Jonathan R. Lack’s Top 10 Films Of 2013

This is the Top 10 list I have been waiting my entire critical career to write. I have been reviewing movies since 2004, and compiling Top 10 lists since 2006, and while the latter task has become increasingly stressful with each passing year – maybe because I see a greater number of movies each year, and maybe because the industry has been on a general upward trend in recent times – I have never had the pleasure or challenge of compiling such a dense collection of cinematic brilliance for my year-end countdown. It is always tough at first, whittling the list of contenders down to the actual ten titles, but if I am being honest, I also find that most Top 10 lists I make are made up of a few films I might call legitimate masterworks, a bunch of great movies I love intensely, and, at the bottom, a sentimental pick or two that most clearly reflects my own obsessions and interests. And that’s perfectly fine, because a Top 10 list constructed like that still represents a whole lot of very meaningful cinema.

Jonathan R. Lack

Published: Dec 20, 2013 11:28 am

This article is over 10 years old and may contain outdated information

[h2]5. The World’s End[/h2]

The World's End

Recommended Videos

It would be easy to call The World’s End 2013’s best comedy, except for the fact that when I think back on it, the laughs – wonderfully creative and plentiful as they may be – are far from the first thing I remember. Like Shaun of the Dead before it, the film isn’t a parody of its genre, but a straight-up science-fiction film, and a phenomenal one at that, using sci-fi concepts as a springboard to larger discussions of middle-age, unfulfilled ambition, addiction, interior trauma, and how we perceive and process experiences of the past when building our futures. And in its surprisingly challenging conclusion, the film goes for a complex, cynical, and perfectly calibrated thematic gut-punch, one that questions whether humanity’s insatiable thirst for independence is truly uplifting, or just downright destructive.

Simon Pegg gives one of the year’s most accomplished performances as the selfish and unlikable Gary King, creating an intense level of empathy even as Gary is never excused for his actions, while Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, and Rosamund Pike combine to make one of the year’s very best ensembles. Perfectly paced, gloriously inventive, and as richly, densely layered as any other film this year, The World’s End doesn’t just conclude Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy in style, but solidifies the series as one of the best and most significant undertakings in modern world cinema.

The World’s End is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Be sure to check our our video interview with Wright and Frost below to hear more about this wonderful film.

Continue reading on the next page…

We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

Author

Jonathan R. Lack

With ten years of experience writing about movies and television, including an ongoing weekly column in The Denver Post's YourHub section, Jonathan R. Lack is a passionate voice in the field of film criticism. Writing is his favorite hobby, closely followed by watching movies and TV (which makes this his ideal gig), and is working on his first film-focused book.