Another year ends. Another year begins. Year after year, we are treated with another barrel-full of movies and, quite obviously, 2012 is no different (unless you believe in the whole Mayan end-of-the-world doomsday prophecy). The aim of this list is to sift through the heap and shortlist a selection of movies that will bring some sense to the release calendar. So here’s a list of movies to look forward to in 2012, one list to rule them all: action, comedy, drama, sci-fi, animated, super-hero and… Middle-Earth!

Note: All release dates mentioned are for the USA, for the sake of some order. They are also, owing to some random reason, subject to change.

Haywire
Action, Thriller
Release date: January 20th

Steven Soderbergh (Oceans 11, 12, 13) picked real-world mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano as the action heroine of his new film. The movie also stars Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Michael Fassbender. Going by the trailer, it looks kick-ass. It’s about time Hollywood gets a good female action star apart from Angelina Jolie.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Superhero, Action
Release date: February 17th

Don’t judge this sequel by the previous Ghost Rider movie. Although it stars the same actor playing the lead (the one & only: Nicholas Cage), the key difference here is that it is directed by the duo who made Crank and Crank 2. For a fiery demon with a flaming skull for a hero, these are just the guys the movie needed: over-the-top and never taking it seriously. Fun!

John Carter
Fantasy, Action
Release date: March 9th

Owing to the amount of special effects and aliens this movie has (it is set on Mars afterall), it may as well have been an animated movie. Even so, John Carter is an enduring character having appeared in books and comics for a century! My anticipation for this movie though is based on only one fact: Director Andrew Stanton has made the most lovable Pixar movie/character to date – Wall-E.

Mirror, Mirror
Comedy, Fantasy
Release date: March 16th

The first of two Snow White adaptations in 2012, this is the funny one. It is directed by a once-upon-a-time visualist, but now just a director for hire Tarsem (The Fall, Immortals). The one thing this movie has going for it: Julia Roberts plays the Evil Queen. In a comedy, that’s perfect casting. Unless you also count the seven real life dwarfs playing the dwarves.

The Hunger Games
Action, Thriller
Release date: March 23rd

12 districts vying for better rations from the Capitol send two competitors each to take part in the annual Hunger Games, a survival game that ends with only one player alive. The popular series of books gets its first movie adaptation in what is promised to be a franchise. Jennifer Lawrence (the new Mystique from X-Men: First Class) is the one we’re rooting for, and she’s trained by Woody Harrelson. FTW!

The Avengers
Superhero, Action
Release date: May 4th

A movie that features Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Dr Banner, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. This is as awesome as it gets. In fact, only one word can make this awesomeness more awesome: HULK.

The Dictator
Comedy
Release date: May 11th

How does Sacha Baron Cohen do it? Borat, Bruno and now this. If the trailer is anything to go by, this may as well trump Borat to become his most recognizable persona. What is The Dictator? It is the heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. WTF indeed! (watch the movie’s hilarious trailer for to find out what the “F” stands for).

Dark Shadows
Mystery, Horror
Release date: May 11th

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp continue their mutual love for the bizarre in this gothic tale about a vampire and his encounters with witches, ghosts, werewolves and other such wonderful folk. And here I thought these two were in for happy times after Alice in Wonderland. Sigh. Also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green.

Men In Black III
Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Release date: May 25th

After a 4 year hiatus, Will Smith is back and just the way we like him: all charming, smooth-talking and funny. In this third Men In Black movie, he goes back in time to meet/save a younger Agent K (Josh Brolin doing a fantastic Tommy Lee Jones impersonation). Let us hope this movie is more like the original rather than the utterly forgettable sequel.

Snow White and the Huntsman
Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Release date: June 1st

The second Snow White adaptation of the year, this is the cool one. The trailer boasts some excellent visuals, pulsating music and glimpses of some promising sequences. Expect the story to stray freely from the original tale, as is evident by the title. Kirsten Stewart plays Snow White with sword and armor, Chris Hemsworth plays the gruff Huntsman with an axe and Charlize Theron is the beautiful evil Queen. Long Live the Queen!

Rock of Ages
Musical, Comedy, Drama
Release date: June 1st

After Hairspray, Adam Shankman brings us another comedy musical that looks like a bagful of fun. Featuring an all-star cast, the pick of the lot are Tom Cruise as a rockstar and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who returns to movies and to the genre that got her the Oscar, playing a religious zealot. This one’s gonna play to the crowd.

Prometheus
Sci-Fi, Action, Horror
Release Date: June 8th

The last two (and only) times Ridley Scott made sci-fi, we got genre defining movies Blade Runner and Alien. While Prometheus is based in the same universe as the Alien movies, this is set earlier and without the xenomorphs. It stars Noomi Rapace as the heroic lead with Michael Fassbender (human-form robot?) and Charlize Theron (traitor?) as other members of her space crew. Watch trailer, get goosebumps.

Jack the Giant Killer
Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Release date: June 15th

Bryan Singer (Usual Suspects, X-Men, X2 , Valkyrie) is one of the best yet highly under-rated directors of his generation. After Superman Returns did not fly the way the studio intended (pun intended), he was contractually obliged to deliver another non-Superman movie. The result is this big-screen re-telling of “Jack & the Beanstalk”. Expectation: watch, enjoy, forget.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer
Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Release date: June 22nd

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov is a minor genius when it comes to visualizing fantastical action sequences. In his second Hollywood movie (after 2008’s Wanted), he pits America’s most bad-ass president as a 20-something against creatures of the night: vampires. Note to boys: zesty Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays wife to the axe-wielding future-president.

Brave
Animation, Comedy, Adventure
Release date: June 22nd

One word: Pixar.

G. I. Joe: Retaliation
Action, action, action
Release date: June 29th

If Fast Five has taught us one thing, it is this: put The Rock in the sequel to an inconsequential movie, get the crowd screaming hoarse. But the makers of of this movie did not want to take any chances. So they upped the equation. They did not just cast The Rock. They also cast, as the original Joe… Bruce Willis! Don’t scroll, here’s the release date again: June 29th.

The Amazing Spider-Man
Superhero, Action
Release date: July 3rd

Spider-man again. From the origin. Just like the comics. And in 3D. The announcement of the movie was *the* super-hero movie news that got eyes-rolling. But then… it is directed by Mark Webb (hehe). And it stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Irrfan Khan (yes, the Bollywood actor), Martin Sheen and Sally Field. And it has that amazing trailer.

The Dark Knight Rises
Superhero, Action, Drama
Release date: July 20th

Batman Begins. The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan & Christian Bale’s trilogy comes to a close with this movie. Expect a befitting finale. And Anne Hathaway.

ParaNorman
Animation, Fantasy, Comedy
Release date: August 17th

From the directors of Corpse Bride and Coraline comes another dark yet funny animated movie. After those two earlier movies, I’m willing to surrender my time in the cinema to these directors, even if the premise reads like a run-of-the-mill plot for a movie: A misunderstood boy who can speak with the dead, takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. No really, trust me on this one.

The Expendables 2
Action
Release date: August 17th

The crew is back: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews. This time Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger have expanded roles too. That’s Terminator, Rambo & John McClane in one movie! Being greedy? There’s two more names added to the mix: Muscles-from-Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme and, wait for it……… Chuuuuuuuck Norris!

Argo
Drama, Comedy
Release date: September 14th

Two movies, two home-runs. Ben Affleck is proving to be every-bit the critically acclaimed director that nobody expected of him. After a crime-drama (Gone Baby Gone) and an action-drama (The Town), Mr Affleck turns his sights on comedy-drama. His latest is based on the real 1979 incident of a CIA specialist who fabricates an absurd plan to rescue six American hostages from Iran: convince Iran that the six are part of a film-crew for a (non-existent) sci-fi movie called Argo.

