Top 5 Movies of All-Time That Defied the Threequel Curse

Call it a curse, perhaps even laziness on the part of Hollywood creatives, but second sequels have an unfortunate tendency to disappoint. With Iron Man 3 finally in the books, audience opinions remain divided ranging anywhere from the best film of the trilogy to an atrocious bait-and-switch. 

For the fanboys out there treating Iron Man 3 like it's one of the worst botches ever, it's nowhere among the worst. In fact, Iron Man 3 ranks on the better side of impressive third chapters in a series.

While Iron Man 3 comes up short in making this list, there are still sequels out there with enough fuel in the tank to keep the cinematic momentum going. There are only a handful that can boast this claim and even fewer that can be called the crowning achievement in a series. 

The five films below certainly stand out from the countless missed opportunities found in second sequels. 

Top 10: The Best Films of 2012

For any film critic, myself included, compiling together a "best-of" list spanning an entire year is unquestionably one of the most difficult tasks out there. How can you craft a definitive list if you haven't seen every single release out there (or at the very minimum, every wide release)? And how do you weigh a popcorn superhero juggernaut like The Avengers against a slew of thought-provoking art-house films?

I admit, I've missed out on some key awards contenders - Lincoln, Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty for starters. So don't expect them to make the list. I do however, plan on seeing several more films from 2012, including the ones mentioned, so there is a possibility this list could be adjusted.

However, for the hundred or so movies I have been privileged to see in 2012, it's fair to say that the fifteen films selected for my "best-of" list left an impression on me that won't leave me anytime soon. These are the films that defined 2012 for me as a critic, a moviegoer and a cinemaphile.

Nolan's "Batman" Finale Rises Among Superhero Supremacy

The fate of Gotham hangs in the balance as Batman (Christian Bale) and Bane (Tom Hardy) collide.

It’s impractical to even bother trying to compare “The Dark Knight Rises” to its predecessors, “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.” The three installments making up Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking superhero trilogy are so remotely different from one another that the Caped Crusader himself remains the only constant amidst the coming and going struggles against psychological, moral and physical villainy. Set eight years after the previous film, Batman continues his self-imposed exile from vigilantism after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes. That is, however, until Gotham City is threatened to its core by the masked terrorist, Bane (Tom Hardy) and his cataclysmic agenda. Bane is a juggernaut that shouldn’t be feared just on bulk size alone, but when combined with his calculating genius mind, the end for Gotham has finally arrived. CONTINUE READING