Genre: Family fantasy
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen
Don’t Miss Because: It’s Martin Scorsese doing a family film. Who thought they’d see that happen? Based on the much-loved book The Invention of Hugo Cabaret, the movie has a whimsical sense of adventure, accompanied by a truly delicious use of 3D and a couple of sincere nods to early cinema. This may help you prepare.
Genre: War
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Emily Watson
Don’t Miss Because: War Horse is a combination of two things Spielberg excels at: World War spectacle (Saving Private Ryan) and getting us to adore seemingly vulnerable creatures to eye-dribbling levels (E.T.). It seems like a typical Steven Spielberg film, and that’s ‘cause it is. And that’s just fine by us.
Genre: Mystery thriller
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy
Don’t Miss Because: Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes), Benedict Cumberbatch (TV’s Sherlock), John Hurt (Alien), Ciarán Hinds (There Will Be Blood), Toby Jones (Captain America) and Stephen Graham (Snatch). How can you not be excited?
Genre: Thriller
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer
Don’t Miss Because: The Millennium trilogy is awesome. David Fincher is awesome. That’s two times the awesome. Adding to that, Rooney Mara gives a performance that has been turning a number of critical heads, with some placing her embodiment of complex lead Lisbeth above and beyond Noomi Papace’s original incarnation. A bold statement indeed.
Genre: Comedy drama
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Oswald Patton
Don’t Miss Because: The last time director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody teamed up, they made Juno. And Juno was rad. They now shift from a coming-of-age story to a never-did-age tale, with Charlize Theron playing the grotty young adult who failed to grow beyond her high-school hey-days.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer
Don’t Miss Because: Old Georgie could be on track for his first leading role Oscar. Even if not, we're sure he had a great time filming this drama in balmy Hawaii, wearing his favourite collection of Hawaiian shirts and practicing his ukelele skills. Plus, few directors tread the bittersweet comedy drama line as adeptly as Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt, Election).
Genre: Romance
Director: Drake Doremus
Starring: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence
Don’t Miss Because: Much like last year’s Blue Valentine, this quiet indie film is a brutally honest look at how a tender romance can bloom into beauty and contort into misery. Critically adored at the Sundance Film Festival, this is a love story told with a sometimes sweet, sometimes severe simplicity.
Genre: Superhero found-footage thriller
Director: Josh Trank
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Dane DeHaan
Don’t Miss Because: The trailer sold it to us. Sure, we’re getting pretty oversaturated with the gimmicky use of found-footage (Apollo 18), but this indie film about cheeky mutating adolescents has made us believers again. Plus, if we had cell-phone cameras and telekinesis at that age, we’d fully be pulling the same pranks.
Genre: Silent movie
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Malcolm McDowell
Don’t Miss Because: This French black and white silent film has been munching on the critical praise like a kid in a candy mausoleum. Though cautious thinkers may wonder if its extreme retro style is merely an attention-seeking gimmick, rest assured that there’s an intention behind its madness, with an elegant beauty to match.
Genre: Dramedy
Director: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Don’t Miss Because: George Clooney is so darn good at telling us what sucks about American politics (see Goodnight and Good Luck). As an Oscar-winking film, it’s ticking all the right boxes: stellar cast, intricate plot, rock-solid direction, all wrapped up in a governmental conspiracy. Prepare for more back-stabbings than a bed of knives.
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