Well, this puts a period on the sentence that was my last big paragraph of filmgoing for a while.
Now that I’m working for the Dodgers, my years of going to movies by the bushel will take a break. I saw nearly 60 of 2013’s films, but that number is going to come crashing down in 2014.
So for perhaps the last time for a while, here is my annual ranking of the films, using the system I designed long ago.
As I’ve said before, it’s a system that is decidedly personal, because film is decidedly personal. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “best” film, but only a “favorite” film, because what we bring to a film and what we desire from it is so idiosyncratic. Here’s the boilerplate explanation:
Ambition (1-7): How much the film is taking on, in subject matter and in filming challenges?
Quality (1-10): As objective as I can be, how well do I think the film succeeds in achieving its ambitions?
Emotional resonance (1-13): How much did the film affect me personally. This category gets the most weight because it’s the most important – I’d rather see a flawed film that touches me than a technically perfect but emotionally stultifying picture.
Two last quick points: I wouldn’t get caught up in single-point distinctions – those don’t amount to a significant difference between films. I could tinker with the grades every time I revisit the list.
If you want to look back, here are four past charts: my favorite films of 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2006.
I will say this – I’m less enchanted with my system than I have been in the past. I don’t tend to award much variance in ambition, and I’m having more trouble distinguishing between objective quality and emotional resonance. But this isn’t the time I’m going to change things up, so here we go …
| 2013 | A | O | ER | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Is the Warmest Color | 3.5 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 23.5 | Loved the deep, patient exploration of the arc of a relationship – it at once had an intimate and epic feel. |
| Gravity* | 5 | 8.5 | 10 | 23.5 | No film mixes cinematic and spiritual ambition better this year. A thriller in more ways than one. |
| Short Term 12 | 4 | 9.5 | 10 | 23.5 | Spot-on great storytelling of both a character and a place. |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 4 | 8.5 | 10.5 | 23 | A movie that I found easy to cherish – a loving and lovable homage with its own originality. |
| 12 Years a Slave* | 4.5 | 9 | 9 | 22.5 | Unassailable in its worth and inner integrity. I can’t explain why at times I felt numb. “Roots” had more impact. |
| Her | 4 | 8.5 | 10 | 22.5 | Takes what could have been a sitcom story and turns it into something extraordinary and moving. |
| Saving Mr. Banks | 4 | 8.5 | 10 | 22.5 | Strong movie throughout, and the stuff about the flawed fathers got to me. |
| Captain Phillips | 4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 22 | Intense. Hanks builds to some phenomenal moments. Somali parts well-played. |
| Dallas Buyers Club* | 4 | 9 | 9 | 22 | Legitimately strong story that should transcend qualms about who the protagonist is. Leto is amazing in it. |
| The Way Way Back | 4 | 8.5 | 9 | 22 | Touching and sincere. |
| August: Osage County* | 4 | 8.5 | 9 | 21.5 | Adeptly juggles numerous stories and got at the true contradictions of family life and love. Underrated at Toronto. |
| Mud | 3.5 | 9 | 9 | 21.5 | Really engrossing story, superbly acted by the kids. Troubled somewhat by the ending. |
| The Past | 4 | 9 | 8.5 | 21.5 | Another complex multi-person relationship drama. Tough but good. |
| The Place Beyond the Pines | 3.5 | 9 | 8 | 21.5 | Very strong, though Mendes’ character would have benefited from more development. |
| All Is Lost | 4 | 8 | 9 | 21 | Taut and nearly silent, but the main question was, why wasn’t their cursing in every minute? |
| Inside Llewyn Davis | 4 | 8 | 9 | 21 | A good personal journey movie, that maybe stops short of the knockout punch its ending should have. |
| Frozen | 4 | 8 | 8.5 | 20.5 | Definitely more depth than advertised, but also strong in humor and music. Didn’t quite get why secret had to be a secret. |
| The Wolf of Wall Street | 4 | 8.5 | 8 | 20.5 | As a comedy, very ambitious with some great moments, but also lagged for me in places. |
| What Maisie Wants | 4 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 20.5 | A rough story to tell but it works. |
| The Iceman | 3 | 9 | 8 | 20 | Rock solid, with Michael Shannon giving dominant performance. |
| Blue Jasmine | 4 | 7.5 | 8 | 19.5 | Hits some great notes – liked even if I didn’t love. |
| Despicable Me 2 | 3.5 | 8 | 8 | 19.5 | Worked very well – I think I liked it more than the original. |
| Enough Said | 3.5 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 19.5 | Loved the exploration of a mature relationship, just wish big reveal hadn’t been so delayed and sitcommy. I miss Gandolfini. |
| Prisoners | 4 | 8.5 | 7 | 19.5 | Strong, gritty movie, a little slow-paced in first half but pays off. |
