Top Films of 2013

Here it is, my official Top 10 films of 2013 list. I've been through the FDA's list of every film with a UK release date this year, taken the ones I've seen and compiled my favourites. It's been a GREAT year for cinema, and there are plenty of excellent films that didn't make the cut

Firstly a few honourable mentions which were truly excellent but narrowly just missed out on the list: Behind The Candelabra, Star Trek Into Darkness, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, and Wreck-It Ralph.

That being said onto the Top 10, in ascending order:

10) Despicable Me 2 - Fantastic family fun, with lines that I'm still quoting six months later. This built on the success of the first movie and took it to new exciting places (much more than the standard animation sequel "lets just retread the first movie again but turn it up to 11).

9) The Impossible - Great performances and some of the best sound and visual effects work you will see in a cinema. Not for the faint hearted, and a truly exhausting watch, this film had me on the edge of my seat through to its conclusion

8) Les Miserables - I think enough has been said on the excellence that is Les Mis, so I'll just let the film do the talking.

7) Captain Philips - It's not just Tom Hanks but also the supporting cast that play a huge role in making Paul Greengrass' latest epic so thrilling. Knowing little of the true story going into the film I was rapt from start to finish.

6) About Time - Sometimes, a good old fashioned, non-cynical, completely rose tinted Richard Curtis romcom is exactly what the doctor ordered, and this is one of his better ones. While its time travel rules are set up and then promptly blown to smithereens, it is a movie with immense heart and that what brings it so far up the top 10.

5) Blue Jasmine - Cate Blanchett's Jasmine is going to win her awards come Oscar season. It is that simple, and if for nothing but her completely unhinged performance in the lead role this film would be worth the price of admission. When you add a stellar performance from Sally Hawkins in the supporting role though, this movie becomes something seriously special.

4) Saving Mr Banks - Practically perfect in every way. Its an obvious joke, but it's true.

3) Side Effects - For a long time my film of the year, Side Effects is a truly strange and powerful psycho-thriller. With a surprise around every turn, you are truly never sure who is telling the truth, and when the final reveal comes, it is genuinely surprising.

2) Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron has created a visual masterpiece with Gravity akin to any work of art. His incredible vision of space, with our two lone heroes floating in the void is incredible. This is a movie which demands to be seen in a cinema, which in this age of iPhone viewing is something commendable, as anything which gives the paying audience something they can truly sink their eyes into in such a fantastic fashion deserves to be seen.

1) The Way Way Back - I'm not sure what I liked most about The Way Way Back, the coming of age story which sees shy young Duncan find his feet in the big wide world, and find friends in Sam Rockwell's Owen. As children we all had adults we idolised above all others and who in our eyes could do no wrong, and The Way Way Back encompasses that in a beautiful way. Its a film which just stood head and shoulders above the rest and which I implore you to seek out if you haven't already.