Top 10 Movies of 2013

New Year's has come and gone, bringing with it a fresh slate of films, movies, and motion pictures to feast upon at your local theater. But before we dive in, it is important that we take a few moments to recognize the cream of last year's cinematic crop. And like all pretentious movie buffs, I've put together a list of the ten films that, in my humble opinion, stood above the rest.

Now, I know what you're asking yourself: Who is this man and what qualifies him to decide which films belong on a top ten list? The truth is, I have no qualifications to speak of, other than the fact that I go to the movies a lot. What I find so endearing about the moviegoing experience is that it varies from person to person, and no one opinion is the definitive answer to whether or not a movie is worth your time. You are free to see and like (and not like) whatever you so choose. No film is going to appeal to or appease everyone, but I guarantee there is at least one film out there for everyone (if not more). All you have to do is take a chance and purchase a ticket.

But, enough romanticizing. I don't want to lose you before we even get into the list. Before we do, I must first offer an important disclaimer: These are the not the 10 Best Movies of 2013. Not even close. I can't even guarantee that you'll like all of the movies on this list. There is no universal grading scale or criteria (at least that I've been made aware of) to determine what film is better than another. It is an impossible task. Instead, what I have assembled here is a list of the movies that I loved the most, and I was able to narrow the list down to ten with the help of multiple viewings, a fair amount of deep thinking, and quite a bit of consternation.

With that in mind, allow me to introduce my Top 10 Movies of 2013:

*HONORABLE MENTION*

Nebraska. How long after you've finished watching a film do you come to the conclusion that you liked it or not? Just a few minutes after the end credits begin to roll? On the drive home? When you're lying in bed that night and staring up at the ceiling, still contemplating the film's merits? It varies from film to film, but in the case of Nebraska, it was in the first few hours after I left the theater, when I began to feel the weight of the final scenes between David Grant and his father Woody Grant. Woody receives a questionable letter in the mail declaring him the winner of a million dollar prize, and David agrees to drive him to Nebraska to claim his prize, after multiple attempts to convince Woody that the letter is a scam fall on deaf ears. David uses the unexpected road trip as a chance to try and get know to his father better, but almost gets more than he bargained for when the two decide to make a pit stop in Woody's home town -- and word gets out that Woody is a soon-to-be "millionaire." What makes so Nebraska so affecting are the performances of veteran character actor Bruce Dern and former Saturday Night Live regular Will Forte as Woody and David, respectively, a father and son whose tenuous relationship is what keeps the film's heart pumping.

10. Star Trek Into Darkness. Outside of a few random samples of Star Trek - The Next Generation, I'd never been much of a Trekkie, until director J.J. Abrams re-launched Captain James T. Kirk and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise for a whole new generation of fans with 2009's franchise reboot Star Trek. While that first film spent a considerable amount of time and effort servicing its diverse cast of characters while also delivering a heaping helping of rollicking sci-fi action, Star Trek Into Darkness sacrifices its supporting characters in favor of a narrative that seems much more interested in the temperamental friendship between Kirk and Spock, both of whom are still at odds over the balance between logic and emotion when it comes to making life-or-death decisions. Their commitment to their respective ideals is put to the test when a former agent of Starfleet (in a cold, calculated performance from rising star Benedict Cumberbatch) launches a terrorist attack against the peace-keeping organization, sending Kirk and crew hurtling through space on a mission of vengeance. While more than a few Trekkies will cry foul over the similarities with Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek Into Darkness is still a blast from start to finish, and Abrams continues to show his considerable talents behind the camera.

9. This Is The End. When the Apocalypse strikes and all of Los Angeles is engulfed in flames, who better to seek shelter with than actors James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride? And thus goes the plot of This Is The End, where a disaster of biblical proportions leaves our favorite celebrities holed up together, struggling to set aside their bloated egos long enough for them to be rescued. What makes This Is The End work so well, aside from the fact that it is one of the most laugh-out-loud comedies I've seen since 2005's Wedding Crashers and 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is the willingness of each actor to lampoon their own public persona. James Franco is a pretentious idiot who decorates his new abode with self-made art, Jonah Hill is a conceited narcissist wafting in an air of self-importance after his recent Oscar nomination for Moneyball, and so on and so forth. There is something endearing about seeing actors, who are often propped up on a pedestal because of their fame and fortune, parodying themselves as self-centered morons, showing a surprising self-awareness for the ridiculousness of their celebrity lives. This Is The End won't get more than a passing mention at the Academy Awards, but it was the most fun I've had at the movie theater in a long time.

