theOneliner.com: Handling the Truth

As is traditional around these parts, our first podcast of the year is our annual round-up of our favourite (and least favourite) films of the preceding year. (As is also traditional around these parts, we're later with these than we hoped to be, so please just try to pretend that this isn't, in fact, our second podcast of the year. Even though it is. Look, just go with it, OK?)

And now, without further ado, and in no particular order, we present to you theOneliner's Best of 2013:

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (despite BAFTA's continued, pathetic, plays for relevancy in the US, for British cinema-goers this was a 2013 film) sees Daniel Day-Lewis on typically blistering form as the United States' greatest president, with fine support from the likes of Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field.

Coming of age tale (and eschewer of punctuation) The Way Way Back is touching, believable and very funny, and features a superb comic turn from Sam Rockwell.

A career-best performance from Michael Douglas as Liberace marks out Behind the Candelabra, Steven Soderbergh's final feature before his self-imposed hiatus. While this may lack some depth, Douglas transcends mere imitation to deliver a compelling portrait of the flamboyant showman.

Prisoners, the story of the father of a missing child who takes the law into his own hands, is an excellent character piece, and features an outstanding ensemble, amongst whom are Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello, Paul Dano and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Robert Zemeckis returns to directing live action with Flight, in which Denzel Washington plays a hero aviator who also happens to be an alcoholic. While the film's set-up is largely incidental, Washington's presence is not, and he gives a captivating portrayal of a man struggling to cope with his demons.

While it may be rude, lewd, dirty, debauched and entirely inappropriate, Filth, based on the Irvine Welsh novel, is also exceptionally funny. A charismatic lead in James McAvoy, superb support from Eddie Marsan and the best nightclub scene in years are among many good reasons to see this.

Rush charts the careers and rivalry of legendary racing drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt, culminating in the climax of the 1976 F1 season. As with the best sporting films, a knowledge of, or fondness for, the sport in question is not necessary, and even those entirely unfamiliar with F1 will find plenty to entertain them in the performances of Chris Hemsworth and, particularly, Daniel Brühl.

Turning the law of diminishing returns firmly on its head, Iron Man 3 is probably the best film yet from Marvel, thanks to a sharp script, assured direction and another charismatic turn from Robert Downey Jr. A lack of reliance on CGI setpieces is another point in its favour.

While it had the potential to be an unbearably self-indulgent, self-referential love-in, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's post-apocalyptic This is the End is one of the most consistently funny things we've seen in a long time.

The World's End, the final film in the 'Three Colours Cornetto' trilogy, sees a group of old school friends attempt to complete a legendary pub crawl, uncovering a dark secret as they do so. With many of the same potential pitfalls as the previous title, this gets off to a slower start, but once it starts hitting it never lets up, and it provides some of the biggest laughs of the year.

Yet another film that could potentially suffer from self-indulgence, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is the only one of these three that actually gets tripped up by it, but there's more than enough comedy gold to make up for these imperfections.

The laughter continues with Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, an unapologetically low brow film that sources most of its mirth from puerile stunts and the reactions of innocent people to the same. Not for everyone, perhaps, but approach this in the right frame of mind and you will be rewarded.

While it may not have seemed it at the time, looking back it is clear that 2013 was a bumper year for comedy films. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is no exception, with a truly magnificent comic performance from Steve Coogan as the legendary presenter.

In the House sees an embittered teacher take a bright young pupil under his wing, whence he comes to realise that the pupil's creative writing has more basis in reality than it at first seemed. Superb characters and very clever writing make this a compelling watch.

As beautiful as ever, the latest from Studio Ghibli, From Up on Poppy Hill, may be lacking in narrative terms, but it has deep emotional impact and some simple yet beautifully observed scenes of domestic life that show, once again, that they are the masters of the animated film.

"A return to form" may well be one of the most overused terms in film criticism, but in the case of Quentin Tarantino and Django Unchained it is, for once, apposite. Sparkling dialogue, over the top action and actors clearly relishing their roles are among the many things that make this hugely entertaining.

The last of our films of the year, Philomena, sees Steve Coogan again, alongside Judi Dench. This time it's a straight role for Coogan (and he acquits himself with aplomb), as he plays a journalist trying to discover the fate of a child given up for adoption. Flawed, but an interesting plot and great chemistry between the leads make this a worthy watch.

Also of note in 2013 were: a thought-provoking piece about submission to perceived authority; an experiment in narrative structure and (re-)casting of roles that worked far better than it had any right to; a novel approach to keeping the mind active in a man suffering from dementia; a dystopian future Earth; the continuing voyages of a naval vessel's crew; the second installment of a literary adaptation; a superhero sequel managing to redeem many of the sins of an earlier film; documentaries about dedication and hard work in two very different disciplines; a highly-polished disaster movie; and the tale of an alien adopted by simple country folk.

For balance we provide antitheses to these worthy films, and urge you to avoid: possibly the most accurately named, but also most boring, film of the year; a shitty horror film that blows its load early, rightly resulting in ridicule; a tremendously dull attempt at dramatising a recent military operation; a beautiful but empty English-language debut of an acclaimed Asian auteur; a disappointing modern monster movie; a much-anticipated actor/director collaboration that failed to deliver; another much-anticipated cast/director collaboration that likewise failed to deliver; and a film based on the flimsiest of premises that runs out of ideas in its first act.

We hope you enjoyed this retrospective. If you think we've missed anything, or think anything shouldn't be on this list, then we welcome your feedback. You can email us, podcast@theoneliner.com, or contact us on Twitter, @theoneliner. Until next time.

Some people say it's forgive and forget. Nah, I don't know. I say forget about forgivin' and just accept - and get the hell outta town.