90 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2013 (Page 6)

Staff & contributors

Find the best movies and show to watch from the year 2013. These handpicked recommendations are highly-rated by viewers and critics.

People’s first impression of us usually sticks with them, but there are some lucky instances where you meet again, and their impression of you gets updated to the point that you start to care for each other more than you do other people– you both become special to each other. This change is at the center of Hawaii, the 2013 Argentine gay drama. Writer-director Marco Berger crafts a charged, compelling connection because of that change in impression, as their dynamic holds much more at stake than just a summer romance. Through shared, natural moments, Hawaii is content in letting the tension simmer between the two men as they start to reassess the task and their attraction at hand.

Genre: Romance

Actor: Antonia De Michelis, Luz Palazón, Manuel Martínez Sobrado, Manuel Vignau, Mateo Chiarino

Director: Marco Berger

Coherence is a film that captivates you to the point of questioning the reality that surrounds you. It's a Quantum physics based sci-fi thriller that keeps your eyes sealed to the screen - not with unrealistically beautiful actors or special effects, but with an original screenplay and unexpected twists. Very refreshing.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

Actor: Alex Manugian, Alexis Boozer Sterling, Aqueela Zoll, Elizabeth Gracen, Emily Baldoni, Hugo Armstrong, Kelly Donovan, Lauren Maher, Lorene Scafaria, Mark Ballou, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon

Director: James Ward Byrkit

Rating: Not Rated

, 2013

When it comes to British period dramas, aristocrats are rarely portrayed as Black until relatively recently, with colorblind casting tending to focus more on acting talent rather than how race would affect and shape a character. That being said, while rarely acknowledged, Black descendants of British aristocracy actually did exist, and one of whom has been depicted in Belle. With the excellent Gugu Mbatha-Raw making her film breakthrough here, Belle reckons with the difficult questions of race and sex in 18th century Britain, contemplating the real woman’s options in a world determined entirely by blood and inheritance, a discussion brushed aside in other period dramas, but one that should be examined. While director Amma Asante does take plenty of liberties in the actual facts, she also excellently balances both the fictional romance and the historical realities Dido Elizabeth Belle had faced, making both parts as compelling and as essential as each other.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alan McKenna, Alex Jennings, Andrew Woodall, Cara Jenkins, Daniel Wilde, Emily Watson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, James Northcote, James Norton, Matthew Goode, Miranda Richardson, Natasha Williams, Penelope Wilton, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Tom Felton, Tom Wilkinson

Director: Amma Asante

Rating: PG

A dramatic recreation of the last 10 years in the life of famed pianist Liberace (Michael Douglas), told primarily from the perspective of his young lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon). Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film follows from naive young Thorson’s early introduction to Liberace through his 6-year romance and live-in relationship with the celebrated luminary. Coming from a broken home and multiple foster families, Thorson finds newfound comfort in the fawning adoration and financial protection that Liberace provides to him, as they quickly become lovers and confidants. Much of the story re-enacts their often stormy, behind-the-scenes affairs in candid fashion—including the lengths to which Thorson alters himself physically to conform to Liberace’s standards. Both Douglas and Damon are excellent in their roles, with Douglas in particular providing a striking recreation of Liberace in both appearance and mannerism. He truly embodies the role, and provides the viewer with a genuine glimpse into the personal life of “Mr. Showmanship"—replete with all of his passions, concerns and insecurities. It’s an intimate depiction of a real-life May-December relationship, told with striking honesty, and ending with a remarkably touching tribute to Liberace in all of his campy yet sincere glory.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Adam J. Kassel, Amber Lee Ettinger, Anna Wendt, Anthony Crivello, Aussie Guevara, Austin Stowell, Ayesha Orange, Barbara Brownell, Becca Sweitzer, Boyd Holbrook, Brandon Henschel, Brian Blu, Brittany Perry-Russell, Bruce Ramsay, C.J. Stussi, Cal Rein, Casey Kramer, Cassandra M. Bellantoni, Cassidy Noblett, Charles Moniz, Charlotte Crossley, Cheyenne Jackson, Corey Eid, Dan Aykroyd, David Dustin Kenyon, David Koechner, Debbie Reynolds, Deborah Lacey, Dominique Kelley, Eddie Jemison, Eric Zuckerman, Ferly Prado, Fielding Edlow, Francisco San Martin, Garrett M. Brown, Greg Baine, Gregg Atwill, Gregory Niebel, Harvey J. Alperin, Hugo Pierre Martin, Jane Morris, Jason Williams, Jerry Clarke, Jimmy Scanlon, Joe Filippone, Johnny Carson, Josh Meyers, Kass Connors, Kc Monnie, Kelli Erdmann, Kelly Allen, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Kristin Lindquist, Krystal Ellsworth, Lance Patrick, Lenny Jacobson, Lisa Frantz, Matt Damon, Max Napolitano, Meredith Ostrowsky, Michael Douglas, Mike Jerome Putnam, Mike O'Malley, Natacha Bachour, Nellie Sciutto, Nick Lanzisera, Nicky Katt, Nikea Gamby-Turner, Pat Asanti, Patty Chong, Paul Borst, Paul Reiser, Paul Witten, Peggy King, Rachael Markarian, Randy Lowell, Richard Allan Jones, Rick L. Dean, Rob Lowe, Roby Schinasi, Ryan Novak, Scott Bakula, Shaun T. Benjamin, Stephanie Maura Sanchez, Thure Riefenstein, Timothy Skyler Dunigan, Tom Papa

