Upstream Color (dir. Shane Carruth, USA)
Brian Clark - European Editor
Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg - Contributing writer
In the end, I could not choose between this and Snowpiercer. In essence, they are about the same thing: free will. One is larger than life, the other is small and abstract, but both ask the same questions in their own way, beautifully.
Joshua Chaplinsky - Contributing writer
Mind control, parasites, Walden, damaged lovers, and cute little piglets all feature in this evocative, circular narrative from the director of Primer. Intimate, well-crafted, and thoroughly original. Released way back in January and no other film has come close to topping it.
Ben Croll - Contributing writer
In one corner: a Cannes prize-winning period piece by a pair of established Greats. In the other: a self-released digital headscratcher by a promising up-and-comer. What, beyond my starry eyed love, do Inside Llewyn Davis and Upstream Color have in common? Both share a cyclical structure that is in retrospect deceptively simple. Both deal in questions of personal accountability, of grief, luck and chance. Both are deeply warm films from artists previously accused of being a little too cold and cerebral. Both are unfailingly rewatchable. Both are 'effing masterpieces.
Snowpiercer (dir. Bong Joon-ho, South Korea)
James Marsh - Asian Editor
Bong Joon-ho’s bleak, visually arresting and surprisingly downbeat science fiction epic is also a vigorous and breathlessly entertaining action thriller with a fantastic dystopian aesthetic and a slew of brilliant performances from a top-notch A-list cast fronted by a career-best turn from Chris Evans. After three viewings, Snowpiercer remains my favourite film of the year – I just hope the rest of the world gets to see it in all its glory sometime soon!
Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg - Contributing writer
In the end, I could not choose between this and Upstream Color. In essence, they are about the same thing: free will. One is larger than life, the other is small and abstract, but both ask the same questions in their own way, beautifully.
Pierce Conran - Contributing writer
I'm kind of glad that the new year is coming as I need something new to obsess over. I had been anxiously awaiting Snowpiercer ever since it was announced years ago due to the prospect of my favorite current director tackling an ambitious sci-fi with a big budget, a novel story and an incredible amount of talent both on and off the screen. Mercifully, the film matched, nay, exceeded my expectations when I did finally see it. Snowpiercer is simply a spectacular ride chock-full of ideas and innovation. 5 features into his career and Bong is still batting a 1000 in my book.
12 Years A Slave (dir. Steve McQueen, USA)
Jason Gorber - Featured Critic
No film this year better embraced both the beauty of an arthouse film, the visceral shock of a horror movie, and the accessible yet beautifully articulated plot that mainstream audiences can still stomach. It's McQueen's masterpiece, and given his previous fine works, that's surely saying something extraordinary.
The Act Of Killing (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer/Christine Cynn/Anonymous, Denmark/UK/Norway)
Dustin Chang - Contributing writer
Watching The Act of Killing is like taking a ride to the heart of darkness. Deeper we go, more hideous and absurd it gets. Director Joshua Oppenheimer merely mirrors his subject and it's the most powerful coup de grâce I've seen anywhere.
Frances Ha (dir. Noah Baumbach, USA)
Kwenton Bellette - Contributing writer
The only film I have seen this year that made me dance out of the cinema in unbridled joy and optimism. The film is pure joy, with snappy wit around every corner. Despite the hard times and bad decisions, Frances gets it all together, like most of us, this small act of living your life is something to champion, and the film does that effortlessly.
The Grandmaster (dir. Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong)
Jaime Grijalba - Contributing writer
The Grandmaster is a masterpiece and my most anticipated film for the past five years or so, and it completely met my expectations. It is the most beautiful kung fu film ever made, and at the same time the most visually impressive and most emotional moments are those that don't have anything to do with martial arts. The most beautiful moments are when Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi are looking at the sky or talking, having a silent romance, a connection of their souls, something that WKW is a master of.
Gravity (dir. Alfonso Cuaron, USA/Mexico/UK)
Christopher O'Keeffe - Contributing writer
For sheer spectacle nothing else comes close to this roller-coaster ride of a film. The plot may be simple but it's played to perfection and gained an audience reaction like very few movies have ever achieved. An outstanding film which pushes forward the medium.
Her (dir. Spike Jonze, USA)
Jim Tudor - Contributing writer
Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel Coen/Ethan Coen, USA)
Ben Croll - Contributing writer
In one corner: a Cannes prize-winning period piece by a pair of established Greats. In the other: a self-released digital headscratcher by a promising up-and-comer. What, beyond my starry eyed love, do Inside Llewyn Davis and Upstream Color have in common? Both share a cyclical structure that is in retrospect deceptively simple. Both deal in questions of personal accountability, of grief, luck and chance. Both are deeply warm films from artists previously accused of being a little too cold and cerebral. Both are unfailingly rewatchable. Both are 'effing masterpieces.
