 stars
• Wanderlust: 1 ½ stars
• The Watch: 3 stars
• We Have a Pope: 1 ½ stars
• We Need to Talk About Kevin: 1 ½ stars
• The Well Digger’s Daughter: 1 ½ stars
• West of Memphis (D): 2 stars
• The Woman in the 5th: 1 ½ stars
• The Words: 2 stars
• Wreck-It Ralph: 2 ½ stars
• Your Sister’s Sister: 4 stars
• Zero Dark Thirty: 3 ½ stars

Total: 227 films (494.5 stars)

Average rating: 2.18 stars