Looper
Action, Sci-Fi
Release date: September 28th

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, a killer who works for the mob of the future. There’s no paradox there, since you kill someone from the future, it doesn’t change the past, right? And the law (of the future) can’t do much, because the killer isn’t even from their time, right? But then, Joe is assigned a target who he realizes is his own future self! But wait, here’s the kicker: Older Joe is played by Bruce Willis. Uh-oh.

Gangster Squad
Crime, Drama
Release date: October 19th

An all-star cast of Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Robert Patrick and Nick Nolte, playing cops and gangsters of 40s and 50s Los Angeles. In addition to the awesomeness of having Penn, Gosling, Ribisi, Brolin and Nolte on screen together, imagine some of them also being in pinstripe double-breast suits with hats and sporting tommy guns!

Cloud Atlas
Sci-Fi
Release date: October 26th

Apart from the cast & crew, not much is known about this science fiction movie with six stories set across distance and time. It has an unusual combination of directors: Wachowski siblings (The Matrix) & Tom Twyker (The International). What’s fascinating is the cast of those six stories: Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon. Curious, I am.

Skyfall
Action, Thriller
Release date: November 9th

With Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition) directing, expect a character-driven story. But since this *is* OO7 we are talking about, the action won’t be in short-supply. Seems like a smart move to bring a critically-acclaimed director to this action franchise, especially one who has proved he can handle action splendidly. This time, forget the Bond girl, expect the stakes to be claimed by the baddie: Javier Bardem.

Gravity
Sci-Fi, Thriller
Release date: November 23rd

Alfonso Cuarón working on a sci-fi space-survival movie should give any film fan short breath. The premise adds to the anticipation, setting it up to compete for the best of the year: In space, a lone survivor of a mission to repair the Hubble telescope desperately tries to return to earth. Survivor = Sandra Bullock. Undefined role = George Clooney.

Les Misérables
Drama, Musical
Release date: December 7th

Tom Hooper last directed the Oscar winning movie The King’s Speech. Next, he adapts Victor Hugo’s classic, which many consider to be the best novel of the 19th Century, as a musical! But of more immediate interest, the movie has Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe facing off as an ex-convict and a cop, with Anne Hathaway watching from the bylines. Now, I’d pay to watch Hugh Jackman & Anne Hathaway sing (and dance), but Russell Crowe? Who’d have thought it!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Fantasy, Adventure
Release date: December 14th

After much delay and shuffle, the two-part movie is on track, with the second part following in December 2013. Peter Jackson is directing. Gandalf returns with cameos from other Middle-Earth veterans promised. No Aragorn though. Look towards Thorin Oakenshield (played by Richard Armitage) to be the new Hero. And if the first trailer is anything to go by, expect lots more LOTR-ish goodness, albeit in a lighter vein. Fun, fun, fun! (p.s.: Read the book. It’s a lovely 300-page adventure.)

World War Z
Action, Drama, Horror
Release date: December 21st

The “Z” in the title, you see, refers to Zombies. Based on the best-selling (and awesome) book, Brad Pitt plays a UN representative who travels the globe interviewing survivors, writing a report on the great zombie war. Great, I say. High time Hollywood gets an A-list revival of the zombie genre.

Life of Pi
Drama, Adventure
Release date: December 21st

After hand-picking a college student from India to play the titular character, Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plans to make this his next reason for a trip to the Oscars. The movie, based on the best-selling book, is about a boy shipwrecked on a life-boat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger for company. Irrfan Khan plays an older Pi, while Tabu plays Pi’s mother.

Django Unchained
Western, Drama
Release date: December 25th

Quentin Tarantino directing a western = cowboy is a black man. Has to be. Will Smith was rumored for the part of Django, but it eventually went to Jamie Foxx. He plays an escaped slave, intending to save his wife from the evil plantation owner Leo DiCaprio. Christoph Waltz plays Django’s Obi-Wan Kenobi style mentor (yes!), with Samuel L. Jackson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kurt Russell and Sacha Baron Cohen in supporting roles.

The Great Gatsby
Drama, Romance
Release date: December 25th

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, Baz Luhrmann directs Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carrey Mulligan and Isla Fisher in this movie set in 1920s about a guy (Tobey Maguire) tempted by the riches and lifestyle of his affluent neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leo DiCaprio) and smitten by Gatsby’s cousin, Mrs Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Amitabh Bachchan makes his Hollywood debut as a Jewish gambler. Note: This is NOT A musical.

Lincoln
Drama, Historical
Release date: sometime December

Daniel-Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln. Wow. And Steven Spielberg directs. Wow.

Cogan’s Trade
Crime, Thriller
Release date: sometime 2012

Directed by Andrew Domink (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) and starring Brad Pitt as an enforcer for a mob. He’s investigating an heist that went wrong during a mob-protected poker game. Just the one image has been released yet. But Brad Pitt’s in it, and he’s carrying a shotgun. Count me intrigued.

There are more movies that will be worth looking out for. Some of them: Project X (a high-school senior’s house-party gone Hangover-style out-of-control); Total Recall (Colin Farrell in Arnie’s role by the director of Die Hard 4.0); American Reunion (American Pie reunion); The Bourne Legacy (no Matt Damon but Jeremy Renner playing a Bourne-type); Stoker (Oldboy director Chan-wook Park’s Hollywood debut) and Warm Bodies (a zombie falls in love with his victim’s girlfriend – I kid you not!)

Happy 2012, and pray the Mayans were wrong.

Note: All release dates mentioned are for the USA, for the sake of order. They are also, owing to their feminine nature, subject to change.

Larry Crowne
Comedy, Romance
Release date: July 1st

Tom Hanks directs and acts in this light-heart comedy about a middle-aged man who must go back to college to re-invent himself. As happens in movies, Julia Roberts teaches there. Watch it if only to see Tom Hanks back and doing a rom-com.

Horrible Bosses
Comedy
Release date: July 1st

An otherwise ignorable plot is now very interesting due to the excellent cast, and a fantastic trailer that hints this to just maybe make the comedy of the year spot. Kevin Spacey’s wickedness and Jennifer Aniston’s sexually-overcharged boss are trumped by bad boy Colin Farrell’s balding politically-incorrect sprawl. Giving them company is Farrell’s Miami Vice co-star Jamie Foxx as an angsty killer.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Release date: July 15th

A decade long series of 8 movies comes to its finale with the second-half of the last book’s movie. The-boy-who-lived will face He-who-must-not-be-named one last time. One, none or both die but it is assured that Ralph Fiennes gets his nose back. While it will provide a closure to the emotional investment of millions around the world, I’m all in to primarily watch Alan Rickman’s Snape get his due.

Captain America: The First Avenger
Superhero, Action, Fantasy
Release date: July 22nd

Chris Evans is the man in the mask (or helmet) playing the Super Soldier with an “A” on the forehead. The movie is set during World War II, when Captain America was created. While there is no doubting Chris Evan’s ability to carry a movie on his charm, director Joe Johnston has been off-the-mark in recent years. But with the latest trailer, this movie seems to be on target to continue Marvel’s excellent run of critical and box-office wins this year.

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Comedy
Release date: July 29th

We have seen many comedies that tread the same plot as Crazy, Stupid, Love. What makes this different is the stellar cast: Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Maria Tomei, Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone. I’d watch a movie with half that cast!

Rise of the Apes
Sci-Fi, Action
Release date: August 5th

Rupert Wyatt made an excellent directorial debut with The Escapist. He forays into big-budget territory here with an origin story for Ceaser, the ape that started it all. Andy Serkis hobbit-izes his gorilla act to play the mean monkey, while James Franco leads the Human cast. While the first trailer wasn’t too impressive, there’s hope with that director. And have you seen that brooding CGI ape?

