2013 was a strong, if a bit sporadic, year for Hollywood and film in general. From the commercial heavyweights like Iron Man 3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, or The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, to the drastically polarizing indie flicks like Spring Breakers or Only God Forgives (one of which is one this list). The dramas that are really shockingly dark comedies (The Wolf of Wall Street) to the group of famous stoner figures that made a surprisingly hilarious apocalyptic parody (This is the End). This is a list of my top eleven favorite films - why eleven? Because Oliva Wilde needed to be on here. 

Even after the slight delay and a bit more catching up, I unfortunately wasn’t able to catch all the movies I wanted to.

I haven’t seen: Nebraska, Fruitvale Station, Rush, Prisoners, The Bling Ring, Inside Llewyn Davis, Blue Jasmin, Upstream Color, The Past

However, from what I have seen:

11. Drinking Buddies // Joe Swanberg

Written and directed by Swanberg, Drinking Buddies is a highly improvised romantic comedy about two co-workers at a brewery in Chicago, which sees Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson (supported by Kyle Chandler and Anna Kendrick) showcase acting chops that I never knew they had (which they’ll quickly dismiss as being “themselves” or just “improv”). It’s one thing for the script to become less important in terms of the final product when working in an improvisation situation, but being this genuine, this human, and this charming is a feat itself - one that Wilde and Johnson conquer with infectious ease.  And due to the organic nature of the filming, the plot itself melds and adapts to very real sensual and emotional tensions, boiling up to a breaking point before diffusing itself passively in hopes of grasping onto the status quo. It’s one of my personal favorite films of the year, and hey, Quentin Tarantino named it one of the top 10 films of 2013 (so far) back in October.

10. Frances Ha // Noah Baumbach

A hilariously captivating mix of the quirky nostalgia found in films such as Woody Allen's Annie Hall or one of my recent personal favorites, Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha shines the light on a wistfully aimless female dancer in her mid-20s whose silhouette under the glow will forever resemble a child’s. It’s not like Frances doesn’t want to “grow up” or be fulfilled in life - this is just how she is. The film isn’t about her growing or maturing, it’s about her, as she is, who she is, finding her niche. Every gawking chuckle or sedated drawl from her lips is brought to life by Greta Gerwig’s electric and endlessly endearing performance as the eccentric protagonist and it’s just a joy to watch her flirt around maturity (as society sees it) and deal with love, friendship and ambition.

9. American Hustle // David O. Russell

After returning to the forefront of cinema with the outstanding films, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, it only makes sense that Russell gathered the stars of the previous two endeavors to create a star-studded ensemble that’s still, as with all his films, driven by personality. This “comedy” (as much a drama as the “drama” The Wolf of Wall Street is a comedy) is in parts absolutely hilarious, but the payoff is  equally delivered from David O. Russell’s sensitive yet animated directing and the brilliant turns by Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams. Being a story about a conman (or con-couple), the lies and manipulations pile upon each other in a frantic yet ultimately freeing and manageable manner that allow us to spectate the commotion without feeling that anything is too convoluted. From Lawrence and Cooper almost seemingly picking up where Silver Linings Playbook left off, with parts that are pitch-perfect for them, the former as a manic-depressive housewife and the latter a coked-out FBI agent, to Bale’s elaborate toupee-involved getup (that isn’t fooling anyone), this film is filled with amiable nuances that may be the reason it’s sitting almost a whole 20% higher on Rotten Tomatoes than the other American “hustle” film from 2013, The Wolf of Wall Street.

8. Dallas Buyers Club // Jean-Marc Vallée 

Matthew McConaughey has recently been on an unbelievable streak, fully immersing himself in, and subsequently killing, a variety of different roles. Magic Mike, Mud, Killer Joe, Wolf of Wall Street, and Dallas Buyers Club. AND he’s starring alongside Woody Harrelson for a new HBO mini-series called True Detective. So nothing about his physical appearance or the charisma or swagger he brings to this good ol’ ex-homophobic/racist/douchebag Ron Woodroof is surprising. What’s fascinating is that even alongside McConaughey, Jared Leto is still one of the film’s most poignant depictions - the most human, the most real, the most endearing. Woodroof’s true-life actions and his journey to becoming a changed man and a spokesperson for men and women with AIDS, whether they’re gay, straight, transsexual, transgender - whatever - is handled with earnest yet honest deliberation and an air of levity is always present. The lightheartedness disarms us just enough to tackle the inner most insecurities of a human being like Leto’s Rayon, McConaughey’s Woodroof on the other end of the spectrum, and Jennifer Garner’s Dr. Saks somewhere in the middle. Matthew McConaughey’s increasingly nuanced performances make this a thrill to watch - whether he’s crying with a gun in hand, too afraid to go through with it, or somberly mourning the death of a man he used to despise simply because he didn’t understand him. However, Leto matches him almost beat for beat, snark aside for snark aside, pound lost for pound lost. Only he does it with a dress on. I’m basically just rambling about how well they can both act. So I’ll stop. Go watch it.

