HispanicBusiness

Here is one last, highly irreverent look at the year in film:

Biggest disappointment: Joss Whedon's "The Avengers."

Biggest disappointment still worth seeing: Paul Thomas Anderson's self-obsessed "The Master" was a pretentious bore, but Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of a self-destructive loner was as ferocious a performance as Robert De Niro's in "Raging Bull."

Best movie that needed time to grow on you: Whit Stillman's "Damsels in Distress." For the first 10 minutes, you're like "Whaaaat?" After that, you're like "Ha ha ha!"

Best safety lesson tucked inside a summer blockbuster: "Prometheus." When being chased by a giant rolling spaceship shaped like a doughnut, it's better to run parallel to the vehicle instead of trying to cross directly in its path.

Most entertaining example of how Hollywood can help save lives: In "Argo," a CIA agent hires some studio reps to pose as a film crew in order to rescue six people stranded during the Iran hostage crisis. The power of movies!

Most mind-bending moment: Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, two versions of the same man at different ages, sit down for a conversation at a diner in the time-travel thriller "Looper."

Most whimsical image: An enormous treehouse sits high atop a tree as thick as a toothpick in "Moonrise Kingdom."

Best sequel: None.

Most superfluous sequel: "Men in Black 3."

Most disappointing sequel: "American Reunion."

Worst sequel: "Taken 2."

Worst remake: "Total Recall."

Most satisfying end of a trilogy: "The Dark Knight Rises."

Most surprising end of a franchise: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," in which things are finally allowed to get crazy.

Least promising start of a franchise: "The Hunger Games."

Best entry in a continuing franchise: "Skyfall." Bond has never been better.

Most distracting use of soft-focus to hide the actors' out-of-control facelifts: "The Expendables 2."

Saddest sight: A rusty Arnold Schwarzenegger wincing as he fires a machine gun in "The Expendables 2."

Scariest sight: Jean-Claude Van Damme's plastic surgery in "The Expendables 2."

Best closing shot: As the music swells, a man stands before an enormous rising platform in "The Dark Knight Rises": A new hero is born.

Worst closing shot: Donald Sutherland looking annoyed in "The Hunger Games," as if he was stuck in a long checkout line at the grocery store.

Best action movie: "The Raid: Redemption". Relentless.

Worst action movie: "Red Dawn." The movie was delayed for two years. Should have stayed on the shelf.

Least exciting action movie: Steven Soderbergh's curiously uninvolving "Haywire."

Biggest cop-out: The ending of Oliver Stone's ludicrous "Savages." We were only kidding!

Most creative use of the found-footage format: The superhero movie "Chronicle."

Best line that doesn't make any sense taken out of context: "The harbinger is on line two," from "The Cabin in the Woods."

Best raise-the-roof moment: The Hulk uses Loki as a fly swatter in "The Avengers."

Best close-but-no-cigar attempt at something totally different: "Cloud Atlas."

Most successful attempt at something totally different: Leos Carax's indescribable "Holy Motors."