30 Minutes or Less
Comedy
Release date: August 12th

Jesse Eisenberg signs out of Facebook to play a pizza-delivery boy forced to rob a bank, with loud friend Aziz Ansari for company. The howlarious trailer had me in splits, and a quick check on director Ruben Fleischer confirms his credentials for comedy (hint: he also made the excellent Zombieland).

Fright Night
Thriller, Horror
Release date: August 19th

Anton Yelchin vs Colin Farrell. Yelchin weilds an axe, Farrell has fangs (as in, he’s a vampire. Vampires suck blood, so they need fangs. You get the drift).

Conan the Barbarian
Action, Fantasy
Release date: August 19th

I do not know why I have this movie on the list. Considering Arnold Schwarzenegger has immortalized the Conan character, seeing anyone else play it is plain revolting. But many movie fans may not have seen the original and may yet be excited by the prospect of this hulking muscular man painting the screen red with his massive sword (!).

The Debt
Thriller
Release date: September 2nd

This thriller about the past catching up with now-retired Mossad agents stars Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, and in an interesting bit, Sam Worthington as Wilkinson’s character in flashbacks. Looks like a taut thriller, owing to its writer: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class)!

Apollo 18
Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller.
Release date: September 2nd

This movie has been pushed back to enjoy more marketing build up. Made in the style of “found footage” that was made popular by Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, Apollo 18 is apparently what *really* happened with the 1970 mission to space that was supposedly cancelled. With Timur Bekmambetov producing, he of Wanted and Night Watch, expect good visuals at the least. I am more intrigued about how astronauts will try to escape from the creature hunting them (note the claw mark in above image). Will they bounce away?

Contagion
Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller
Release date: September 9th

Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne. (Just in case you hadn’t recognized those faces). All directed by Steven Soderbergh, who is great with ensembles – think Ocean’s 11 & Traffic. I wonder if we get a scene with all 6 in-frame together.

Moneyball
Drama
Release date: September 23rd

Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman in one movie is gold enough for audience that love drama. If you’ve seen the trailer for this baseball-based movie, wait for the Brad Pitt-Robert Redford comparisons once it releases.

Killer Elite
Action
Release date: September 23rd

Jason Statham in an action movie? What else is new. Robert DeNiro too? Okay, interesting. Hang on, Clive Owens too! If it wasn’t for that last name, this would be another good action movie for Statham fans, but Clive Owens just ups the ante for everyone. Don’t miss this!

50/50
Comedy, Drama
Release date: September 30th

Joseph Gordan-Lewitt continues his exploration of 5s and 0s (seen 500 Days of Summer yet?), playing a young cancer patient. Equal parts funny and tear-jearker, it’s touted as an Oscar bait for its lead star. I’d watch it for the funny parts.

Dream House
Mystery, Thriller
Release date: September 30th

Newly married couple Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz star with Naomi star in this good old fashion mystery where a new resident and a local lady investigate a “solved” murder in a quaint town. Director Jim Sheridan is more than adept at such story-telling, and the stars are an added bonus. Sounds like the perfect post summer-madness movie.

Real Steel
Sci-Fi, Action
Release date: October 7th

“A robot fighter coached by Hugh Jackman”. That movie pitch has all the makings of a blockbuster. The wet blanket for me is director Shawn Levy, he of Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther and Cheaper by the Dozen fame. Blame him if this movie doesn’t work, but until then concentrate on this: Hugh Jackman + Robot Boxing. Feel’s good, right?

The Ides of March
Drama
Release date: October 7th

Another multi-starrer, this one has George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei. It’s directed by George Clooney and if you have seen Good Night, and Good Luck, you know how good this can be. Clooney plays a presidential hopeful, but the movie focuses on his new aide, Ryan Gosling, and his crash course in dirty politics.

Puss In Boots
Animation, Comedy
Release date: November 4th

While Antonio Banderas gets his own spin-off for his character from the Shrek movies, the kitty on his side is the best voice match-up we could have hoped for: Salma Hayek. Humpty Dumpty has a confirmed presence, so expect lots more nursery rhyme and fairy tale jokes and references thrown in with all the swashbuckling. With Dreamworks Animation’s recent run being better than any of us expected, aren’t we glad it’s not a movie about Donkey?

Tower Heist
Comedy, Crime
Release date: November 4th

Don’t let the fact that this stars Eddie Murphy put you off. Don’t even let the director (Bret Ratner) have you run the other way. The movie also stars Ben Stiller (genius!) and Casey Affleck – it is about a bunch of victims who plan to rob the high-rise residence of a conman.

Immortals
Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Release date: November 11th

Forget Clash of the Titans. This is what a movie based on Greek Mythology should be like. Directed by visualist-par excellence Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) and starring the likes of Mickey Rourke and John Hurt, this movie tracks Theseus, played by the newly announced Superman Henry Cavill, as he stops King Hyperion and his army from unleashing the Titans. Thankfully missing: the Kraken.

Happy Feet 2
Animated
Release date: November 18th

Those cutesy penguins with the voices of Robin Williams and Elijah Woods are back, this time accompanied by the voices of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Pink. In 3D. C’mon, there’s no way you can say no to any animate character voiced by Robin Williams!

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Thriller
Release date: November 18th

Watch this for one, and one reason alone: the movie is touted as a tour de force for Gary Oldman. Also stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong, this adaptation of the immensely popular thriller novel is the first English-language movie by acclaimed Swedish director Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In)

Hugo Cabret
Drama, Mystery
Release date: November 25th

Martin Scorcese. Enough said. Trivia: This is Scorcese’s first movie this century that does not star Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Muppets
Drama, Mystery
Release date: November 25th

Kermit The Frog is back! And he must round up the gang if he has any hopes to do whatever he wants to do. Who cares, as long as we have Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang! And for the skeptics, there’s also Amy Adams. (For marketing fanatics, look at the excellent work they’ve been doing in the US and over the net for this movie).

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Action
Release date: December 16th

While being Brad Bird’s (The Incredibles) first live action movie is the best possible reason to watch this movie, there’s also the rumor that this may be Tom Cruise’s last “mission”, before handing over the franchise to Jeremy Renner. Then there is the much publicized shoot around Dubai, including at its world’s tallest tower. I’d like to see Ethan Hunt jump from there and stop 5 inches above ground.

The Descendants
Drama
Release date: December 16th

George Clooney plays a land baron and an estranged father who tries to reconnect with his daughters, in Alexander Payne’s first movie since 2004’s Sideways. Expect a sublime drama.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Drama, Thriller
Release date: December 23rd

David Fincher, it is said, can make a good movie out of a phonebook. Here, he gets an award-winning crime novel as his source. Fresh of his excellent facebook movie (The Social Network), Fincher goes back into Se7en territory – the movie deals with a murder investigation that goes much further and deeper than the investigators thought. What is very interesting is this: the book that this movie is based on is the first part of a multiple-award winning trilogy. Might we just have a trilogy from Fincher? If you’ve seen the anti-holiday trailer, you don’t need any convincing. If you haven’t, I don’t know you.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Animation, Adventure
Release date: December 23rd

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson join hands to bring this beloved Belgian character and comic book to life in the first of three Tintin movies. While Spielberg directs this, Jackson will direct the second (Dunno yet about the third). They’ve picked one of the best Tintin books to start with, and if the initial production stills are anything to go by, this just might be the animated movie of the year.

Tree of Life
Drama
Release date: Who knows?

Auteur Terrence Malick’s fifth movie in 38 years (read that again), there is no doubting how astounding this movie will be (It already has the critics split, some calling it the greatest work of the decade while others calling it the major act of self-indulgence). But the fact is, this is Terrence Mallick. Heck, the trailer to this movie is better than what directors manage to try to achieve in their whole careers. But if you don’t care for that name, get your head around this: Brad Pitt plays Sean Penn’s father.

