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2012 was a great year at the movies. I could easily create a Top 20 list so it was very hard to narrow it down to just the 10 best. But after many hours of tinkering, I finally came up with my Top 10 Best Movies of 2012.

1. “Argo” – Ben Affleck creates a riveting political thriller that is as emotionally potent as it is funny. The script by Chris Terrio ably captures the tension of the Iran Hostage Crisis and the cast is game to offer levity. Simply the best film of the year.

2. “Les Miserables” – The film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical about the Paris Uprising of 1832 is a sweeping epic with a melodramatic flair. Hugh Jackman carries the film from start to finish as Jean Valjean, and Anne Hathaway’s on-key performance as the tragic factory worker Fantine deserves to be seen! This will make you cry and sing your hearts out.

3. “Zero Dark Thirty” – Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) has such an eye for detail that you will feel a part of the mission to hunt for Osama bin Laden. The script by Mark Boal is layered with suspense punctuated by Jessica Chastain’s brilliant performance.

4. “Silver Linings Playbook” – You will not see Bradley Cooper the same way again after watching David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook.” And his chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence is so palpable that you will hope for both characters to finally find their own silver lining.

5. “Django Unchained” – No other filmmaker can make me blurt out “I love movies” while watching their creation than Quentin Tarantino. The biggest movie buff in the world returns with another masterpiece that is bold and daring. We are all slaves of Tarantino’s vision.

6. “Amour” – Michael Haneke (“The White Ribbon”) crafts a beautiful and moving elegiac on death and dying. “Amour” is also my favorite foreign language film of the year and both Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva give memorable performances as an elderly couple whose bond of love is tested.

7. “Moonrise Kingdom” – Told like a trippy fairy tale, Wes Anderson’s latest opus is about young love and authority figures. I saw this film last summer and I still cannot forget its brilliant rhythm. The ensemble cast is strong headed by the memorable Bruce Willis.

8. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” – Stephen Chbosky deserves a breakthrough artist award for not only adapting his own novel but for directing this fine film about the joys and pains of growing up. It’s a cliché by now to call a movie a “best coming-of-age film” but “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” wins that title hands down. The main leads featuring Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, and Emma Watson are brilliant.

9. “The Dark Knight Rises” – Christopher Nolan ends his Batman Trilogy with this blazing and thoughtful conclusion that ties up his narrative about the real meaning of being a hero. “The Dark Knight Rises” is not just your average comic-book movie, it is also a metaphor about the unending battle between good and evil.

10. “Lincoln” – Steven Spielberg’s latest masterpiece about our beloved 16th president is a smart narrative on Lincoln’s final months in office. Daniel Day-Lewis is a marvel as Lincoln and Sally Field is the film’s heart as Mary Todd Lincoln.