7. The Place Beyond the Pines //  Derek Cianfrance

Derek Cianfrance and Ryan Gosling’s previous collaboration, the highly improvised (every scene was done in a single take) and resonantly organic Blue Valentine, is one of the most effortlessly emotionally compelling films I’ve seen in recent years. Although The Place Beyond the Pines is pretty far removed from the narrow yet holistic approach to a single couple featured in Blue Valentine, Cianfrance experiments with narrative structure once more as, this time, his story spans generations. It’s a story of cops and robbers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives - and it’s instilled with so much enigmatic allure and cautious warmth from Gosling in his short time on screen that the rest of its sometimes wavering path to self-discovery and individuality is firmly rooted in a sense of empathy and understanding. Bradley Cooper shines (as he has numerous times recently) at the other end of this grayed moral spectrum while both kids, especially Dane Dehaan (from the underrated film Chronicle), carry the weight of the bulk of the film on their shoulders with deliberate focus. It’s a highly entertaining film that covers everything from breakneck car (motorcycle) chases and the corruption of law enforcement to high school life/parties and family. The emotional payoffs suffer from the sprawling narrative but the stellar performances and candid yet ambitious direction make The Place Beyond the Pines one of the most engaging films of the year.

6. 12 Years a Slave // Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is a stunning depiction of the cruelties Solomon Northup, and, by extension, any black man or women or child (regardless of “freedom”) faced when slavery was at its height in this country. With as much evil as any rapist, murderer, nazi - whatever -  seeping out of men such as the slave trader effortlessly played by Paul Giamatti or the alcoholic “master” incredibly depicted by Michael Fassbender, this film vividly reminds us of one of the darkest and simply just perplexing times in our documented history. Where men who knew that what they were doing was amoral or uncivil or just unfair were still conflicted between whether or not to risk their own hand to save a colored one (Benedict Cumberbatch and Brad Pitt embodying the different spectrums of these short roles brilliantly) - and almost anyone self-aware enough to realize the horrors they were committing claimed to be a product of the times or that they were following whatever words they wanted to randomly quote from the Bible that day. It’s an extremely unsettling film to watch at times but I dare you to look away as the defiant Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Northup squirms in a noose, his feet faintly brushing the grass, for the duration of the day as a single shot rests on him and allows for the rest of the plantation in the backdrop to slowly (and cautiously) return to their day. This is a purposeful reminder of what borderline apologists claim is a retread of unnecessary material. But this film is also about much more than slavery - it’s about the basis of morality, the essence of freedom. The eventual disconnect between the overall “12 years” in slavery before being returned to his family and what we actually witness on screen is expected when the film has so much ground to cover, but it still leaves the ending ringing a bit more hollow than I would’ve preferred.

 5. Spring Breakers // Harmony Korine

Written and directed by Harmony Korine, Spring Breakers is a masterpiece in its own right. James Franco’s eclectic performance turns the drug kingpin Alien into part violent product of society, part uninhibited gluttony, and part philosophic visionary. Deliberately surrounded by a mix of ex-Disney Channel sweethearts and, by extension, a caricature of “normal,” Korine turns this cultural landscape into a hyper-real sensory delight. This frenzied playground is embraced by Korine and Franco rather than mocked or (blatantly) parodied and that provides a balance between the very grounded notions regarding the various disjointed demographics of age, wealth, and race and the almost surreal and hallucinatory visual experience. It’s an incredible film, similar to another personal favorite of mine from 2013, Only God Forgives, in how polarizing it’s approach is - and it’s definitely the film equivalent to Kanye West's Yeezus.

