1. 12 Years a Slave
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Historical
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Steve McQueen
Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti
Plot: Follows the true story of Solomon Northup, an upstate free black man who, years before the civil war broke out, was abducted and sold into slavery. Facing both extreme cruelty and incredible kind deeds, he struggles to maintain his dignity while fighting to survive. In the twelfth year of his ordeal a chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will change his life forever.
2. Hunt, The ( Jagten )
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: Danish
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Actors: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Alexandra Rapaport, Susse Wold, Lasse Fogelstrøm
Plot: A lonely teacher, struggling to gain custody of his son, finds his entire world crashing down around him after being accused by a student of sexual molestation and finds everyone in his life turning against him.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Jon Bernthal, Kyle Chandler
Plot: A Wall Street stockbroker lives the high life with his likewise wealthy buddies - but the net is closing in around him. But even as the feds close in on one of the largest securities fraud cases in the corporate banking world, he refuses to cooperate in any way.
4. Prisoners
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Crime/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano, Viola Davis, Maria Bello
Plot: When his daughter and her best friend go missing, a Boston man tracks down the person he believes is responsible and kidnaps him in return.
5. Short Term 12
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Destin Cretton
Actors: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malek, Alex Calloway
Plot: A 20-something works as a supervising staff member in the foster care system and she navigates this world while also dealing with her co-worker, and longtime boyfriend.
6. The Act of Killing
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: Other
Genre: Documentary
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer,Christine Cynn
Actors: Safit Pardede, Anwar Congo, Yapto Soerjosoemarno, Syamsul Arifin, Herman Koto, Ibrahim Sinik
Plot: A group of the Indonesian death squad leaders - who helped purge communists in the violent 1965-1966 Indonesian killings - are given a chance to re-enact their most brutal killings in a Hollywood style of their choosing.
7. Dallas Buyers Club
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Steve Zahn, Griffin Dunne, Dallas Roberts
Plot: In 1986, Texas electrician Ron Woodroof was diagnosed as HIV positive and found it nearly impossible dealing with the medical establishment and pharmaceutical companies in finding proper treatment. Seeing no other alternative, he came up with his own solution, and helped many HIV-positive people like him in the process.
8. Her
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy/Romance
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Spike Jonze
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Joaquin Phoenix, Olivia Wilde, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Chris Pratt
Plot: When a lonely author purchases a new operating system promising to meet his "every need" he is surprised to discover a very real relationship forming with this state-of-the-art technology.
9. Blackfish
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Actors: Tilikum, Kim Ashdown, Samantha Berg, Dawn Brancheau, Daniel Patrick Dukes, John Hargrove
Plot: Documentary that explores the nature of keeping wild animals captive with
the story of Tilikum - a killer whale responsible for three deaths,
including that of a top whale trainer.
10. Fruitvale Station
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Ryan Coogler
Actors: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Ariana Neal, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray
Plot: Based on the true story of Oscar Grant, who wakes up on Dec. 21, 2008 and feels something in the air - and resolves to change things - with his mother, his girlfriend, his 4-year-old daughter - but change is not easy and as he interacts with the family, friends and strangers throughout the day - he ends at Fruitvale BART station, where one more encounter, with police officers, will shake a city to it core.