With only five more sequels/prequels/spin-offs in these six months, there’s hope that 2011 may yet be a very good year for movies. Enjoy your popcorn!

Daybreakers
Michael Spierig | USA | 2009

In a world inhabited by vampires, who are running out of valuable blood supplies, Ethan Hawke leads a group of his kind to try and save vampires (and humans). What works in building intrigue is the movie’s sleek trailer, the presence of the Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill and an apt rating of R (for Restricted kiddos). Daybreakers may finally give the grown-up boys a vampire movie to talk about after the Blade series.

The Book of Eli
Albert Hughes | USA | 2009

Denzel Washington plays a messiah-sort in a desolate, post-apocalyptic America, where the only hope for humanity is the titular book. If Denzel Washington taking on a bunch of thugs by himself is not cool enough for you, Gary Oldman is back as the baddie. And he goes by the name “Carnegie”.

Legion
Scott Stewart | USA | 2009

God (the Jehovah version) is fed up of us sinners. So he initiates apocalypse by unleashing an army of angels, led by ever faithful Gabriel. But Michael has other plans – he believes Mankind can be salvaged by the messiah, except… the messiah must first be given birth to by a pregnant waitress in a desolate truck-diner, somewhere in Southwest America. Expect action, horror and fantasy to be combined in a way only seen before in Constantine. Paul Bettany plays the Archangel Michael.

Edge of Darkness
Martin Campbell | USA | 2009

007 helmer Martin Campbell directs this thriller about a homicide detective, Mel Gibson, out to find his daughter’s killer. After Rambo 4 and Die Hard 4, we know these old tough guys can still play action heroes and kick some serious ass. Last time Mel Gibson had a starring role, we got Signs. Last time Mel Gibson played a bad-ass, we got Payback.

The Wolfman
Joe Johnston | USA | 2009

The Wolfman is another retelling of the werewolf origin, this one right in time for Valentine’s Day. Normally, such a film would not draw much attention, but names like Anthony Hopkins, Benicio del Toro, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt arouse a level of interest. Although director Joe Johnston hasn’t given us much to enjoy lately, where this movie may have already hit the mark with the formidable promotional material (moody trailer and posters). Looks like a wonderful mix of horror and period-piece, and after Che, we’ll watch any movie with Benicio del Toro in it.

Shutter Island
Martin Scorcese | USA | 2009

Scorsese is back with his muse, Leonardo. There are a bunch of other big names thrown in, but what makes the film seem exciting is the sinister plot: Leo is a US Marshal investigating a disappearance at an asylum for the criminally insane, situated on a remote island. Not just is the movie based on another book by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River), it stars Ben Kingsley as a doctor. For the criminally insane. Oh yes.

Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton | USA | 2009

Honestly, Tim Burton has by now become boring and redundant, beaten at his own game by the likes of visionaries such as Guillermo Del Toro. We’ve seen enough of Burton’s morphed reality to find his work unsurprising. But it seems he may have finally found a story that can work alongside his skewed perspective. Why the sudden optimism with his latest movie? For one, Alice is now a 19yr old girl, returning to Wonderland to face the Red Queen of Hearts. It’s also shot and released in Digital 3D under the Disney production house, giving us a chance to experience Burton’s bizarre visuals anew. Lastly, it stars Burton’s muse Johnny Depp, as the Mad Hatter. Some more inspired casting apart from the obvious: among others, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar.

Clash of the Titans
Louis Leterrier | USA | 2009

Louis Leterrier, the director of 2008’s Incredible Hulk brings us this FX heavy fantasy tale from Greek Mythology of Perseus’ epic sea journey. In his third masochistic outing, Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Avatar) plays the hero who faces Medusa, Poseidon, Athena, Ares and a host of giant creatures. In an exciting match-up, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes play the feuding brothers Zeus and Hades.

Kick-Ass
Matthew Vaughn | USA | 2009

When major studios did not approve Matthew Vaughn’s faithful adaptation of a gritty, violent comic book about a crime-fighting student, he decided to make the movie anyway – with his own company fully financing the project. It’s also rated R (rare for a comic book based film), though it is about teens in home-grown costumes fighting crime with no powers or skills.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Oliver Stone | USA | 2009

Greed is good again. Oliver Stone revisits his iconic 80s film. Shia LeBeouf continues his Hollywood apprenticeship under the tutelage of Michael Douglas. Charlie Sheen gets a shot at the big screen again. It should be a marvelous watch, especially with the recession having left such a sour taste. (Note: Make sure you’ve seen the first Wall Street)

A Nightmare on Elm Street
Samuel Bayer | USA | 2009

The new Freddy Kruger is played by Jackie Earle Haley. Who? He who played Rorschach in Watchmen and the creepy pedophile in Little Children. While it is an interesting casting choice, it could be hard to up the original and the role that Robert Englund defined so brilliantly. But… this is Freddy Kruger’s origin! Plus, the director made the music video for Metallica’s Until It Sleeps. Now that’s creepy.

Iron Man 2
Jon Favreau | USA | 2009

The title should be enough. To be sure, it has the same director and actor. Throw in Mickey Rourke as villain Whiplash and Scarlett Johansson as Russian spy Black Widow. Need I say more? Okay, here’s more. The trailer shows War Machine, in action. FTW!

Robin Hood
Ridley Scott | USA | 2009

Another movie about the Prince of Thieves, though to be more specific, this is Ridley Scott’s version. Expect a Gladiator style, swords & sandals epic, full of powerful speeches and an bloody remorselessness. The master filmmaker might be growing old but, in all probability, he still packs a solid punch. To add, Russell “Maximus” Crowe plays the hero.

Shrek Forever After
Mike Mitchell | USA | 2009

Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots in an all-new adventure, this time in glorious 3D. It has been announced (for now) as the last Shrek movie. Rejoice!

Prince of Persia – Sands of Time
Mike Newell | USA | 2009

Yes, the same erstwhile 2D scrolling prince from the legendary video game. And while the effects look good, the trailer did not really do much. Yet, there is hope. This is from the studio that brought us the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, trying to repeat their formula. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the prince.

The A-Team
Joe Carnahan | USA | 2009

Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, Narc) brings to the big screen this extremely popular 80s TV show. If you didn’t know the series, you certainly knew Mr T. The success of this movie could start a race to adapt more TV series from its era. Notice the guy in the suit? That is Hangover’s Bradley Cooper.

Jonah Hex
Jimmy Haward | USA | 2009

Josh Brolin plays Jonah Hex, a scarred bounty hunter from the Wild West tracking a voodoo practitioner who wants to raise an army of the undead to liberate the South. The voodoo practitioner is John Malkovich. The female lead, corset, boots and all, is Megan Fox.

Toy Story 3
Lee Unkrich | USA | 2009

Pixar. Woody & Buzz. 3D.

Knight & Day
James Mangold | USA | 2009

From the director of Walk The Line & 3:10 to Yuma comes this big-star, action-comedy (think Mr & Mrs Smith) about a fugitive couple. Although Cameron Diaz has started to look like everyone’s oldest aunt, we will endure this, because… Tom Cruise is playing a spy!

The Last Airbender
M Night Shyamalan | USA | 2009

M Night Shyamalan’s name may not carry the “awe factor” it used to, but let’s not deny that he is a supremely talented craftsman. The Last Airbender benefits from a story already established through the popular animated TV series. With the Lord of the Rings cinematographer and a host of other eminent technicians in the crew, this looks set to become THE epic of the year. Have you seen the teaser trailer?!

Predators
Nimród Antal | USA | 2009

Robert Rodriguez leaves behind his children’s movie infatuation to return firmly back to guy-movie territory by producing this remake. Predators finds our favorite intergalactic hunters fighting a familiar enemy – humans! The elite human warriors include, among others, Laurence Fishburne and… Danny Trejo.

