The Iron Lady
The start of 2012 brings one thing to cinema screens... Oscar potential and that is what January is all about.
Yes the blockbusters are out of the way for now and here at FemaleFirst we are going to take a look at some of the Oscar worthy movies that will be gracing the big screen over the next few weeks.
But what will you be watching?
The Iron Lady
We may only be in the first week of 2012 but The Iron Lady is already being called the movie event of the year - which I have to admit is a little premature.
However I do like a Meryl Streep movie and everyone is raving about her central performance as Margaret Thatcher.
The movie is a biopic about her rise to power and Streep has picked up a Golden Globe for her performance - and she is the fave to scoop the Best Actress Oscar!
The Iron Lady is released 6th January
War Horse
Now Steven Spielberg knows how to make a war movie, he really has directed some excellent projects in this genre over the years.
And this January he is back with War Horse - now it looks set to be quite an emotional affair; the trailer almost had me blubbering like a baby.
Young Albert enlists to service in WWI after his beloved horse, Joey, is sold to the cavalry.
Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.
Jeremy Irvine makes his big screen debut in the central role while Emily Watson and David Thewlis are also on the cast list.
War Horse is released 13th January.
Shame
Michael Fassbender may have had a great 2011 but with his new movie Shame he is about to see his star rocket even further.
The actor has seen awards nominations coming in left, right and centre for his central performance as he reunites with filmmaker Steve McQueen for the first time since Hunger.
In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life -- which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction -- is disrupted when his sister Cissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.
The movie sees him join forces with Carey Mulligan in a film that was the toast of the festival circuit.
Fassbender has already picked up a Golden Glove nomination for his performance and fingers crossed that an Oscar nod could well be on the cards.
Shame is released 13th January.
J. Edgar
Now no Oscar race would be complete without a couple of biopic pictures and J. Edgar is another that looks at a political figure.
Clint Eastwood has a knack of making really great movies and when you see him team up with Leonardo DiCaprio you know that you will have something quite special on your hands.
This is the first movie for DiCaprio since he starred in since Inception and he is joined on the cast list by Judi Dench, Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts.
As the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered.
But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.
J. Edgar is released 20th January
The Descendants
The Descendants is one of the most that I am most looking forward to this month as George Clooney leaves directing aside to star in Alexander Payne's latest project.
Could this be the movie that finally give Clooney the Best Actor Oscar? Well is seems that this may be so as the film is picking up plenty of support in a bid for Oscar glory.
Matt King (Clooney), a husband and father of two girls, must re-examine his past and navigate his future when his wife is in a boating accident off Waikiki.
He awkwardly attempts to repair his relationship with his daughters - 10 year-old precocious Scottie (Miller) and rebellious 17 year-old Alexandra (Woodley) - while wrestling with a decision to sell his family’s land.
The Descendants is released 27th January.
The Grey
And January also sees Liam Neeson back on the big screen as he leads the cast in The Grey.
The movie reunites him with The A Team director Joe Carnaghan, who also penned the screenplay, in what is another actiony type for the actor.
A group of oil-rig roughnecks are left stranded on the sub-arctic tundra after their plane experiences a complete mechanical failure and crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness.
The survivors, battling mortal injuries, biting cold and ravenous hunger, are relentlessly hunted and pursued by a vicious pack of rogue wolves.
The Grey is released 27th January.
Other movies that you should check out include The Artist, The Darkest Hour, Haywire, Coriolanus
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw