Fall is the time of year when the leaves change color, the air gets a distinct crispness and the movies all of a sudden get really good. While the year up to this point has certainly had some gems, it's been very hit or miss. With the stocked platter of promising films showing up this back-loaded fall season, I have a feeling that only one or two in current top ten will make it past the end of the year's chopping block. I'm only confident that one, Before Midnight, will make it to the final scoreboard on my Top Ten List.

As for this fall, there is a massive selection for all film-going audiences with blockbusters like Thor: The Dark World, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - sure to be the colon-sporting trio busting the doors off the season's box-office records - alongside fare more intended for the Oscar-conscious.

It's nearly impossible to make a list out of so many strong contenders but, for the love of the internet, a list must be crafted, framed in the bones of the defeated. Amongst those that I am anticipating but just didn't make the cut are a wealth of films based on true stories: Ron Howard's F1 racing biopic Rush couldn't be further from Steve McQueen's story of a free black man forced back into slavery, Twelve Years a Slave, but looks equally intriguing. The true story of Walt Disney, here played by Tom Hanks, comes to light in Saving Mr. Banks but concern over how watered down the Disney-production will be keeps it from mounting the tippy-tops of my anticipation charts. Also in the true life department is the Somalian pirate hijacking film, also starring Hanks, Captain Phillips from director Paul Greengrass, alongside Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey as a patient battling for fair prescription-drugs for HIV-positive patients and the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring The Fifth Estate about the rise and fall of Julian Asange.
Also on that list are a few guilty pleasures. The latest iteration of the iconic American CIA operative created by Tom Clancy in Jack Ryan, now played by Chris Pine, has the potential to launch either an intellectual franchise or could be a big old dud. Similarly, Anchorman 2 is positioned to top the laugh charts but this one-liner built may just miss the ingredient that made the first so unforgettable. Frozen hopes to heat up Disney's latest streak of animated winners while putting a nail in the coffin of the golden era of Pixar but also stands the chance to be as vanilla as Despicable Me 2. Both The Past and August: Osage County look like they could be winners... or could be heavily stepped in melodrama. We shall see.

Jason Reitman's latest, Labor Day, is poised to be a good, if not great film, as is Alexander Payne's Nebraska. Out of the Furnace has an all-star cast (C. Bale, C. Affleck, Z. Saldana, W. Harrelson, F. Whitaker) and looks to either be quite a show or quite a disappointmentwhile Spike Jonze's Her looks pretty much phenomenal already (and missed the list by a hair).

Now with those out of the way, let's get down to the final ten.

10. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller is a funny little man who looks like he's trying to break the mold. Equal parts comedy, sci-fi, adventure and drama, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty looks enigmatic in all the right ways. The first trailer was almost completely devoid of dialogue but set us up for a film that is, in the very least, beautifully crafted and impeachable realized.

The story synopsis is as follows: "An office worker who lives inside fantasy worlds where he gets to live an adventurous life while romancing his co-worker sets off a global journey to fix things when both of their jobs are threatened."

With comedy gold like Tropic Thunder, Cable Guy and Zoolander already under his directorial belt, Stiller has already proven that he's got a knack for comedy. Whether that extends into something more likely to be considered Oscar territory is up for interpretation but is a debate that will surely be bubbling come the release of this film.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is directed by and starring Ben Stiller, it also features Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn, Adam Scott, and Patton Oswalt. It opens Christmas Day, 2013.

9. Oldboy

With a tendency to rock the boat, Spike Lee is a definitively hit-of-miss talent. But the combination of a talented cast, stellar art direction, and a nifty story of revenge per Korean filmmaker Chan Wook-Park, this looks to add up to a genuine thrill ride packing some real visceral hits. In the fall season, we need a well measured dose of ultra-violence and Oldboy looks to deliver for those of us craving the goods.

"Obsessed with vengeance," the synopsis read, "a man sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked up into solitary confinement for 20 years without reason." If you haven't checked out the trailer, give it a look here but be aware that it's NSFW.

Oldboy is directed by Spike Lee and stars Josh Brolin, Samuel L Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen and Michael Imperioli. It hits theaters on October 25.

8. Foxcatcher

Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher has been surprisingly light on marketing. We got a glimpse of Steve Carrell as a murdering psychopath but no trailer has yet seen the light of day. Having just set a mid-December release date for the film, Sony Pictures Classics really has to turn on the machine to start churning up interest for the masses. Us in the industry though know that Miller (Moneyball) is a name to look out for, especially backed by a killer cast that features Carrell,Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Michael Hall.

The description is brief but powerful, setting this one up as a film that could truly be great (especially with Miller's nuanced directing): "The story of Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz and how paranoid schizophrenic John duPont killed his brother, Olympic Champion Dave Schultz. " 
 
 Foxcatcher is directed by Bennett Miller and stars Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Michael Hall. It hits theaters December 13.

7. Inside Llewyn Davis

When the Coen Bros make a film, you watch it. Now it doesn't always end up being the genre-blending piece of cinema you were hoping for but the effort is always there. Luckily, response for their latest, Inside Llewyn Davis, has been overwhelmingly positive, with many already ranking it amongst their best works.

I want to remain optimistic without getting myself too hyped for the film as I was not nearly as won over by True Grit as many others and thought A Serious Man was overwrought in metaphors to the point of not really mattering.

Following Oscar Issaac as the titular character, the story follows "a week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961." If you're not sold yet, check out the first and second trailers here.

Inside Llewyn Davis is directed by the Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake, F. Murray Abraham, and Garrett Hedlund. It hits limited theaters on December 6 and goes wide on December 20.

