12 biggest movies of 2012

At first glance, 2012’s movie release schedule looks likes more of the same: bursting with predictable Hollywood blockbusters. Additions to mega-franchises such as James Bond, Star Trek and Men in Black battle for screen time with a torrent of superhero movies, this year starring Batman, Spiderman and The Avengers. But dig a bit deeper and 2012 looks like a pretty good year for cinema, with credible-looking literary adaptations such as of Life of Pi and The Great Gatsby countered by new comedies from Sacha Baron Cohen and the Bridesmaids team. We give you 12 to look forward to 2012 – you’ll have to bring the popcorn.

The Descendants
Provisional UAE release: January 26
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley
After catching the gala screening at last year’s Dubai International Film Festival, we can’t get enough of this witty, soul-searching drama. Oscar-tipped Clooney plays Matt King, a liberal real estate broker whose wife is in a coma from which she will never recover Trying to make sense of his belligerent teenage tearaway daughter, he finds out said wife was cheating on him, beginning a tragi-comic Broken Flowers-esque hunt for his wife’s new partner, which only serves to bring the family closer together.