1. THE DESCENDANTS – Hawaii may only be paradise for the Haole.
2. HUGO – not really about Hugo so much as an homage to a genius pioneer of cinema.
3. MONEY BALL – Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill hit a home run in a year that nearly strikes out with sports films.
4. YOUNG ADULTS – Charlize Theron has a riot as the world’s hottest crazed beyotch.
5. ANONYMOUS – A gorgeous Shakespearean whodunit i.e. did Bill do it?
6. BRIDESMAIDS – The Hangover oestrogen style.
7. THE BANG BANG CLUB – a reminder of how atrocities were easily hushed before smart phones.
8. HANNA - Saoirse Ronan is a more than credible teen killing machine.
9. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – playing a bombshell, Michelle Williams is The Bomb.
10. THE BEAVER – how this Mel Gibson gem got financed is a total mystery.