Inception
Christopher Nolan | USA | 2009

Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige) directs this big-Budget mind-bending thriller, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (remember that name), Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe & Michael Caine. Inception is based on an original story that has officially been summarized as “a sci-fi thriller set within the architecture of the mind.” It also has the best teaser & trailer of any 2010 movie so far.

Salt
Philip Noyce | USA | 2009

In this action thriller, Angelina Jolie plays an accused-spy on the run from the authorities to prove her innocence. Angelina Jolie doing action! Knockout!!

The Expendables
Sylvester Stallone | USA | 2009

Expendables, directed by Sylvester Stallone, is an 80’s style action movie, a tribute to the era & the genre. The line up reads like an action junkies wet dream – Sly himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo,  Dolph Ludgren & (Stone Cold) Steve Austin. Look out for cameos by Bruce Willis & Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bliss!

Priest
Scott Stewart | USA | 2009

Paul Bettany is back in for the second this time year with the director of the year’s earlier major film, Legion. This time, he plays a priest disobeying the church’s orders to track down the kidnappers of his niece. Except, the kidnappers are… vampires. And one of them is Karl Urban.

The American
Anton Corbijn | USA | 2009

It’s fun to see George Clooney play suave and sophisticated characters. Even the sometimes Quirky, simple roles that he plays are fun. In The American, he is an assassin hiding in Italy for his final assignment. Expect the film to ooze cool charm, just like the man himself.

The Social Network
David Fincher | USA | 2009

David Fincher could make a movie about a phonebook and still make it interesting. So he does almost that – he’s making his next film on “facebook”. Little is known about the movie, but what we do know is that it stars Justin Timberlake as the founder of the popular social-networking site. Don’t doubt it – it still is David Fincher!

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part I
David Yates | USA | 2009

Finally, the last book of the Harry Potter series. But wait, it’s not the last movie yet – “Deathly Hallows” is a long book and detailed enough to be split into two films – Deathly Hallows I and Deathly Hallows II. Even so, if the sixth movie is any indication, these could be a good last couple of films, measured by the uneven standards of the Harry Potter film franchise. Interestingly, much of the setting is outside Hogwarts, in and around present-day London with the three main characters in hiding and on the run.

Rapunzel
Nathan Greno & Byron Howard | USA | 2009

Since Disney decided to come back to fairy tales with 2009’s Princess and the Frog, it was a natural step to adapt one of the famous princesses whose tale hasn’t been told to us yet – Rapunzel. The setting fits in perfectly well with the others of her ilk (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc). The aim is to make the movie look as close to the Disney classics of yesteryears, as possible (hand-drawn water-paintings), but to do so using the latest pixel technology and in 3D.

Tron Legacy
Joseph Kosinski | USA | 2009

If you’ve seen the original Tron (1982), that should reason enough to get excited about this sequel. If you have not seen Tron (or even if you have), watch the awesome teaser:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I7NW5bW-Oo

Note: This short-list of 30 movies is not meant to be a complete guide for what to watch out of Hollywood in 2010. It merely is an indication of the ones that have successfully aroused our interest. Look out for our views on these (and many more) as the year progresses. Happy watching!

For being a perfectly believable, perfectly entertaining and perfectly unique film, with the most lovable character (human or otherwise) to grace the screen all year. It also includes a wonderful romance, a unique friendship, a nod to the silent era, an eco-friendly story in a classic sci-fi setup that doesn’t pontificate, and to top it all off a last act where the entire fate of mankind is at risk. Wall-E was the highlight of the year 2008.

#2 (tie)
In Bruges
Martin McDonagh | UK | 2008
107 min

For the bloody, remorseless hilarity of its two aimless hitmen. Packaged in the most efficient, skillful, tightly-wound script of the year, In Bruges makes use of every character it introduces, including a racist little dwarf. The film works as both an entertainer and crafty morality lesson.

#2 (tie)
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky | USA | 2008
115 min

For Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a character we care about so much (despite his enormous failings) that it broke our heart to see him in that final shot, even when we couldn’t help but cheer him on, as he leaps to victory or sudden death. The Wrestler features a devastating, phenomenal performance by Mickey Rourke.

#4
Che
Steven Soderberg | USA | 2008
262 min

For creating the ultimate anti- biopic and war film. Che upholds the legend of ‘Che’ Guevara in the first part, The Argentine, then debunks it all with just as much skill and vigor in its second installment, Guerilla. Here is a film, an epic in the truest sense, a one-two punch that employs multiple filmmaking techniques, parallel storytelling and at the center of it, an enigmatic performance by Benicio Del Toro.

#5
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Guillermo del Toro | USA | 2008
120 min

For being THE comic book movie of the year — an endlessly enjoyable, funny, imaginative superhero/fantasy/buddy action film, brimming with creativity that out does itself one act at a time, without ever getting tiring in the process. Director Guillermo del Toro works like a magician on visuals that feature eye-popping effects, each one fixating.

#6
Hunger
Steve McQueen | UK/Ireland | 2008
96 min

For being the year’s most remarkable debut by director Steve McQueen. Hunger is a visually arresting, thematically engrossing recreation of IRA Republican Bobby Sand’s hunger strike. Unflinching, raw and memorable, all by virtue of its silent power and a multi-layered script, the film is front-loaded by a compelling lead performance by Michael Fassbender.

#7
Chop Shop
Ramin Bahrani | USA | 2008
84 min

For internalizing the condescending pity shown to underprivileged nations by shallow, mainstream American films such as Blood Diamond, and for using introspection to turn pity into something more profound: self-awareness. With his second film director Ramin Bahrani gives another hypnotic drama about the struggles of the immigrant, recalling memories of Italian Neo-realism, except this is a story set in modern America.

#8
Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes)
Nacho Vigalondo | Spain | 2008
92 min

For a clever hybrid of horror, sci-fi and mind-numbing storytelling that made us want to go back in time and watch it again. Timecrimes borrows its concept from the indie cult classic Primer, but has a more specific purpose in mind: to entertain and thrill, which it does with great aplomb.

#9
Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma In)
Tomas Alfredson | Sweden | 2008
114 min

For being the best vampire film that Stephen King never wrote. The comparisons are not entirely unjustified, with its bloody third act and school setting, traits reminiscent of King’s Carrie. Employing the use of popular vampire mythology and the frigid, snowy Swedish mood, it is our favorite fantasy-romance of 2008.

#10
Vacation (Kyûka)
Hajime Kadoi | Japan | 2008
112 min

For being the year’s biggest, most pleasant surprise — a film that showed us in excruciating, riveting detail the last days of a prisoner on death-row and how that affects both the condemned and his executioners. Vacation is a film of uncommon depth, with moments of deadpan humor (as counter to the grim subject) and features uniformly excellent performances.

Honorable Mentions

The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan | USA | 2008
152 min

For being the most overhyped film of 2008, but more importantly, and here is the real reason it appears on our list, because it actually lived up to some, if not all, of that hype. Heath Ledger’s performance as the maniacal Joker has become the stuff of legend; his predicted win on Oscar night is almost a given. But, more than anything, it is director Christopher Nolan who must be heralded for blending superhero mythology with the nuances of a crime film, to create a singular vision.

The Fall
Tarsem Singh | USA | 2008
117 min

For its visuals, which are not only inventive, but also very real (no film sets here), and for cleverly embedding the power of imagination into the story of a little girl who befriends a crippled, storytelling stuntman in a hospital. The Fall is grandiose, and looks the part, aided by scene after scene of hypnotic, surreal images.

