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I have watched the Academy Awards every year for at least the last twenty years. Some years they get it right, other years they are so far off the mark it makes me wonder whether they just accepted their bribes and cashed their cheques. This year falls into the latter.

Of the nine films nominated for best picture, I would have included four in my list. Those include Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Alexander Payne’s The Decendants, Terrance Mallick’sThe Tree of Life and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. Of these four one could make the argument that Tree of Life was too inaccessible to the average viewer to have a mass appeal but Mallick should not be faulted for being the auteur he is; even if it means the rest of us have some serious catching up to do.

The rest of the films on this list are either there to cater to the Hollywood establishment or are just a reflection of how the standards of film excellence are in sharp decline.

War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close are the two that stand out the most in that they are both competent films that are happy to walk a very thick line of mediocrity. Both films are dripping with sentimentality and both directors resort to extracting as many tears from their audience to cover up the obvious shortcomings in story and pace. One could argue that The Help suffers from the same obvious emotional manipulations. It is a great story with strong performances, but at the ned of the day, I do not want to be force fed emotional responses when watching a film. I want them to be genuine rather than manipulated.

Many people feel that The Artist is a lock for best picture this year and while the film is a joy to watch, it does not leaving any lasting emotional response and I have a hard time accepting a film winning best picture when the best performer in it is a dog.

Moneyball was by far the best of the films that should not be on this list. I had very little expectations when I went to see this film and was surprised at how engaging the story was. Let’s face it, a movie about baseball is usually going to do fairly well but a movie about mathematics in baseball has an uphill battle ahead of it and Moneyball succeeds admirably.

Here are the films I would have included in this list.

The first is We Need to Talk About Kevin. Make no mistake, this is a tough film to watch. I left the theatre feeling depressed and needing a drink. But it the questions raised and more importantly the ones not answered in the film still linger weeks later and at the end of the day, when a film strives for artistry over entertainment and succeeds as well as Kevin does, it deserves recognition. How Tilda Swinton failed to get nominated for her performance is unforgivable. The only thing I can think is that her performance is so subtle and nuanced that the Academy voters failed to recognize and appreciate its subtelty. This is by no means a perfect film, but its flaws are far easier to swallow than those of War Horse or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Next on my list was David Fincher’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. David Fincher may be one of the best directors at establishing mood and tone through the use of set design, music and cinematography. This is a beautiful film to look at. Stylistically it is the class of 2012’s films. Bolstered by strong performances all around and an exceptional one from newcomer Rooney Mara, the film is darker and carries more of an emotional wallup than its swedish predecessor. Having your film scored by the duo of Trent Reznor and Adicus Ross goes a long way in creating the lurking tension that permeates the film; from its opening music video like credits to the films satisfying conclusion. Can’t wait to see the next one.

Next up his the frinetic bloody, Drive. Starring Ryan Gosling Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks, this film caught me completley off guard and blew me away. Building slowly at first, the story develops with a violence that is slowly burning just off the screen and is so palpable. Yet even when it finally erupts on the screen , it still left me cringing and appalled. Shot in a style that reninded me strongly of Michael Mann’s To Live and Die in L.A., this film works mainly because of the performances of Gosling and Brooks and because it knows exactly what it is and that is a credit to director Nicolas Winding Refn, who had somehow made an art house B movie that is in every way an A film.

Lastly is a little film called Take Shelter that boasts the best performance of the year by Michael Shannon of Boardwalk Empire fame. This is a wonderful film about a man who is haunted by apocolyptic visions and takes to constructing a shelter for himself and his family as a way a rationalizing what is happening to  his wavering sanity. Quiet, sombre and beautifully filmed, this a movie that requires more than one viewing to appreciate the delicacy of Shannon’s performance.

Honourable mention goes to Nostalgia for the Light, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Criolanus. Any of these films couls have made it on the list, perhaps on a diffent day they would have.

So having established that the Academy fucked everything up with their inclusions and omissions, I will say the best film of the year was on their list, and that is the sublime The Descendants. Alexander Payne has crafted a perfect little movie with impeccableperformances all around and should finally net George Clooney his first Oscar. This film is evrything I love about the movies. Emotionally engaging story and characters, well written script and just the right anount of artistic integrity without pushing it over the edge into directorial self indulgence or pretension. This is an film with universal themes of love and loss and redemption that if lovingly crafted and executed will get my vote every time.

So there you have it, my list of best movies from the past year. Feel free to agree or disagree.

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