Continuing our look ahead to the big releases of 2014, we preview the 10 awards contenders released in the UK in
When Steve McQueen's unflinching, unforgettable deep south slavery epic premiered at Telluride and Toronto in September, pundits identified it immediately as the likely big victor at March's Oscars. Despite young pretenders Gravity and plucky upstart American Hustle, that still looks likely to be the case. This is a film that's impossible to ignore, a challenge not to be moved by.
Out in the UK on 10 January
• First look review: 12 Years a Slave
The first surprise of Martin Scorsese's latest team-up with Leonardo DiCaprio is that it's an out-and-out comedy, full of smackhead slapstick and dwarf-chucking japery. The second is that it's really, really funny, even over a formidable three-hour running time. DiCaprio is on roaring form as the voracious trader, with Jonah Hill brilliant as his sidekick. Also features three directors in supporting roles: Spike Jonze, Jon Favreau and Rob Reiner.
Out in the UK on 17 January
• First look review: The Wolf of Wall Street
When Jason Reitman's adaptation of the Joyce Maynard coming-of-age-tale first premiered, critics were split between those who wept and panged at the weekend romance between agoraphobic single mom Kate Winslet and hunky escaped con Josh Brolin, and those who remained less enamoured of its simmering metaphors and peach-pie earnestness.
Out in the UK on 7 February
• First look review: Labor Day
Period drama, stripped down: Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in Abi Morgan's adaptation of the Claire Tomalin biography of Dickens's affair with the actress Nelly Ternan (played by a super-soulful Felicity Jones). There's terrific support from Joanna Scanlon as Dickens' maligned wife, and Kristen Scott Thomas as Nelly's mother - half compliant, half resistent, always realistic.
Out in the UK on 7 February
First look review: The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave
When Steve McQueen's unflinching, unforgettable deep south slavery epic premiered at Telluride and Toronto in September, pundits identified it immediately as the likely big victor at March's Oscars. Despite young pretenders Gravity and plucky upstart American Hustle, that still looks likely to be the case. This is a film that's impossible to ignore, a challenge not to be moved by.
Out in the UK on 10 January
• First look review: 12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
The first surprise of Martin Scorsese's latest team-up with Leonardo DiCaprio is that it's an out-and-out comedy, full of smackhead slapstick and dwarf-chucking japery. The second is that it's really, really funny, even over a formidable three-hour running time. DiCaprio is on roaring form as the voracious trader, with Jonah Hill brilliant as his sidekick. Also features three directors in supporting roles: Spike Jonze, Jon Favreau and Rob Reiner.
Out in the UK on 17 January
• First look review: The Wolf of Wall Street
Labor Day
When Jason Reitman's adaptation of the Joyce Maynard coming-of-age-tale first premiered, critics were split between those who wept and panged at the weekend romance between agoraphobic single mom Kate Winslet and hunky escaped con Josh Brolin, and those who remained less enamoured of its simmering metaphors and peach-pie earnestness.
Out in the UK on 7 February
• First look review: Labor Day
Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom
The man himself died on the night of the London premiere – and it will be interesting to chart the effect such timing has on Justin Chadwick's epic, respectful biopic. Idris Elba has won great notices in the lead, with Naomie Harris as Winnie and dialogue from Oscar-winner William Nicholson.
Out in the UK on 3 January
• First look review: Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom
Out in the UK on 3 January
• First look review: Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom
August: Osage County
John Wells's adaptation of the Tracy Letts Pulitzer-prize winning play takes more top thesps than you can shake a stick at - Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Shepherd - then sticks them in a house together for two-a-half-hours in the height of summer, for a wake. The results were greeted with a mixed reception in Toronto but since then Wells has apparently made some adjustments, meaning this slice of stage at the cinema is still a major contender.
Out in the UK on 24 January
• First look review: August: Osage County
Out in the UK on 24 January
• First look review: August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
A giant shove in the back for those who still need a push towards Matthew McConaughey's corner. This real-life drama sees the Texan 'Pectacular play Ron Woodroof, a homophobic rodeo cowboy who contracted Aids and setup an illegal supply chain for anti-viral drugs, which he sold to Dallas' gay community. McConaughey's undeniable brilliant, but watch out too for Jared Leto, who plays his business partner, a transexual called Rayon. He's on course for an Oscar nomination at the least.
Out in the UK on 7 February
• First look review: Dallas Buyers Club
Out in the UK on 7 February
• First look review: Dallas Buyers Club
Out of the Furnace
Christian Bale's second shot at the Oscar this year is potentially yet more credible than his turn in American Hustle. Here he's a well-meaning steel worker grappling with a dying dad, a scrappy sibling (Casey Affleck) and a run of bad luck that means he comes into the crosshairs of Woody Harrelson's crack-dealer bare-knuckle gangster. Atmospheric stuff from Crazy Heart director Scott Walker.
Out in the UK on 29 January
Out in the UK on 29 January
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coens' black-and-white ode to early 1960s folk scene in Greenwich village was met with much whooping when it premiered at Cannes last May. Many months have elapsed but in holding their prize puss back for so long, StudioCanal have managed to sustain momentum for a delicate drama that might have got trampled in the rush.
Out in the UK on 24 January
• First look review: Inside Llewyn Davis
Out in the UK on 24 January
• First look review: Inside Llewyn Davis
The Invisible Woman
Period drama, stripped down: Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in Abi Morgan's adaptation of the Claire Tomalin biography of Dickens's affair with the actress Nelly Ternan (played by a super-soulful Felicity Jones). There's terrific support from Joanna Scanlon as Dickens' maligned wife, and Kristen Scott Thomas as Nelly's mother - half compliant, half resistent, always realistic.
Out in the UK on 7 February
First look review: The Invisible Woman
Her
Spike Jonze's tale of the love affair between a depressed personalised-letter writer in the near future (Joaquin Phoenix) and his computer operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) is the dark horse of this season. Might Jonze's screenplay or sleek direction sneak off with a prize? Might Phoenix find the best actor award he missed last year? Either way, this is smart, funny, innovative storytelling.
Out in the UK on 14 February the crucial first two months of the year
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