We’ve come to the end of this year’s awards and as proof of the excellent year that was 2013, we had a tie in our Top 10 films. As a result, I will now present the Top 11 Films of 2013, as voted on by members of the LAMB:
“A hard-hitting Danish punch right in the guts.” Jessica Elgenstierna, The Velvet Café
10= The Hunt (71 points)
“It’s a very simple, yet very effective, piece of film-making.” Eric Hillis, The Movie Waffler
10= Blue Jasmine (71 points)
“Frozen is a really fun movie. Filled with engaging characters, and has the perfect balance of drama, fun, humor, music, action and magic.” Stewart Hoffman, TalkieGazette
9. Frozen (76 points)
“Inside Llewyn Davis is a mood piece if there ever was any, rich with soulful folk ballads, colorful characters, and stripped of the usual framework that we call a story.” Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
8. Inside Llewyn Davis (92 points)
“This is one of the best thrillers of the year and comes highly recommended.” Tony Cogan, Coogs Film Blog
7. Captain Phillips (93 points)
“This is a shining example of the minimalist poignancy that can come from independent filmmaking.” Shane Slater, Film Actually
6. Short Term 12 (95 points)
“Before Midnight is a magnificent film from Richard Linklater that features exquisite performances from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.” Steven Flores, Surrender to the Void
5. Before Midnight (161 points)
“This raucous affair is richly entertaining cinema at its absolute best, but it’s also biting commentary on the excesses of Wall Street.” James Brown, Sobriety Test Movie Reviews
4. The Wolf of Wall Street (201 points)
“Her is a brilliant film full of demanding cerebral work thinking about what it means for a man to love his emotionally-connected OS yet floats as freely as any superior romantic movie ever has.” Charlie Juhl, Citizen Charlie
3. Her (203 points)
“It is a film that not only needs to be seen for its overall social and historical importance, but it is one of the best films you will see this year.” Courtney Small, Cinema Axis
2. 12 Years A Slave (223 points)
“This is a crowning achievement in film making that captures what going to the movies is all about.” Paul McGuire Grimes, Paul’s Trip to the Movies
1. Gravity (351 points)
And there you have it, Gravity is the Best Film of 2013!
Outside of Gravity, it was interesting to see where the other votes went. It was indeed a strong year for cinema but the voting was also very skewed towards a few films. In fact, if we applied the Academy’s 5% rule, we would only have 5 nominees! It was very clear which 5 films were seen as the cream of the crop.
Our list includes 5 of the Oscar nominees, with the other films falling significantly far behind. The highest finisher of that group was American Hustle, which earned 52 points for 15th place.
Thank you to all who to the time to vote. Enjoy the Oscars tonight!
Previous Winners
2007: Hot Fuzz
2008: Wall-E
2009: Inglourious Basterds
2010: Black Swan
2011: Drive
2012: Argo