2012 films preview: part 2

In no particular order, here are some the quality event films that may appear towards the end of 2012 with a view to Oscar glory come early 2013.

Lincoln
Spielberg directs the story of the 16th US president’s victory in the Civil War. The cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jared Harris, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jackie Earl Haley.

The Great Gatsby
Baz Luhrmann’s version of the F Scott Fitzgerald classic. The two leads? Di Caprio and, my god she looks the part, Carey Mulligan.

Untitled
Kathryn Bigelow follows up her Oscar winner with this tale of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. The cast includes Rooney Mara, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy and Guy Pearce.

The Silver Linings Playbook
One of a pair of David ‘The Fighter’ O Russell’s films expected in 2012. A former teacher is released from a mental institution and must get his life back on track. Cast includes Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, and Jennifer Lawrence.

Nailed
The other David O Russell. Jessica Biel is a waitress who gets a nail lodged in her head, causing strange behaviour; Jake Gyllenhaal is the clueless senator who takes up her cause.

The Master
PT Anderson finally follows up There Will Be Blood with this look at evangelism. Philip Seymour Hoffman is the cult leader, Amy Adams is his daughter, and Joaquin Phoenix the drifter who becomes involved with them.

And here are some curios coming from the Brits:

Anna Karenina
Joe ‘Atonement’ Wright does Tolstoy with Knightley, Jude Law, Emily Watson, Kelly Macdonald, and Aaron Johnson. Stoppard did the script.

Byzantium
Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan are a mother and daughter vampire couple, directed by Neil Jordan. Producer Stephen Woolley has described the film as “close to The Company of Wolves”, according to Screen International.

Great Expectations
Mike Newell’s adaptation arrives with HBC as Miss Havisham and Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch. Cue BATFA noms?

Lay The Favourite
Vegas-set comedy-drama in which Rebecca Hall is a waitress-turned-uber gambler. Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vince Vaughn also star.

Les Miserables
How do you follow up The King’s Speech? With Les Mis of course! Tom Hooper directs Hugh Jackman, HBC, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Seven Psychopaths
Martin ‘In Bruges’ McDonagh brings together Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish and Christopher Walken in a tale of gangster’s stolen dog.