Best Movies You Never Saw in 2013

Best 2013 Films You Never Saw
It was a great year for major motion pictures, from "Gravity" to "Captain Phillips," from "Twelve Years a Slave" to "American Hustle." But not every good movie makes it into the mainstream consciousness, either due to a small budget, lack of distribution, minimal marketing campaign, Oscar oversight, foreign release, bizarre subject matter or stylistic choice (i.e. shooting in black and white). So, we've compiled a list of the Best Movies You Never Saw in 2013, the Sweet 16 Cinema Cinderellas, the Diamonds in the Celluloid Rough.

Note: "Dallas Buyers Club" and "Blue Jasmine" are not included, seeing as Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett are both favored to win the top acting prizes at the Oscars.

If you'd like to see where all of our "hidden gems" rank among all of this year's best movies, check out our overall rankings of the Top 40 Movies of 2013.
16. In a World...
Director: Lake Bell

Often, the key to a good flick is finding a topic that's right under our noses, then exposing its comic possibilities. "In a World..." does just that, spoofing the absurdity of movie trailer voiceovers.

Actress Lake Bell makes her feature-length debut as writer, director and producer and should be a real talent for years to come. She plays a struggling voice coach who competes against her arrogant father and his protege in the male-dominated voice-over industry.

I adored this quirky little indie, but even if you walk away less than impressed, I guarantee you won't look at movie trailers the same way again.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Buy), Xfinity On Demand
15. The Kings of Summer
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

This summer brought plenty of coming-of-age flicks, from "Mud" to "The Spectacular Now." But "The Kings of Summer" was the most unabashedly fun, following three boys who escape their parents and build their own house in the woods for a modern-day "Stand By Me" (1986).

Just like "Superbad" (2007) had its McLovin', "Kings" offers its own awesomely weird sidekick in Biaggio (Moises Arias), who keeps things light despite some real teenage heartache.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon, iTunes (Rent/Buy)
14. Mud
Director: Jeff Nichols

Who knew 2013 would be the year of Matthew McConaughey? Exactly 20 years after "Dazed and Confused," he offered a chest-beating cameo in "The Wolf of Wall Street," while giving two lead performances to silence any doubters: "Mud" and "Dallas Buyers Club," the latter of which is generating plenty of Oscar buzz.

In "Mud," he plays a drifter whose boat is discovered in a tree by two young boys, Ellis and Neckbone, who help him reunite with his long lost love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). The film is a great coming-of-age tale with a tone that recalls the best of Mark Twain literature. It would have ranked higher on this list if it had chosen a less tidy ending, perhaps showing Mud's signature crucifix sandal print on the sand in an ambiguous final shot. This would have played up the film's allegorical strengths.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Buy), iTunes (Buy), Xfinity On Demand
13. Inside Llewyn Davis
Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, "Inside Llewyn Davis" tells the tale of a struggling folk singer who fails to achieve Bob Dylan fame in 1961 Greenwich Village. The character's ideal is admirable -- an artist who won't compromise creative integrity for commercial appeal -- but it ultimately becomes the film's own stubborn flaw.

The Coen Brothers have a knack for painting art masterpieces disguised as rip-roaring entertainments, but "Llewyn Davis" forsakes the latter so much as to feel inferior in their canon. The film has a unique setting like "Fargo," but far less likable characters. It casts John Goodman like "The Big Lebowski," but lacks the comic dynamite. It uses folk music like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" but lacks the charm. And it has the open ending of "No Country for Old Men," without the shock, awe and Chigurh.

"Llewyn Davis" may win awards, but only by the Coens riding their reputations. Still, an average Coen flick is better than most filmmakers' best efforts. This one deserves a spot for Oscar Isaac's Oscar-caliber performance, clever cat symbolism (Oscar = cat) and "Nashville"-esque songs (Justin Timberlake sings "Please Mr. Kennedy").

Where to Watch: Amazon (Pre-Order Buy), iTunes (Pre-Order), In Theaters
12. Enough Said
Director: Nicole Holofcener

When writer/director Nicole Holofcener set out to make a touching romantic comedy, she had no way of knowing it would be the last role of Tony Soprano.

The late James Gandolfini plays the sloppy love interest to Julia Louis Dreyfus, who develops a deep friendship with her massage patient (Catherine Keener), only to find out she was the ex-wife of Gandolfini.