4. Her // Spike Jonez

Written, directed, and produced by Spike Jonez, Her sports a script that may seem a bit too farfetched and even meandering on paper, with its ideas of consciousness, existence, reality and, well, the future. But in Jonez’s hands, it’s transformed - filled with vibrant colors and consistently sharp, stark shots - to a fantastically insightful look into what it means to be alive. The subtle but deliberate exterior world of Theodore Twombly is filled with curious comments about our society, thinly veiled as futuristic predictions, while the subtle but deliberate inner-world of Theodore is met with equal precession. Arguably executed with even more care is Joaquin Phoenix’s mesmerizing (as expected) turn as Twombly. Moreso than the clothing, or the glasses, or that mustache, it’s the way Phoenix carries himself as Theodore - the hopeless romantic in his eyes, the tender smile, the endearing laugh. He’s not depressed, but lonely. Doesn’t want to be stuck in the past, but doesn’t know what to move on to. Not hesitating in literally shoving us over the edge when having to make leaps of fate (or logic) allows Her to carveout a wholly unique niche of its own in romance as well as science fiction or comedy.

3. Blue is the Warmest Color // Abdellatif Kechiche

Filmed with an engaging yet sensitive and organic touch, Blue is the Warmest Color is a romantic coming of age drama that’s also spiraled into its own entity - on course to be the definitive same-sex advocate in modern film. And what makes it so astounding is director/writer Abdellatif Kechiche’s adherence to the pure chemistry of love, no holds barred. Whether it’s graphic and overlong depictions of lesbian sex or frequent fantasies as the protagonist, Adele (extraordinarily cast and played by breakout actress Adele Exarchopoulos), feels her way through conflicting sexual and emotional pulls, many people put more emphasis on the “controversial” content than the film itself - and it’s a damn shame. The whole appeal of the film lies in its candid unveiling of the life of a same-sex relationship (its inception through its supposed end) and the fact that, ultimately, it’s human issues, like trust and communication, that are prevalent in any bond. You’re a fly on the wall and the film functions as such, never straying away from any facet of her life. But at the same time, the fleeting moments of Adele dealing with coming out while in high school (a gut-wrenchingly intense sequence) or telling her family or co-workers, are never the real focus as much the actual relationship between her and Emma (played by the equally remarkable Lea Seydoux). Despite its lengthy run time, this is one of two films in 2013 that is definitely worth every single minute.

2. The Wolf of Wall Street // Martin Scorsese 

Not only is Wolf… worth every single minute of its three-hour runtime, I would happily watch another two, or four, or five hours of Scorsese’s latest cinematic achievement provided they were directed and executed with the same sublime energy. From the absolutely fantastic cast, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill (and also featuring Kyle Chandler, Matthew McConaughey, Rob Reiner, and newcomer Margot Robbie), to the breathtakingly frantic, frenzied, and simply possessed directing, The Wolf of Wall Street is an extremely dark and perverse comedy masked as a drama. But that’s not a slight on the final product; when it’s all said and done, Wolf… has stimulated some of the most interesting conversations of last year - whether it’s off-base “critiques” about the seemingly gratuitous content or more meaningful discussion about Belfort as a man, the basis of greed, meaning of ambition, and perception of morality. It’s a carefully constructed tight-wire walk that Scorsese and DiCaprio sprint across with absolutely no reservations. This film is the story of a modern-day Caligula, the Goodfellas for our generation, not to mention it sports one of, if not, the best scene of the year. Anyone know where I can get Lemon 714s?

1. Before Midnight // Richard Linklater

Before Midnight, the creative lovechild of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, is the final installment in the trilogy that began in 1995 with Before Sunrise. Each film follows Jesse and Celine, flawlessly embodied by Hawke and Delpy respectively, over a real-time narrative that spans either a night, an afternoon, or an evening together with the couple. Meticulously written and brilliantly paced by Richard Linklater, Hawke and Delpy, these films achieve a sense of ethereal legitimacy that resonates with the most heart-on-sleeve romantic or stoic cynic. These short glimpses of the couples from the day they met to their reunion a few years down the road, all amount to the stunning conclusion that is Before Midnight. In the thick of marriage, kids, careers, old age and all, we have the pleasure of watching these two again as they work their magic. They effortlessly converse with shockingly poignant diatribes for the first time on screen - knocking the wind out of the almost surreal allure of their relationship - before restoring our faith with an all-too-human bad joke or snide remark. Because despite all their flaws, and they both have plenty, the appeal is simple: they’re human. As far as I’m concerned, with Before Midnight, this is decisively the greatest trilogy of all time.

Honorable mentions: Mud, The Act of Killing, This is the End, Gravity, Only God Forgives, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

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