2013 was a rare year in which the concentration of flat-out grand cinematic gems was so high it’s truly impossible to narrow down a top 10 list that one could be completely content with. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this list has been extended to a top 15, accompanied by another set of films listed as honorable mentions (in other words, the films I would also include in the list, but simply ran out of room). So, what follows — in reverse order — is a list of the greatest films of 2013.

Don’t hesitate to let me know if you agree — or disagree!

Honorable Mention:

– “The Great Beauty” (dir. Paolo Sorrentino)

– “Blue Jasmine” (dir. Woody Allen)

– “The Counselor” (dir. Ridley Scott)

– “Spring Breakers” (dir. Harmony Korrine)

– “Man of Steel” (dir. Zack Snyder)

– “The Great Gatsby” (dir. Baz Luhrmann)

– “Laurence Anyways” (dir. Xavier Dolan)

– “Fruitvale Station” (dir. Ryan Coogler)

– “Drug War” (dir. Johnnie To)

– “Frances Ha” (dir. Noah Baumbach)

– “Only God Forgives” (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)

– “The Conjuring” (dir. James Wan)

– “Escape From Tomorrow” (dir. Randy Moore)

15. “All Is Lost” (dir. J.C. Chandor)

In this one-man, nearly wordless performance, Robert Redford shines perhaps the brightest he has in his career. It’s amazing what can be produced without the use of language. The film, which boasts only maybe 10 or 15 lines of dialogue, creates a sense of mystery and exhaustion. It’s a nail-biter, but more importantly it does what more films should do, but don’t: it takes a chance.

14. “Gravity” (dir. Alfonso Cuaron)

Cuaron, already proving himself a master of filmmaking with one of the best science-fiction films of recent memory, “Children of Men,” takes his love of the long shot and realistic CGI to full effect with “Gravity.” It’s a film that beckons to be seen on the big screen; anywhere else would take away from the experience. It’s a journey, slightly lacking story development, but making up for it with tremendous cinematography.

13. “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” (dir. David Lowery)

David Lowery’s feature film debut features a rather simple plot, but provides us with complex enough characters that we’re immersed in the film from the beginning. Lowery’s visual style evokes the qualities of Terrence Malick. Now, he’s definitely no Terry Malick, but Lowery still proves himself a filmmaker to keep an eye on with this movie.

12. “Prisoners” (dir. Denis Villeneuve)

Here’s the best thriller of the year, and more. Providing excellent performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhal, the film is sensationally effective. At times, it can be hard to watch, as we endure what every parent is truly petrified by – the abduction of a child. But it is afterwards when the viewer is really hit with the emotional complexity. It’s after we see the film that we realize what we just watched could, and does, actually happen.

11. “Captain Phillips” (dir. Paul Greengrass)

It all falls on Tom Hanks and his nearly impeccable acting skills to keep this film from becoming too exhaustive. The film is intense, and the final 10 minutes will leave you shaken, emotionally-stirred, and breathless – again, all thanks to Hanks’ performance.

10. “Upstream Color” (dir. Shane Carruth)

Shane Carruth’s previous film, “Primer,” was an intellectual puzzle – frustrating, tough to understand, and a bit too jumpy. That being said, Carruth’s newest outing, “Upstream Color,” is about the same. It jumps around, not letting the viewer understand a bit of what’s happening, and when you finally begin to piece some of the thing together, it opens a new end. It’s not until the film’s final 10 minutes that you are finally released from its grip – and that’s quite something to experience.

9. “Dallas Buyers Club” (dir. Jean-Marc Vallee)

Carried on the scrawny shoulders of both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, this film pinpoints its emotions straight to the core, also managing to educate the viewer without ever feeling too didactic. With that, it’s a near-perfect biopic.

8. “The Place Beyond the Pines” (dir. Derek Cianfrance)

One word can be used to describe Derek Cianfrance’s third feature film: daring. With each plot turn, the viewer is left more or less guessing where it’ll all go next. It’s a powerful film that focuses on family, but more importantly the love you can find inside  yourself because of it. It’s a strange experience, watching the movie, but that’s what makes it great.

