2013 Dream Oscar Ballot.

Having now wrapped up my review of the film year that was, I have finally finished my 2013 Oscar ballot in all of the major categories just before the Oscar nominations are announced tomorrow. And boy, was it a doozy. Each category has six nominees (one more than Oscar, but still not enough) with one winner bolded and a runner-up italicized (lest I deprive someone the prestigious honor of being second place on my ballot).

Deciding on a few of these categories was truly heinous (leading actor could have easily merited a three-way tie) while others were utterly vacant (supporting actor continues to be a wasteland). Some of these categories have been set in my mind for a long time while others formed spontaneously as I wrote them which lead to a number of surprises (Spring Breakers with a pretty big technical haul).

Meanwhile, even I was surprised at all the Oscar favorites that didn't drum up my passion and the deserving candidates who surely won't show up tomorrow morning. But our favorites are favorites for a reason, not because awards bodies agree, and so with that I sum up 2013 and lay out my personal choices.

The Best Films of 2013.

The time has come. 2013 has already come to a close, but now that the film year is winding down with awards season, it is the perfect time to reflect on the year as it was. And it was a busy one. As of this posting, I have a list of 105 (!) films that I saw this year (the vast majority of those were free, before you begin thinking that anyone can rightly afford to see that much with ticket prices being what they are) and still plenty more that I couldn't quite get my hands on (I made up this list before seeing Philomena so please be aware that I cannot conclusively say Philomena is not the best at everything ever).

It must be said that 2013 was a fantastic year for movies. Certainly, looking back at 2012 when I had trouble even deciding on ten films that felt worthy of being on a Best Of list, it has surpassed even my depleted expectations. But what was even more impressive was how diverse the lineup of films were - numerous genres feeling accurately represented and a number of ambitious achievements that won't soon be forgotten.

List making is an inherently difficult task because there's little chance that your personal preferences won't vary as films age and tastes change. But this year, looking at my lineup, I feel confident that I've narrowed down ten films that I confidently love (and another ten that I greatly admire) that will stay with me long after the year is over. So here are ten runners-up (ranked alphabetically) and my top ten favorite films of the year. Enjoy!