Over the past few years, the strongest films have tended to come out early in the year. Here's our preview of the films whetting our appetite this coming January/February*.
Hors Satan
Who made it? Bruno Dumont (Hadewijch, La Vie de Jesus)
Who's in it? David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre, Christophe Bon
Who's in it? David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre, Christophe Bon
What's it about? A miracle reveals an unseen side of a village loner.
Critical buzz? "The vagueness won't win Dumont new fans, but his enigmatic allegory of intertwined good and evil does linger in the mind." Simon Kinnear, Total Film
American Mary
Who made it? Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska (Dead Hooker in a Trunk)
Who's in it? Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo
What's it about? A struggling medical student enters the world of underground surgeries.
Critical buzz? "A shocking, slyly funny work of baroque modern horror." Simon Foster, Screen-Space
Lincoln
Who made it? Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
Who's in it? Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field
Who's in it? Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field
What's it about? Biopic of America's most revered president.
Critical buzz? "Never before in American cinema have politics and poetry combined to make such spellbinding bedfellows." Rick Kisonak, Film Threat
Zero Dark Thirty
Who made it? Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Near Dark)
Who's in it? Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt
Who's in it? Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt
What's it about? The hunt for Osama bin Laden
Critical buzz? "Bigelow proves herself once again to be a master of heightened realism and narrative drive" Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Hitchcock
Who made it? Sacha Gervasi (Anvil)
Who's in it? Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson
Who's in it? Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson
What's it about? The making of 'Psycho'
Critical buzz? "Incredibly charming, funny, and intriguing" Chris Sawin, Examiner.com
A Good Day to Die Hard
Who made it? John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Max Payne)
Who's in it? Bruce Willis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Patrick Stewart
Who's in it? Bruce Willis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Patrick Stewart
What's it about? Fifth installment in the action franchise
Critical buzz? Yet to be reviewed
To The Wonder
Who made it? Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, Badlands)
Who's in it? Rachel McAdams, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck
Who's in it? Rachel McAdams, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck
What's it about? A couple find their relationship breaking down upon moving to Oklahoma.
Critical buzz? "Poetic and beautiful" Fred Topel, CraveOnline
*Based on U.K release dates.
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