Contributed by Info Guru Bryce Hammons

In the glut of summer blockbusters, remakes, sequels, prequels, remakes of remakes, sometimes it’s hard to find a good movie to take you away from the summer heat or winter chill.

Like, really, really hard. Maybe the toughest thing you’ll do all year. So, without any further fuss, let’s take a look at ten of the good films that made their way to theaters across America in 2012.

10. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Define good? The first thing that pops into mind probably wouldn’t be this movie. But that’s why they invented the term “so bad it’s good.” And that’s where Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter falls. It’s such an atrocious movie that it has the opposite effect on you as you walk out of the theater. First, what did I just see? Second, why did I have such a good time? Third, that Abraham Lincoln was a pretty talented guy.

9. Magic Mike

When the ladies love Magic Mike this much, it has to make the list. Pulling from Channing Tatum’s own past as a male stripper, Magic Mike brought in acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh and fleshed out (sorry) characters to bring Tatum’s past to the big screen. It’s been both a commercial and critical success with Tatum even talking about plans for a (bigger) sequel.

8. The Avengers

Sitting at an astounding 93 percent on Rottentomatoes.com, The Avengers was a summer blockbuster that garnered some seriously out of this world reviews. It also garnered some serious cash for Disney and Marvel, as it’s made over 600 million dollars in domestic box office as of this writing. They’re already making plans for a sequel, prequel, spin-off, remake, remake of the spin-off, remake of the sequel – Oh, you get the idea.

7. Madea’s Witness Protection

Wait, how’d this get on here? Madea might just be a rental.

6. Ted

Seth McFarlane, a foul-mouthed talking teddy bear, and the gorgeous and talented Mila Kunis make up this box office champ. It’s un-PC, naughty, and riotously funny.

5. Prometheus

More on this list for the sheer anticipation factor it brought, the horror flick almost lived up to the hype. At 73 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it divided critics and audiences alike with a confounding script and lack of distinct answers to all the questions it posed.

Billed as a prequel to Ridley Scott’s previous masterpiece, Alien, it tried to answer the larger questions in life within the scope of its screen story. It’s still recommended, though, due to the fact that Scott has been one of the preeminent film directors of the last 30 years. He truly brings a visual splendor that is unmatched by many other directors.

4. The Amazing Spider-Man

As a reboot of the franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in director Marc Webb’s summer tent pole. Some may ask, “Didn’t we just see this movie, in Spiderman 1, 2, and 3, only a few years back?” Yes, you did.

Yet there’s some great talent involved with this new picture and there’s always fun to be had at the multiplex, literally swinging through New York streets as Spidey does battle with the villainous Lizard. Kids and adults can find something to enjoy with this one.

3. Brave

Another Disney release, Brave saw Pixar add a heroine to their list of heroes. WALL-E. Up, and Toy Story 3 helped pave the wave for Pixar’s new blockbuster heroine. While not as highly revered as those movies, Brave is a solid film for both kids and adults this season.

2. Moonrise Kingdom

A surprise hit starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, and Edward Norton, this little gem of a film has wowed audiences worldwide. Directed by Wes Anderson, it’s quirky, funny, and heartfelt. And those qualities are hard to come by in the summer season. That’s reason enough to go see it.

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Fanboys, fangirls, nerds, preteens, the geriatric crowd, moms, dads, and babies all rank this as the movie to beat this summer. It’s one of the good new films to come out of 2012. There’s action, romance, big budget spectacle, and characters to boot. Why are you still reading this? Go rent it. Now!

Resources:

Rottentomatoes.com: Homepage.

Yahoo.com: Movies.