Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The 10 Best, No, the 100 Best Films of 2013 (FEATURE)


The 10 Best, No, the 100 Best Films of 2013 
by Kam Williams


Kam’s Annual Assessment of the Cream of the Cinematic Crop

            While 2013 may be remembered for black-themed films like 42, The Butler, Fruitvale Station and early Oscar favorite 12 Years a Slave, there were plenty of other excellent offerings released over the course of the year. The summer season alone featured a trio of outstanding horror flicks in The Conjuring, You’re Next and The Purge.
            And fright fans were even treated to a fascinating documentary deconstructing the making of Night of the Living Dead entitled Birth of the Living Dead. The profusion of cinematic treats once again made it impossible to limit my favorites to just the 10 best.
            So, as per usual, this critic’s annual list features 100 entries in order to honor as many deserving films as possible.


10 Best Big Budget Films

1.      The Butler
2.      Prisoners
3.      42
4.      You’re Next
5.      Gravity
6.      The Purge
7.      12 Years a Slave
8.      This Is the End
9.      Inside Llewyn Davis
10. American Hustle

Big Budgets Honorable Mention

11. The Heat
12. The Best Man Holiday
13. Philomena
14. Gangster Squad
15. Black Nativity
16. Fast & Furious 6
17. Jack the Giant Slayer
18. August: Osage County
19. Rush
20. The Great Gatsby
21. Olympus Has Fallen
22. Bullet to the Head
23. Saving Mr. Banks
24. Dead Man Down
25. The Conjuring


10 Best Foreign Films

1.      The Hunt (Denmark)
2.      Hannah Arendt (Germany)
3.      Paradise: Love (Kenya)
4.      Kon-Tiki (Norway)
5.      Aliyah (Israel)
6.       2+2 (Argentina)
7.      The Price of Sex (Bulgaria)
8.      S#x Acts (Israel)
9.      A Hijacking (Denmark)
10. The Broken Circle Breakdown (Germany)

Foreign Films Honorable Mention

11. Three Worlds (France)
12. Sweet Dreams (Rwanda)
13. Hava Nagila (Israel)
14. Paradise: Faith (Austria)
15. The Grandmaster (China)
16. The Iran Job (Iran)
17. Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey (Nepal)
18. War Witch (Congo)
19. Paradise: Hope (Austria)
20. Rising from Ashes (Rwanda)
21. The Act of Killing (Indonesia)
22. Reality (Italy)
23. The Pirogue (Senegal)
24. Garifuna in Peril (Honduras)
25. Israel: A Home Movie (Israel)


10 Best Independent Films

1.      Fruitvale Station
2.      The Kings of Summer
3.      Nebraska
4.      Mud
5.      Drinking Buddies
6.      Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
7.      The Sapphires
8.      I Used to Be Darker
9.      The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
10. Enough Said

Independent Films Honorable Mention

11. In a World…
12. Short Term 12
13. All Is Lost
14. Go for Sisters
15. Touchy Feely
16. Shadow Dancer
17. Lucky Bastard
18. Big Words
19. King’s Faith
20. Four
21. A Teacher
22. The Happy Sad
23. Mother of George
24. I’m in Love with a Church Girl
25. Finding Happiness


10 Best Documentaries

1.  Stories We Tell
2.  Dear Mr. Watterson
3.  Best Kept Secret
4.  A Place at the Table
5.  Muscle Shoals
6.  Unmade in China
7.  20 Feet from Stardom
8.  Schooled: The Price of College Sports
9.  Evocateur: The Morton Downey, Jr. Movie
10.Linsanity

Documentaries Honorable Mention

11.The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia
12.When Comedy Went to School
13.Venus & Serena
14. Liv & Ingmar
15.Call Me Kuchu
16.No Place on Earth
17.Red Obsession
18.Cutie & the Boxer
19.Inequality for All
20.Spark: A Burning Man Story
21.Bidder 70
22.Men at Lunch
23.Aroused
24.When I Walk
25.Herman’s House

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