Last year saw the release of some amazing films, with movies varying from an outer space adventure to period pieces about slavery. With the Oscars right around the corner, PCNN chronicled the top ten best movies of the year to not only honor these titles, but to spread the word regarding their impact. Counting down from ten, the following list documents the greatest movies of 2013, leading up to the greatest movie of the year.

10. Before Midnight: In 1995, Richard Linklater released a touching independent romance called Before Sunrise, which followed two young strangers, an American man named Jesse and a French woman named Celine. They spend the night walking the streets of Venice, sharing their deepest fears and secrets with each other before the sun rises. At the end of the film, the two are forced to part ways and go home, but they vow to someday meet again. 2004 saw the release of Before Sunset, catching up with the characters to see how they’ve grown and changed, and how they react to seeing each other again after seven years had passed. Last year, Richard Linklater continued the tradition by releasing Before Midnight, which catches up with the two characters another seven years later. In a series of movies that feature no high-octane action sequences or over the top set pieces, the main appeal of Before Midnight is the writing. The dialogue in these movies is some of the best Hollywood has to offer, and makes the characters seem more real than any other series of movies. Jesse and Celine’s problems and fears are often so relatable, that you begin to forget the characters are fictional. With one of the best screenplays of last year, this chapter of this couple’s life is definitely not one to miss. 

9. Gravity: The story about one woman’s terrifying ordeal alone in space broke new ground among filmmakers. Director Alfonso Cuaron showed visuals that had never been seen before, and he did with this movie what James Cameron’s Avatar did for new strides in animation. The way Cuaron executes the scenes where Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are in space is beautiful and allows the viewer to feel how alone they are. I also believe the overall message of moving on with your life and letting go of your problems is displayed very well in the movie, and this will be remembered for many years to come as a groundbreaking feat in entertainment history. 

8. Nebraska: In Alexander Payne’s latest movie Nebraska, a son accompanies his aged father to Nebraska to claim what the father believes is some prize money that he won. The son knows the money is a scam, but doesn’t have the heart to reveal the truth to his dad. The amazing thing about this movie is that it shows the relationship between the father and son, but not just the sweet parts – it shows the reality of how confused and cantankerous an old man, played expertly by Bruce Dern, can be towards his son, and how patient and kind the son – played by Will Forte – was, which is a lesson for all parents and children. Shot in black and white, the movie doesn’t just have a good story – it’s also beautiful to watch. 

7. Fruitvale Station: On New Year’s day, in 2009, teenager Oscar Grant was shot by a BART (Train Station) police officer at the Fruitvale train station in Oakland, California. First-time director Ryan Coogler brings us on a journey through the last day in Oscar’s life, in Fruitvale Station. The film takes us through Oscar’s everyday activities, but mostly shows us how he tries to better himself on New Year’s Eve. Throughout the movie, we see Oscar attempting to leave behind his past as a drug dealer, in addition to attempting to provide for his daughter and girlfriend. Oscar is played by the young rising actor Michael B. Jordan, and the movie is brought to life by his incredible performance, and actress Octavia Spencer also gives a great performance as Oscar’s mother. 

6. American Hustle: David O. Russell’s latest film is based on the true story of the ABSCAM con in the 1970’s, and features one of the best casts of the year, with Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, and Amy Adams – all at their very best. The highlight of this film, for me, was how expertly the cast worked together, with Bale in particular doing some of the best work of his career. Along with the amazing acting, the story was thrilling all the way through and the soundtrack gave the film an edge of excitement. 

5. The Wolf of Wall Street: Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street is his fifth collaboration with actor Leonardo Dicaprio, and stands as their most daring to date. Based on Jordan Belfort’s autobiography of the same name, the film follows the career of Belfort as a Wall Street stockbroker, and his epic rise to the top through fraud and corruption in the stock market. Leonardo Dicaprio gives his best performance to date, giving every ounce of his energy to the performance. Co-star Jonah Hill also shines in his role as Donnie Azoff, Jordan’s right-hand man and financial partner. Clocking in at three hours of sex, drugs, and debauchery, this also stands as probably the most inappropriate and perverted movie I’ve ever seen, and also the only movie where I have left in amazement that it didn’t get an NC-17 rating. That being said, there is much more to this movie than the partying and drug use. The film expertly depicts greed in America, and also explores what it means to attempt to follow the “American dream.”

4. Her: In the not-so-distant future, a lonely man buys a brand-new female operating system, and is blown away by its impressive sense of self and knowledge, so much so that he starts developing feelings for her. This is the plot of Spike Jonze’s newest movie Her, an extremely ambitious project that breaks new ground for the romance genre as a whole. Where this movie really shines is its writing and impressive character development, especially when one of the characters is merely a voice. I felt fully connected to these characters after walking out of the theater, and also wished I had more time to experience their beautifully-written conversations and complex relationship.

3. Inside Llewyn Davis: Master filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen strike gold yet again with Inside Llewyn Davis, an incredibly entertaining look into a week in the life of fictional folk singer-songwriter Llewyn Davis. The film is set in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1961, and Davis though a week in his sorrow-filled life. Struggling to make it in the music industry, Davis spends his days performing at local clubs and finding places to sleep at night. What makes this movie stand out from the rest is its incredible soundtrack, which features artists such as Marcus Mumford and Justin Timberlake, and with all the music recorded and performed live by the actors in every scene, the movie often takes on the form of a musical.

2. 12 Years a Slave: Based on Soloman Northup’s novel of the same name, Steve McQueens’ 12 Years a Slave is one of the most groundbreaking insights into slavery I’ve ever seen, and also one of the hardest to watch. The film follows the life of violinist Soloman Northup, as he is drugged and sold into slavery after having been a free man. As we watch the atrocities that Soloman undergoes, it almost seems like we learn more about slavery from this film than we could in any textbook or class. I say this because I, for one, have always read about the horrors of slavery, but experiencing it through such a movie gave me a whole new understanding of this brutal point in the history of our nation. The sheer brutality of the film alone is draining, for example when I went to go see it in the theater, I counted seven people walk out before the movie ended. The film rests on the shoulders of lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who gives the best performance of the year. Every horror that Soloman experiences leaves a huge emotional toll on him, and is displayed masterfully through Ejiofor’s performance. No film on slavery has ever been as impactul, and stands as a monument of the power of filmmaking.

1. The Act of Killing: In a year that saw the release of many incredible movies, it was a huge challenge to pick a top choice for the year. That being said, The Act of Killing rises above the other contenders this year by being the most haunting, innovative, and thought-provoking movie I’ve ever seen. The film follows an aged group of notorious death squad leaders who lead and helped execute the Indonesian killings of the mid-1960’s, a mass genocide that saw the deaths of an estimated 500,000 to one million Indonesian citizens. Director Joshua Oppenheimer asked these men to reenact their acts through making multiple short films in the genres of their choice, to which they gleefully accepted. The documentary focuses mainly on the effects making these films has on one of the leaders – Anwar Congo – as he begins to question his own moral standpoint on these acts of horror that he recounts so proudly. The Act of Killing delves into moral confrontation in a way that I had previously thought impossible in a film, but Oppenheimer depicts this perfectly, forcing these mass murderers to recount the brutally violent atrocities they committed and comprehend the moral repercussions of their crimes. This documentary is a firm reminder of the power of film as an art form, and the haunting emotional impact the past can have on an individual.

Although the Academy Awards are still two weeks away, it’s clear that the competition this year is among the toughest we’ve seen over the past decade. If movies continue to evolve and have strong messages such as these going forward, it will be good news for those of us who love cinema, since it will lead to a new era of artistic genius.