Most Surprising Movie of 2012?

[CConn]

Yeah, I'm ripping off Hammer, but what movie were you most surprised by quality-wise this year?

 

[Steyin]

I think for me it would have to be Jeff, Who Lives At Home, followed by Chronicle.

JWLaH, while not as funny as I expected it to be, was very emotional and heartfelt. It was a "genuine" movie.

Chronicle was intriguing and the action was great. Very well done.

 

[kvz5]

The Grey

 

[Lighthouse]

Ted.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

The Hunger Games

I had gotten this impression that it was just the new 'Twilighty' phenomenon, but it was so much better than I expected

JWLaH, while not as funny as I expected it to be, was very emotional and heartfelt. It was a "genuine" movie.

Agreed. It's in my top ten of the year

 

[CConn]

For me, it was Haywire and Moonrise Kingdom.

With Haywire, I honestly went in expecting a very trite and mediocre spy thriller with nothing particularly unique or inspired.

What it ended up being was one of the most inspired and best directed spy movies I've ever seen. Soderberg's shot selection and color palate was absolutely beautiful, the score, in conjunction with the editing created frantic and almost musical-like action segments. And the fight choreography was by far the most realistic, brutal and beautiful fight scenes I've ever seen. It makes the fight scenes in Batman or Bourne look almost silly and animated.

I knew Moonrise would be good - I'm a big Anderson fan - but I truly wasn't expecting him to craft without a doubt the best film he's ever made; every single shot in the film was a piece of art, every selection of music was inspired, and the writing contrasted and conjoined the differences between love during childhood, adolescence and adulthood better than I ever thought possible withi a singular narative.

 

[mongoose-mania]

For me, it would be The Cabin in the Woods. I thought the trailers made the movie look horrible. But so far, it's been my favorite movie of the year.

 

[craigdbfan]

Chronicle.

I initially dismissed it for being fluff and was happily surprised to learn it was pretty awesome.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Definitely The Hunger Games. I just figured it was going to be the next Twilight rather than perhaps the best female lead action film since T2.

 

[terry78]

Ted, definitely. It's MacFarlane so you figured it would do good, but not that good.

 

[CConn]

Both Chronicle and The Grey were good movies that I definitely didn't think were going to be good, but neither really captured my interest enough to really want to see them again.

 

[Hammer!]

Tie between Cabin in the Woods and Men in Black III. Give the edge to MiB III because I knew Cabin in the Woods was going to be pretty good with Joss Whedon's involvement, although I didn't know how good!

For me Men in Black III is the best MiB film of the bunch. I was pretty underwhelmed with the second and I found the first to be a tad overrated. Brolin was amazing and the period piece, quirky aliens, humor, and perfect chemistry between Smth and Jones/Brolin made it a memorable film that will soon be added to my Blu ray collection. Even though I'm in the minority, I honestly preferred it over another "threequel" released this year...

 

[marvelman2006]

Both Chronicle and The Grey were good movies that I definitely didn't think were going to be good, but neither really captured my interest enough to really want to see them again.

agreed, Chronicle was great the first time through but I watched it a couples weeks back on demand and it didnt have the same impact and kinda bored me the 2nd time around.


The grey was a great character study and the ending was great but its kinda tough to sit through it again knowing that they all die in the end and there is no real happy ending or in some senses a satisfying conclusion.

 

[Donnie Darko]

For me it is Cabin in the Woods. I expected it to be good, but it is my #2 movie of the year so far (behind Avengers). I knew I would like it going in, but avoided any spoilers or reviews. Also, it being shelved for like two years before its release is hardly ever a good sign. Add that to the fact that while I love Whedon, the only movie Goddard had written up to this point (yes, I know he did some Buffy/Angel) was Cloverfield and that was... underwhelming.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

The Grey
Chronicle
Ted

Cabin in the Woods was utter ****, in my opinion. Me and my siblings walked out of that one an hour in. 'A redefining of the horror genre', my ass.

 

[PWN3R]

Cabin Woods is my biggest surprise of the year so far. I think Looper is going to shock everyone silly. Get ready.

Still bummed I never got a chance to catch Moonrise Kingdom.

 

[CrypticOne]

The Cabin in the Woods

Movie came out of no where, for me.

 

[Donnie Darko]

But if you THINK it's going to surprise you, is it really a surprise?

 

[Rowsdower!]

Chronicle and Rock of Ages for me. I didn't expect either of these films to be very good, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of them.

 

[BestGirl]

Ted and The Amazing Spider-Man. In the case of TASM, insiders trashed that movie so much I thought it would be a disaster a la GL, but I found it to be utterly charming.

 

[PWN3R]

But if you THINK it's going to surprise you, is it really a surprise?

In this day and age, a film living up to its expectations is most certainly a surprise for me. Prometheus.

 

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

Cabin in the Woods.

 

[Quasimod0]

TASM was way better than i thought itd be. Great acting

 

[Rowsdower!]

Oh yeah, I'd have to add Cabin in the Woods too. That movie was awesome.

 

[BlackFox]

Avengers, was concerned it would be a bit of a mess, glad to be proved wrong and was a very fun film indeed.