1) Les Miserables
It’s a tie between numbers 1 and 2 in the “highly anticipated” stakes, but the personal preferences of the editor (Soz LOTR fans, that’s how it works here) put Les Miserables as the top winter blockbuster of 2012. Directed by Tom Hooper (of the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech) and starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway amongst many more of Hollywood’s finest, it promises to satisfy both longtime fans of the musical and Christmas movie-goers looking for something weepy to help them digest the leftovers. Special mention goes to whoever cast Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter as the villainous Thenardiers: you guys know what’s up.
2) The Hobbit
Peter Jackson was actually talking about making The Hobbit long before the Lord of the Rings trilogy was even a twinkle in his eye, so you can probably understand the insane levels of hype surrounding the film. Jackson will have a lot to answer for if The Hobbit doesn’t meet the standard of the LOTR trilogy, but so far fans have been pretty pleased with what has been revealed to them over the past few months, as well as with the news that The Hobbit will be stretched into a trilogy. Martin Freeman (Dr Watson/Arthur Dent/Tim Canterbury – delete as applicable) will play the titular hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, alongside old reliables Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis as Gandalf and Gollum respectively.
3) Django Unchained
It may not be on the same level as the last two entries, but any new release from our boy Quentin Tarantino is bound to be an event. Having previously paid homage to war movies, 70s blaxploitation films and martial arts flicks in his work, Tarantino is turning his hand to westerns. Starring Jamie Foxx, Leonardo di Caprio (still hunting for that Oscar, eh Leo) and Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained tells the story of the eponymous character, a freed slave who finds work as a bounty hunter. If Tarantino’s entire back catalogue is anything to go by, we will be treated to the blackest of black humour, ridiculous amounts of swearing, and gratuitous cartoon violence. Wahey!
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