This blog post was inevitable. I work at a cinema, and I love film. So a top 10 of the year was bound to arise sooner or later.

However, when I look back over this year, it’s actually been a pretty terrible year for film. I struggled to make the list whole. I hated Les Miserables, I thought Marvel lost it with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 being way below their average… This year was just a bit, meh. But there are a handful of jewels and I even surprised myself with my number one choice (it’s not as predictable as last year’s Skyfall).

Enjoy!

10. The Family

I’d heard this film was terrible, so maybe that’s why I thought it was so good. But DeNiro and Pfeiffer just proved that they might be old in Hollywood terms, but man, they’ve still got it. Well worth a watch, unless you don’t like bad language…

9. Frozen

It made me laugh, it made me cry… It had everything Disney usually offers but had a nice ‘girl power’ feel without being forced. I loved the Scandinavian feel to it, and the songs were great too!

8. Now You See Me

Magic on the big screen doesn’t usually work, see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (just awful). But this was a bit more clever and kept you guessing the whole way through. With a stellar cast, this film was definitely one not to miss.

7. Star Trek: Into Darkness

This year was a big year for Benedict Cumberbatch. Between Star Trek, The Fifth Estate and The Hobbit, he’s been a busy boy. Apparently the Trekkies weren’t a big fan of this film, and it was nowhere near as good as the first one, but it was still the film of the summer for me.

6. The World’s End

Again, didn’t have a patch on its predecessors, Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, but it was still the end of an era: the end of the Cornetto Trilogy. I watched this again yesterday, and it still doesn’t blow me away, which is why it doesn’t quite crack the top 5 for 2013.

5. Side Effects

This film blew my mind. It had me guessing and gasping all the way through. With incredible performances from Rooney Mara and Jude Law, I just can’t stop singing this film’s praises. I was sceptical before watching it as I’d heard Steven Soderbergh can be hit or miss, but this is a full on hit. If you haven’t seen it already, you must!

4. The Great Gatsby

Quite literally marmite. People either loved it or they hated it. I fell into the ‘loved it’ category. The music, the costumes, DiCaprio and Mulligan’s on-screen chemistry… It was the first time since working at the cinema that I actually got lost in the film. Forgot that I was in a big room of people (some of whom I worked with) and was totally absorbed in the film. The soundtrack has been my soundtrack to 2013. Brilliant. So much love for Baz Luhrmann.

3. Rush

Went to see this with a friend… He was not a fan. I, however, was on the edge of my seat. Knowing nothing about Formula 1, I had no idea who survived and who died. I knew nothing about the race, the cars… I find it all very boring, cars going round and round in circles, but Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl and Ron Howard bought it to life for me. I am eagerly anticipating the DVD release in time for my birthday!

2. Django Unchained

Since January, I was pretty certain that this would be the number one film of 2013, so I myself am surprised that it is sitting here at #2. However, it was a truly brilliant film from a truly brilliant filmmaker with a truly brilliant cast. It quite fairly won the Oscar for best script (it was released in the USA in December 2012) and Christoph Waltz once again picked up the Best Supporting Actor statue. I can’t say a bad word about this film at all. Tarantino does it again.

1. Filth

James McAvoy’s best performance I’ve ever seen. Even better than Mr Tumnus. He blew me away. The story is just incredible. Amazing. Well deserved film of 2013. (I don’t really have the words to explain how brilliant this film is… You’ll just have to watch it)

Agree? Disagree? What were your cinematic highlights of 2013?