AND THE TOMATO GOES TO…
Welcome to RT’s 14th Annual Golden Tomato Awards, in which we honor the best-reviewed movies of 2012. From the biggest Hollywood hits to the most provocative indies, we’ve got the films that won the critics’ hearts — and probably inspired you as well.
Last year, audiences flocked to a huge superhero blowout (The Avengers), cheered a new 007 adventure (Skyfall), and applauded a little-known tale from American history (Argo). At the arthouse, we were treated to a number of stirring documentaries that focused on women in the military (The Invisible War), the early days of the AIDS epidemic (How to Survive a Plague), and a dissident Iranian filmmaker (This is Not a Film). Which films will take home the coveted Golden Tomato Awards? Where do your favorites rank? And which of these flicks took home the User Tomato award, decided by you, the RT faithful?
Best Wide Release
#1
Adjusted Score: 113818%
Critics Consensus: Tense, exciting, and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters.
Synopsis: On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 American hostages. Amid the chaos, six...
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Best Limited Release
#1
Adjusted Score: 100625%
Critics Consensus: Through simple means and filming, This is Not a Film presents a vital political statement and a snapshot of life in Iran as enemy of the state.
Synopsis: Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi makes a video diary with his phone in response to his government's threats against him....
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Top UK
#1
Adjusted Score: 111210%
Critics Consensus: Sam Mendes brings Bond surging back with a smart, sexy, riveting action thriller that qualifies as one of the best 007 films to date.
Synopsis: When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents...
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Top AU
#1
Adjusted Score: 97218%
Critics Consensus: While it's plenty predictable and sentimental, The Sapphires also has an irresistible feel-good vibe, winning music and charming performances to spare.
Synopsis: A would-be music promoter (Chris O'Dowd) sees something special in a girl group of four Australian singers and takes them...
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User
#1
Adjusted Score: 108973%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to a script that emphasizes its heroes' humanity and a wealth of superpowered set pieces, The Avengers lives up to its hype and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies.
Synopsis: When Thor's evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), gains access to the unlimited power of the energy cube called the Tesseract,...
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Best Action/Adventure
#1
Adjusted Score: 111210%
Critics Consensus: Sam Mendes brings Bond surging back with a smart, sexy, riveting action thriller that qualifies as one of the best 007 films to date.
Synopsis: When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents...
[More]
Best Animation
#1
Adjusted Score: 99826%
Critics Consensus: Visually lush, refreshingly free of family-friendly clatter, and anchored with soulful depth, The Secret World of Arrietty lives up to Studio Ghibli's reputation.
Synopsis: Arrietty, a tiny teenager, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban home, unbeknown to the homeowner and...
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Best Comedy
#1
Adjusted Score: 94622%
Critics Consensus: Richard Linklater's Bernie is a gently told and unexpectedly amusing true-crime comedy that benefits from an impressive performance by Jack Black.
Synopsis: Assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) is one of the most-beloved residents in the small Texas town of Carthage....
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Best Comic Book
#1
Adjusted Score: 108973%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to a script that emphasizes its heroes' humanity and a wealth of superpowered set pieces, The Avengers lives up to its hype and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies.
Synopsis: When Thor's evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), gains access to the unlimited power of the energy cube called the Tesseract,...
[More]
Best Documentary
#1
Adjusted Score: 101172%
Critics Consensus: The Invisible War is a vital and frank expose on sexual assault in the U.S. military, shot by master filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film is Not Yet Rated).
Synopsis: A filmmaker explores the ever-increasing incidents of violent sexual assault within the U.S. military....
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Best Drama
#1
Adjusted Score: 97873%
Critics Consensus: Visceral and visually striking, Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus proves Shakespeare can still be both electrifying and relevant in a modern context.
Synopsis: Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protecting Rome...
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Best Foreign
#1
Adjusted Score: 100625%
Critics Consensus: Through simple means and filming, This is Not a Film presents a vital political statement and a snapshot of life in Iran as enemy of the state.
Synopsis: Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi makes a video diary with his phone in response to his government's threats against him....
[More]
Best Horror
#1
Adjusted Score: 103954%
Critics Consensus: The Cabin in the Woods is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary -- frequently all at the same time.
Synopsis: When five college friends (Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams) arrive at a remote forest cabin...
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Best Romance
#1
Adjusted Score: 106023%
Critics Consensus: Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best.
Synopsis: The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a...
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Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
#1
Adjusted Score: 106178%
Critics Consensus: As thought-provoking as it is thrilling, Looper delivers an uncommonly smart, bravely original blend of futuristic sci-fi and good old-fashioned action.
Synopsis: In a future society, time-travel exists, but it's only available to those with the means to pay for it on...
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Best Thriller
#1
Adjusted Score: 113818%
Critics Consensus: Tense, exciting, and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters.
Synopsis: On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 American hostages. Amid the chaos, six...
[More]
