Favorite Foreign Films of 2012

Top 15 Films:

15. Barbara (Christian Petzold)

Slow burn drama with great rewards. A work of elegance & restraint.

14. The Raid: Redemption (Gareth Evans)

The year's most action-packed film. No pretense, unadulterated violence.

13. V/H/S (Various)

Found footage anthology directed by six independent horror directors. Scary shit.

12. The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard)

A horror film made by horror fans for horror fans. If you think you're getting a typical slasher flick, think again. Try not to read spoilers. It's best enjoyed if you know nothing about the plot.

11. Wreck It Ralph (Rich Moore)

Touching story. Adorable characters. Comedy gold! Numerous video game references. Multiple geekgasms guaranteed!

10. The Imposter (Bart Layton)

As they say, some real life stories are just stranger than fiction.

 

9. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)

Squalor with a little bit of whimsy. Tale of magical realism that hasn't been told before.

8. Sound of My Voice (Zal Batmanglij)

Indie cult-infiltration thriller that doesn't offer easy answers. Thought-provoking and mesmerizing.

7. Pitch Perfect (Jason Moore)

Glee meets Mean Girls. Pitch Perfect delivers both the laughs and the music. Rebel Wilson is the breakout star of the year.

6. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson)

A work of a true cinematic master. Hypnotic and unforgettable.

5. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow)

We're all aware how this ends, but we still watch with bated breath & clenched jaws. This is elevated by Kathryn Bigelow's deft direction, Mark Boal's absorbing screenplay, & Jessica Chastain's quiet intensity as Maya. One of the most important films of the year.

4. Life of Pi (Ang Lee)

Best 3D film of all time. Way better than Avatar. A meditation on life and one's belief system.

 

3. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)

Small indie film that will go down in history as one of the best coming-of-age films. Hold on to your hankies.

2. Amour (Michael Haneke)

True to its title, this film shows us what love really is - in all its tenderness and brutality.

1. Looper (Rian Johnson)

Friggin' awesome! Effectively mixes action, time travel, and superpowers with devastating results. Rian Johnson is the next Christopher Nolan.

 

Best Short:

Paperman (John Kahrs)

     

Best Performance by an Actor:

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

 Honorable Mentions:

Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Denis Levant, Holy Motors

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi

 

Best Performance by an Actress:

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Honorable Mentions:

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

AnnaLynne McCord, Excision

Ann Dowd, Compliance

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Favorite Foreign Films (2007-2011)

2011

Top 15 Films:
1. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay)
2. Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols)
3. Confessions (Tetsuya Nakashima)
4. Another Earth (Mike Cahill)
5. Another Year (Mike Leigh)
6. The Kid With A Bike (Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne)
7. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)
8. Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
9. Like Crazy (Drake Doremus)
10. Melancholia (Lars Von Trier)
11. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
12. We Are What We Are (Jorge Michel Grau)
13. Shame (Steve McQueen)
14. Heartbeats (Xavier Dolan)
15. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)
             
Best Short:         
I'm Here (Spike Jonze)  

Best Performance by an Actor:
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Honorable Mentions:
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ezra Miller, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Mel Gibson, The Beaver
Choi Min Sik, I Saw The Devil
Thomas Doret, The Kid With A Bike
 
Best Performance by an Actress:
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Honorable Mentions:
Lesley Manville, Another Year
Sareh Bayat, A Separation
Meryll Streep, The Iron Lady
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Robin McLeavy, The Loved Ones

2010      

             
Top 15 Films:    
1. The Social Network (David Fincher)
2. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
3. Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)
4. Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance)
5. Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos)
6. Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese)
7. Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek)
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright)
9. Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mitchell)
10. White Material (Claire Denis)
11. Enter the Void (Gaspar Noe)
12. Animal Kingdom (David Michod)
13. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Bansky)
14. 127 Hours (Danny Boyle)
15. Amer (Helene Cantet & Bruno Forzani)
             
Best Performance by an Actor: 
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network      
              
