When I did the 2012 year in review, there were lots of action and comedy risers specifically, making 2012 one of the secretly great years in movies in terms of breadth of quality films. 2013 contains no such large riser, as most of my reviews that year were pretty close to where I think of them today, only moving up/down by half a star or so.
The biggest fall was Lee Daniels’s The Butler, which I LOVED at the time, but had clearly benefited from timing. Less than 2 months later, 12 Years a Slave came out, which covered, in much more critical detail, similar topics as The Butler, so that movie dropped to 3.5 stars (from 4.5) and out of the top 10 for the year. There was no truly great film to rise a full star, but The Conjuring has gained the most esteem for the year. At time it was just a really great horror movie, but 2 spinoffs and a sequel later, the original has lost none of its potency and remains one of the great horror films of the decade.
The top 10 is probably where 2013 saw the most movement. There were 3 perfectly rated films for me this year, a very top heavy year for sure. Those 3 moved around resulting in a new #1, which has grown in power and value each time I review it. There are 5 great films in 2013, with The Conjuring being the 5th added to the list, including the Best Picture Winner from this year. The bottom of the top 10 sees 3 new entries as well, including a rom com, a breakout film for a now insanely famous actor and director, and a little Disney animated musical, which made me bump Wolf of Wall Street out of the Top 10. I hope Martin Scorcese will be able to Let It Go.