7. “Inside Llewyn Davis” (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen)

This is a rare film — one you can’t really appreciate or comprehend until it’s finished. And even then, you still might want to go back and watch it a second time. Where the Coen Brothers’ humor used to be straight black comedy, they’ve mellowed throughout the years, and now their brand of humor is much more philosophical and thought-driven (think “A Serious Man”). “Inside Llewyn Davis” provides us with a strange — and certainly unique — look at a period in time full of desires and bad luck. So far into the duo’s career, it’s their masterpiece. Yeah, you heard me – it’s their best film.

6. “Blue Is the Warmest Color” (dir. Abdellatif Kechiche)

All metaphorical clumsiness stowed away, if you’ve ever eaten pop-candy, then you’ve experienced Kechiche’s epic masterpiece, “Blue Is the Warmest Color.” It explodes with extraordinary performances, and sizzles with brutal honesty about the consequences of love. Never have I seen such raw emotion displayed on a screen so nonchalantly. The camera seems to be a fly on the wall as we witness the building up and destruction of a passionate relationship between two hopeless lovers.

5. “Her” (dir. Spike Jonze)

“Her” is an amazing and sometimes frightening meditation on contemporary society’s standards of love — and what the future looks like.  It’s real and down-to-earth, observing how “unreal” many feelings are nowadays. It boasts perhaps the most original screenplay since Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.”

4.  “12 Years a Slave” (dir. Steve McQueen)

Steve McQueen’s filmography roars with fury, and he’s only made three feature films thus far. To begin, 2008’s “Hunger” is a masterful work of art. 2011’s “Shame” was the best of its year, and is perhaps the most realistic, hard-hitting portrayal of an addict’s life that’s ever graced the screen. Now, 2013’s “12 Years a Slave” is yet another masterpiece from McQueen. A film has rarely packed such a heavy-handed punch.

3. “The Hunt” (dir. Thomas Vinterberg)

This is the kind of cinema that restores my faith in the medium. Here’s a gripping character study, exploring the worst possibilities when one simple lie spreads throughout a small community. The criminally underrated Mads Mikkelsen delivers his finest performance in this truly disturbing drama. Providing a final scene that still haunts me, “The Hunt” is one of the most riveting films of the year.

2. “The Act of Killing” (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer)

I’d venture to say this is perhaps one of the most important films of all time. “The Act of Killing” is a haunting look into guilt, and puts a human face on the devilish smile of evil. Anwar Congo, one of Indonesia’s top death squad members, has executed hundreds of people with his own hands, and is asked by filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer to reenact what it was like to torture and kill. The result is truly haunting. The disturbing places this documentary takes us causes both the subject, Anwar, and the audience, to struggle with inner demons. It’s a raw film that begs to be seen.

1. “The Wolf of Wall Street” (dir. Martin Scorsese)

Here’s a film that should come with a warning label for the masses. The debate and controversy over Martin Scorsese’s latest masterpiece, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” already feels excessively labored and tired. No, for the last time, the film does not glamourize the actions of its main character, Jordan Belfort. It does, however, stick Belfort’s actions upon a carousel of revelry. An interesting aspect to the film, and an attribute that only proves Scorsese’s genius, is that we never see the victims of Belfort’s crime, except himself.

Isn’t that just how Belfort lived his early life? He never saw his victims as people. It was only when his actions began affecting himself that he began to change – or should I say “rearrange” — his ways. Completed by any other director, this film would have fallen flat. But, in the hands of Scorsese, we witness three hours of sheer entertainment. Not only do we never endure a dull moment, but we also have the pleasure of witnessing a career-best performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, who really stretches his wings with this picture.

Literally, everybody involved in the making of this film is at the top of their game. The result is a movie that will feel as refreshing, funny and perfectly crafted in 20 years as 1990s “Goodfellas” seems today.