The Kings Of Summer (dir. Jordan Vogt-Roberts, USA)
J Hurtado - Contributing writer
Nobody's Daughter Haewon (dir. Hong Sang-soo, South Korea)
Patryk Czekaj - Contributing writer
I've always been a huge admirer of Hong Sang-soo's work. This year he won me over with Nobody's Daughter Haewon, and if you'd like to know why I explain here.
Norte The End Of History (dir. Lav Diaz, The Philippines)
Patrick Holzapfel - Contributing writer
Only God Forgives (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, Denmark/France)
Ryland Aldrich - Festivals Editor
Petal Dance (dir. Ishikawa Hiroshi, Japan)
Niels Matthijs - Contributing writer
Ishikawa Hiroshi has a new film! Most people probably didn't notice, I guess most people have never even heard of Ishikawa, but when it comes to Japanese dramas there is none better. It's not his best film, but still miles ahead of the competition.
Siddharth (dir. Richie Mehta, India)
Todd Brown - Founder & Editor
Richie Mehta's indie drama is just a deeply, deeply affecting film that I have not even begun to shake. Amazing performances all round and such impeccable craft, all in service of an incredibly affecting story.
Stoker (dir. Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
Ard Vijn - Contributing writer
I was hoping Park Chan-wook's new film would be great, but it still exceeded my expectations. Great atmosphere, great performances, great filmmaking. This film made me very happy.
The Strange Little Cat (dir. Ramon Zürcher, Germany)
Ben Umstead - East Coast Editor
The Strange Little Cat makes no effort to weave or resolve a plot. Like the cat that skirts the edges of the flat of a middle class German family, it's more than content with being a medley of the simple yet beguiling and nearly inarticulate moments one encounters in such a familial life. It is curious and playful and sad and spirtual in the most everyday sense. because everyday is strange and magical. So yeah, Ramon Zürcher's debut feature may be my favorite of the year quite simply because it was so completely and utterly unexpected, leaving me totally in love and transfixed by its gentle wisdom. Fresh and exciting talents don't always arrive with a bang. Sometimes all it takes is a quiet and knowing nod. Here's one back 'atchya, Zürcher. Carry on.
Under The Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, USA)
Kurt Halfyard - Contributing writer
Not for the faint of cinematic heart, Jonathan Glazer's wildly experimental and uncompromisingly strange speculative fiction marks his return to the big screen after a nine-year absence. Under The Skin draws easy comparisons to Kubrick but nevertheless marches to the beat of its own drum. It features a knock out performance from Scarlett Johansson as a predatory, yet curiously innocent alien, stuck in a web of wild ideas and cinematography. Films like this are the reason why I keep going to the movies.
The Way Way Back (dir. Nat Faxon/Jim Rash, USA)
Ernesto Zelaya Minano - Contributing writer
Fun and bittersweet coming-of-age tale which does an excellent job of portraying teenage awkwardness. In a film filled with great characters, it's Sam Rockwell's Owen who steals the show. It's impossible not to like the guy.
The Wolf Of Wall Street (dir. Martin Scorsese, USA)
Peter Martin - Managing Editor
A smart, explosive, and very, very funny movie, with an acute understanding of the peculiarities of greed and its corrosive effects upon the soul. Director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio are baying at the moon, streaking naked for all to see their shortcomings and strengths, flexing their muscles and refusing to cower at the prospect of an unconventional narrative and an unrepentantly avaricious protagonist. Even as DiCaprio breaks the rules as a leading man, engendering little sympathy for his character's transgressions, Scorsese breaks all kinds of narrative rules, often drifting away from anything resembling a plot, while calling less attention to his directorial hand. Indeed, much of the whirling action feels tailor-made for his stylish flourishes, so that his craftmanship makes it impossible to see any seams.
The World's End (dir. Edgar Wright, UK)
Eric Ortiz Garcia - Contributing writer
Hilarious, meaningful and action-packed, The World's End is an epic masterpiece from one of the smartest filmmakers working today and my favorite film of 2013. What a terrific way to end with the Cornetto Trilogy, as I think this is Edgar Wright's most accomplished and personal movie to date. The World's End is Wright and Simon Pegg looking back on their own youth in the early nineties, back when drinking beer and listening to Blur and Pulp rocked their worlds. PS: For aficionados of The Doors, this has the best use in film of "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" ever!