After years of killing it on TV, from "Seinfeld" to "Veep," Dreyfus has proven she can carry a feature length film, rather than simply lending hilarious support in "Christmas Vacation," or quoting Brando's "Streetcar" by yelling, "Stella!"

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Buy), Xfinity On Demand, In Theaters
11. Side Effects
Director: Steven Soderbergh

When Channing Tatum wasn't saving the president in "White House Down," he was dating the unstable Rooney Mara, alongside Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Side Effects."

The film arrived just three days before the Academy Awards, and unfortunately got buried in all the Oscar hype. But go back and revisit this one. It's a true thinking man's psychological thriller and a social commentary on our self-medicated society.

Most of all, it marks another stellar effort by director Steven Soderbergh ("Erin Brockovich," "Traffic," "Sex, Lies & Videotape"), who also made headlines this year by directing Mike Douglas and Matt Damon in the Liberace TV movie "Behind the Candelabra."

Where to Watch: Netflix (Instant), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Buy), Xfinity On Demand
10. The Spectacular Now
Director: James Ponsoldt

"The Descendants" was one of the best movies of 2011, and many of its key players have found success this year. Director Alexander Payne went on to make "Nebraska," writers Nat Faxon & Jim Rash went on to write/direct "The Way Way Back" and star George Clooney went on to appear in "Gravity." But the most underrated part was up-and-coming actress Shailene Woodley, who now stars in "The Spectacular Now," this year's version of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

She is pitch perfect across co-star Miles Teller, who looks like a mix between Ben Savage and John Cusack. Together, the pair won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance "for two young actors who showed rare honesty, naturalism and transparency," leading a cast of familiar faces (i.e. "The Wire," "Breaking Bad").

More importantly, the writers of "(500) Days of Summer" prove they can tell a straightforward story just as well as they did with their time-jumping romance.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Buy), Xfinity On Demand
9. All is Lost
Director: J.C. Chandor

Writer/director J.C. Chandor burst onto the scene two years ago with a screenplay nomination for "Margin Call" (2011), a talky Wall Street thriller with plenty of characters. He went the complete opposite route in his follow-up, "All is Lost," in which Robert Redford delivers a one-man show as a resourceful sailor lost at sea.

It's not for everyone with its slow pace and minimalist dialogue, but joins the ranks of "Cast Away," "Life of Pi" and "Gravity" in lonely survival tales that speak volumes about our increasingly isolated society. An admirable experiment in visual storytelling.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Pre-Order Buy), Xfinity On Demand, In Theaters
8. Nebraska
Director: Alexander Payne

Like its very road trip plot, "Nebraska" takes a good 30 minutes to work its slow-paced spell, but by the time it reaches its destination, you'll have grown so close to your travel companions that you'll look back fondly on the ride.

Bruce Dern won Best Actor at Cannes as a crusty old man traveling from Montana to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar sweepstakes that may or may not exist. But June Squibb steals the show as Dern's wife and the foul-mouthed mother of Will Forte ("SNL") and Bob Odenkirk ("Breaking Bad").

Writer/director Alexander Payne ("Sideways," "The Descendants") told The Guardian why he shot in black and white: "Ninety percent of the movies I watch are in B&W. It left cinema only for commercial reasons; it never left fine-art photography. ... Can you absolutely prove to me that fewer people saw 'Manhattan,' 'Raging Bull' and 'Schindler's List' because they were in B&W?" Anyone who has lived in small-town America knows it fits.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Pre-Order Buy), iTunes (Pre-Order Buy), In Theaters
7. Blue is the Warmest Color
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche

When it came time to present the year's top art film prize at Cannes, jury head Steven Spielberg hailed the virtues of "Blue is the Warmest Color," saying, "The film is a great love story that made all of us feel privileged to be a fly on the wall ... The director did not put any constraints on the narrative and we were absolutely spellbound by the amazing performances of the two actresses (Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux)."

It was the first time the Palme d'Or was awarded to both the director and the lead actresses, but ironically, the film did not receive a single Oscar nomination, unlike Michael Haneke's "Amour" (2012) or Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" (2011).

The extended lesbian sex scenes make it the year's most controversial flick, but just like actually making love, they make us fall for the characters, so that we can then feel their heartbreak.

The film takes its critics head on, defending its 3-hour runtime by saying, "I put down some short books after 2 pages," and foreshadowing its conclusion, "What we have here is a perfect example of tragedy. … It concerns eternity. It concerns what is timeless. It concerns the mechanism, the essence of humankind."

