Looper
Brick writer-director Rian Johnson delves into Robert Zemeckis territory with this ambitious time-travel thriller about a hit man named Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) hired by the mob to get rid of someone from the future who ends up being...himself. Bruce Willis plays the older Joe who's his target. Emily Blunt, Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels also costar in this mind-bender.
Cloud Atlas
A thought-provoking epic from Run Lola Run auteur Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, Cloud Atlas stars Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, and Halle Berry among others and tells six intricately linked stories across the centuries and how a simple act of kindness ripples across time. And you thought Looper was complicated.
To the Wonder
A meditation on love from Tree of Life filmmaker Terence Malick, a young couple, Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko) travel from France to Oklahoma where problems arise after they meet the acquaintance of a priest (Javier Bardem) and Neil renews ties with a childhood friend (Rachel McAdams).
Argo
Coming hot on the heels of his critically acclaimed drama The Town, Affleck takes the directing reins and headlines this '70s political drama, playing an extraction specialist tapped by the CIA to rescue six U.S. diplomats trapped in the U.S. embassy during the hostage crisis in Iran. We give him major props for the beard.
Thanks for Sharing
Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow and Joely Richardson are an unlikely group of friends who offer up TMI as they recover from sex addiction in this dramedy. Thanks for Sharing indeed!
Silver Linings Playbook
Director David O. Russell follows up The Fighter with this comedy-drama starring Bradley Cooper as a former teacher who, after spending four years in a mental institution, moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro costar along with Chris Tucker in his first role since 2007's Rush Hour 3.
Love, Marilyn
Filmmaker Liz Garbus muses on the legendary screen icon in this documentary focusing on Marilyn Monroe's private writings which were discovered in two boxes nearly 50 years after her death. Stars like Elizabeth Banks, Uma Thurman and Glenn Close add their two cents about the woman they call Marilyn.
The Company You Keep
Robert Redford directs and stars in his first film since 2007's Lions for Lambs. Here he plays a former Weather Underground militant who goes on the run after an enterprising young reporter (Shia LaBeouf) uncovers his identity. Forget the fact he's 75—Bobby's still a star to us!
Ginger and Rosa
British helmer Sally Potter's latest starring Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Christina Hendricks and Annette Bening follows two inseparable teen girls at the height of the Cold War in the early '60s whose lifelong friendship is tested by the coming sexual revolution.
Anna Karenina
Adapted from Leo Tolstoy's classic 1877 novel of the same name, Keira Knightley reunites with her Atonement director Joe Wright to take the titular role of a woman who, alas, is trapped in a loveless marriage to Alexei, played by Jude Law (the poor thing). But all is not lost when a young lover played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson enters the scene.
End of Watch
In an action drama from writer-director David Ayer, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña play Los Angeles police officers just doin' their job until they stumble into something big that makes them the target of a nasty drug cartel. Those bulletproof vests are gonna come in handy.
Hyde Park on Hudson
Bill Murray plays Franklin Delano Roosevelt in this love story about the president and, yes, his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, whom he apparently romanced during a weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of England visited his home in upstate New York. Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), the cast includes Olivia Williams as Eleanor Roosevelt and Laura Linney as the object of FDR's affection.
Jayne Mansfield's Car
Billy Bob Thornton returns to the director's chair for this funny, poignant portrait of three generations of fathers and sons in the South during the '60s who struggle with long-held resentments, secrets and memories of war. Aside from the Bad Santa star, the ensemble also features Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon and John Hurt.
The Place Behind the Pines
Bradley Cooper teams up with Ryan Gosling for this thriller, writer-director Derek Cianfrance's follow-up to his 2010 hit Blue Valentine. The latter plays a professional motorcycle rider who turns to robbing banks to support his newborn son and ends up crossing paths with a rookie police officer played by Cooper. Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne no doubt add sultriness to the proceedings.
A Late Quartet
Egos clash in this drama from indie director Yaron Zilberman about the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet who's diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, which threatens to derail the group on the eve of their 25th anniversary concert. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Imogen Poots, Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken head up a terrific cast.