Best Movies of 2013

So I made my last post of my picks for the worst movies of the year a little while ago, but wanted to finish out the year with some strong late season additions before creating my list of the best movies of they year.  This was an incredibly strong year for movies and a few of the movies on my list will have gone mostly overlooked.  If you haven't seen some of these, I recommend them all very highly.  You will see themes of actors showing up in multiple entries here and there is a reason for that.  Many movies are driven by great actors and this year proved to me that people like Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Lawrence, and others are among the best in the business.  For the year of 2013, I am doing the best 13 films of the year.  And here they are:

13. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I enjoyed the first Hunger Games movie enough to buy it the first day it was out on DVD.  I am captivated by the intense, although at times, sickening story behind this saga.  In this installment though, we see a much better film, mostly due to two things: a greater budget, and better acting.  The budget for this film was twice the first, and that created a much better visual setup which made it much more enjoyable to watch.  On top of that, we have better acting from Jennifer Lawrence and an amazing supporting role from the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman.  I also loved the roles from Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks again in this.

12. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Not everyone will agree with me on this pick.  I originally didn't know what I thought about this film upon my first viewing but after seeing it a second time, and really digesting it, this was a great film.  Great acting and directing work here from Ben Stiller, and amazing supporting work from Kristen Wiig, and a great cameo from the great Sean Penn.  While I believe Adam Scott was a tad under-utilized in this movie, I still richly enjoyed this beautiful, layered film.

11. Nebraska

Bruce Dern here caps off a 5 decade career with what might be one of his best performances ever.  He is just superb as a borderline alcoholic who believes he's won a sweepstakes prize and goes with his estranged son to Nebraska to claim it.  Along the way we have a tale of reconciliation and family that is still tugging at my heart.  Alexander Payne, the director, made a superb choice of filming this in black and white that made it even more hauntingly beautiful.

10. Mud

This is one of the most overlooked films of the year.  It is also the most universally acclaimed movies of the year with a 98% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Matthew McConaughey gives a moving performance as the title character, a fugitive trying to find his true love.  This movie reminded me why McConaughey became a movie star in the first place.  We also get great supporting work here from Reese Witherspoon, and surprisingly natural work from newcomer Tye Sheridan.

9. Dallas Buyers Club

With performances in movies like Amistad, A Time to Kill, Killer Joe, and The Lincoln Lawyer to his credit, it is surprising that Matthew McConaughey has never received a major awards nomination before this year, but he has already received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, and don't be surprised if an Oscar isn't far behind.  His performance as a homophobic man who is diagnosed HIV positive is layered, deep, emotional, and haunting.  It is one of the best performances of the year, and I believe he should be the front runner for both the Golden Globe and Academy Award here.  This is a great film and we get amazing supporting work from Jared Leto, another who should be an awards favorite for this work.

8. The Place Beyond The Pines

This is another movie that was severely overlooked.  It is a three act film in which each act follows a different line but all connects in a way that creates one of the best pieces of story telling I have seen in years.  The first two acts of this film are driven by great performances by Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling.  Ryan Gosling owns this movie as a down on his luck stunt driver who takes to severe methods to take care of his family.  Eva Mendes also does fantastic work in this film, and Ray Liotta reminds us why no one else on earth should ever play a dirty cop but him.  It is gritty and hard to watch at times, but it is a beautiful film.

7. All is Lost

Robert Redford only has one acting Oscar nomination to his name (for one of my all time favorite movies, The Sting) but here he gives an amazing performance as a man lost at sea with almost no hope of survival.  This movie has very little dialogue and Robert Redford is the only character, which, like Cast Away, means I was worried about it.  (I was not a huge fan of Cast Away.)  But this movie blew me away.  Robert Redford is nearly a dead lock in my opinion to receive an Oscar nomination for his work here, and it is that performance that drives this film to true greatness.

6. 12 Years A Slave

In my original review for this movie, I said that I was in tears at this movie, and for good reason.  This is a gripping tale of a free man that gets trapped in hell as he is sold into slavery.  Powered by rich performances from great actors like Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender, and unflinching directing from Steve McQueen this movie seems to be the favorite for Best Picture.  I would have no argument with that.  It is a deeply moving, emotionally disturbing film, that still rings with importance in a world full of hate and discrimination.

5. Captain Phillips

Tom Hanks is fantastic in this movie, and he will more than likely get an Oscar nod to go with his Golden Globe nomination for this film, but I am of the opinion that Barkhad Abdi is the driving force of this movie.  This is the true story of an American cargo ship overtaken by Somali pirates.  Abdi gives one of the best supporting performances I have seen in years as the leader of the Somali pirates.  This movie is intense, gripping, and superb from beginning to end.

4. Gravity

This is easily the most visually striking movie of the year.  Alfonso Cuaron creates the most visually advanced movie for its time since probably The Matrix was released nearly 15 years ago.  This movie is also powered by a great performance by Sandra Bullock, who does even better work than she did in her Oscar winning work in The Blind Side a few years ago.  She has seemed a lock to win every major Best Actress award since the movie's release a few months ago, and rightfully so.

3. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Nelson Mandela is my personal hero, and I have always admired what he has stood for throughout his life.  Here we have a great bio pic starring Idris Elba, in what may be the best role of his career.  He, almost as well as Morgan Freeman did in Invictus, captures the quiet dignity and intensity of one of the world's greatest leaders.  This movie is aptly timed as we lost Mr. Mandela this year as well, covering from his early life all the way to his election as president of South Africa.

2. Out of the Furnace

Christian Bale gives a great performance in this gritty, intense, and sometimes violent movie about family and the need to look out for one another.  This movie achieves true greatness on all levels.  The performances from Bale and Casey Affleck as brothers are captivating and these two have true chemistry.  Woody Harrelson gives his most disturbing and menacing performance since Natural Born Killers, and proves, once again, why he is one of the best character actors alive today.  This is a haunting film that I was digesting days after originally seeing it.

1. American Hustle

When I was making this list, there was no question what my number 1 movie would end up being.  This movie was amazing, and David O Russell has a third masterpiece film in a row after The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook.  Christian Bale cemented his stand as the best actor of his generation (knocking off Leonardo DiCaprio who I used to believe that was and is now number three behind Bale and Bradley Cooper).  I will be fairly shocked if this movie does not garner Oscar nominations in all four acting categories with Bale for Best Actor, Amy Adams for Best Actress, Cooper for Best Supporting Actor, and Jennifer Lawrence as Best Supporting Actress.  I think Bale and Lawrence are the most likely to take home trophies come Golden Globe and Oscar night though.  I cannot say enough about this film.  The performances are captivating, the music is inspired, and the direction and writing is great.  I also did not see the twist at the end of this film coming.  Hands down the best film of the year.

So there is my list.  I know y'all have other ideas of what you think were the best movies.  Let me know what movies should have made my list.  I know this was a strong year for movies which is why things like Fruitvale Station, Inside Llewn Davis, August: Osage County, Saving Mr. Banks, and others couldn't make the list but let me know what you think.