The 10 Best Films of 2013 – A Second Opinion

Every year, we critics are asked to come up with these best-of-the-year lists, and I’m willing to bet every single critic out there feels a wave of odd ambivalence. Coming up with these lists is a critic’s greatest pleasure, as it gives us a chance to talk about the movies we loved once again. Ranking the lists is a critic’s most agonizing job, as it forces us to marginalize some films over others. What’s more, every single one of us critics undoubtedly feels unqualified to truly make a definitive list, as, well, no matter how vigilant we are, we do miss some movies.

So know this about my own list: I have been unable to see some pretty serious contenders, among them: The Wolf of Wall Street, Short Term 12, Stories We Tell, the Paradise trilogy, The Square, God Loves Uganda, Blackfish, Enough Said, The Past, and All is Lost.

That said, 2013 was still a pretty amazing year for great films, and it’s pretty impossible to winnow a list of the greatest down to just 10. Indeed, unlike other years, I can openly say that any one of the films in 2013’s top 10 could easily and without argument take the #1 spot. Seriously. Take the whole top-10 this year as a giant #1. They are all equal. 

There were awesome indie dramas, some impressive popcorn flicks, great works from recognizable filmmakers, and a few surprises. With such an embarrassing richness of material, I trust you’ll forgive my need to list numerous runner-ups that could all have easily made their way into the top ten. Numbers 16 – 11 are also some of the best films of the year, and it pained me to rank them so low. But if Gravity is only at 15 on my list, admire that there were perhaps 14 films this year that were as good of not better than it. 



Read William Bibbiani’s picks for the Best Films of 2013.

Read Fred Topel’s picks for the Best Films of 2013.

Read Brian Formo’s picks for The Best Films of 2013.


Witney Seibold is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can read his weekly articles Trolling, Free Film School and The Series Project, and follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind. 

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