I have been thinking a lot recently (whoa man slow down), specifically with regards to films. I have seen many films of 2013 thus far, and aim to catch up on those I missed and catch the upcoming films before the end of the year.

However, in the midst of all this, I have also had the chance to view several films from 2012 that I missed last year, as well as re-watching the ones I did see. I looked over my top ten list and decided that a little bit of a re-evaluation was in order. So here you are - my Top Ten Films of 2012 II.

1. Les Miserables (99%) - This film does not change positions - how could it? Nearly a year after I first watched the film in theatres it is the first blu-ray I have ever purchased and I have bought both the highlights soundtrack and the full-fledged soundtrack released later on - I was so obsessed I actually got the 1400+ page novel and read it all. I love this film so much. It is as close to perfection as I dare to ask for. When I first released this list I put Les Miserables in the top spot despite having just seen it that week, at the risk of becoming discontented with the film later. Ten months down the line I've very pleased to say that I'm still in its thrall, and even at this moment want to go sit down and watch it again. The journey of faith that Jean Valjean goes on is both breathtaking and heartbreaking, and characters like Eponine and Gavroche, while only onscreen for a few brief scenes, shine brighter than most fictional characters could ever come close to achieving. If you haven't seen this film yet, you are missing out on a wonderful piece of art.

2. Skyfall (96%) - The twenty-fifth anniversary of the James Bond series could have been what I hear Quantum of Solace was like. Instead, I could not have asked for a better introduction into the franchise (except, perhaps, to have seen them all in the order they were released). It is very rare that an outsider can understand the references being made or the meaning behind them, but Skyfall is good enough that I did both. The action is superb (even if the train crash scene is rather questionable) and the questions Bond faces find themselves plaguing several other characters, too. Skyfall is everything a modern spy movie should be, and after deliberation, I have decided it is my second favorite film of 2012.

3. 21 Jump Street (94%) - A new addition! One of the upsides to my sickness a couple weeks back was that I found 21 Jump Street and decided to watch it, having enjoyed Jonah Hill in This is the End as well as hearing good things about the film itself last year. The film is astoundingly funny, and the relationship between the two main characters is delightful to watch as the popular bully becomes the nerd and the nerd becomes the popular bully, pulling their already fragile undercover case apart at the seams. Two undercover police officers this dreadful at their job would never really succeed how they did, but for what it is 21 Jump Street is an amazing film - and I hear a sequel is in the works, which I will look forward to tentatively (as all sequels should be looked at).

4. Life of Pi (92%) - What a blast up the ranks! From barely ranking as my tenth pick to slamming in as my fourth, Life of Pi is, as I said before, a gorgeous film. I watched the film again recently by myself, wondering if my perception of the film had been skewed by some desire to match my attitude to those around me at the time. While I still found myself laughing where I clearly was not intended to, for the most part I will assume that is the case, because Life of Pi is a living, breathing work of art. I don't care what you say about Avatar; Life of Pi's visual effects are better, because they are so much more real and mystical at the same time. The message the film delivers is a strong one that will tell you about yourself; are you one to hope and feel optimism, or are you the contemporary cynic, believing only what you think makes sense? The film allows you to decide, and while I often find myself torn between both (who wouldn't, being human?), neither opinion will prevent you from enjoying the film.

5. Brave (90%) - I still stand by Brave being one of my favourite Pixar films, despite the criticisms of the public eye last year. The film is not afraid to take itself lightly, and the jokes that pop out every so often help to contrast against the darker undertones of the film's plot, keeping the movie family friendly yet mature. Brave is worthy of an older audience than most Pixar films at the same time, and it shows. While many of the same lessons the film has to give are lessons given nine years previously by Finding Nemo, Brave does it uniquely enough and good enough to make it all count in the end. The witch is also a major highlight - she's not evil or good, per se, but rather somewhere in between.

6. The Avengers (89%) - More than anything else, The Avengers proves that a super hero team works on the big screen if done right. The problem until this point was the buildup - the required cast of main characters is too large to introduce them all into one film, and Marvel recognized that flaw. So they dealt with it, and the result was the best popcorn flick of the year. The Avengers is the culmination of four years of wild bets that might not pay off, with Marvel daring to create a movie continuity spanning several franchises. Loki is a blast in this film (he always is), and the final battle rivals the Transformers franchise for destruction of buildings by technologically advanced aliens.

7. Django Unchained (87%) - While Django Unchained has not continued to earn that first rating I gave it a year ago, it is still a very good movie. Christoph Waltz works his magic for a second time under Quentin Tarantino's eye, easily surpassing the likes of Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel Jackson combined with his plethora of intricate and subtle emotions and his way of both speaking and pronunciation, which while different in many ways from his first time under Tarantino still manages to captivate me. While Dr. King Schultz does not quite match the heights reached by Hans Landa, Django Unchained is a comical spaghetti western the likes of which I don't expect to see ever again.

8. The Hunger Games (85%) - Although it has fallen down on the list a few places, I do not view The Hunger Games worse than I did ten months ago - I merely view other films as being better. While the camera work is beyond frustrating at the most critical of action points, Jennifer Lawrence is already catching fire (pardon the pun) as Katniss Everdeen and the movie remains remarkably faithful to the book, either accurately re-creating it or re-working certain moments to make more sense on screen. The Hunger Games is limited only by the actors adjusting to their roles and the novel upon which it is based, both of which are minor issues in retrospect (see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and you'll know what I mean).

9. Argo (84%) - I got to see the film at last several weeks back, and while I don't think it deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, I do think that it is a very good film. Dreadful historical inaccuracies aside (gotta keep my nationalist Canadian perspective intact, after all), Argo is tense from start to finish as the main characters resort to a foolhardy and desperate plan to rescue six men and women who managed to escape a hostage situation. The conflicts in this film are often solved with wit and words, which is a fresh breather from the usual punches and kicks. Guns are, of course, present, but Argo successfully portrays them as the very real threats that they are - tools created specifically to kill. So I will forgive Argo its inaccuracies, because the characters and the plot are worth doing so.

10. Wreck-it Ralph (83%) - I didn't think a film based upon a made-up video game character with cameos from actual video game characters could actually work - but it did, and more importantly, it worked well. Wreck-it Ralph is in no way the perfect video game film; I do not believe we have received it yet, though I'm sure Valve could do it if they could bother putting in the time and effort. I wish we could have seen Ralph working together with some of the real characters, but for what it is, the film is good nonetheless, if a little tiresome after multiple viewings.

Removed From List

-Looper (Previously #6)

-The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Previously #7)

-The Amazing Spider-Man (Previously #9)