Favourite Films 2013
by Colin Collins | created - 04 Feb 2013 | updated - 01 Apr 2014 | PublicIn my humble opinion the best films released in UK cinemas during 2013. In alphabetical order, ranking them would be impossible!
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1. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,821 | Gross: $0.49M
2. All Is Lost (2013)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.
Director: J.C. Chandor | Star: Robert Redford
Votes: 83,836 | Gross: $6.26M
3. Before Midnight (2013)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Ariane Labed
Votes: 172,233 | Gross: $8.11M
4. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
TV-MA | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Eric Zuckerman
Votes: 45,417
5. Blackfish (2013)
PG-13 | 83 min | Documentary
A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Stars: Tilikum, Dave Duffus, Samantha Berg, Dean Gomersall
Votes: 72,470 | Gross: $2.07M
6. Snow White (2012)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Fantasy
A twist on the Snow White fairy tale that is set in 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.
Director: Pablo Berger | Stars: Maribel Verdú, Emilio Gavira, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina
Votes: 11,640 | Gross: $0.28M
7. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
NC-17 | 180 min | Drama, Romance
Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 163,120 | Gross: $2.20M
8. Blue Jasmine (2013)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks like a million dollars but isn't bringing money, peace or love.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Sally Hawkins
Votes: 212,601 | Gross: $33.41M
9. Breathe In (2013)
R | 98 min | Drama, Romance
When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.
Director: Drake Doremus | Stars: Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Mackenzie Davis, Amy Ryan
Votes: 15,640 | Gross: $0.02M
10. Broken (IV) (2012)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Romance
Three suburban English families' lives intertwine with tragic consequences.
Director: Rufus Norris | Stars: Charlie Booty, Lily James, Tim Roth, Eloise Laurence
Votes: 15,013
11. Bullhead (2011)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama
Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Jacky, a young cattle farmer who is constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, is approached by a veterinarian to make a deal with a notorious beef trader.
Director: Michaël R. Roskam | Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian
Votes: 24,309 | Gross: $0.15M
12. Camp 14: Total Control Zone (2012)
106 min | Documentary, Biography
Shin Dong-Huyk was born on November 19, 1983 as a political prisoner in a North Korean re-education camp. He was a child of two prisoners who had been married by order of the wardens. He ... See full summary »
Director: Marc Wiese | Stars: Dong-Hyuk Shin, Oh Yangnam, Hyuk Kwon, August Diehl
Votes: 1,164
13. Caesar Must Die (2012)
Unrated | 77 min | Drama
Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Stars: Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca
Votes: 6,814
14. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Flint Lockwood now works at The Live Corp Company for his idol Chester V. But he's forced to leave his post when he learns that his most infamous machine is still operational, and is churning out menacing food-animal hybrids.
Directors: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn | Stars: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Will Forte, Neil Patrick Harris
Votes: 114,786 | Gross: $119.79M
15. The Comedian (2012)
Not Rated | 79 min | Drama, Romance
Ed (Edward Hogg) is at a crossroads in his life. In his early thirties, his unrewarding job in a call centre is getting more and more frustrating, while his career as a stand-up is not ... See full summary »
Director: Tom Shkolnik | Stars: Edward Hogg, Elisa Lasowski, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Steven Robertson
Votes: 369
16. The Crash Reel (2013)
Not Rated | 108 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Fifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the ... See full summary »
Director: Lucy Walker | Stars: Kevin Pearce, Shaun White, Mason Aguirre, Daniel Amen
Votes: 5,080
17. Cutie and the Boxer (2013)
R | 82 min | Documentary, Biography
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
Director: Zach Heinzerling | Stars: Ushio Shinohara, Noriko Shinohara, Alex Shinohara, Ethan Cohen
Votes: 4,737 | Gross: $0.20M
18. Easy Money (2010)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When JW becomes a drug runner in order to maintain his double life, his fate becomes tied to two other men: Jorge, a fugitive on the run from both the Serbian mafia and the police, and mafia enforcer Mrado, who is on the hunt for Jorge.
Director: Daniel Espinosa | Stars: Joel Kinnaman, Matias Varela, Dragomir Mrsic, Lisa Henni
Votes: 19,728 | Gross: $0.19M
19. Filth (I) (2013)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A corrupt, junkie cop with bipolar disorder attempts to manipulate his way through a promotion in order to win back his wife and daughter while also fighting his own inner demons.
Director: Jon S. Baird | Stars: James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan, Imogen Poots
Votes: 115,869 | Gross: $0.03M
20. Flight (I) (2012)
R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller
Troubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle, John Goodman
Votes: 376,302 | Gross: $93.77M
21. For Ellen (2012)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
A struggling musician takes an overnight long-distance drive in order to fight his estranged wife for custody of their young daughter.
