We go a different, quieter direction for our fourth place film, as Moonrise Kingdom captured our attention for a stellar combination of young performers aligned with talented veterans. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward take center stage as teenage loves Sam and Suzy, and their interaction is simply preternatural. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand are suitably controlling and concerned parents, Ed Norton is a sympathetic scout master and Bruce Willis is a kindly police captain. A solid group of youngsters portray the other scouts in Sam's troop, while Jason Schwartzman and Tilda Swinton also have key roles.

Fifth place goes to Lincoln, which is essentially a who's who of topline talent combined with practically every talented character actor you've ever seen. Of course, the film hinges upon Daniel Day-Lewis's interpretation of our 16th president's personality, but he's interacting with such highly regarded talent as Sally Field (as Mary Todd Lincoln) and Tommy Lee Jones (as Republican congressman Thaddeus Stevens). Key support is provided by such worthy players as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Strathairn, Hal Holbrook, Michael Stuhlbarg, Walton Goggins, James Spader, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley and Jared Harris. Note that these names include four Academy Award nominees, three Academy Award winners, one Emmy nominee and two Emmy winners amongst them, yet there is never a moment when it feels like someone is needlessly trying to steal the show. I also have to note the brief but effective work by David Costabile, who gives a quiet, almost background performance as Republican representative James Ashley. Costabile is an actor to watch - he's previously appeared in recurring roles on such TV shows as The Wire, Breaking Bad and Suits, but it's time for him to be center stage in something.

Two movies that are pretty much diametrically opposed to each other take our sixth and seventh spots. The Dark Knight Returns returns all of the core performers who survived the second film (Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman) and brings along a solid group of supporting performers to play both villains and good guys. Anne Hathaway is a terrific Catwoman, while Tom Hardy gives Bane an entirely unique personality. Also critical to the film's success are Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That film's darkness is counterbalanced by the lighthearted nature of Pitch Perfect, which features Anna Kendrick in the starring role, but she's given glorious support from performers such as Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael-Higgins (Banks and Higgins carry on the tradition of hilarious commentators established by people like Fred Willard in Best in Show and Jason Bateman and Gary Cole in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story). Credit must be given to Rebel Wilson (whose comic timing is perfect as Fat Amy) and Adam DeVine, who makes a character that should be over-the-top despicable (Bumper) into something more fun (and less easy to define).

Closing out our top ten are Les Miserables, The Hunger Games and Argo.As a sweeping musical drama, Les Miserables relies heavily on all its parts to come together for a moving experience. Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen all contribute to making this an unforgettable movie-going experience. It would have been so easy for the cast of The Hunger Games to be a massive disappointment. A lot of the performers were untried, but with Jennifer Lawrence at the forefront and key roles being played by Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland, some level of gravitas was lent to the proceedings. Finally, Ben Affleck brings together a terrific group for Argo. Besides Affleck, who has the role of the protagonist, he's also interacting with such fantastic players as Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber and Kyle Chandler, not to mention the people who played the Americans who were trying to escape.

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Calvins Intro
Best Actor
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Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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