Words by Eric Hillis (@hilliseric)
All dates are based on the current UK release calendar and are subject to change.
Dheepan
The winner of this year's Palme D'Or at Cannes, Dheepan is the latest from French auteur Jacques Audiard. The film follows a trio of Tamil refugees who seek a new life in France. Lead actor Antonythasan Jesuthasan was once himself a Tamil Tiger child solider.
Hitchcock/Truffaut
**TMW Must See** A documentary look at every cinephile's favourite book. If you're unaware, Hitchcock/Truffaut is a book consisting of interviews between the two directors about Hitchcock's filmmaking process and is practically a film school in a book. With a host of directors discussing the book's influence, this should be fascinating.
London Has Fallen
The last series of TV's 24 relocated its action to the UK capital and now so does this sequel to Olympus Has Fallen. I guess terrorists appreciate tax breaks. The first movie was a grim affair that took itself all too seriously, so expect more of the same here.
Secret In Their Eyes
Juan José Campanella's Oscar winning thriller gets the Hollywood remake treatment in more female led form thanks to the casting of Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman. The original featured an astounding 'one-take' sequence in a football stadium. Will the remake attempt to outdo it?
Truth
Zodiac scribe James Vanderbilt makes his directorial debut in this adaptation of the 'Killian documents controversy' which ended the CBS career of iconic news anchor Dan Rather, played here by Robert Redford. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth Moss, Dennis Quaid and Bruce Greenwood round out an impressive cast.
Anomalisa
An existential movie told through the medium of stop-motion animation; what else would you expect from Charlie Kaufman, who co-directs with Duke Johnson in an adaptation of Kaufman's play. David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh provide the voices.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
With The Hunger Games finally wrapped up, the Divergent series will hope to sweep up those thirsty for a Young Adult fix. As is par for the course, the final book in the trilogy has been split into two movies, this being the first. Kate Winslet is notably absent.
Kung Fu Panda 3
Jack Black's endangered bear returns in what will no doubt be one of the year's biggest animated hits. In a plotline that sounds disturbingly like Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Po must train a village of Pandas in the ways of kung fu to defeat an evil spirit.
The Ones Below
Compared by some to the work of Polanski, The Ones Below is a psychological thriller in which two couples, both expecting a child, engage in a battle of wills. Clemence Poesy and David Morrissey star.
The Witch
**TMW Must See** The toast of the festival circuit, Robert Eggers' writing and directing debut The Witch gives us a puritan family in 17th century New England, menaced by an unknown evil. Most of those who have caught it at festivals, critics and public alike, have been highly enthusiastic about Eggers' film.
High-Rise
**TMW Must See** Not faring quite so well with festival crowds is Ben Wheatley's adaptation of JG Ballard's cult 1975 novel. Some critics have embraced the film, but most are calling it a failed attempt to film an unfilmable novel. Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller and Elizabeth Moss star.
Risen
**TMW Must See** Action maestro Kevin Reynolds directs this costume epic set around the resurrection of Christ, originally pitched as an unofficial sequel to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Consider us intrigued!
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
One of the most hyped of next year's tentpole releases, Zack Snyder's film has a lot to prove, with Batman fans unhappy with the casting of Ben Affleck and Superman devotees peeved at how Snyder portrayed the hero in Man of Steel. It's difficult to see this being anything other than a massive hit regardless.
The Forest
In what sounds like an incredibly tasteless premise, The Forest takes place in Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a notorious real-life destination for those wishing to end their lives, with Natalie Dormer menaced by the ghosts of the dead. Classy!
The Club
**TMW Must See** Chilean director Pablo Larrain follows up his great political drama No with a drama set among a quartet of paedophile priests sharing a house in a small coastal town. The arrival of a fifth man forces them to relive their past deeds.
Sing Street
Once director John Carney returns to the streets of Dublin for this 1980s set musical drama. After the all-star Begin Again, Carney is working here with a cast of unknowns for his period coming of age tale.
The Green Inferno
Eli Roth's long delayed love letter to the Italian cannibal flicks of the '70s finally arrives in the UK, though chances are you saw it at one of the many festivals it's already played. We saw it at the Irish Film Institute's Horrorthon back in October, and you can read our review here.
Time Out of Mind
Richard Gere has won much praise for his portrayal of a mentally ill homeless man struggling to survive on the unforgiving streets of New York in director Oren Moverman's drama. Jena Malone plays his estranged daughter. Bring hankies.