8. The Conjuring. The advertising and promotional materials for The Conjuring like to purport that it is based on true events, and while that might be a dubious claim given Hollywood's penchant for embellishing the truth for the sake of drama, the film feels more real than its recent predecessors in the horror genre because it actually gives its characters room to breathe. And while it spends a considerable amount of its running time subjecting those characters to all manner of horrific events, it never forgets that these characters are human beings, as opposed to the cardboard cutouts we've become so accustomed to seeing in lesser horror films. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life ghostbusters Ed and Lorraine Warren, respectively, bring a level of class to The Conjuring that elevates it above your typical spookfest, with Farmiga in particular delivering an exceptional performance as a clairvoyant haunted by the unspeakable things that her gift allows her to see and feel. More than anything, The Conjuring delivers well-crafted, old-school scares, hounding the audience with tension and dread rather than blood and guts, and shows great affection for horror classics like Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror. Even with the chance to grab a cheap scare at the last minute, The Conjuring refuses, demonstrating a strict adherence to the old adage that what you don't see is much more frightening than what you do see.

7. The Wolf of Wall Street. I'm starting to wonder if Leonardo DiCaprio, who was also one of the few bright spots in this year's bloated melodrama The Great Gatsby, is even capable of delivering a bad performance anymore. I'm sure some will point to the recent Clint Eastwood-directed misfire J. Edgar, but then maybe I'll go a level deeper and suggest that Leo is incapable of doing so when under the direction of Martin Scorsese, with The Wolf of Wall Street marking their fifth film together. And what a volcanic collaboration it is, with DiCaprio slipping into the shoes of Jordan Belfort, the real-life Wall Street stockbroker who amassed an absurd fortune for himself and his associates by defrauding unsuspecting investors with fraudulent stock stales. When he isn't high on Quaaludes or cavorting with an endless parade of prostitutes, Belfort can be found on his expensive yacht throwing hundred dollar bills -- and cooked lobsters -- at the FBI agents tasked with bringing him down and putting an end to his depraved circus of sex, drugs, and cash. While some have criticized the film for glorifying Belfort and his cohorts, The Wolf of Wall Street is more of an indictment of capitalism, in that people are quick to criticize the excessive lifestyles of the rich and powerful, yet stand in perpetual awe of their grandiose achievements.

6. 12 Years A Slave. There is a scene in 12 Years A Slave in which Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped from the North and sold into slavery as a plantation worker in the South during the 1800's, is saved from an impromptu lynching by his overseer, only to be left suspended from the tree for hours on end, the noose still gripping his neck and his toes barely able to touch the ground. No one, not his his white masters nor even his fellow slaves, moves to help him. It is a disturbing, uncomfortable sequence that lasts no more than a few minutes on-screen, but, like the film itself, leaves an unsettling impression nonetheless. 12 Years A Slave is as much about the slaves as it is about the slave owners, and considers what kind of physical and emotional wreckage the human soul must bear, both for the man enduring the beating and for the man holding the whip. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender deliver the film's most intense performances as Northup and his sadistic slave owner Edwin Epps, respectively, but newcomer Lupita Nyong'o almost steals the show in a heartbreaking turn as the tragic slave girl Patsey. 12 Years A Slave presents an unflinching glimpse into the horrors of our past, one that perfectly illustrates the ugly inhumanity of slavery, and is the very definition of "a must-see film."

5. The Way, Way Back. When The Way, Way Back first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, critics praised it as a winning throwback to coming-of-age comedies like the camp classic Meatballs, but it almost seemed like a backhanded compliment when most referred to the film as an unashamed crowd-pleaser. The term "crowd-pleaser" has developed somewhat of a negative connotation over the years, as if trying to appease your audience is some kind of sin to be looked down upon. And while I will admit that The Way, Way Back does follow a familiar formula, it is hard to fault the film for pandering when the acting, writing, and directing are all excellent -- that rare, momentous occasion when the cast and crew are firing on all cylinders. Sam Rockwell, predictably, provides the film's most stirring performance as the self-deprecating manager of a local water park, where he helps spark a depressed, lonely teenager to step out of his shell and have some fun with life. After winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 2011's The Descendants, co-writers and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have established themselves as a formidable filmmaking pair with this their directorial debut, and it is their innate talent for finding levity in even the most somber of situations that has earned them well-deserved recognition.

