Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist is not only a throw back to the days before people spoke in films; it almost makes you wonder why we ever added sound in the first place. Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo shine as the film's two leads able to say more with a look or a soft shoe than most of us can in 140 characters. It's Hollywood in 1927. George Valentin (Dujardin) is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (Bejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies. Filmed in stunning black-and-white, The Artist takes us back to a time when men wore suits, women wore hats and a simple dance could lead to love.

NOMINATED for 10 ACADEMY AWARDS incl BEST FILM, BEST ACTOR and BEST DIRECTOR

WEBSITE LINK

Martha (Elizabeth Olsen ) is a young woman rapidly unravelling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader (John Hawkes). Seeking help from her estranged older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and her brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy), Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia that her former cult could still be pursuing her, the line between Martha’s reality and delusion begins to blur. A powerful psychological thriller.

WEBSITE LINK

Leonardo Di Caprio stars in Clint Eastwood's biopic of the first head of the FBI. During his lifetime, J. Edgar Hoover would rise to be the most powerful man in America. He was a visionary - changing the world of forensics - but he would stop at nothing to protect his country and maintain his position. (He outlasted eight presidents and three wars). Hoover understood that knowledge is power and fear poses opportunity, so he used both to gain unprecedented influence and to build a reputation that was both formidable and untouchable. Hoover was a man who placed great value on secrets - particularly those of others - but he was as guarded in his private life as he was in his public one, allowing only a small and protective inner circle into his confidence. His closest colleague, Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer, last seen in duplicate in Social Network), was also his constant companion.

WEBSITE LINK

When English lad David (Xavier Samuel) announces he is getting married to an Australian, his hapless mates give a whole new meaning to the phrase 'for better or worse'! The chaos-filled wedding day tests their new marriage, challenges David's relationships with his three best men, and risks turning what should be the best day of their lives into the worst. Be the first to see what everyone is calling the Aussie “Hangover” from the writer of Death at a Funeral and Stephan Elliott, director of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Jonathan Biggins and Olivia Newton-John are the bride's folks and Steve Le Marquand almost steals the movie as a crazed drug dealer.

WEBSITE LINK

On a Friday night after hanging out with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a nightclub, alone and on the pull. Just before closing time he picks up Glen. And so begins a weekend - in bars and in bedrooms, getting drunk and taking drugs, telling stories and having sex - that will resonate throughout their lives. Weekend is the second feature by director Andrew Haigh and stars newcomers Tom Cullen and Chris New. "Astonishingly self-assured, unassumingly profound. It is one of the most satisfying love stories you are likely to see on screen this year." - A. O. Scott, NEW YORK TIMES

WEBSITE LINK

After a mission goes wrong International Security Affairs agent Jon (Jay Chou, who played Cato in The Greet Hornet) is severely scarred: a bullet is lodged in his brain, his fiancée and fellow agent Rita is dead and their traitorous colleague Sean has nabbed their witness. While contemplating leaving the force, he finds out that his father and brother, Wan Yang (Nicholas Tse - The Stool Pidgeon, Shaolin, are still alive. In his search for them, he discovers that his brother is working as a mercenary for Sean, who has evil plans to force scientist Rachel to cultivate a mutating virus to unleash on the world. The brothers unite to stop Sean but finds out that he has an even bigger plan for international blackmail. The battle heads to a showdown in Hong Kong where Sean has decided to release the strain of deadly virus.

WATCH TRAILER

The writer and director of Juno re-unite for this funny and biting comedy starring Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either. Directed by Jason Reitman (Up In The Air, Thank You For Smoking) and written by Diablo Cody (United States of Tara).

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER - BEST FILM (Drama) and BEST ACTOR (Drama)

WEBSITE

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is based on John le Carre's 1970s Cold War spy novel and BBC miniseries. George Smiley (Gary Oldman in the role that Alec Guinness made his own in the '70s version) is a recently retired MI6 agent doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Let The Right One In's Swedish director, Tomas Alfredson, makes his English language debut gathering a stellar cast including last year's Oscar-winner Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones and Mark Strong.

NOMINATED for 3 ACADEMY AWARDS incl BEST ACTOR
NOMINATED for 11 BAFTA AWARDS incl BEST PICTURE and BEST ACTOR

WEBSITE LINK

From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (Oscar winning George Clooney, Up In The Air) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries. Also stars Judy Greer (Three Kings) and Matthew Lillard (Scream).