Director: So Yong Kim | Stars: Paul Dano, Margarita Levieva, Jon Heder, Jena Malone
Votes: 2,307 | Gross: $0.01M
22. The Gatekeepers (2012)
PG-13 | 101 min | Documentary, History, War
A documentary featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency whose activities and membership are closely held state secrets.
Director: Dror Moreh | Stars: Ami Ayalon, Avraham Shalom, Avi Dichter, Yaakov Peri
Votes: 5,890 | Gross: $2.42M
23. Gravity (2013)
PG-13 | 91 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen
Votes: 863,459 | Gross: $274.09M
24. The Great Beauty (2013)
Not Rated | 141 min | Drama
Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino | Stars: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso
Votes: 97,432 | Gross: $2.85M
25. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,357 | Gross: $0.13M
26. I Wish (2011)
PG | 128 min | Drama
Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Kôki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Ryôga Hayashi, Seinosuke Nagayoshi
Votes: 7,941 | Gross: $0.15M
27. In the House (2012)
R | 105 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A high school French teacher is drawn into a precocious student's increasingly transgressive story about his relationship with a friend's family.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Schmitt, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 34,321 | Gross: $0.35M
28. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
PG | 81 min | Documentary
A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
Director: David Gelb | Stars: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Daisuke Nakazama
Votes: 38,028 | Gross: $2.55M
29. The King of Pigs (2011)
97 min | Animation, Drama, Thriller
Jong-suk and Kyung-min meet up to talk about their high school past, it's been 15 years since they last talked. It brings up all kinds of memories.
Director: Yeon Sang-ho | Stars: Yang Ik-joon, Oh Jung-se, Hye-na Kim, Kim Kkobbi
Votes: 1,816
30. The Lone Ranger (2013)
PG-13 | 150 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 244,547 | Gross: $89.30M
31. Lore (2012)
Not Rated | 109 min | Drama, Romance, War
As the Allies sweep across Germany, Lore leads her siblings on a journey that exposes them to the truth of their parents' beliefs. An encounter with a mysterious refugee forces Lore to rely on a person she has always been taught to hate.
Director: Cate Shortland | Stars: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai-Peter Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi
Votes: 15,938 | Gross: $0.97M
32. Me and You (2012)
103 min | Drama
An introverted teenager tells his parents he is going on a ski trip, but instead spends his time alone in a basement.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Jacopo Olmo Antinori, Tea Falco, Sonia Bergamasco, Veronica Lazar
Votes: 5,886
33. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
TV-14 | 106 min | Documentary
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Terry Kohut, Gary Smith, Pat Kuehn
Votes: 4,087
34. Metro Manila (2013)
Not Rated | 115 min | Crime, Drama
This riveting crime thriller follows Oscar, a recent emigrant to Manila who gets pulled into a harrowing world of corruption and violence when he takes a job as an armored car driver to support his family (in Tagalog w/ English subtitles).
Director: Sean Ellis | Stars: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega, Erin Panlilio
Votes: 9,203
35. Mister John (2013)
95 min | Drama
Escaping his foundering marriage in London, Gerry (Aidan Gillen) goes to Singapore to sort out the estate of his brother John, who owned a hostess bar there and has just died in mysterious circumstances.
Directors: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy | Stars: Aidan Gillen, Zoe Tay, Molly Rose Lawlor, Michael Thomas
Votes: 507
36. Mud (2012)
PG-13 | 130 min | Adventure, Drama
Two young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love.
Director: Jeff Nichols | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard
Votes: 188,906 | Gross: $21.59M
37. Nebraska (2013)
R | 115 min | Drama
An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk
Votes: 123,553 | Gross: $17.65M
38. No (I) (2012)
R | 118 min | Drama, History
An advertising executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.
Director: Pablo Larraín | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco
Votes: 26,223 | Gross: $2.34M
39. Only God Forgives (2013)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, Gordon Brown
Votes: 118,149 | Gross: $0.78M
40. The Patience Stone (2012)
R | 102 min | Drama, War
In a war ridden country a woman watches over the husband reduced to a vegetable state by a bullet in the neck, abandoned by Jihad companions and brothers. One day, the woman decides to say things to him she could never have done before.
Director: Atiq Rahimi | Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Hamid Djavadan, Hassina Burgan, Massi Mrowat
Votes: 5,492 | Gross: $0.15M
41. Philomena (2013)
PG-13 | 98 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham
Votes: 103,810 | Gross: $37.71M
42. Post Tenebras Lux (2012)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
Juan and his urban family live in the Mexican countryside, where they enjoy and suffer a world apart. And nobody knows if these two worlds are complementary or if they strive to eliminate one another.
