It’s 2014 now (hello, new year!) and thus, time to reflect on the year in film. Below I present what I considered to be best films of 2013 from my perspective, presented my way, and that way is by genre. As I am an independent film advocate, expect to see a lot of them on this list which may go beyond what is mainstream. However, I feel you won’t be disappointed in any of these films if you choose to take this as film recommendations. Here we go:

–> Best of Film 2013 in pictures

Best Film of the Year (which dared you to make it through without breaking down crying): 12 Years a Salve
No one can deny that this movie was probably the most emotionally affecting one this year. It was also one of the best triumphs in filmmaking. Director Steven McQueen was back in true form after directing the equally brilliant Hunger and Shame to craft an unflinching journey of a man driven to the brink of being broken & despaired even after he vowed to remain hopeful. In that darkness he connects with people around him whose plight were never unknown to him but went unfelt. The film triumphs in its uncanny grasp of all the psychological underpinnings of slavery and how the past touched all our lives. Also, it is with this movie that we get to see what an acting talent Chiwetel Ejiofor is and welcome actress Lupita Nyong'o to Hollywood.

Best Drama (which could move you to be a foster parent one day): Short Term 12
This film focused on troubled youth in a foster care facility and the lives of those who work there to give them some semblance of stability. All have some internal brokenness, which often clashes and draws them together at the same time. This give and take creates an affecting dramatic cinematic experience, headed by a moving performance by Brie Larson, a promising young actress.

Best Comedy (which reminded you that comb-overs are methodical and (still) intrinsically funny): American Hustle
I would like to mention that This is the End  was very close to being named here (it’s more smartly funny than critics would admit), but I got to go with American Hustle as it worked on some many levels beyond traditional comedy. The movie doesn’t really work as the crime drama it sets you up for, but really is an over-the-top, screwball, 70s-flaired film the exploits the vast dimensions of lunacy… and it cleverly excels at it. In addition, you get to see Hollywood’s finest hamming it up. You have a badly permed, bug-eyed, drunk-on-power Bradley Cooper, a cocky, comb-overed Christian Bale, and an unpredictable, manic Jennifer Lawrence. This is all while Amy Adams (in the film’s best performance) is there to provide the dramatic (and sanity) balance. 

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Don’t really care about my (upcoming) Best of 2013 list (I mean, what do I really know anyway)? Well, here is the best film of 2013 as named by some of the most well known critics, magazines and entertainment outlets:

Village Voice - Inside Llewyn Davis 

Time Magazine - Gravity

National Board of Review - Her

Sight and Sound Critics - The Act of Killing

Online Film Critics Society - 12 Years a Slave

National Society of Film Critics - Inside Llewyn Davis 

New York Film Critics Online - 12 Years a Slave

African American Film Critics Circle - 12 Years a Slave

Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Her and Gravity (tied)

Toronto Film Critics Association - Inside Llewyn Davis 

New York Film Critics Circle - American Hustle

Chicago Film Critics Association - 12 Years a Slave

Boston Online Film Critics Association - 12 Years a Slave

San Francisco Film Critics Association - 12 Years a Slave

Boston Society of Film Critics - 12 Years a Slave

Southestern Film Critics Association - 12 Years a Slave

Black Film Critics Circle - 12 Years a Slave

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association - 12 Years a Slave

You know I’m big on independent film over here so of course I would be posting the nominees for the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards, announced this afternoon by Oscar award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Fruitvale Station) and Paul Patton (Precious) in a special press conference.

I’m so happy that some of my favorite indies of this year have been recognized and received multiple nominations - Short Term 12, Fruitvale Station, 12 Years a Slave, Mud, Blue Jasmine, The Dallas Buyers Club, The Spectacular Now, and Frances Ha.

Watch the video of the press conference after the jump (how cute is Octavia?!) or jump here to see the list of nominees. The Spirit Awards ceremony will take place on March 1st, hosted by Patton Oswalt (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty).

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Yep, I was M.I.A. for awhile to an expected trip to Amsterdam and then a hop over to NYC to hang out shop in Brooklyn, catch a show on Broadway (Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom!) and attend a few press screenings.

—> See some of my photos from NYC and Amsterdam on instagram

This year I received press credentials for access into the NYFF press conferences. Here are briefly my thoughts on the three films I screened the weekend I visited NYC:

The Immigrant (Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner)
“A letdown where a story of love and obsession is concerned (see: The Prestige as an example of how you do a love triangle right) yet a triumph where Marion Cotillard is concerned." B-

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn)
"…often the movie reaches for depth but largely falters.  The only real care is given to the bold, colorful, and often times breath-taking cinematography and constructing quiet moments of thoughtful lament of sorts to the life of print media, culminating in the film’s sweet final scenes.” C

12 Years a Slave (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfred Woodard, Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano) 
“An unflinching journey of a man driven to the brink of being broken & despaired even after he vowed to remain hopeful. In that darkness he connects with people around him whose plight were never unknown to him but went unfelt by him. The film triumphs in its uncanny grasp of all the psychological underpinnings of slavery and how the past touched all our life." A

Here are my recommendations for films to see this month. As always, check back here to catch of on my thoughts and commentary related to these movies as I watch them.

*Note: some of this theatrical release dates are for limited release before it opens in wide release; all are US dates

[October 18]

“12 Years a Slave”

British director Steve McQueen and actor Michael Fassbender are at it again with another collaboration following Hunger (2009) and Shame (2011), this time bringing to the screen the very true story and unbelievable story of Solomon Northrup, who, back in the 1860s, was kidnapped in the North and sold into slavery in the South though he was born a free man. Separated from his family, he spent 12 years as a slave until he regained his freedom and wrote about this time in a book.   

“Kill Your Darlings”

It’s kinda the story of the start of what we know to be the Beat Generation and the writers of this 1950s period who inspired this moment. In the film we meet some of these famed writers - Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) - and the true circumstances that drew them together.

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If you have been as impressed with the new super director-actor duo of Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender (Hunger, Shame) as I have, then you can’t wait until their next project. We won’t have to wait long. Their next collaboration will be 12 Years a Slave, an adaptation of an autobiographical historical text and written work of the former slave Solomon Northrup, which will also star Chiwetel Ejiofor (as the title character) and Brad Pitt. Shooting is set to start in mid-2012 with a possible release the following year. Steve McQueen has proven to me to be a force to be reckoned with in the filmmaking biz as well as a man who is not afraid of the brutal honesty regarding issues of race so I have no doubt that this will be a great one. More on the film’s premise:

Synopsis: A real account of a black man born free (Soloman Northrup) kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery in mid-1850s Louisiana later in his life. As no one believes his claims of being a free man, he is forced to witness unspeakable violence and emotional abuse. Though he tries to escape many times in order to return to his family, his attempts are foiled at every turn. It is only after years of enslavement that he realizes that he must take an incredible risk and depend on the most unlikely people if he wants to regain his freedom and see his family again.