The Best Films of 2013

Sure, we are already into February now. But with years like 2013, it's never too late to celebrate such high quality cinema. Perhaps the best year since 2007 ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "I'm Not There," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "There Will Be Blood," "La Vie en Rose"), 2013 showcases strength across the board—in foreign and American films, in documentaries and narratives, in dramas and comedies—and perhaps most of all—in films that blurred the lines.

This past year's films showcased stories and craftsmanship as complex as the filmmakers themselves. From auteur-driven work like "American Hustle," "Gravity," "Her" and "Upstream Color" to a tremendous showing for American indies like "Hank and Asha," "Hide Your Smiling Faces" and "Short Term 12"—this list is probably the toughest I've ever put together. 

Several of these films played our local film festivals. "7 Boxes," "euphonia," "The Exquisite Corpse Project," and "Mud" all played at the Atlanta Film Festival. "Hank and Asha" and "The Past" both screened at the Savannah Film Festival. "Lore" was easily my favorite film from the 2013 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. "Hide Your Smiling Faces" and "Short Term 12" were just two films from a remarkable lineup at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham last year. Some films featured at multiple festivals—"Congratulations!" played both Atlanta and Sidewalk and will screen at the Macon Film Festival later this month, "Muscle Shoals" screened at Sidewalk and will also play in Macon. "The Spectacular Now" played both Atlanta and Savannah.

"Her" wins Best Picture from the Georgia Film Critics Association

"Gravity," "12 Years a Slave" and the Spike Jonze love story each won three awards; "American Hustle" recognized for Best Ensemble.

Joaquin Phoenix stars in "Her," winner of the 2013 Georgia Film Critics
Award for Best Picture.

The Georgia Film Critics Association has wrapped up their third year by announcing the winners for their 2013 awards. "12 Years a Slave" led the nominations with ten mentions earlier this week, but it was "Her" that won the top prize. Spike Jonze wasn't even nominated for Best Director, but did win an award for Best Original Screenplay, as did Arcade Fire for the film's score. "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave" also won three awards each. Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for "Gravity" and the film also snagged Best Cinematography and Production Design awards. "12 Years a Slave" won three acting awards—Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Fassbender and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o—but lost Best Ensemble to "American Hustle."

The Best Ensemble award marks the only win for "American Hustle," after earning seven nominations. Also with seven nods, "Inside Llewyn Davis" only took home one—Best Original Song. Despite its use of sampling disqualifying the track from Academy Award consideration, the GFCA obviously sees no problem with the song. "Short Term 12" won for Best Adapted Screenplay and star Brie Larson won the Breakthrough Award—although credit is not directly given to any of her films in particular.

Other winners include Cate Blanchett as Best Actress in "Blue Jasmine," "No" as Best Foreign Film, "Stories We Tell" as Best Documentary and "Frozen" as Best Animated Feature. "The Spectacular Now" was honored with the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema, a special recognition for the year's best feature or short film produced in Georgia.

Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

Georgia Film Critics announce nominees for 2013 awards

"12 Years a Slave" leads in nominations, but indie films "Upstream Color," "Short Term 12" and "The Spectacular Now" make a splash.

Though they may be one of the later regional critics groups to release their year-end lists, the Georgia Film Critics Association always manages to give a tip-of-the-hat to the unexpected. Now wrapping up it's third awards season, the GFCA's ten members have put together a list of films that mixes the expected Oscar heavy-hitters with some of the year's most celebrated independent releases.

"12 Years a Slave" leads the way with ten nominations, followed by "American Hustle" and "Inside Llewyn Davis" each with seven nods. The tide then turns a little bit, with "Upstream Color" joining "Gravity" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" with six nominations each. Festival darling "Short Term 12" follows with five mentions. "Her," "Mud" and "The Spectacular Now" round out the remaining Best Picture nominees.

A few highlights include Amy Seimetz ("Upstream Color") in both Best Actress and Breakthrough categories, John Goodman ("Inside Llewyn Davis") and Sally Hawkins ("Blue Jasmine") in supporting shortlists and singular screenplay nominations for "Frances Ha" and "Prince Avalanche." Emmanuel Lubezki wound up with two nominations in Best Cinematography ("Gravity," "To the Wonder"), while Hans Zimmer pulled the same feat in Best Score ("Man of Steel," "12 Years a Slave"). Going back to "Upstream Color," Shane Carruth might be the real winner here, seeing as he served as the film's director, producer, writer, lead actor, editor and composer—personally earning credit for most of the film's nominations.

Plenty of these films featured on the 2013 Georgia film festival circuit. "Mud" and "The Spectacular Now" played at the Atlanta Film Festival, while "Nebraska," "The Past," "Philomena," "The Sacrament" and "The Spectacular Now" all screened at the Savannah Film Festival. "Lore" played at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and "Muscle Shoals" will screen in February at the 2014 Macon Film Festival.

The Breakthrough Award shortlist features actresses Sophie Kennedy Clark ("Philomena"), Brie Larson ("Don Jon," "Short Term 12," "The Spectacular Now"), Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave"); actors Tye Sheridan ("Joe," "Mud") and Miles Teller ("The Spectacular Now," "21 & Over"); and actress-director-producer-writer-editor Amy Seimetz ("Lucky Them," "9 Full Moons," "Pit Stop," "The Sacrament," "Sun Don't Shine," "Upstream Color").

Winners will be announced Friday, January 10th. Check out the full list of nominees after the jump.

Review: "Short Term 12" (****½)

Editor's Note: Today marks a special occasion for me. I first put a bug in the ear of Lucy Doughty about writing for Reel Georgia many moons ago, and today we publish her first piece with us. "Short Term 12" is a remarkable film that won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Prize at SXSW earlier this year. I saw it at Sidewalk, where I was moved and impressed enough to have awarded it the full five star rating. Lucy's review is written as beautifully as the film plays out, and I look forward to reading everything she'll write for us in the future. Even though her reviews will make mine look as though I've compiled them using Alphabet soup, I'm thrilled to have such a gifted wordsmith on board. -CM

John Gallagher, Jr., Brie Larson, and Rami Malek star in "Short Term 12"

"Short Term 12" premiered in its first form as first-time writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Master’s thesis project at Sundance in 2009. A friend told Cretton he’d be a fool to attend Sundance without a feature length script prepared for the then twenty-minute short. “So I wrote one,” he said. The short won the Jury Prize, and Cretton began crafting his feature debut, which released after his second movie, "I Am Not A Hipster," did in 2012. The result captures a season in the lives of the young staff and residents of a teen foster care facility. Rooted in Cretton’s own experience on a group home staff, "Short Term 12" offers a gripping and often raw look at the transformative power of trust and vulnerability.