| Stories We Tell | 3.5 | 8 | 8 | 19.5 | A really interesting film if a bit rough around the edges. |
| The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby* | 4 | 7 | 8.5 | 19.5 | Liked the material overall and the two-part experiment, but not convinced it wouldn’t be better as one piece. |
| Fruitvale Station | 3.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 19 | Narrowly focused but important and heartbreaking. |
| How I Live Now* | 4 | 7 | 8 | 19 | The quest is a weird one, but it’s a beguiling fantasy. |
| Labor Day* | 3.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 19 | Liked this maybe more than I should – kind of a indie-spirit Hallmark movie. |
| The Armstrong Lie | 3.5 | 8.5 | 7 | 19 | The crazy denial comes to life. |
| The Short Game | 3 | 8 | 8 | 19 | Funny to see this at around the same time as “Bad Words.” |
| 42 | 3 | 7.5 | 8 | 18.5 | Liked the acting more than the script – mostly a paint-by-numbers telling of a great story. |
| Nebraska | 3 | 8 | 7.5 | 18.5 | Might be selling short its ambition, but though I enjoyed it, not sure what it adds up to. |
| Philomena | 3 | 8 | 7.5 | 18.5 | Pretty intimate and well-told story. |
| The Spectacular Now | 3.5 | 8 | 8 | 18.5 | Touching. Liked that drinking was key element but not central. Shailene Woodley too adorable to be an outcast, though. |
| Admission | 3.5 | 6.5 | 8 | 18 | Underrated – didn’t all ring true, but hard not to notice the attempt. |
| Bad Words* | 3 | 7 | 8 | 18 | At times profane for the sake of it, but among the most fun films of the year. |
| Can a Song Save a Life* | 4 | 7 | 7 | 18 | The joy of making music. Even its darkness is kind of bright. Tremendously likeable. |
| Casting By | 3 | 8 | 7 | 18 | Nice piece of work on an area that deserves attention. |
| In a World … | 3 | 8 | 7 | 18 | Fun story and a nice showcase for Lake Bell. |
| Picture Day | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 18 | Tatiana Maslany expectedly adorable, and it was an interesting (and slightly strange) ride. |
| The Invisible Woman | 3 | 8 | 7 | 18 | Solid period piece, with Fiennes beguiling as Dickens. |
| To the Wonder | 3.5 | 6.5 | 8 | 18 | Eloquent, beautiful love story sandbagged by inexplicable lack of attention to Affleck’s character. |
| Out of the Furnace | 3.5 | 7 | 7 | 17.5 | More true grit, a la Prisoners, which perhaps was better because its antagonist was better. |
| Lee Daniels’ The Butler | 4 | 6 | 7 | 17 | Worthy subject and occasionally moving but far too on the nose in places. |
| Night Moves* | 3.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 17 | Low, low-key film struggles toward the end after it all goes down. |
| Rush* | 4 | 7 | 6 | 17 | Beautifully shot with good lead performances, but fairly conventional storytelling for a sports film. |
| The Croods | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 | Ends on a good note but kind of tedious in the midsection. |
| Turbo | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 | No great leap but a likable enough tale. |
| American Hustle | 3.5 | 7 | 6 | 16.5 | I’m probably being harsh on it, but was not involved in the story until the final hour, and it didn’t stick with me after. |
| Austenland | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 16 | Points for the ambiguity in the love story, points against for its clumsiness. |
| Oz the Great and Powerful | 4 | 5.5 | 5 | 15.5 | Uninvolving script and really questionable casting. |
| Monsters University | 3 | 7 | 5 | 15 | Harmless but pointless for me. |
| The Incredible Burt Wonderstone | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | Gross miscalculations about Carell, Carrey and Wilde characters undermined what might’ve been a really good comedy. |
| Spring Breakers | 3.5 | 5 | 5 | 13.5 | Certainly not your typical Spring Break movie, certainly stylish, but did not make me care at all. This year’s emperor with no clothes. |
| Planes | 3 | 5 | 4 | 13 | A sorrowful rehash of past aspirational animations. |
| Before Midnight | 3 | 5.5 | 4 | 12.5 | Pretentious as ever in the first half, hardly groundbreaking in the big fight in the second. The love for these films remains mystifying. |
| Dom Hemingway* | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | Aside from a couple good moments, thought this was pretty much flatulent. |
| You Are Here* | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 10 | Matthew Weiner’s feature was the biggest disappointment of the year. |
*Seen at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
Bruce Siegel
Hey Jon, thanks for this list! I’m gonna check out some of your recommendations.
Interestingly, I just saw Blue is the Warmest Color last night, and share your enthusiasm for it.
I’m also pleased that you acknowledge the spiritual message of Gravity. No doubt many people discount the afterlife aspects of the story as pure fantasy, but I think Cuaron is making a strong statement that consciousness continues after the body dies, and I have my own reasons for strongly agreeing with him.
I’m glad I stopped by here today on a whim!