Favorite Movies of 2012

It's time once again for my nerdy "Top Ten Favorite Movies of the Year" list! As always, there were plenty of "want-to-see" movies I missed this year, but out of what I saw, I think I had the most fun with these:

1. Safety Not Guaranteed

Maybe it's just my apparent obsession with time travel stories, but this little indie comedy won my heart immediately.

2. Moonrise Kingdom 
Some people said it was too "Wes Anderson-y" even for Wes Anderson. I don't necessarily disagree. I just don't apparently have a problem with that. 

3. Paranorman

One of the most gorgeously animated movies I've seen in a while, and I enjoyed the story as well.

  

4. Wreck-It Ralph 

Between this and 2010's Tangled, Disney really seems to be back on track with their animated offerings. I enjoyed the original characters and made-up video games as much as I loved seeing the appearances by actual classic characters.

5. Bernie 
Jack Black turns in a great performance in this based-on-a-true story dark comedy.

6. The Avengers 
More or less the perfect superhero blockbuster. And definitely the best on-screen Hulk so far.

  

7. Looper 
Two time travel tales in the top ten this year!

8. Argo
Even knowing the outcome didn't keep this one from being extremely suspenseful. and with a lot more humor than I expected. 

  

9. This is 40

My favorite comedy of the year. Paul Rudd and Lelsie Mann are great.

  

10. Cabin in the Woods

Not generally a big horror movie fan, but this send-up of all the classic horror movie tropes was too much fun not to love. Also, I'm morally obligated to include any movie that features an appearance by  a murderous unicorn in my top ten.

Honorable Mentions include Lincoln, Skyfall, Brave, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, and a few others. It's been a good year for movies! Now to catch up on all the ones I missed...

Creepy Santa

This creepily unsettling Santa was inspired by an even creepier vintage photograph shown in a Mental Floss article. I was so disturbed by the image, I had to create some..."fan art"...of sorts.Enjoy?

-Andrew

 

I don't own the original photo, but the credit link Mental Floss gave in their article wasn't working, so I'm just sharing it here to let you see my inspiration.  You can link to the original article above, as well.

MST3K Santa Claus

One of my all-time favorite episodes of the great Mystery Science Theater 3000 is episode #521, in which they riff the 1959 children's' Christmas movie, Santa Claus. After re-watching the episode for the umpteenth time this season, I decided I was a few years overdue for making some fan art. So...enjoy!

-Andrew

 

Just for fun, here's a sample of the rough prelim sketches I did while glancing back at the movie.

And, in case you've never seen it, or just want to experience it again, here's the complete MST3K episode which someone has kindly placed online:

My Minty Art on Conan!

Let a proud nerd boast, for tonight my "Minty the Candy Cane" fan art was aired as a bumper on "Conan" tonight for the second year in a row! Below is a horrendously low-quality video clip of the art on the air this year, as well as a re-posting of the original art in question. Huzzah!

-Andrew

2012 Christmas Card

Here's the art for my 2012 Christmas card. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

-Andrew