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Rating: TV-MA

This original comedy-drama is about a young man on the autism spectrum called Luke. Propelled by a scandalous grandpa with no filters, Luke decides that what he needs in his life is to lose his virginity.

His dysfunctional family setting, which includes a mother who left him and a neurotic step-mother, makes his search more difficult but more also pressing. Luke decides he first has to get a job, and with a world that doesn’t expect much from him, his unbreakable determination is a joy to watch.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Al Sapienza, Ann Holloway, Art Hindle, Cary Elwes, Dewshane Williams, Jayne Eastwood, John Boylan, Kenneth Welsh, Kristin Bauer, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Lisa Ryder, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mackenzie Munro, Michael Kinney, Pam Hyatt, Sabryn Rock, Seth Green, Tyler Stentiford, Zoë Belkin

Director: Alonso Mayo

Rating: Not Rated

Sometimes it's hard to relate to foreign movies because of the different cultures, languages and actors. But Miracle in Cell No. 7 transcended the language barriers for me and delivered one of the most touching stories I have ever seen. It's a Korean film about the intricate yet simple love story between a mentally challenged father and his daughter. When the father is wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit and is sent to prison, his personable character eventually causes the prisoners around him to help reunite him with his daughter in prison. Warning: many tissues will be needed.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Actor: Choi Ro-woon, Dal-su Oh, Gal So-won, Han Yi-jin, Im Jae-min, Jeong Man-sik, Jin-young Jung, Jo Deok-hyeon, Jo Jae-yoon, Jo Jae-yun, Jung Han-bi, Jung Hee-tae, Jung Jin-young, Jung Man-sik, Jung-tae Kim, Kal So-won, Kang Seung-wan, Kang Ye-seo, Kim Jung-tae, Kim Ki-cheon, Kim Ki-chun, Kim Se-dong, Kyul Hwi, Lee Seung-yeon, Lee Yoon-hee, Man-shik Jeong, Man-sik Jeong, No Kang-min, Oh Chang-kyung, Oh Dal-su, Park Gil-su, Park Kil-soo, Park Sang-myeon, Park Shin-hye, Park Won-sang, Ryu Seung-ryong, Seung-ryong Ryu, Shin-Hye Park, So Won Kal, Song Lee-woo, Won-sang Park, Yeo Moo-yeong, Yeseo, Yoon Sun-Woo

Director: Hwan-kyung Lee, Lee Hwan-kyung

Rating: N/A, Not Rated

, 2013

Ida, the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, is a stark black & white drama set in the early 60’s about a young Polish nun-to-be and her bawdy Aunt Wanda searching for the truth behind her family’s demise at the hands of the Nazis. What initially comes off as a painfully slow sleep-inducer pretty quickly evolves into a touching and lively contrast between the two lead characters; one virtuous and pure, the other boorish and hedonistic. Their journey is equal parts amusing, insightful and heartbreaking, with Ida’s personal exploration of self playing out as a remarkably humanistic affair. The cinematography by Lukasz Za and Ryszard Lenczewski is particularly striking, each shot a work of art in it’s own right. Logging in at just 82 minutes, the entire story whizzes by in a flash. The kind of film that will stay with you long after you’ve watched it.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adam Szyszkowski, Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Artur Janusiak, Dawid Ogrodnik, Dorota Kuduk, Halina Skoczynska, Izabela Dąbrowska, Jerzy Trela, Joanna Kulig, Marek Kasprzyk, Mariusz Jakus, Paweł Burczyk

