2, 4, 6, 8, Who Do We Anticipate?

Loving cinema is loving a waiting game. That is why I adore it so. Anticipation makes the heart grow fonder.

And who do I crave? In no particular order, here is a far from exhaustive list:

Pedro Almodóvar, Michael Mann, David Lynch, David Fincher, Terry Gilliam, Brad Bird, The Coen Brothers, Michael Winterbottom, Guillermo del Toro, Chan-wook Park, Todd Haynes, Alfonso Cuarron and Terrence Malick.

Hang on, help is on its way. Everyone is making lists at the moment so here are my five most hot, hot, hotly anticipated forthcoming releases:

Pan's Labyrinth

Guillermo del Toro won my undying cinematic affection after his thrilling gothic masterpiece El espinazo del diablo. I say undying because my love for his work has survived Mimic, Blade II and Hellboy, actually, I didn't mind that last one. By all accounts El laberinto del fauno is a fairytale masterwork of the blackest order that leaves punters in tears. Serve me up some of that shit.

I'm A Cyborg, But That's Okay!

Chan-wook Park's Old Boy is cinema at its most stylish, most provocative and most entertaining. I have been on the Park rollercoaster many times and I love the cleverly crafted cadence of his films. He is a master of the gruesome an obscene but I believe he shows his best work in the quieter moments of his film and that's why his next film excites me so. I'm A Cyborg, But That's Okay! centres on a girl who thinks she's a cyborg who falls in love with a psychiatric patient who thinks he can steal souls. Convinced? I am. Besides, it's for kids.

Babel

I had to see Iñarritu's debut, Amores perros twice; partly because Sr. Bernal was delectable but mainly because I was drunk and had to hold one eye closed just to see the subtitles. I knew I loved it though, which is more than I can say for his follow up, 21 Grams, which was choppy, in every way. Babel though, brings together actors and themes that I adore so I am sure he will pull it off.

The Fountain

I like a good brain fuck, that's why I love David Lynch. I love watching people walk out of films emphatically explaining to their bored girlfriends that they know exactly what the film meant when you know full well that the director himself doesn't even know, or care. By all accounts The Fountain is one of those films. Plus, I will finally begin to plug the gaping Aronofsky hole in my cinema going. I know, I know, it is a crime.

The Queen

Oh, hell, I've said it all before. I had to slip it in though because I am hanging out for this one. Yes, I could have replaced it with Children Of Men or Casino Royale but they don't have Dame Mirren in them so the decision was pretty much made for me. The only thing that could have topped Dame Mirren would have been Dame Dench... Mmmm... Dame Dench atop Dame Mirren... Damey goodness.

Tags: film, cinema