Eric Lavallée

Let the Right One In was Tomas Alfredson's ultimate calling card and no doubt this feature film which I'm branding as "my boys night out sort of film" appears to be a thinking man's flick with high, not exaggerated levels of testosterone. Strong casting choices beginning with and not ending with the robust Tom Hardy and the fact that last John Le Carré novel to screen adaptation produced a strong thriller in The Constant Gardener makes this a welcomed divertissement on the film calender.

Featuring the skill-set of pair of folks named in our American New Wave 25 in Elgin James and Cinematographer Reed Morano (Frozen River), I've been looking forward to the pic since we first heard of it being workshopped in the Sundance labs. Expanding from his short, James taps into some autobiographical elements and formulates it from a female perspective. The potential for raw perfs from the ensemble cast appears feasiable and I'm expecting Juno Temple to deliver a more complex character than the more recent road-trip small town deserter found in Dirty Girl. The festival is calling it a brutally honest and beautifully rendered, and a stunning portrait of innocence lost - this might be the fest's break-out debut.

I was one of those who thought Humpday was among the best comedies of 2009 that is until the wheels fell off at the midway point. I'm thinking Shelton has the ability to swoon moviegoers with ease making Mumblecore little bit more accessible to accidental audiences. I'm guessing she'll seal the deal due to professional thesps Rosemarie DeWitt and Emily Blunt and will once again bring out the best in Duplass - it what should be an unassuming, yet flavorful West Coast offering.

There's no Spielberg on this Top 100, Super 8 was left off the list and the Nick Frost and Simon Pegg penned alien comedy Paul wasn't even considered, but this comedy/alien invasion film appears to be a throwback to 80's films equipped with a zesty Brit humor that we found in his Star Wars action figure sketches appears to be an ideal feature introduction for this new helmer. Expectation levels with either increase or dip when the trailer is released.

I remember when they started assembling the players for this project first by giving the Danish filmmaker behind the Pusher trilogy and the excellent Bronson the chance to come to go "Hollywood", and then by going against type by casting names like Gosling and Mulligan for what is essentially an action movie not unlike the BMW films. A strange yet stellar cast plus an expert in genre films in Nicolas Winding Refn, means this could burn some serious rubber.