6. The Monuments Men

What do George Clooney, George Clooney, and George Clooney have in common? They (he) wrote, directed and starred in The Monuments Men. Remember, Clooney is working off a bit of a gilded track record with his previous endeavors The Ides of March and Good Night and Good Luck both slipping away as critical darlings.

This time Clooney has recruited an all-star cast to round out this WWII adventure/heist/drama film that some are comparing to Ocean's Eleven with Nazis. Nuff said.

The boiled down idea of the film? "In a race against time, a crew of art historians and museum curators unite to recover renowned works of art stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them."

Clooney and company surprised audiences with the release of the first trailer as it featured a lot more comedy than we were expecting. In light of that, I believe the lightish hue makes the film even more worthy of anticipation.

The Monuments Men is written by, starring and directed by George Clooney. It also stars Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville and John Goodman. It hits theaters in the thick of Oscar season on December 18

5. The Counselor

Mr. Ridley Scott,what a big question mark you've become. The man responsible for genre-altering cinema like Alien, Blade Runner and even Gladiator has since seemed descended into a black hole of talent. Although his most recent work on Prometheus seemed to signal a return to form, his entire 2000-2010 platter was the definition of lackluster.

The Counselor though looks to turn the ship around once and for all. With Cormac McCarthy penning the original script and a killer cast, backed by a madcap trailer, this looks like one that could score big for Scott's shot at nabbing some Oscar nominations after a long absence from the ceremony.

The short and sweet of it: "A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking."

The Counselor is directed by Ridley Scott, written by Cormac McCartney and stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. It hits theaters October 25.

4. All is Lost

Robert Redford's one man army is exactly the type of bold direction that the industry needs. With J.C. Chandor behind the camera and only Redford in front of it, this is a definitively stripped down film, exactly the turn we crave in a film climate overstuffed with CGI, subplots and hapless romance.

Tracking a man sailing on his own, slowly being won over by nature, All is Lost has already been called a powerhouse after it's debut in Cannes. The synopsis: "After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face." The trailer only serves to solidify the promised intensity. With a release date a little over a month away (and a screening even sooner), I can't wait to see this.

All is Lost is directed by J.C. Chandorand stars Robert Redford. It hits theaters on October 18.

3. Gravity

From magical worlds to dystopian futures to the blackness of space, Alfonso follows up his last masterpiece with the story of "a medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space."

What was once my most anticipated film of the entire year, Gravity has taken a bit of a slip after the curtain was lifted and we got a first look at the trailer. Don't get me wrong, the trailer displayed exactly the brand of filmmaking prowess from Alfronso Cuaron that made me get so initially excited for the movie. It also confirmed that Sandra Bullock is the star of it, a fact I kept trying to overlook as my anticipation levels rose.

The simple one-and-two of it is that I just find Bullock annoying. It's just hard to keep a film at that top slot when the star of the feature is essentially guaranteed to be at best, not annoying, and at worst, super annoying. Hopefully Cuaron's distinct single-shot camera work draws us away from the inadequacies of the actress and creates a sense of wonder we haven't yet experienced at the movies.

To his credit, Cuaron seems like a guy who knows exactly what he's doing so I guess he must have some trick up his sleeve in employing Bullock over a host of rival actresses chomping at the bit to work with the visionary director. For now, we can only cross our fingers and hope that this delivers as massively as I'm hoping it will. Though it will debut at TIFF in a few short weeks, it arrives in theaters in pretty much a month flat.

Gravity is directed by Alfonso Cuaron and stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. It will fall into theaters on October 4.

2. The Wolf of Wall Street

Leo and Scorsese are back at it. The duo responsible for Shutter Island, The Departed, The Aviator and Gangs of New York reteam for their fifth collaboration together. With three of their four films together nominated for Best Picture and The Departed winning - Shutter Island being the massively underrated exception - there is no denying that this combo is a surefire way to set the industry alight. 

Their latest is "based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government." Based on the memoirs penned by Belfort himself, this tale of mile-high corruption comes across a project as dark as it is fun.

The first trailer for the film had a seething sense of life to it, anchored by tasty performances across the board. While Scorsese is essentially guaranteed both a Best Director and Best Picture nod, the question on everyone's tongue is whether this will finally be the year that Leonardo DiCaprio will walk away with Oscar gold.

The Wolf of Wall Street is directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo Dicaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey,  Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner and Spike Jonze. It hits theaters November 15.

1. American Hustle

The count is in and David O. Russell rises to the top. With an unstoppable track record for getting his actors both nominated and winning Academy Awards left and right, there is no doubt in my mind that American Hustle will feature some of the finest acting in all of 2013. With a knock out cast that includes Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Robert De Niro and Michael Peña this slightly true tale of corruption amongst ABSCAM is sure to tear the house down.

Deftly blending drama and comedy has become a calling card for O. Russell and his latest looks to only accelerate that trend. The trailer, though a touch too revealing for my taste, looked picturesque. From the costume and set design to everyone's complete embodiment of their characters, this just looks like a great time at the movies.

American Hustle is "the story of a con artist and his partner in crime, who were forced to work with a federal agent to turn the tables on other cons, mobsters, and politicians - namely, the volatile mayor of impoverished Camden, New Jersey. "

American Hustle is directed by David O. Russell and stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Robert De Niro, Michael Peña, Louis C.K. and Amy Adams. It opens in limited theaters on December 13 and opens wide on December 25.

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That concludes my top ten list for Fall 2013. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well as your own personal top ten lists. Have at it in the comments section below!

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