Here we are, starting another new year– so it’s once again time for my look-back at the best and worst movies of the past six months.

From July to December, I saw 57 movies at Essex Cinemas and Cumberland 12 (plus two –The Descendants and My Week with Marilyn- that never made it to our hallowed halls). And, yes, I missed a handful of movies… sometimes intentional (I Don’t Know How She Does It, Jack and Jill), sometimes not (I was at least casually interested in What’s Your Number and The Thing).

Without further ado, away we go…

Best ‘guy’ flick: Warrior
Runner up: Real Steel
Worst: Colombiana

Best ‘feel good’ flick: 50/50
Runner up: Our Idiot Brother
Oh, I feel like I’m gonna puke: New Year’s Eve

Best ‘scary’ movie: Contagion
Runner up: Fright Night
The scariest thing is that it ever got made: Straw Dogs

Best all-ages movie: The Muppets
Runner up: Dolphin Tale
Worst: Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Best ‘little kids’ movie: Winnie the Pooh
Runner up: The Smurfs
Worst: Happy Feet Two

Best ‘older kids’ movie: Captain America: The First Avenger
Runner up: The Adventures of Tintin
Worst: Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

What a waste of a good cast: Killer Elite
Good, but could have been so much better: Tower Heist
What a waste, period.: Immortals

Most surprisingly decent movie: 30 Minutes or Less
Runner up: Arthur Christmas
Bad. Just bad.: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

Best ‘big-time actor carrying the day’ movie: Moneyball
Runner up: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Even a big-name actor couldn’t save it: J. Edgar

Best movie based on a book (non-Harry Potter): The Help
Runner up: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hunter S. Thompson is crying in heaven: The Rum Diary

Best ‘real animals’ movie: War Horse
Runner up: Buck
Worst ‘fake animals’ movie: Zookeeper

Best remake/reboot: Footloose
Runner up: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Worst: The Three Musketeers

Best sequel: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part II
Runner up: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Please let the franchise end here: Cowboys & Aliens

Best ‘edge of your seat’ thriller: The Ides of March
Runner up: The Debt
Yeah, not so much: Twilight: Breaking Dawn, part 1

Fun idea done well: In Time
Runner up: Horrible Bosses
Seriously?: Apollo 18

Loved it though the critics hated it: A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Runner up: The Sitter
Didn’t love it though the critics did: Puss in Boots

Most romantic movie: Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Runner up: Friends with Benefits
Tried to be but failed miserably: One Day

Not as good, now that I think about it: The Change-Up
Runner up: The Big Year
Even better now that I think about it: We Bought a Zoo

and finally…

Best movie: Hugo
Runner Up: Drive
Worst movie: Shark Night 3D