Where to Watch: Amazon (Pre-Order Buy)
6. Philomena
Director: Stephen Frears

He's directed numerous hits, from "Dangerous Liaisons" to "The Queen." But many forget the talent of British director Stephen Frears, who molds "Philomena" into a most unique blend of comedy and suspense.

Based on the book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee" by Martin Sixsmith, the film tells the true story of Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), who was kicked out of an Irish convent for having a child out of wedlock. Her search for that son takes her to America, a journey chronicled by a controversial journalist (Steve Coogan).

"Philomena" is an engrossing battle between the faithful Dench and the atheist Coogan that reveals more truth than either knew existed, especially in the context of the new Pope Francis.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Pre-Order Buy), iTunes (Pre-Order Buy), In Theaters
4. Fruitvale Station
Director: Ryan Coogler

Current events have a way of shaping our movie conversation. While last year's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi propelled "Argo" to Best Picture, this year's Trayvon Martin verdict came the same week as "Fruitvale Station," which chronicles the racially-charged shooting of Oscar Grant in Oakland 2008.

Forest Whitaker produces, Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer shines and Michael B. Jordan is a revelation as the latest alum from "The Wire" to find stardom this year (Stringer Bell stars in "Mandela" and Omar appears in "12 Years a Slave"). Promising new director Ryan Coogler foreshadows the fatalistic finale with moving trains, living room rough housing, and symbolic talk at a grocery store deli.

The film's cops aren't beacons of justice, but they aren't inherently evil either, and the victims aren't saints, but rather real people with real flaws and the occasional chip on the shoulder. Together, these forces clash in a domino effect of mistrusts, misunderstandings and victims of circumstance that won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Buy), Xfinity On Demand
3. Before Midnight
Director: Richard Linklater

While David O. Russell made the year's best Scorsese-style flick, Richard Linklater made the year's best Woody Allen-style film in "Before Midnight," the third installment of a most unique trilogy.

Every nine years, we check in with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), first in their 20s in "Before Sunrise" (1995), then in their 30s in "Before Sunset" (2004), and now in their 40s in "Before Midnight." Linklater prefers long takes, following his characters as they walk and talk through European streets.

Here, it all builds to a hotel argument that's a cinematic master class in writing, directing and acting. As the camera pulls away into a crowd of people on a patio, like the first film's final montage of empty spaces, we realize the world exists eternal and we're just passing through. You must watch this trilogy in order, as the love story only gets sweeter with time.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Buy), iTunes (Buy)
2. Her
Director: Spike Jonze

Believe it or not, "Gravity" was not the year's best reminder of Kubrick's "2001." That title belongs to "Her," which turned the concept of HAL 9000 into a highly unique romance.

A year after his brilliant performance in "The Master," Joaquin Phoenix plays a loner in the near future of Los Angeles who falls in love with a state-of-the-art operating system, a la Siri (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). The premise may seem bizarre, but is it any crazier than love itself? As co-star Amy Adams says, "Falling in love is a form of socially acceptable insanity."

The result is the most impossibly touching love story since "Harold and Maude" (1971), saying so much about where we are as a digital society losing face-to-face interaction.

After directing a pair of modern masterpieces -- "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" -- from scripts by the wonderfully weird Charlie Kaufman ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), "Her" is the first original script Spike Jonze has written for himself. He should do it more often.

Where to Watch: In Theaters
1. Short Term 12
Director: Destin Cretton

If you missed it over the summer, stop what you're doing right now and add "Short Term 12" to your Netflix queue. The setup is a little bit "Dead Poets Society" and a lotta bit "Cuckoo's Nest," only instead of Nurse Ratched we get a sweet, selfless Brie Larson, who runs an institution for at-risk teens where a new arrival reminds her a lot of herself and her own inner demons.

Anyone who loves filmmaking has to love the success story of young Destin Cretton, who wrote and directed the 22-minute short "Short Term 12" (2008) based on his own experiences working with troubled youth. When the short picked up several festival awards, he expanded it into his first full-length feature, which won both the Jury Prize and Audience Award at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.

"You need to get ready, 'cause it's so unbelievable," says co-star John Gallagher Jr. "It depends if you tell it right," replies Brie Larson, to which Gallagher insists, "There's no way not to tell this right. It is a storyteller's wet dream." You are so right.

Where to Watch: Netflix (DVD), Amazon (Rent/Buy), iTunes (Rent/Buy), Xfinity On Demand

See where all of these "hidden gems" rank among our Top 40 Movies of 2013.
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