Director: Carlos Reygadas | Stars: Nathalia Acevedo, Adolfo Jiménez Castro, Rut Reygadas, Eleazar Reygadas
Votes: 5,941 | Gross: $0.04M
43. Powder Room (2013)
86 min | Comedy
The comedy follows Sam, as her life is turned upside down on a big night out. When reunited with her old college friends, Sam is forced to re-evaluate her life and constructs an elaborate ... See full summary »
Director: M.J. Delaney | Stars: Sheridan Smith, Jaime Winstone, Kate Nash, Oona Chaplin
Votes: 820
44. Prince Avalanche (2013)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch, Lance LeGault, Joyce Payne
Votes: 20,900 | Gross: $0.20M
45. The Punk Syndrome (2012)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
A Finnish punk-rock band formed by four mentally disabled guys.
Directors: Jukka Kärkkäinen, J-P Passi | Stars: Pertti Kurikka, Kari Aalto, Sami Helle, Toni Välitalo
Votes: 1,615
46. Rebellion (2011)
136 min | Action, Drama, History
Dissidents in a French overseas territory attack a police station and take hostages.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Iabe Lapacas, Malik Zidi, Alexandre Steiger
Votes: 2,878
47. Robot & Frank (2012)
PG-13 | 89 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
In the near future, an ex-jewel thief receives a gift from his son: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team.
Director: Jake Schreier | Stars: Peter Sarsgaard, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Liv Tyler
Votes: 65,780 | Gross: $3.33M
48. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell
Votes: 170,074 | Gross: $83.30M
49. The Selfish Giant (2013)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
Two thirteen year-old working-class friends in Bradford seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal.
Director: Clio Barnard | Stars: Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas, Sean Gilder, Lorraine Ashbourne
Votes: 12,737 | Gross: $0.01M
50. The Sessions (2012)
R | 95 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.
Director: Ben Lewin | Stars: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood
Votes: 43,989 | Gross: $6.00M
51. Short Term 12 (2013)
R | 96 min | Drama
A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever
Votes: 91,829 | Gross: $1.01M
52. Side by Side (2012)
Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary
The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation.
Director: Christopher Kenneally | Stars: Derek Ambrosi, Michael Ballhaus, Andrzej Bartkowiak, Dion Beebe
Votes: 13,719 | Gross: $0.03M
53. Spring Breakers (2012)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Four college girls hold up a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation. While partying, drinking, and taking drugs, they are arrested, only to be bailed out by a drug and arms dealer.
Director: Harmony Korine | Stars: Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine
Votes: 148,827 | Gross: $14.12M
54. Stories We Tell (2012)
PG-13 | 108 min | Documentary
A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley
Votes: 14,120 | Gross: $1.60M
55. This Is the End (2013)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Six Los Angeles celebrities are stuck in James Franco's house after a series of devastating events just destroyed the city. Inside, the group not only have to face the apocalypse, but themselves.
Directors: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen | Stars: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel
Votes: 435,074 | Gross: $101.47M
56. Village at the End of the World (2012)
82 min | Documentary, Family, News
Village At The End Of The World is a witty, surprising and ultimately feel good portrait of an isolated village of 59 people and 100 sledge dogs, surviving against the odds.
Directors: Sarah Gavron, David Katznelson | Stars: Ane Kruse, Lars Kristian Kruse, Ilannguaq Egede, Karl Kristian Kruse
Votes: 321
57. Warm Bodies (2013)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Horror, Romance
After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world.
Director: Jonathan Levine | Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Lio Tipton
Votes: 243,670 | Gross: $66.38M
58. Le Week-End (2013)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A British couple return to Paris many years after their honeymoon there in an attempt to rejuvenate their marriage.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent, Jeff Goldblum, Igor Gotesman
Votes: 8,690 | Gross: $2.22M
59. What Maisie Knew (2012)
R | 99 min | Drama
In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.
Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel | Stars: Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham
Votes: 28,620 | Gross: $1.07M
60. What Richard Did (2012)
TV-MA | 88 min | Drama
A promising young man about to start university suddenly throws his life into uncertainty when he accidentally commits a serious crime.
Director: Lenny Abrahamson | Stars: Jack Reynor, Fionn Ó Loingsigh, Gavin Drea, Patrick Gibson
Votes: 5,324
61. Wolf Children (2012)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Drama, Family
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kuroki, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 49,519
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