10th – This Is The End
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill
Director: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Released: June 2013

While attending a party at James Franco’s house, Seth Rogen, Rihanna, Emma Watson and other celebrities encounter the apocalypse. Co-written/directed by Seth Rogen (his directorial debut), this began life as 2007 short, ‘Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse’. It has a top drawer comedy cast, a hilarious concept and it totally works. Stand-out moments include Michael Cera’s toilet episode, Jonah Hill’s rampage and Paul Rudd stepping on a woman’s head.

9th – Thor: The Dark World
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston, Ray Stevenson
Director: Alan Taylor
Released: November 2013


Thor battles an ancient race of Dark Elves led by the vengeful Malekith (Eccleston), who threatens to plunge the universe into darkness. The movie will explore what’s been happening in the nine realms since the Asgardians have been unable to use the Bifrost, and feature an encounter with the Light Elves, a peaceful people. Loki will be present, but eclipsed by the other villains who include Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as a Dark Elf who’s “an amalgamation of a bull and a lava-like creature”. Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins all return. The director of TV’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ takes over from Kenneth Branagh.

8th – Iron Man 3
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall
Director: Shane Black
Released: May 2013


Borrowing elements from the ‘Extremis’ graphic novel, this sees Stark dealing with a virus that spreads through nanotechnology. Rebecca Hall (‘The Town’) plays his intellectual equal, a scientist who develops the nanotech that lands in the hands of terrorists. Guy Pearce plays the evil geneticist who creates the virus while Ben Kingsley is Mandarin, the mysterious villain pulling the strings. Written and directed by the underrated Shane Black (‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’), the movie doesn’t feature any other Avengers and takes Stark out of his element by destroying all his toys. While the ‘villain switch’ doesn’t work and the third act devolves into silliness that betrays the real-world roots of the first film, Downey Jr. is the most charismatic star alive, and this is the role he was born to play.

7th – The Wolf Of Wall Street
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jean Dujardin, Kyle Chandler
Director: Martin Scorsese
Released: December 2013


Based on best-selling memoirs, this chronicles a New York stockbroker’s (DiCaprio) dramatic rise and fall on Wall Street, along with his hard-partying lifestyle (such as sinking his 37m yacht) and tumultuous personal life (including drug and alcohol addiction). Things go south when he refuses to cooperate in a massive securities fraud case involving widespread corruption on Wall Street and mob infiltration. Banker-weary audiences may not have a taste for it, and the movie feels a few years too late, but with Scorsese directing, this could have all the excitement ‘Wall Street 2′ lacked. The script has been described as a ‘Casino’/’Raging Bull’ mash up in a new environment. Also Jonah Hill is back to dramatic acting after the nomination he got for ‘Moneyball’. Jean Dujardin (star of ‘The Artist’) plays a dodgy Swiss banker. Kyle Chandler (‘Super 8′) is the FBI man.

6th – Man Of Steel
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner
Director: Zack Snyder
Released: June 2013


Superman reboot developed by Christopher Nolan, with a script from ‘Dark Knight’ co-writer David Goyer, although it’s definitely now Zack Snyder’s (’300′, ‘Watchmen’) movie. So expect strong visuals and combat, based off solid story elements. Brandon Routh is out as Superman, replaced by ‘Immortals’ star Henry Cavill. Amy Adams is Lois Lane. Costner and Diane Lane are Ma and Pa Kent. Laurence Fishburne is Perry White. Russell Crowe pulls a Brando as Superman’s ill-fated father on Krypton. Michael Shannon is a solid pick for the rebooted General Zod (an army leader with several Kryptonian soldiers by his side). They have wisely got rid of Lex Luthor and, despite Zod, this is the first Superman movie to really go off the comics and not Richard Donner’s vision.

5th – American Hustle
Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence
Director: David O. Russell
Released: December 2013


A con man (Bale), along with his seductive British partner (Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent (Cooper) who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia. Caught between the con-artists and Feds is the shady, volatile Mayor of Camden, N.J. (Renner), while the FBI agent’s big-mouthed, unpredictable wife (Lawrence) might just pull the thread that brings their whole world crashing down. Loosely based on the notorious Abscam case, this crime-drama-comedy comes from Oscar regular David O. Russell (‘Silver Linings Playbook’, ‘The Fighter’). It’s already won Best Film, Screenplay and Supporting Actress (Lawrence) at the New York Film Critics Circle. More awards will follow.

4th – Her
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde
Director: Spike Jonze
Released: December 2013


A soulful, lonely man (Phoenix) who makes his living writing touching personal letters for other people is heartbroken after the end of a long relationship. He becomes intrigued with his new operating system on his phone (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) that’s designed to meet his every need. The female voice is insightful, sensitive and funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into a love. Written and directed by Spike Jonze (‘Adaptation’, ‘Being John Malkovich’), this is a prophetic reflection on social isolation and our dependency on evolving technologies, that’s said to be as disconcerting as it is sweet. It recently won Best Picture at the National Board of Review Awards, which is a big deal.

3rd – The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving
Director: Peter Jackson
Released: December 2013


After crossing the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Company must seek aid from a powerful stranger before taking on the dangers of Mirkwood Forest. If they reach the human settlement of Lake-town it will be time for the hobbit Bilbo to fulfil his contract with the dwarves. Will they discover what has become of Gandalf? This is the second of three Hobbit movies, all of which were filmed largely back-to-back. Each has been fleshed out with details not in the novel. The final part follows same time next year. It’s still fair to expect good things, even though ‘An Unexpected Journey’ may have been a bit overstretched and underwhelming but this is much improved.

2nd – Star Trek Into Darkness
Starring: Usual Crew, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Peter Weller
Director: J.J. Abrams
Released: May 2013


After Starfleet is rocked by a terrorist within their own organisation, Kirk leads a risky manhunt to the Klingon homeworld to capture or kill the fugitive. 2009′s pleasant surprise returns, keeping the same cast and director. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as the terrorist with the complicated past. Peter Weller is terrific too as the head of Starfleet. Alice Eve plays Kirk’s new love interest. It can’t match ‘Star Trek II’ for charisma and heart, but has a palpable sense of danger and is packed with clever plot twists. Visually it’s the most impressive Star Trek ever made.

1st – Gravity
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Released: October 2013


A space mission to repair the Hubble telescope meets disaster when satellite debris collides with the space station, destroying most of it and killing all but two astronauts. The remaining pair must fight for survival and try to figure a way to safety. Shot in the same style as the director’s ‘Children Of Men’, anyone who saw that knows just how visually amazing this should be in a space setting. In fact it’s even more ambitious with newly invented rigs specifically to create subjective immersion in space – James Cameron says it’s “5 years ahead of its time” on a technical level, and if Cameron says that, you sit up and take notice. This is a pure cinema experience to be watched on the biggest screen possible.