(Note: these films are in no particular order)
Rush (dir. Ron Howard)
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Earlier this Summer I went on a Daniel Brühl marathon film watching session. The end result? Crowning Brühl as one of my favourite modern actors and obsessions. You need only see Inglourious Basterds or Goodbye Lenin to understand why, but he still manages to steal the spotlight whilst playing minor roles in films such as 2 Days in Paris and the terrible film The Intruders. He's already fairly well established in Europe but Rush is expected to project him onto the worldwide stage and gain him greater recognition.
I'm already going to go ahead and call this my favourite film of the year before I've even seen it, since not only is Daniel Brühl reason enough, I also love Formula 1 and the Hans Zimmer, the film's composer. Yes, I know I might regret hyping it up for myself later, but for now I can't wait to see it and hope that it receives all the adulation it deserves.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (dir. Peter Jackson)
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a lot to live up to, but Peter Jackson had already decided that he could match it before the first Hobbit film had even been released; the book had been split into three films which were to be released in consecutive years in awards season, just as The Lord of the Rings trilogy had done before it. Luckily for him The Hobbit was a hit at the box office and it seems that feedback has been more positive than negative, despite the length and Peter Jackson's decision to film it in 48 frames per second. Personally I loved the film, though not quite as much as I loved The Fellowship of the Ring. Though perhaps it's not fair to compare them since they both belong to different trilogy's and times. Regardless, Tolkein's novels are clearly a goldmine for Jackson and a great source of entertainment for book and film lovers.
The Fifth Estate (dir. Bill Condon)
I've already mentioned how great I think Daniel Brühl is, and this film is once again a great platform for his career in Hollywood, as it is for Benedict Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch is already a household name in Britain but has yet to properly break America. Star Trek Into Darkness granted him a lot of recognition but perhaps The Fifth Estate will give his career an extra push towards towards the legendary status he rightly deserves. Edward Snowden's NSA leaks may have accidentily given this film an extra boost since the film focuses on Julian Assange and Wikileaks, another whistleblower. It's probably a long shot in awards season, but it still looks like a solid film. Plus Bill Condon needs to redeem himself after the Twilight Saga.
Anchorman: The Legend Continues (dir. Adam McKay)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy has gained cult status since its 2004 release, setting the bar high for the sequel which brings back much of its original cast plus some new stars. Will Ferrel usually fares quite well at the box office, but his films don't always quite hit the mark with critics. Since the first film is remembered so fondly, the bar has now been set for the second. Looking at the IMDB page you might ask how a film like this could fail with such an impressive cast? It all depends on the script. McKay and Ferrel are a good pairing, so let's just hope that they don't overstay their welcome. I don't see that happening somehow, when you've got a pairing as good as this.
Don Jon (dir. Joseph Gordon Levitt)
The situation: Joseph Gordon Levitt attempts his first full feature directoral debut. Can he do it? The trailer looks...okay. Just okay for now. The film is risky because whilst many people love Joseph Gordon Levitt as an actor, we don't know whether or not we'll love him as a writer/director just yet. It was a good choice to bring Scarlett Johansson on board since The Avengers gave her career an added boost (not that it was particularly needed) and she may also be prominent in awards season with Under the Skin, but it all depends on Joseph Gordon Levitt's ability to translate his likeability as an actor into his likeability as a director.
12 Years a Slave (dir. Steve McQueen)
Shame was great, Hunger too, and so will 12 Years a Slave make this a hat trick for Steve McQueen? Since it has already received so much buzz from critics and is expected to do well at TIFF over the next few days, I'm going to say yes. I've only seen Chiwetel Ejiofor in Love Actually and Dancing on the Edge, but his performance in TYAS is supposed to be exceptional, enough to make him a strong contender for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Equally Michael Fassbender is said to deliver a strong performance worthy of accolade, and so whilst he was overlooked for his last collaboration with McQueen, Shame, he may just get the award he deserves this time.
The Wolf of Wall Street (dir. Martin Scorsese)
The trailer is probably my favourite of the year, since it's basically how I've always imagined Leonardo DiCaprio's life to be like. A lot of spare time, a lot of money and a lot of inventive ways to spend it. Martin Scorsese can do no wrong these days, and so it's stupid to think that this film will any way be a failure. It's likely that along with box office success it will also be a success with the critics, although I'm not so sure it'll fare well in award season. Like McKay and Ferrel (although not so much), Scorsese and DiCaprio are usually a winning team.
American Hustle (dir. David O. Russell)
Once again here's a film with another winning cast. David O. Russell's last film, Silver Linings Playbook, did exceptionally well in awards season, as did The Fighter. In such a star-studded cast it's difficult to discern who will stand out the most, but the trailer seems to favour Christian Bale and Amy Adams rather than Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, the stars of David O. Russell's last film. Both Adams and Bale have very strong career histories and so Lawrence and Cooper have a lot to stand up against, and so it'll be interesting to see how the four actors play off against each other on screen. Interestingly this comes out 25th December in America. Since The Hobbit held onto the box office #1 spot pretty well last year, I'm taking a gamble and betting it'll do the same this time round, which means that American Hustle may be overshadowed as a result. Still, there's always room for surprises, and American Hustle may be able to shine through.
