Great directors are out in force this year - from Christopher Nolan (Batman) to Peter Jackson (The Hobbit) and Sam Mendes (Bond). Quick- pass the popcorn!
It is only the first week of January 2012 and already new releases such as The Iron Lady and The Artist provide a good excuse to swap your sofa for a seat at the nearest picture house. Here are another 10 films (with expected UK release dates) likely to cause a stir in the year ahead.
- Shame, starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, has already caused controversy at film festivals around the world. British artist Steve McQueen’s second feature (after Hunger) is a gruelling, explicit but fascinating portrayal of sex addiction and a troubled sibling relationship. UK release date: 13 January, 2012.
- Summer 2012 sees the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman films with The Dark Knight Rises. Tom Hardy plays masked terrorist Bane to Christian Bale’s superhero. Is this really the end? Fanboys (and girls) everywhere weep.
- Part one of The Hobbit (An Unexpected Journey) is perhaps one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the coming year. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins seems perfect casting. UK release date: December 2012.
- Sam Mendes directs Daniel Craig in the 23rd Bond film Skyfall . A great supporting cast includes Rhys Ifans, Ben Whishaw (who will play techie boffin Q) and Javier Bardem as the inevitable Bond villain. UK release date: October 2012.
- The Amazing Spider Man will be released in 3D and sees Andrew Garfield take over the role of a teenage Peter Parker. UK release date: July 2012.
- Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson star in a British adaptation (by Tom Stoppard) of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Joe Wright (Atonement, Hanna) directs this Russian period drama. UK release date: September 2012.
- David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence) directs Cosmopolis, based on the Don DeLillo novel. Twilight heart throb Robert Pattinson takes a 24 hour odyssey across Manhatten. UK release date: Autumn 2012.
- Django Unchained will be Quentin Tarantino’s (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) 8th film. This (most likely to be) controversial revenge tale of slavery and forced prostitution stars Jamie Foxx. UK release date: December 2012.
- Although not generally a fan of remakes, The Great Gatsby is interesting because it is directed by Baz Luhrmann (Romeo+ Juliet, Moulin Rouge!). It is worth watching to see if Leonardo DiCaprio, as Jay Gatsby, can possibly match the glamour of Robert Redford in the original 1974 adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel? Likely to prompt a fashion for 1920s clothing. UK release date: December 2012.
- Brazilian director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) is On the Road with a cast that includes Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart. This adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal 1950s Beat Generation novel has been in the pipeline for many years and is hopefully worth the wait. UK release date: November 2012.
The above list reveals that 2012 may be a year remembered for sequels (Dark Knight) and prequels (Spiderman). Yet you never know where the next cinematic hit will come from. Did anyone predict that a black and white silent film would be pulling in the crowds in 2012?
Copyright Jacqui Taylor. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Jacqui Taylor - I am a part-time librarian, art student and writer. Previously I have done a wide range of jobs - from selling theatre tickets to teaching ...
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