Director: Paweł Pawlikowski

Rating: PG-13

For the longest time, women dedicated their lives to the family. So, after a divorce and after the kids grow up, it can be hard to imagine what happens after. Some choose to remain single, but for many women, it can feel like the start of another life totally lived for one’s self. Gloria was, then, one of the few depictions of a woman at this time, but writer-director Sebastián Lelio depicts this slice of life as is– without over-sentimentality, but with honesty; without pretentiousness, but with a calm and even direction. The slow, naturalistic approach might not be to everyone’s taste, but Gloria is a charming character study, made much more real with Paulina García’s excellent performance.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alejandro Goic, Antonia Santa María, Coca Guazzini, Diego Fontecilla, Eyal Meyer, Liliana García, Luz Jiménez, Pablo Krögh, Paulina García, Sergio Hernández

Director: Sebastián Lelio

Rating: R

I loved this movie. It starts a bit weird but gets so good. In a parallel world where human frequencies determine luck, love, and destiny, Zak, a young college student, must overcome science in order to love Marie, who emits a different frequency than his own. In an attempt to make their love a reality, Zak experiments on the laws of nature, putting in danger the cosmic equilibrium of fate and everything he holds dear. This unique and experimental drama blends science fiction and romance to create a futuristic tale where love, science, and fate collide.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction

Actor: Daniel Fraser, David Barnaby, David Broughton-Davies, Dylan Llewellyn, Eleanor Wyld, Georgina Minter-Brown, Joanna Hole, Lily Laight, Owen Pugh, Ria Carroll, Timothy Block

Director: Darren Paul Fisher

Rating: Not Rated

Three guys in their twenties love wine and women but feel incomplete because they are still virgins. Under the guise of a wine tour they embark on a journey to Spain hoping to have their first sexual experience. Unlike most sex romp comedies, this one explores deeper territory: Jozef is blind, Philip is paralyzed from the neck down and Lars is in a wheelchair with a brain tumor. Despite these difficulties, the three protagonists are determined to have their experience and complete this rite of passage.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Charlotte Timmers, Gilles De Schryver, Isabelle De Hertogh, Ivan Pecnik, Johan Heldenbergh, Karel Vingerhoets, Karlijn Sileghem, Katelijne Verbeke, Marilou Mermans, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Roos Van Vlaenderen, Sheila Sawhny, Tom Audenaert, Tuur de Weert, Veerle Baetens, Xandra Van Welden

Director: ‎Geoffrey Enthoven

Rating: Unrated

The choice between practicality and passion is the subject of many a drama, but A Thousand Times Good Night depicts that passion stemming from a different place. Rather than pure expression, or creativity, director Erik Poppe depicts the passion of his former profession of photojournalism stemming from social importance– not just status, but in possibly changing the course of history. The semi-autobiographical story clearly has an understanding of the craft, and with her moving performance, Juliette Binoche proves to be an effective proxy, as her character takes risks her family find it hard to tolerate, and as continually choosing those risks, also entails influencing your family to make that same sacrifice. Some viewers might not agree with these choices, but nevertheless A Thousand Times Good Night is a palpable character study of someone whose career is personally interlinked with their advocacy, their identity, and their philosophy of what the world should prioritize.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adrianna Cramer Curtis, Cathy Belton, Chloë Annett, Denise McCormack, Eve Macklin, Jonathan Byrne, Juliette Binoche, Larry Mullen Jr., Lauryn Canny, Mads Ousdal, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Coonan

Director: Erik Poppe

Rating: NR

Nine years after his out-of-nowhere, mind-bending premier Primer, writer/producer/director/ star Shane Carruth returns with this exponentially more challenging feature—a neo sci-fi/drama/romance/thriller quite nearly impossible to describe effectively in words. Ostensibly focused upon a woman who has been drugged, brainwashed and robbed and is subsequently drawn to an unknown man who has experienced a similar theft, Carruth draws out the drama in a fractured narrative that challenges the viewer to piece together the dream-like story fragments and implications like a complicated puzzle. Certainly not "audience friendly" in any sort of traditional sense, I love how Carruth paints such an elaborate, intelligent tale in such a remarkably original manner. If this is the future of film, I'm definitely on board.