Solitary Fragments (La Soledad)
Jaime Rosales | Spain | 2008
128 min

For its elegantly designed tableau of incidents in the life of a group of individuals, who experience both the rhapsody and banality of life. An aged mother is in search for a place in her grown-up daughters life; another young mother with her infant son moves from the country-side to a bustling Madrid, only to have great tragedy befall them; and multiple, interwoven slices of the everyday life of their friends and relations — all presented, cleverly, through split-screens and long takes, to represent the overriding theme of a fragmentary existence bereft of the illusion of catharsis. A product of ferocious formalism, Solitary Fragments is Spanish director Jaime Rosales’ second feature, who, like Michael Haneke, may be called an intellectual provocateur or auteur, possibly both.

The results were polled by Faizan Rashid, John Murdoch, Kamal Tolani, Shariq Madani, Layth Barzangi, MADali and Oz.

Avatar (James Cameron): When James Cameron took every major award and all the box office loot for his groundbreaking disaster tragedy Titanic, he went into hiding. Avatar sees him return, after a 12-year hiatus, with his first major motion picture (not counting the experimental IMAX documentaries he has worked on during the last decade, including the quasi-narrative film The Ghosts of the Abyss). Avatar is set two centuries in the future and combines themes Cameron is best known for: aliens, machines and sci-fi turned into high pop-art. In the hands of anyone else this would be throwaway pulp; but Jim Cameron has the talent, skills and technology to pull it off, and with zesty style!

Public Enemies (Michael Mann): Even when a Michael Mann movie doesn’t turn out too well (Miami Vice), it still remains watchable for a breathtaking tango between cops and criminals. When Mann is at the top of his game, however (Heat, Collateral), you can expect fierce performances and a hypnotic insider-look into the world of crime. Public Enemies is notable not only for Mann taking his familiar obsession into a historical setting — the American crime scene during the 1930′s — but for also casting Johnny Depp and Christian Bale on opposite sides of the law. Expect fireworks.

The Informant (Steven Soderberg): With Matt Damon as an informant blowing the whistle on his company’s illegal financial activities, don’t expect another Bourne. In the hands of indie champ Steven Soderberg, you never know what to expect, really. He is, after all, the same man who not only made the frolicking Ocean’s trilogy and last year’s anti-biopic Che, but also somber mood pieces like Solaris and Traffic. With his reputation for technical perfection balanced with good entertainment values, Informant can be a real winner.

Up (Pete Docter & Bob Peterson): One word: Pixar. There are animated films, and then there are films by Pixar. As a brand, they are cinema’s equivalent of a quality stamp, and their films come off the assembly line of a factory that discriminates in quality, not quantity. May be this could explain why they have only produced about a dozen films in a decade-and-a-half of activity. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. Expect genuine laughs, inventiveness and on the whole, a terrific time at the movies.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Gavin Hood): Superhero films with a recognizable main star, a strong director coming off of critical acclaim and a great lineup of character actors seem to be a trend that the superhero subgenre has adapted quite well. Wolverine offers perhaps the best use of this combo yet. Hugh Jackman returns to the role that introduced him to the world in an origin story that promises to explore one of Marvel Comics’ best known and most intriguing tales: how the ‘Weapon X’ program changed a man named Logan into a feral, adamantium-laced mutant. Gavin Hood’s track record (he won a Best Foreign Film Academy Award for his debut film Tsotsi) makes this an intriguing film, and worth looking forward to.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam): When not one, but four actors play the same character in a film, you know you just have to see how a director pulls it off. When those actors happen to be Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell and the late Heath Ledger, and the story is about a travelling theatre company in a film directed by Terry Gilliam, the manic talent behind 12 Monkeys and Brazil, how can you resist? Yep, neither could we.

The International (Tom Tykwer): These days, financial woes and the big enterprises behind them seem to be offering more scandalous tabloid fodder than your average celebrity. Exploring this theme in a fictional setting is the new film by German wunderkind Tom Tykwer, whose Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is one of the most artistic filmic explorations of the serial killer genre. Here he teams up with the perennially-cool Clive Owen, who plays an Interpol agent investigation the roots of corruption, and becoming embroiled in it against his better judgment.

The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson): After zestfully exploring the world of Hobbits and then a giant gorilla named King Kong, New Zealand’s most bankable export, director Peter Jackson, returns to what promises to be his roots — drama. Anyone who has ever seen his earlier films (Heavenly Creatures, Braindead) knows that Jackson has a fascination with the morbid. Lovely Bones, a story from the perspective of a dead girl, promises to be both interesting and inventive.

The Road (John Hillcoat): The director of the Australian outback Western Proposition adapts a post-apocalyptic novel by Cormac McCarthy, the author of No Country for Old men. Viggo Mortensen stars in this father-and-son quest through a desolate land, to find something, anything. Expect it to be more realistic and thought-provoking than the hokey Hollywood blockbuster I Am Legend.

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino): Love him or loathe him, there is no denying the cinematic appeal of Hollywood’s most avant-garde stylist. Quentin Tarantino’s track record remained spotless until 2007′s Grindhouse, but since he only made one-half of that film, we may be persuaded to forgive him. Basterds is his take on the overdone WWII/Nazi film genre, but we’re willing to cut Mr. Tarantino some slack and let him awe us with cleverly-constructed improbable situations. Brad Pitt headlines the stellar cast which includes Diane Kruger, Mike Meyers and Michael Fassbender.

Special Mention:

Tree of Life (Terrence Malick): A Terrence Malick film is a rare cinematic event. He rarely makes anything. He spent two decades between 1978′s Days of Heaven and his next film, 1998′s The Thin Red Line. All four films from his acclaimed body of work are unique, unquestionable cinematic classics. 2009 will be a special year because he releases his fifth film, the intriguingly titled Tree of Life. It stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, and will be a visual and aural treat. Expect nothing but the very best.

The results were polled by Faizan Rashid, John Murdoch, Kamal Tolani, Shariq Madani and Layth Barzangi.

#1
Wall Street
Oliver Stone | USA | 1987
125 min

Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko is to greed what Willy Wonka is to chocolates: a character identifying a need. Gekko is so on the edge and committed to his cause that he even keeps a blood pressure monitor on his desk. As a movie-construct, he is everything we may have aspired to be at some point in our lives — rich, in control and very, very powerful. Oliver Stone’s film has become a legendary time-capsule for the bullish, bustling 80′s, and for its endlessly quotable dialogues, the most infamous of which, “greed is good,” creepily rationalizes the need for more.

#2
The Insider
Michael Mann | USA | 1999
157 min

One man will tell the truth, but they won’t air it. The more truth he tells, the worse it gets. Russell Crowe plays a low-key tobacco company whistleblower who epitomizes the voice of conscience and reason, ultimately leading to his personal and professional ruin. The Insider is a cautionary tale of corporate-malfeasance of the worst kind. Al Pacino lights up the screen as a ’60 Minutes’ producer in his trademark hoo-ha style!

#3
The Corporation
Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbot | USA | 2004
147 min

This fascinating documentary by Mark Achbar places the very concept of corporations — their stakeholders and the blind pursuit of amassing wealth to become richer — at the centre of a pathological need. Achbar’s winning approach is to go behind-the-scenes and offer a scathing look at some of the tactics large corporations, from pharmaceuticals to oil companies, employ in their road to success. Entertaining, educational and exhaustively comprehensive.

#4
L.A. Confidential
Curtis Hanson | USA | 1997
138 min

Few things are more unsettling when the very people who exist to serve and protect you -– cops -– are those with the most questionable ethics. Director Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential not only revives the modern film noir, but also creates a dizzying thriller of personal and institutional corruption, with nearly every character, even the so-called good guys, turning out to be entirely self-serving, possessing a moral compass so messed up that you sometimes can’t even tell them from those bad guys with an insatiable hunger for money money money.

