Acoustic Routes – Billy Connolly narrates this documentary about the guitarist Bert Jansch. No official site (though Glasgow Film has the trailer here), but the film will be showing at key cities (screening details here).

Arbitrage – one of the morstcomplicated to pronounce films of the new year, Richard Gere stars in another economy/credit crunch-slanted thriller, as a hedge fund magnate trying to sell of his empire before the banks discover the massive fraud he’s been indulging in. Co-starring Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth. Official website is here, showing in most places.

The Attacks of 26/11 – Hindi drama that tells of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2011. The official Facebook page is here and the film will be showing at key cities.

The Bay – it’s been a few years since Barry Levinson’s last stint in the director’s chair (2008’s What Just Happened). He returns with this Blair Witch style ‘mockumentary’ about an ecological disaster that occurs off the coast of a quaint Maryland town. The official site is here and the film will be showing at key cities.

Broken City – ex-cop Mark Wahlberg goes on the vengeance trail after being double-crossed…by mayor Russell Crowe. Catherine Zeta-Jones stars in this thriller from director Allen Hughes (one of the Hughes brothers behind From Hell).  Official site is here.

Caesar Must Die – winner of the Golden Bear at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival, this Italian drama follows the preparations behind the annual play staged by inmates at the high security Rebbibia prison. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is the choice this time around. Official New Wave Films site is here, but this will only be on a limited run.

Gangs of Wasseypur Part 2  – second installment in this sprawling Indian crime drama filmed, like all good sequels, back-to-back. The story of vengeance in the first film has now consumed the entire town of Wasseypur. Wikipedia has the full low-down of the film here, but the Mara Pictures’ home page has the screening locations here.

The Gospel According to Matthew – Pier Paolo Passolini’s religious drama from 1964 was controversial in that for a film-maker who courted controversy throughout his career, it was the Catholic Church who loved this literal filming of the gospel and his leftist colleagues who thought he had sold out. BFI’s website has the screening locations here.

Hi-So – bittersweet romance set in Thailand, post-Boxing Day Tsunami with Thai star Ananda Everingham. Official day-for-night pictures site is here, detailing the handful of cinemas so far screening the film in London.

Michael H. Profession: Director – director Michael Haneke hit Oscar big-time this year, winning the award for best foreign film for Amour and seeing his 84 year old star Emmanuelle Riva nominated for best actress. This documentary from Yves Montmayeur follows his career, using Amour as the central film to explore his work.  Official website is here, showing at key cities only.

Safe Haven – another Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook) book-film adaptation, this stars Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough in a slushy, soft-focus romance about a young woman’s struggle to love again. Official Facebook page is here and, appropriately for such a soggy movie, the country will be ‘saturated’ with screenings.

Sleep Tight – Rotten Tomatoes has given this Spanish horror a freshness rating of 91%. Interesting sounding plot, in which a creepy concierge, convinced he was born to be unhappy, sets about winding his tenants up. Trouble is, new girl Marta Etura proves immune to his attempts. He sets about upping the ante to make her uncomfortable. Wikipedia has a few extra tit-bits of info here, but this will be on a limited run only.

Stoker – acclaimed South Korean director Chan Woon-Park (Old Boy, Lady Vengeance) helms his first American feature in which Mia Wakowski’s weird Uncle Matthew Goode moves in after her dad dies. Suspecting him of funny goings on, she none the less becomes infatuated with him. Unstable Mum Nicole Kidman rounds off the bonkers family. Official Fox site is here; but will be screening at key UK cities only.

Trashed – good things expected of this environmental doc, with Jeremy Irons narrating and Vangelis providing the music. The focus of the film is the rubbish we dump and dispose of. No screening details yet, but the official site has a section to be updated here.

And as of Tuesday 5 March…

Verity’s Summer – sounds like another Nicholas Sparks novel slapped across the silver screen, but this has considerably more grit to it. A teenager on the Northumberland coast uncovers some uncomfortable truths about her policeman father’s role in the torture of Iraqi prisoners. Official website is here; there are details of a few of the screenings here.

For Ellen – Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Ruby Sparks) stars in this drama about an absent father who, when served with divorce papers by his estranged wife, suddenly realises he doesn’t want to give up on fatherhood altogether and treks across America with his lawyer to see his daughter. Official Soda Pictures website is here; showing at key cities only.

Madame de… – Also released under the title of The Earrings of Madame De…this is one of Max Ophuls’ stylish romantic tragedy’s that follows the fate that befalls a group of interlinked characters when a peniless Countess (Danielle Darrieux) sells a pair of the expensive earrings her husband (Charles Boyer) gave her as a wedding present. Distributed by the BFI, this will be shown in these following London cinemas.

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God – this documentary recounts the story of four brave deaf men who in the first known case to go public, set about exposing the Catholic priests who abused them as children. Featuring the voices of Chris Cooper and Ethan Hawke, the film will be showing at key cities only and the official site is here.

Reign of Assassins – despite being initially released in 2010, this martial arts actioneer starring Michelle Yeoh as a former assassin who tries to go straight after being counselled by a Monk seems to have suffered delays due to the sale of distribution rights. Released to key cities only; Wikipedia has the low-down here.

Sammy’s Great Escape (3D) – animated 3D film from Belgium about a couple of turtles who are suddenly scooped up by a poacher. Showing nationwide, IMDb has the details here.