Honorable Mentions:    
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine     
Leonardo Dicaprio, Shutter Island            
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network    
Christian Bale, The Fighter          
James Franco, 127 Hours             
               
Best Performance by an Actress:             
Natalie Portman, Black Swan     
              
Honorable Mentions:    
Aggeliki Papoulia, Dogtooth       
Barbara Hershey, Black Swan     
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole        
Emma Stone, Easy A      
Melissa Leo, The Fighter              
             
              
2009      
             
Top 15 Films:    
1. Samson & Delilah (Warwick Thornton)
2. The Secret in their Eyes (Juan Jose Campanella)
3. Julia (Erick Zonca)
4. Thirst (Park Chan Wook)
5. District 9 (Neil Blomkamp)
6. Mother (Bong Joon-ho)
7. Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson)
9. 500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb)
10. Bad Lieutenant (Werner Herzog)
11. Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze)
12. Tulpan (Sergei Dvortsevoy)
13. In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Alex Holdridge)
14. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold)
15. [Rec] 2 (Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza)
             
Best Performance by an Actor: 
Sharlto Copley, District 9              
              
Honorable Mentions:    
Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant     
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds      
Ben Foster, The Messenger       
Sam Rockwell, Moon     
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker              
             
Best Performance by an Actress:             
Tilda Swinton, Julia         
              
Honorable Mentions:    
Mo'nique, Precious        
Kim Ok-bin, Thirst           
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air      
Katie Jarvis, Fish Tank
Zoe Saldana, Avatar       
              
             
2008      
             
Top 15 Films:     
1. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher)
3. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
4. Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes)
5. Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson)
8. I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok (Park Chan-wook)
9. Vicky Christina Barcelona (Woody Allen)
10. The Class (Laurent Cantet)
11. Martyrs (Pascal Laugier)
12. Hunger (Steve McQueen)
13. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
14. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves)
15. The Chaser (Hong-jin Na)

              
2007      
              
Top 15 Films:     
1. Atonement (Joe Wright)
2. Into the Wild (Sean Penn)
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
4. The Lookout (Scott Frank)
5. Love Songs (Christophe Honore)
6. Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)
7. The Band's Visit (Eran Kolirin)
8. [Rec] (Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza)
9. Before the Fall (F. Javier Gutierrez)
10. Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo)
11. The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona)
12. Meet The Robinsons (Stephen Anderson)
13. Juno (Jason Reitman)
14. The Mist (Frank Darabont)
15. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud)

                
PRE-2007            
Little Children (Todd Field, 2006)              
The Devil Wears Prada (David Frankel, 2006)      
The Host (Bong Joon-ho, 2006) 
Transamerica (Duncan Tucker, 2005)      
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)    
Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004) 
Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar, 2004)               
Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2004)       
Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004)               
Dogville (Lars Von Trier, 2003)   
Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich, 2003)    
Kill Bill Volume 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)         
Reconstruction (Christoffer Boe, 2003) 
Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002)     
Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)               
Irreversible (Gaspar Noe, 2002)
The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)         
Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)      
The Others (Alejandro Amenabar, 2001)              
Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, 2000)              
In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar Wai, 2000)       
Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)     
Requiem For A Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)              
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998)            
Happy Together (Wong Kar Wai, 1997)  
Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, 1997)              
Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)           
Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater, 1995)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)  

Favorite Filipino Films (2009-2012)

2012

Top 10 Films:
1. Aparisyon (Vincent Sandoval)
2. Kalayaan (Adolf Alix)
3. Thy Womb (Brillante Ma Mendoza)
4. Graceland (Ron Morales)
5. Pascalina (Pam Miras)
6. Bwakaw (Jun Lana)
7. REquime! (Loy Arcenas)
8. Ang Nawawala (Marie Jamora)
9. Mga Mumunting Lihim (Jose Javier Reyes)
10. I Do Bidoo (Chris Martinez)

Best Performance by an Actor:
Arnold Reyes, Graceland

Honorable Mentions:
Eddie Garcia, Bwakaw
Nico Antonio, Posas
Anthony Falcon, REquieme!
Buboy Carino, Alagwa
Arnel Ignacio, Melodrama Negra