#5
Why We Fight
Eugene Jarecki | USA | 2005
98 min

Eugene Jarecki’s criminally underrated documentary bravely asks questions on policy, and highlights America’s torrid history of militarism in bed with free enterprise. In this fearless film, one of America’s greatest war heroes, Eisenhower warns against the “military-industrial complex,” encapsulated by this bit of trivia: a military budget of over $400 billion (approx. 52 percent of all federal spending; and only 7 percent is devoted to education) feeds a vast array of private-sector contractors and K Street lobbyists, making the machineries of war a robust business for greedy political actors.

#6
Jaws
Steven Spielberg | USA | 1975
124 min

Spielberg’s most inventive film is also a clever allegory for capitalist greed run amok. When a great white shark begins to terrorize a sleepy island community, the town mayor turns a blind eye to severed limbs washing ashore just so he can keep the beach open for tourists over a busy holiday. Then a couple of kids get eaten alive right in front of parents sunbathing and sipping lemonade. The real villain: the shark or the capitalist? Could they be one and the same?

#7
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Alex Gibney | USA | 2005
110 min

Much before household names such as Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG made the front page (for very wrong reasons), Enron was corporate America’s big financial mistake. This documentary painstakingly highlights how top management created an atmosphere of deregulation, greed and political power, managing to walk away with more than a billion dollars while all others lost everything including their 401k and retirement benefits. Powerfully insightful in the way it reveals how greed can become a desirable trait and cause of a major downfall.

#8
I.O.U.S.A
Patrick Creadon | USA | 2008
85 min

How did America accumulate a $10 trillion national debt? How did the buy now, pay later frenzy pull a nation deeper into the quicksand of mortgages and credit card bills? These questions and more are examined in this relevant documentary by Robert Creadon, who uses interviews with testimonies of Fed chairman Paul Volcker, billionaire Warren Buffett, and former secretaries of the treasury Robert Rubin and Paul O’Neill to document how the US financial disaster may have begun, and how the greedy consumer and legislator may be all part of the same problem.

#9
Glengarry Glen Ross
James Foley | USA | 1992
100 min

A bunch of salesmen; lots of swearing! Based on David Mamet’s erudite play, this film is not only a showcase of dialog and acting, but a disturbing examination of one group of men that will stop at nothing to make a sale, even if it means eradicating any trace of humanity. If greed had a new name, we think it could be Blake, the boss-from-hell played by Alec Baldwin.

#10
Robocop
Paul Verhoeven | USA | 1987
103 min

OCP is building a new Detroit. And thuggery and free enterprise crime is a part of it. Made at the bitter end of Reagan’s era, Paul Verhoeven’s masterpiece satirizes the banal cruelty of big corporations and the villains that run them. Savor this moment of black comedy from the film:

[The ED-209 machine has malfunctioned during a demonstration, killing executive Kinney in the boardroom. He was shot to smithereens, and his bullet-ridden corpse lies on the conference table.]
OCP President: “Dick, I’m very disappointed.”
Dick Jones: “I’m sure it’s only a glitch. A temporary setback.”
OCP President: “You call this a GLITCH?”
[pause]
OCP President: “We’re scheduled to begin construction in 6 months. Your temporary setback could cost us 50 million dollars in interest payments alone!”

This article was written by John Murdoch and Faizan Rashid, with input from Kamal Tolani. The results were polled by Faizan Rashid, John Murdoch, Kamal Tolani, Shariq Madani and MADali.

Listed are the 5 of the very best movies we saw at the Dubai Film Festival 2008, which may have come to a rousing conclusion, but that only means the countdown to next year’s event has already begun.

#1
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky | USA | 2008
109 min

This devastating film — the best at the Dubai film festival — about washed-up wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson, features a central performance of astonishing sincerity and charisma by Mickey Rourke, whose own real life mirrors that of his tragic onscreen character. Director Darren Aronofsky exercises uncharacteristic visual restraint and draws out powerful performances that may move you to tears.

#2
Che
Steven Soderberg | USA | 2008
262 min

Che is a tour-de-force of storytelling and filmmaking. The movie, which will be distributed in two parts — Argentine and Guerrilla — was shown as one film at DIFF, separated only by a fifteen-minute break. Both films work perfectly as halves, complementing each other; the first is focused on Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s electrifying campaign to seize Cuba for Fidel Castro while the second documents his unsuccessful Bolivia campaign that ended with his execution. Benicio Del Toro gives one of the year’s most memorable performances in a film that is an anti-biopic, a war movie and a compelling docudrama all rolled into one.

#3
Hunger
Steve McQueen | UK/Ireland | 2008
96 min

This remarkable debut film from director Steve McQueen is both visually arresting and thematically engrossing. About the hunger strike of IRA republican Bobby Sands that ended in his death, it is an unflinching recreation of Sands’ political and personal ideology which you may or may not agree with, but it is hard to deny this man’s steely dedication to his principles. In a film of raw, silent power (there is very little dialogue) the most memorable segment is a 17-minute long conversation between Sands and a priest, filmed from an unmoving camera, placed at vantage point, that makes you want to stand up and applaud. Hunger is an exquisitely crafted film containing a clever, multilayered script, and a compelling lead performance by Michael Fassbender who starved himself for his role.

#4
Song of Sparrows (Avaze Gonjeshk-ha)
Majid Majidi | Iran | 2008
96 min

Is it any surprise that one of the best films of the fest was from Iranian auteur Majid Majidi? Dreary film themes are the hallmark of any film festival, so how refreshing to have Song for Sparrows, a film with so much love for life. Combining good old fashioned storytelling and beautiful imagery, it made us smile, and broke through our fortified wall of cynicism. Full of spirituality, Song for Sparrows is also a study on capitalism and the effect of selfishly accumulating material wealth.

#5
Vacation (Kyûka)
Hajime Kadoi | Japan | 2008
112 min

The biggest surprise at DIFF, Vacation studies, in excruciating detail, the last days of a prisoner on death row in Japan, and how this affects both the condemned and his executioners. It is a meticulously crafted chamber drama with unexpected deadpan humor that provides a counterbalance to the dour subject matter. The performances are uniformly excellent, but it is the depth of the director’s convictions and the precision of skill that makes Vacation absolutely riveting.

Because WearetheMovies.com loves lists (and admit it, so do you) it would have been unfair to highlight only 5 films, especially when we’ve seen so many — so, if nothing else, for that reason alone, we’ve added a sort of an encore to our first five selections. Here are other notable films that just missed our Top 5 list:

Biggest Crowd Pleaser

Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle | UK | 2008
120 min

Made with electrifying energy and effortless in its navigation of deep pits of despair, one could say Slumdog Millionaire almost earns its happy ending. A must-see for fans of the versatile director Danny Boyle.

Most Polarizing Films

Blindness
Fernando Meirelles | Canada/Brazil | 2008
120 min

A grim look at human nature during a blindness epidemic. Based on a novel by Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago, Blindness will provoke you as it uses literal blindness to depict humans’ moral blindness. Memorable for the debates that will follow; some of you will call it cruel, others clever.

Ballast
Lance Hammer | USA | 2008
96 min

An intense and emotional drama from first-time director Lance Hammer, Ballast keeps its secrets close to the chest, revealing them in small bursts that only later form a complete picture. Moody and contemplative, a film that will reward only the very patient viewer.

Best Films Even We Had Never Heard About

Adhen – Dernier Maquis
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche | France | 2008
93 min

Algerian-French filmmaker Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche creates a sophisticated visual and aural experience in a film that presents the absurdities of religion, capitalism and human nature. The most intellectually stimulating film of the 2008 Dubai film festival.

3 Monkeys (Uc Maymun)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey | 2008
109 min

Another visually arresting film from Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan (who makes full use of the digital cinematography), that may also be described as Crime and Punishment- lite.

The results were polled by Faizan Rashid, John Murdoch, Kamal Tolani, Shariq Madani and MADali.