Genre: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction

Actor: Amy Seimetz, Andreon Watson, Andrew Sensenig, Ashton Miramontes, Brina Palencia, Carolyn King, Frank Mosley, Jack Watkins, John Walpole, Joy Leigh, Kerry McCormick, Mollie Milligan, Myles McGee, Shane Carruth, Thiago Martins

Director: Shane Carruth

Rating: Not Rated

Robyn Davidson decided to cross 1,700 miles in the Australian desert with four camels and her trusty dog, and this film recounts her real-life journey. In many ways this is a companion piece to Reese Witherspoon’s Wild, also released in theaters in 2014. While I enjoyed Wild, it went out of its way to make the protagonist’s journey understood to audiences. Tracks gives Robyn some light shading and backstory, but unlike Wild it almost focuses solely on her journey across the desert. And what a desert it is! The scenery is shot beautifully and we feel as though we are truly on this daring journey with her, traveling alien landscapes with little to depend on beyond our animal companions and our wits. We know the outcome (since this is a true story) but we are still thrilled to see how it unfolds. What does it all mean, and what was the journey’s purpose? Thankfully, in the end, the answer is left as enigmatic as the heroine herself.

Genre: Adventure, Drama

Actor: Adam Driver, Bryan Probets, Daisy Walkabout, Emma Booth, Evan Casey, Felicity Steel, Fiona Press, Ian Conway, Jessica Tovey, John Flaus, Lily Pearl, Melanie Zanetti, Mia Wasikowska, Philip Dodd, Rainer Bock, Robert Coleby, Rolley Mintuma

Director: John Curran

Rating: PG-13

Rarely do we get to see the human body in its natural state in public, mostly limited to nude beaches, but it’s understandably so– beyond the usual social norms, there’s a vulnerability in doing so, a vulnerability that is sometimes taken advantage of. Stranger by the Lake captures the beauty of that vulnerability, with stunning shots that elevate the explicit scenes from being pornographic, but crucially, the film also captures its dangers, namely the increasingly self-destructive risks Franck takes that leads him to a dangerous man. The line between lust and aggression blurs in this film, and understandably, some may take this film to be sex-negative, but Stranger by the Lake is an intriguing slow burn towards its inevitable conclusion.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Alain Guiraudie, Christophe Paou, François-Renaud Labarthe, Jérôme Chappatte, Mathieu Vervisch, Patrick d'Assumçao, Pierre Deladonchamps

Director: Alain Guiraudie

, 2013

Chadwick Boseman who you might now know as the Black Panther had his break out role in 42, the true story of the first Black major league player Jackie Robinson. A story of expected struggle but also a humbling and humane account that is full of warmth. Jackie Robinson's coach is played by Dustin Hoffman, adding to the caliber of amazing performances in this movie, all put together by Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential). From the baseball sequences to the personal life of Jackie Robinson, and of course his confrontation with racism, this is a powerful and uplifting movie.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Aaron Farb, Alan Tudyk, André Holland, Andre Holland, Andrew C. Mullins, Anthony S. Goolsby, Ari Blinder, Barry Suttle, Brad Beyer, Brett Cullen, Chadwick Boseman, Cherise Boothe, Christopher Harvey, Christopher Meloni, Colman Domingo, Dan Mengini, Danny Vinson, David Sweeney, Dax Griffin, Derek Phillips, Dusan Brown, Gino Anthony Pesi, Hamish Linklater, Harrison Ford, Hunter Clowdus, Jackson Walker, James Pickens Jr., James Rackley, Jamie Ruehling, Jayson Warner Smith, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Jesse Luken, Joe Inscoe, Joe Knezevich, John C. McGinley, Jon Kohler, Jud Tylor, Karole Foreman, Kelley Jakle, Kenny Cook, Linc Hand, Lou Criscuolo, Lucas Black, Marc Gowan, Mark Harelik, Matt Clark, Maury Covington, Max Gail, Michael H. Cole, Monnae Michaell, Nicole Beharie, Peter Jurasik, Peter MacKenzie, Rhoda Griffis, Richard Tavernaro, Ryan Merriman, T.R. Knight, Tobias Michael Finn, Toby Huss, William Flaman

Director: Brian Helgeland

Rating: PG-13