Best Performance by an Actress:
Nora Aunor, Thy Womb

Honorable Mentions:
Mylene Dizon, Aparisyon
Shamaine Buencamino, REquieme!
Bea Alonzo, The Mistress
Janice de Belen, Mga Mumunting Tinig
Raquel Villavicencio, Aparisyon


2011

Top 10 Films:
1. Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa (Alvin Yapan)
2. Isda (Adolf Alix)
3. Six Degrees of Separation From Lilia Cuntapay (Antoinette Jadaone)
4. Zombadings (Jade Castro)
5. Busong (Auraeus Solito)
6. Nino (Loy Arcenas)
7. Amok (Lawrence Fajardo)
8. My Paranormal Romance (Victor Villanueva)
9. Senior Year (Jerrold Tarog)
10. Bahay Bata (Eduardo Roy)

Best Performance by an Actor:
Mart Escudero, Zombadings

Honorable Mentions:
Ronnie Lazaro, Boundary
Raymond Bagatsing, Boundary
Publio Briones, My Paranormal Romance
Art Acuna, Nino
Dido dela Paz, Amok

Best Performance by an Actress:
Cherry Pie Picache, Isda

Honorable Mentions:
Lilia Cuntapay, Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay
Shamaine Buencamino, Nino
Raquel Villavicencio, Nino
Jean Garcia, Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa
Sheen Gener, Walang Katapusang Kwarto


2010

Top 10 Films:
1. The Arrival (Erik Matti)
2. Sheika (Arnel Mardoquio)
3. Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria (Remton Siega Zuasola)
4. The Red Shoes (Raul Jorolan)
5. Kano (Monster Jimenez)
6. Emir (Chito Rono)
7. Here Comes the Bride (Chris Martinez)
8. RPG: Metanoia (Luis Suarez)
9. Ang Mundo sa Panahon ng Bato (Mes de Guzman)
10. Ishmael (Richard Somes)

Best Performance by an Actor:
Dwight Gaston, The Arrival

Honorable Mentions:
John Lloyd Cruz, Miss You Like Crazy
Ronnie Lazaro, Ishmael
Pen Medina, Layang Bilanggo
Marc Abaya, Dagim
Marvin Agustin, Sigwa

Best Performance by an Actress:
Fe Hyde, Sheika

Honorable Mentions:
Angelica Panganiban, Here Comes the Bride
Jodi Sta. Maria, Third World Happy
Bea Alonzo, Sa'yo Lamang
Irma Adlawan, Vox Populi
Dulce, Emir


2009

Top 10 Films:
1. Yanggaw (Richard Somes)
2. Jay (Francis Xavier Pasion)
3. Kinatay (Brillante Mendoza)
4. Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe (Alvin Yapan)
5. Dinig Sana Kita (Mike Sandejas)
6. Kimmy Dora (Joyce Bernal)
7. Wanted: Border (Ray Gibraltar)
8. Engkwentro (Pepe Diokno)
9. Bakal Boys (Ralston Jover)
10. Himpapawid (Raymond Red)

Best Performance by an Actor:
Baron Geisler, Jay/Padyak

Honorable Mentions:
Romalito Mallari, Dinig Sana Kita
John Lloyd Cruz, In My Life
Coco Martin, Kinatay
Ronnie Lazaro, Yanggaw
Joey Paras, Last Supper No. 3

Best Performance by an Actress:
Irma Adlawan, Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe

Honorable Mentions:
Eugene Domingo, Kimmy Dora
Che Ramos, Mangatyanan
Rosanna Roces, Wanted: Border
Dimples Romana, In My Life
Flor Salanga, Jay


PRE-2009
100 (Chris Martinez, 2008)
Foster Child (Brillante Mendoza, 2007)
Endo (Jade Castro, 2007)
Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (Auraeus Solito, 2005)
Magnifico (Maryo delos Reyes, 2003)
Jologs (Gilbert Perez, 2002)
Himala (Ishmael Bernal, 1982)