For Dubai residents and tourists, the word “festival” conjures up images of many different things, not the least of which is sale blowouts and overflowing shopping carts. But in the month of December, this same word can mean something entirely different; the last month of the year is not just the time for Christmas-giving or Eid joy, or even a signaling of the end of the current year, but a month when casual movie goers and connoisseurs alike can freely indulge in that rare cultural phenomenon in the Middle East called a “film festival.”  (Our film selections and trailers await you after the jump.)

The fifth year of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has an assortment of over 180 feature films, documentaries and shorts, a daunting portfolio of selections for anyone not keeping a close eye on the international festival circuit — but then that’s what we’re here for!

After a painstaking selection process (tallying and sub-tallying, arguments and counter-arguments), our team of crackpot movie lovers have short-listed what we think are the most essential, must-see movies of this year’s Dubai film festival.

3 Monkeys (Üç maymun)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey | 2008
109 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wBznN7c8YE

This film from Turkey won the Best Director award at Cannes this year, and is also the country’s official submission for Best Foreign Film at Oscars 2009. If last year’s phenomenal The Edge of Heaven was any indication, then it seems the Turkish continue their streak of visual metaphor and lyrical storytelling in 3 Monkeys (Üç maymun), an engrossing film about complicated family situations. Not to be confused with Terry Gilliam’s ground-breaking 12 Monkeys, also playing at the festival.

Che
Steven Soderbergh | USA | 2008
262 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqTw2dtVQzw

When was the last time you spent two hours watching a film? How about three hours? No big deal say you, fans of films from the Subcontinent? Well, then, how about four hours? Steven Soderberg’s Che, an all-encompassing biopic about the revolutionary Cuban leader (also, the very recognizable face on hipsters’ t-shirts), clocks in at close to four-and-a-half hours. When released conventionally, it is likely that Che will be split into two films — The Argentine and Guerilla — but in a commendable move, DIFF will screen it as one film; we are fortunate enough to be able see it as Soderbergh intended, in its entirety. Already acclaimed for its titular performance (Benicio Del Toro won unanimous praise and the Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes), Che should actually be listed under unmissable.

Genova
Michael Winterbottom | UK | 2008
108 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giQBAphohO4

British director Michael Winterbottom is no stranger to DIFF — his moving In This World played here during the first edition of the festival and his films have often dealt with topics that delve into the unglamorous side of living, but Genova returns him to his more traditional European roots in a story that seems part inspired by Nicolas Roeg’s frightening Don’t Look Now. Here too is a family coping with a loss and moving to an Italian town to deal with the aftermath. Expect another fierce performance from Colin Firth who as a grieving father has to come to terms with raising daughters without their mother…and then there’s this pesky business of seeing ghosts.

Gomorra
Matteo Garrone | Italy | 2008
135 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeuLCXwvOgw

This highly acclaimed Italian film was a big find at Cannes 2008, winning numerous awards  there and at other festivals subsequently. A tell-all crime film about the Camorra, an organized crime syndicate, its realism has forced the author of the book, on which the film is based, into permanent hiding for fear of retribution from those he’s blown the whistle on. Expect a riveting saga of a little-known, but vastly dangerous criminal underworld of Naples, Italy.

Hunger
Steve McQueen | UK | 2008
96 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmVPCX0LxN8

Tracing an event of historical British significance is Hunger which recounts the last six weeks of hunger strike by Irish Republican Bobby Sands. The subject matter is grim yet intriguing; and it is probably curiosity of how much the film achieves that will drive many to watch it. Hunger has won almost universal acclaim for its lead actor, Michael Fassbender, and a slew of British Independent Film Awards.

Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle | UK | 2008
120 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbXSMghoss

In a setup that is almost tailor-made for the multi-ethnic audiences of DIFF, electrifying director Danny Boyle (forever cherished for his work in famed modern classics Trainspotting and 28 days Later) presents the story of a boy from the slums of Mumbai, who rises to become a star on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Supposedly, it is part love story, part energetic India travelogue by way of Bollywood, and an unabashedly feel-good crowd pleaser!

The Song of Sparrows (Avaze Gonjeshk-ha)
Majid Majidi | Iran | 2008
96 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD8OqU8Jvuw

Iranian cinema is unique. Their societal norms prevent their filmmakers from being as open as their counterparts in the rest of their world; but it is this very same challenge that makes films so fascinating to watch. Their love affair with neo-realism continues with this morality tale of a farmer who has to capture an Ostrich that escapes from the farm. Song of Sparrows is directed by famed Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, whose film Children of Heaven was the first (and only) Iranian film to be nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar. If that wasn’t enough of a reason for you to prioritize a screening, we’ll give you another one: The Song of Sparrows also won its lead actor a Silver Bear at Berlin this year.

The Chaser (Choo Gyeok Ja)
Hong-jin Na | South Korea | 2008
123 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkqczsLZd1I

South Korean films have been enjoying popularity abroad for many years with their raw, gritty and, generally, singular take on what a cinema experience should be like. If you’ve seen films such as OIdboy or The HostThe Chaser (which played at DIFF a couple of years ago), then you know exactly what to expect, or not to expect, from a Korean film about a pimp searching for his missing girls. And if you’ve never experienced Korean cinema, is arguably the best way to make an introduction.

The Class (Entre Les Murs)
Laurent Cantent | France | 2008
128 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSHMZN2DrU

Hailed for its realistic, dogme-like look at public schools in France attended by impoverished children, “The Class” took home the coveted Palm D’or award at this year’s Cannes film festival. If recent winners are any indication (last year’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; The Wind That Shakes The Barley the previous year, both excellent films), then this is a film that should not be given a pass.

The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky | USA | 2008
105 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGnO1oQk2_w

You don’t look for “why” when going for a Darren Aronofsky film; you just need to find out “where” and “when.” The Wrestler is the first-ever Aronofsky film to be officially screened on any big screen either at Dubai generally or at DIFF specifically. Anyone who has ever seen an Aronofsky film (The Fountain, Requiem For A Dream) knows that this hard-hitting director never pulls the punches. Expect a visceral experience and another great score by regular composer Clint Mansell. Winner of the coveted Golden Lion at this year’s Venice film festival.

3 Honorable Mentions:

Owing to the overwhelming number of titles this year, it seems unfair that we should restrict a list to only 10 films. These were a few of the films that didn’t make it into the WearetheMovies.com Top 10 selections, but deserve their own special section.

Blindness
Fernando Meirelles | Canada, Brazil, Japan | 2008
121 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTivdzpDqP0

Apocalyptic futures are always a hit with the masses. Blindness takes just such a bleak point of view, but it’s got an ace in the hole with director Fernando Meirelles,  whose perfect body of work (City of God, The Constant Gardener) cries out for your attention. Tech geeks and aspiring cinematographers, make note that DP Cesar Charlone used three different film formats: Super 16mm, Super 35mm in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and eight-perf VistaVision, a horizontal format that results in an image area about two-and-a-half times the size of a 35mm frame.

Ride the Wave, Johnny (Tera Kya Hoga, Johnny!)
Sudhir Mishra | India | 2008
120 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMBaZTBQ43M

Director Sudhir Mishra has always been a popular alternative to the colorful vibrancy of Bollywood to warrant a watch anytime. His successful mix of casting recognizable actors in off-beat stories has always worked in the past, be it in films as diverse as Khoya Khoya Chand, Chameli, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi or Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin. This time round, Mishra explores another facet of his favorite subject: the harsh life of a child trying to survive on the mean streets of Mumbai.

Tokyo Sonata
Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan | 2008
119 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsRNft84Ks0

In a time of financial uncertainty and economic gloom, this Japanese film, about a man who loses his job and tries to cope with it by pretending to lead a normal life in front of his family, should be a stirring viewing. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes.

To buy tickets visit www.difftickets.com or call them at +9714-3913378