Barry Levitt’s Picks for 2012

**Most Anticipated Films of 2012**

10/ Love

French mastermind Michael Haneke is back with his first film since Cannes winning The White Ribbon. The film tells the story of an elderly couple who are retired music teachers, and one of them suffers a stroke, paralyzing one side of the body. Haneke’s films are typically of an extremely dark and disturbing nature, and Love looks to be no exception.

9/ Nero Fiddled

In a career over the last decade that has often been hailed as hit-or-miss, Woody Allen has been on a role lately, with his impressive Vicky Christina Barcelona and his excellent 2011 movie Midnight in Paris. His latest comes in the form of Nero Fiddled, a series of four vignettes starring Allen himself, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page and Roberto Benigni. If Allen continues his role, Nero Fiddled could be another irresistible film in Allen’s repertoire.

8/ The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan is one of the world’s finest living directors. The Dark Knight Rises is the finale of Nolan’s truly phenomenal Batman trilogy. Following in the massive footsteps of The Dark Knight, this film will certainly be the highlight of the summer, and could become one of the highest grossing films of all time come its release in July.

7/ Gangster Squad

A chronicle of the Los Angeles Police Department fight against the Mafia in the 40’s and 50’s, Warner Brothers has assembled the best cast of the 2012 releases. Starring Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling, the cast also includes Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Pena, Emma Stone and Anthony Mackie. With a truly amazing cast assembled, the film’s biggest question is in the rather inspired choice of Rueben Fleishcer. If the director of Zombieland and 30 Minutes or Less can pull off a gangster epic, we could be looking at one of the years finest.

6/ Untitled Kathryn Bigelow Project

Virtually nothing is known about Kathryn Bigelow’s follow up to best picture winner The Hurt Locker (one of my favourite films of the previous decade). Teaming up again with screenwriter Mark Boal, the film is reportedly structured around the hunt for and death of Osama Bin Laden. Bigelow and Boal possess a remarkable understanding of the psychology of war, and this one could be another masterpiece.

5/ Brave

Pixar’s seemingly perfect streak came to an end with Cars 2, the first Pixar film to not be nominated for Best Animated Picture. Brave , Pixar’s first film with a female lead is the story of Merida, an archer who battles fierce beasts while confronting tradition and destiny to discover the meaning of courage. While little information on the film currently exists, the stunning early footage that has surfaced is extremely promising.

4/ Django Unchained

Tarantino’s latest film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx tells the story of a slave turned bounty hunter, who sets out to rescue his wife from a plantation owner in Mississippi. The cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sacha Baron Cohen and Christoph Waltz. With this much talent behind it, it’s almost impossible not to look forward to.

3/ Gravity

Starring Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, Alfonso Cuaron’s (who directed the brilliant Children of Men) latest film has been kept tightly under wraps. The film centres on the sole survivor of a space mission and his attempt to get back to Earth. Rumoured to be a Kubrickian-style film, containing a twenty minute opening shot and featuring truly extraordinary special effects, Clooney and Cuaron team up in what could be the best cinematic experiences of the year.

2/ Lincoln

Steven Spielberg’s latest dream project has been in the works for a considerable amount of time, beginning when Spielberg purchased the rights to the book upon which the film is based back in 2001. Starring the extraordinary Daniel Day-Lewis as American president Abraham Lincoln, the film appears to be the ultimate Oscar bait, and if it delivers, should dominate the next Oscar ceremony.

1/ The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson has made just a handful of films in his highly acclaimed career, including masterworks such as Punch-Drunk Love and Magnolia. His latest film, The Master, is thought to be PTA’s attack on Scientology, though very little is actually known about the project. Featuring a superb cast including Amy Adams, Laura Dern and Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master has no current release date, and if released in 2012, should see light in the years final weeks, and certainly looks to be worth the wait.

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