4. Her. Just from the plot synopsis -- which sees an introverted letter writer struggling with loneliness who falls in love with "Samantha," the new sentient Operating System (OS) for his computer -- you might think Her is a full-length Saturday Night Live sketch parodying the pretentious, self-serious Oscar bait films that often dumbfound audiences but leave critics singing their praises. And while I'm sure that there will be some who leave the theater with that impression, I can guarantee that Her will be the most challenging, thought-provoking film you'll see this year, whether you like it or not. Everyone in Her is struggling to connect, from the customers for whom the lead character Theodore Twombly writes letters to their loved ones on their behalf to the woman who offers to act as a physical surrogate for Samantha so that she can be part of their relationship. Set in the not so distant future, the film uses the blossoming romance between Theodore and his OS -- which is met with equal amounts of elation and revulsion from his closest friends -- to examine modern relationships, and how we too often substitute technology for genuine human connections. There are scenes and ideas in Her that I'm sure will make you feel uncomfortable, but if you give yourself over it, what you'll find is not a love story, but a story about love.

3. American Hustle. American Hustle, director David O. Russell's latest Oscar contender blending the award-winning casts of his previous efforts The Figher and Silver Linings Playbook, is something of a mess. But with a convoluted scheme serving as the centerpiece of the film's loose plot, it falls to the impressive cast to hold the movie together and, in what has become a recurring theme for Russell, they're more than up for the challenge. Presenting a fictionalized dramatization of the real-life FBI sting operation to bring down corrupt New Jersey politicians in the late 70's, American Hustle revolves around con artist Irving Rosenfeld and his partner Sydney Prosser, who are busted by ambitious FBI agent Richie DiMaso and forced to help procure video evidence of Carmine Polito -- the mayor of Camden, New Jersey -- and his political associates accepting bribes. The plot is far less important than the volatile relationships between the various characters, each of them trying to stay one step ahead of the other as their elaborate scheme becomes more and more dangerous. I could rave about all of the lead performances, but the standout, at least for me, is Bradley Cooper, playing against type as DiMaso, the impatient, overeager FBI agent who can't quite seem to control his emotions or keep his reckless ambitions in check.

2. Prisoners. How far would you be willing to go to get back what was taken from you? This is the frightening question that Prisoners forces its audience to consider, as viewers watch with agonizing dread while Hugh Jackman's Keller Dover is pushed to the brink after his six-year-old daughter goes missing. When the police investigation goes nowhere and hours begin to swell into days, Dover decides to take matters into his own hands and kidnaps the prime suspect, clinging desperately to the idea that brute force will coax him into coughing up the location of his daughter. Jackman, who has experienced mixed success when stepping outside of his signature role as X-Men's Wolverine, gives the performance of his career, vanishing into the role of a father crumbling under the weight of his guilt and desperation. Jake Gyllenhaal, as the unrelenting Detective Loki, is every bit as good as his co-star, so much so that the film never misses a beat whenever it shifts to his point of view. But the highest praise is reserved for director Denis Villeneuve, whose masterful execution of a taut and convoluted script is what elevates this film above your standard thriller. Prisoners is the kind of film that will leave you more disturbed than inspired, but the personnel at work here are near flawless, making this gut-wrenching thriller one that you can't afford to miss.

1. The World's End. Writer and director Edgar Wright, with the dynamic acting duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as his unorthodox leading men, satirized the emptiness of modern culture using a zombie outbreak as the backdrop in 2004's Shaun of the Dead and delivered an affectionate homage to the classic tropes and cliches of the buddy cop genre with 2007's Hot Fuzz. These films functioned as the first two installments of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (so-called because of the fleeting inclusion of different flavors of Cornetto brand ice cream in each film), with The World's End serving as a fitting conclusion to this trio of clever comedies. The World's End, in a send-up of the apocalyptic obsession that has taken hold of Hollywood, follows five childhood friends who return home to the small town of Newton Haven to complete an epic pub crawl, but soon discover that the denizens of this forgotten hamlet have become harbingers of an alien invasion. Crawling with pop culture references and layered with dense humor, The World's End offers equal helpings of action and laughs that keep the film moving at a rocket's pace, but also packs an unexpected emotional punch as it tackles the harsh realities of growing up and the disappointment of an adulthood that never quite lived up to the dreams and expectations of adolescence.

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Just A Bit Outside: Gravity, Saving Mr. Banks, Elysium, The Wolverine, Oblivion, and Iron Man 3

Biggest Surprise of The Year: Frozen. I'll be honest, I went into Frozen with zero expectations, knowing next to nothing about the plot and having read none of the glowing reviews that coincided with its release. But Frozen is vintage Disney, the likes of which I haven't seen (outside of Pixar, of course) since 1998's Mulan. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, Frozen centers around the relationship between Elsa, a princess who flees the kingdom for fear that her magical abilities are out of her control, and her sister Anna, who braves an eternal winter to find Elsa and convince her to come back. You'd be hard pressed to find a better animated film this year, and the songs alone -- including Idina Menzel's "Let It Go," which will no doubt garner a much-deserved Best Original Song Oscar -- are well worth the price of admission.