NOMINATED for 5 ACADEMY AWARDS incl BEST FILM and BEST ACTOR
GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER - BEST FILM (Drama) and BEST ACTOR (Drama)

WEBSITE

This is the U.S version of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster The Millennium Trilogy, directed by David Fincher (The Social Network, Seven) and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. It is a murder mystery looking back 40 years at the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, the youngest heir of one of Sweden's wealthiest families. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. Investigating are Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist, aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. The film co-stars Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff and Robin Wright.

NOMINATED for 5 ACADEMY AWARDS incl BEST ACTRESS

WEBSITE

The latest offering from Japan's Studio Ghibli (Howl's Moving Castle, Princes Mononoke, Spririted Away) is a gentle, entrancing version of Mary Norton's book, The Borrowers. Beneath the floorboards of an enormous mansion, set in a magical, overgrown garden in the suburbs of Tokyo, tiny 14-year-old Arrietty lives with her equally tiny parents. The house is occupied by two elderly ladies, unaware of the existence of their miniature tenants. Arrietty's parents have always warned her: "Never let humans see you, as once seen, little people always have to move on". However, when 12-year old Sho moves in to the mansion, the adventurous Arrietty cannot help but be discovered. (We will be screening both language versions - Japanese and English.)

WEBSITE

Academy Award-wining director Martin Scorsese presents his first-ever 3-D film, based on Brian Selznick's award-winning, imaginative New York Times best-seller The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. A passionate brief for film preservation wrapped in a fanciful tale of childhood intrigue and adventure, Hugo dazzlingly conjoins the earliest days of cinema with the very latest big-screen technology. Co-starring Sasha Baron Cohen and Ben Kingsley. Winner: Best Film & Best Director, National Board Of Review!

NOMINATED for 11 ACADEMY AWARDS incl BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR
GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER - BEST DIRECTOR

WEBSITE

Guy Ritchie returns with his two leading men, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the follow up to the 2009 box office hit, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminial mastermind at large – Professor Moriarty (Jarred Harris – Natural Born Killers, The Curioius Case of Benjamin Button) – and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

WEBSITE

The Iron Lady is the compelling story of one of the 20th century's most famous and influential women Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep). As the first woman to become U.K. Prime Minister she smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The film examines power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman. Streep has Margaret Thatcher's plummy tones down to a T, and you have to suspect her name is already engraved on the Oscar. Co-starring are Richard E. Grant and Jim Broadbent as Denis.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE - BEST ACTRESS
GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER - BEST ACTRESS (Drama)

WEBSITE LINK

19th Century Ireland: for a woman to be independent and single, she must deceive everyone - by passing as a man. From director Rodrigo Garcia (Mother and Child) Albert Nobbs is a witty period drama about the lives of staff at one of Dublin's most luxurious hotels - Morrison's - and the hotel's butler, Albert Nobbs... a woman who disguises herself as a man to survive. As Albert Nobbs begins to question the world she has created for herself, and thinks she may have found a soul-mate, she dares to hope that she might one day live a life free of secrets.

Glenn Close stars in the title role of Albert, an award-winning role she played on stage more than twenty years ago. Close puts in a remarkable, heart-rending performance as the complex character and pulls off an incredible transformation. Albert Nobbs is a wonderful drama full of humour, pathos and tenderness. Also starring Mia Wasikowska, Brendan Gleeson and Pauline Collins.

NOMINATED for 3 ACADEMY AWARDS incl BEST ACTRESS (Close) and BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (McTeer)

WATCH TRAILER

Based on the series of books by Herge, The Adventures of Tintin, is produced by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. BAFTA award winning Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott) stars as the voice of Tintin. The young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure. He and his friends discover directions to a sunken ship commanded by Capt. Haddock's ancestor and go off on a treasure hunt. Also stars Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) and Daniel Craig (James Bond) as the nefarious Red Rackham.

WEBSITE LINK

A stellar cast delivers the goods in Philippe Le Guay's smash-hit upstairs/downstairs comedy. It's Paris, 1962. The marvellous Fabrice Luchini (Potiche) stars as wealthy stockbroker Jean-Louis Jouvert, who lives a staid bourgeois existence with his perfectly-presented socialite wife (Sandrine Kiberlain). But when the family's maid abandons them, into the residence comes Maria (Natalia Verbeke): young, hardworking, and - quelle horreur - Spanish! Remarkably, it doesn't take long for the building to become enchanted by the new arrival; Maria rallies the friendship of the other servants on the sixth floor (fabulous turns contributed by two of Almodóvar's favourite señoritas, Carmen Maura and Lola Dueñas) and soon, the balance of the household ruptures into wild, cross-cultural chaos… After premiering at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival to a standing ovation, it became a massive hit at the French box office earlier this year - fuelled by enthusiastic word of mouth the film achieved over 2.5 million admissions.