That said, it was a pretty solid year for the arthouse category. Newer directors continued to impress with their unique visions, and established filmmakers proved that they're still in the game with some outstanding entries. Here's a look at some of my favorites, presented in no particular order:
The Place Beyond the Pines. Derek Cianfrance's second collaboration with Ryan Gosling (after Blue Valentine) is an ambitious epic following two generations of fathers and sons and how the acts of one can influence the other. By all rights, this story shouldn't work, especially when presented at such a great length, but Cianfrance, his director of photography Sean Babbitt and composer Mike Patton put it all out there with insistent bravado, and the results are mesmerizing.
Pines boasts some of the most electrifyingly-shot chase scenes I've ever seen and a well-timed first-act shock (those who've seen it know what I mean). Gosling plays another of his social misfits, here trying to provide for a family that doesn't want him to, and Bradley Cooper steps away from his Hangover persona to play an ambitious cop whose morals are tested in a corrupt precinct. Dane De Haan, also memorable in Kill Your Darlings, impresses as Gosling's teenage son, searching for the father he never knew.

He said that Helen Mirren and Judi Dench are the two greatest actresses we have today, and it's hard to argue with the assertion. Mirren's work in The Queen won her the Best Actress Oscar in 2007, and Dench almost certainly will be nominated as the title character of Frears' latest project. Based on true events, it's the story of a small-town Irishwoman who teams up with an English journalist to find the son she'd borne as an unwed teenager and who was taken away from her when he was still a toddler.
This is one of those films that you just know is going to provide a vigorous emotional workout, but I was delighted to find it even better than I'd anticipated. Dench is wonderful as always, and co-writer Steve Coogan, who's noted mostly for comedy, provides solid support as the journalist Martin Sixsmith, upon whose book the story is based. Alexandre Desplat's lush score and the gorgeous Irish locations also enhance the experience. Hell, even Washington, D.C. looks good, although Frears confessed that London had to stand in for some of the American footage.
Inside Llewyn Davis. I just reviewed this last week, so I'll be brief. This bleak comedy/drama about a struggling folkie in 1960s Greenwich Village is beautifully realized by the Coen Brothers, with knockout work from star Oscar Isaac and supporting players who look like they just stepped out of the pages of Life Magazine circa 1961. And the cat...

George Clooney is Kowalski, the commander of the team on his final mission, and his nonchalant attitude helps put Stone at ease. But the Soviets have just exploded one of their defunct satellites, releasing a dangerous cloud of debris that is now hurtling toward them — and all hell breaks loose.
Their home base is destroyed, and as they make a tandem attempt to reach the nearby International Space Station, their parachute cords get tangled. Kowalski realizes that a choice must be made or they'll both die, so he cuts himself loose from the tether, offering her words of encouragement as he floats off into the darkness.
Thereafter, Gravity becomes Stone’s story of survival. Bullock, who is in virtually every frame of the film, rises to the occasion. I predict a nomination for sure — the Academy loves this type of heroine. But this is a passion project of director Alfonso Cuaron, who made both the terrific Y Tu Mamá También and Children of Men. Cuaron's son, Jonas, co-wrote the screenplay. Along with Bullock’s nod, I predict a lot of tech nominations.

This sounds like material better suited for a half-hour Twilight Zone episode, but Jonze, making his sole writing debut here, fills the story with bleak humor and good characters. As Theodore walks the streets in a depressed haze, he's surrounded by people who are likewise disengaged from real human contact, so involved are they with their devices.
Phoenix has never been more sympathetic — here's another Oscar nod. Johansson does lovely work as the voice of Samantha (as the OS names herself). Amy Adams is appealing as Theo's friend and neighbor, a game designer who also befriends her OS.
And visually it's a knockout. K.K. Barrett's production design, Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography, along with digitally-added Shanghai locations, give us a Los Angeles that's simultaneously familiar and strangely surreal. You can see my full review here.

It's not just McConaughey's physical transformation that's striking (he reportedly dropped nearly 40 pounds for the role) — it's also his performance. Vulgar, cruel and deeply homophobic, he's the antithesis of the likable, "aw shucks" characters that were the actor's prior stock in trade. But when his friends find out about his diagnosis, he finds himself on the receiving end of all that hate and begins to evolve. He takes as a business partner a transvestite, Rayon (a likewise slimmed-down Jared Leto) and even becomes a hero in the local gay community.
Director Jean-Marc Valeé sets the story in realitically gritty, run-down locations; you can practically feel the sleaze. Craig Borton and Melisa Wallack's screenplay is refreshingly unsentimental; although Woodruff begins to accept and understand the differences of others, he doesn't grow a heart of gold.
Among the rest, Disney's Saving Mr. Banks was a rather unusual entry for that studio, with good work from Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. The earnest 12 Years a Slave will certainly garner a nod for Chiwetel Ejiofor. Gosling's other art film of the year, Only God Forgives, was another insane roller coaster ride from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn. And Daniel Radcliffe put on a different pair of glasses to play Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings.
Next week: The Best in Television 2013