37. A Most Wanted Man
Release Date: 22nd November (UK)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Stars: Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright, Willem Dafoe, Philip Seymour Hoffman
What’s The Story? Based on the John Le Carre novel, A Most Wanted Man follows a Chechan Muslim ex-prisoner who illegally moves to Hamburg. Uneducated and without a cent, he goes about proving he is the rightful heir to a vast quantity of cash hidden in a private bank. McAdams and Wright sold it for me.
Impress Your Mates: All the cast had to work with accent coaches to adopt perfect German accents.
38. Carrie
Release Date: 29th November (UK) / 18th October (US)
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Stars: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore
What’s The Story? Awkward teenager, Carrie White, is continually tormented by her peers at school. When one event spirals out of control, she realises she possesses the gift of telekinesis. On hand to put a dampener on her discovery is her religious zealot mother, Margaret, who’ll do anything to stop Carrie from living a normal life. Expect a lot of blood and explosions. At the same time.
Impress Your Mates: Based on the 1974 Stephen King novel, which was adapted by Brian DePalma with Sissy Spacek as Carrie.
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39. Nebraska
Release Date: 6th December (UK) / 22nd November (US)
Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: Bruce Dern, Will Forte
What’s The Story? An old cantankerous drunk travels from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son to collect the winnings on a mega millions lottery ticket. A road trip movie with an alcoholic and his offspring sounds about as enticing as a papercut up the nose, but with Alexander Payne behind the camera it’s the possibility of being a poignant and funny look at father-son relationships.
Impress Your Mates: Payne’s fourth film set in his home state of Nebraska.
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40. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Release Date: 13th December
Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans
What’s The Story? Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit with a stupendous amount of luck, continues his journey with a motley crew of dwarves, elves, trolls, pygmys and giant leprechauns to steal back a load of gold from Smaug. Who happens to be a big scary dragon. They must be off their gourds on mead.
Impress Your Mates: Jackson created an entirely new character for the film; Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly.
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41. Anchorman: The Legend Continues
Release Date: 20th December
Director: Adam McKay
Stars: Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Christina Applegate
What’s The Story? As Ron Burgundy as his team find themselves in a new era of reporting, they must deal with the pressures of the 24-hour news cycle. There’s a ton of starry cameos in the can, which look set to rival the street fight scene from the first flick.
Impress Your Mates: To coincide with the film’s release, there’s an Anchorman exhibit opening at the Newseum in D.C.
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42. American Hustle
Release Date: 26th December (UK) / 25th December (US)
Director: David O. Russell
Stars: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence
What’s The Story? A con artist and his buddy decide to snitch on their fellow criminals with the aid of a Federal Agent who assists them in bringing down a New Jersey mayor. In early set photos, Bale looks almost unrecognisable in contrast to his The Dark Knight persona and looks more like Andy from Little Britain.
Impress Your Mates: The script was originally called American Bullshit.
43. August: Osage County
Release Date: 26th December (UK) / 8th November (US)
Director: John Wells
Stars: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney
What’s The Story? An ensemble drama, August: Osage County focuses on the trials of a family after the head of the household dies. This starry low-key flick is destined for Oscar nods before it’s even released. Streep and Roberts could be sat at a table reading from takeaway menus and it’d still pull in audiences. That might be a bit too experimental, however.
Impress Your Mates: Based on the Broadway play of the same name.
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44. 47 Ronin
Release Date: 26th December (UK) / 25th December (US)
Director: Carl Rinsch
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada
What’s The Story? In 18-century Japan, a group of ronin (47, to be exact) samurai go on a quest to avenge the death of their master. Combining fantasy and action, 47 Ronin will see the warriors encounter dragons and witches in big sequences akin to Lord Of The Rings. Sounds promising, and we even get to hear Reeves speak in Japanese.
Impress Your Mates: Director Rinsch was “removed” from the project after production wrapped, with Universal taking over work on the final cut.
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45. The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
Release Date: 26th December (UK) / 25th December (US)
Director: Ben Stiller
Stars: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Patton Oswalt
What’s The Story? Regular joe, Walter Mitty, is a magazine photo editor. Used to living an exciting life in his daydreams, he embarks on a real-life adventure when he goes on the hunt for a missing negative. With Stiller at the helm and Bridesmaids Kristen Wiig in tow, it looks like it could be a funny heartfelt caper.
Impress Your Mates: A remake of the 1947 film of the same name.