Side By Side – Martin Scorsese made a shock announcement last year that, despite being an ardent fan of celluloid, technological demands meant it was no longer viable to film in anything other than digital. This documentary from Keanu Reeves of all people features him, Danny Boyle, George Lucas, David Lynch, James Cameron and a host of others talking to Reeves about the pros and the cons of switching to digital film-making. The official Axiom Films website is here and this will be showing at key cities only.

And on Monday 18 February…

Ollie Kepler’s Expanding Purple World – strange sounding drama with Edward Hogg as an astronomer who is trying to get over the death of this wife, hampered by a broken promise that comes back to haunt him. Official website is here, but is on a limited release only.

And on Thursday 21 February…

The Butterfly’s Dream – this lush looking Turkish romance follows the lives of two poets who compete for the hand of a beautiful girl by writing her the best poems. Official site in English is here, but will only be showing on a limited release.

Antiviral – very strange horror from Brandon Cronenberg (yes, son of the illustrious David) starring Caleb Landry Jones as the lab technician who harvests viruses from celebrities to sell off to their deranged fans. After infecting himself with the virus that kills uber-celeb Sarah Gadon he becomes the target for her crazed followers. So Branders is a chip off the cinematic block? Official site is here; showing at key cities only.

Bullet to the Head – showing nationwide, this Walter Hill directed revenge thriller stars Sylvester Stallone as a hit-man who takes on the bad guys when they kidnap his daughter (Sarah Shahi). Trailer seems classy and Stallone has some killer one-liners (“You see, I’m a people person”). Official US site is here.

Bullhead – Rust & Bone‘s Matthias Schoenaerts stars as a cattle farmer who gets into trouble when he initiates a dodgy deal with a mafia type beef baron. Brokeback Mountain it ain’t! The official site is here and the film will be showing at key cities only.

Chained – it must be a week for gory North American films; Jennifer Lynch directs this horror about a taxi driving serial killer (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his young protogee (Evan Bird). Bird must decide whether he follows in D’Onofrio’s footsteps or makes a break for it on a night cruising the streets for victims. No official site, but IMDb has the technical details here and, mysteriously, this is on a ‘limited release’ only.

Cirque de Soleil: Worlds Away 3D – James Cameron is one of the big names behind the camera of this 3D circus/love story, showcasing the talents of the titular acrobatic troupe. It looks sexy and beautiful. The official (if rather ponderous) website is here and the film will be showing at key cities only.

Do Elephants Pray? – Jonnie Hurn is the advertising Exec who is shaken out of his dull life by free-spirited French girl Julie Dray. Sounds slightly samey, although this one has a bit more bite than the usual mid-life crisis wakes up story as Dray puts Hurn through a series of demoralising tasks. Official site is here and (for once) contains details of exactly where you can catch the film.

Flight – featuring possibly the most aggravating performance to be Oscar nominated this year, Denzel Washington stars as the ridiculously calm and clear-headed pilot who saves many lives during a daring move as his plane crash-lands. Trouble is, the experts who analyse his moves are unable to replicate it and an investigation finds he was drunk the night before the flight. He goes from hero to zero and it’s up to lawyer Don Cheadle to help him out. Robert Zemeckis directs from a script by John Gatins (Real Steel). The official site is here and it will be showing nationwide.

Hyde Park on Hudson – delectable sounding comic drama with Bull Murray starring as US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, hosting the British King and Queen (Sam West and Olivia Colman) for a weekend. They are trying to shmooze for American support during WWII, but FDR’s domestic life might complicate matters. Official Universal UK site is here; the film will play nationwide.

A Place in the Sun – Montgomery Clift is the socially aspirational guy who kills the dowdy factory girl carrying his child (Shelley Winters) so he can shack up with the factory owner’s daughter Elizabeth Taylor. Classic 1950’s melodrama from director George Stevens showcasing Clift and Taylor at their best – surely they were never lovelier than in this film? Official BFI website is here, but showing at BFI Southbank only.

Punk Syndrome – if Finnish punk rock is your scene, then this is the film for you. Showing at key cities; the Wikipedia page has a little more detail here.

Hollow – British horror starring Emily Plumtree about an abandoned monastery that lures young people to commit suicide. Wikipedia site is here but only having a limited release.

The Last Stand – Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his big screen comeback as a small-town Sherrif who takes on a big drug Lord (Eduardo Noriega) who happens upon his small town. Official UK site is here, showing nationwide.

Lincoln – one of the big hitters for this years awards season, this is Spielberg’s Civil War epic with Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular 1860’s President who must wrestle with political in-fighting as he struggles with his conscience to try and free millions of slaves in America. Largely tipped to win at least the big acting Oscars (Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones are also nominated, but in the supporting categories) this has the sweep of a big film at least. Showing nationwide. Official site is here.

Movie 43 – Despite the massive social media profile employed to promote this comedy, still no official site. Looks like a massive portmanteau flick with Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman et al…no idea (or much care) about what it is about though. Showing nationwide. Facebook page is here.

Race 2 – I love how with Bollywood films when you try to find out what the plot is, even the Wikipedia and Facebook pages tell you next to anything! Essentially though, this is a Bollywood Fast and the Furious. Wikipedia site is here and this is showing at Key Cities only.

Won’t Back Down – Seems like every year brings a new failing inner-city American school drama. Here, Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal try to sort theirs out to improve their kids grades. IMDb site is here, showing at key cities only.

Zero Dark Thirty  – controversial US drama (director Kathryn Bigelow was, according to rumours, denied an Oscar nod for best director here because of this film’s graphic torture sequences), Jessica Chastain stars as the committed intelligence operative who is involved in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Official site is here, showing nationwide.