FILMS TO WATCH 2006
Jarhead (January)

Last year Sam Mendes' follow-up to the under-rated Road to Perdition was being tipped for the top come Oscar time. Since then, lukewarm reviews on both sides of the Atlantic have more or less killed that buzz dead, but Jarhead still looks one to look out for in the early stages of the New Year. Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Saarsgaard and Jamie Foxx star in this prescient First Gulf War tale in which the Donnie Darko star's young recruit (Anthony Swofford, the author of the novel the film is based upon) gradually becomes disillusioned and dehumanised by fighting and begins to question the morality of the war. American Beauty showed that Mendes can do biting satire, while Road to Perdition proved his visual prowess. If he can blend those two in Jarhead, he could well have a third classic under his belt, regardless of those lukewarm write-ups.

Munich (January)

After the B-movie thrill of War of the Worlds, Steven Spielberg puts his intellectual hat on with this tale of terrorism at the 1972 Munich Olympics in which eleven Israeli athletes lost their lives. Many critics argue that Spielberg's skill lies in the escapism of E.T or Indiana Jones, rather than these more gritty, down to earth dramas. But while Amistad was a slip-up, Schindler's List proves that the King of the Blockbuster can do serious - and there's no subject more serious at the moment than terrorism. Eric Bana and new Bond Daniel Craig star and if early reviews are anything to go by it's a masterpiece. But, like Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, with a subject matter this controversial, it's hard to see it wowing the conservative Academy come Oscar time.

Goodnight, And Good Luck (February

Like Munich, George Clooney's Goodnight, and Good Luck is a film set in the past which has strong modern-day parallels. After 2003's underrated Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, the former ER heart throb once more finds himself on biopic ground, this time detailing the life of controversial 1950s news anchor Edward R Murrow who, at the height of the McCarthy witchhunts, refused to compromise and bow to the famously paranoid senator in how he reported the news. After rave reviews at last year's London Film Festival and fevered Oscar buzz around David Strathairn's lead performance, Goodnight, and Good Luck could well pick up a few awards as well as ruffling a few feathers.

Superman Returns (July)

After the blockbuster season gets underway with X-Men 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 2, it is another sequel which looks set to blow them both away. Following the big-screen debut of Spider-Man and the miraculous reincarnation of Batman, it is now Superman's turn to return to our screens for the first time since 1987's risible The Quest for Peace. The spectre of Christopher Reeve is sure to haunt this production as newcomer Brandon Routh dons the cape and, it has to be said, unusually large codpiece, as the titular hero with a seemingly badly mis-cast Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. In a bid to undo the work done by the franchise killing Quest for Peace and unfairly derided Superman III, director Bryan Singer follows on directly from Superman II with Kal El returning to Metropolis after an enforced exile to find that not only is Lane married, but she also has a kid. The terrible, terrible teaser trailer turned the Superman mythos into a thinly veiled Jesus allegory. But if Singer can create the same kind of magic he did on X-Men it should live up to the huge expectations that are sure to be heaped upon it in the summertime.

Cars (July)

Originally planned for late last year, Pixar's follow up to The Incredibles marks the return to the director's chair for John Lasseter. The Hawaiian shirt loving helmer practically made Pixar's name with Toy Story, but hasn't directed since that film's 1999 sequel. Indulging his love of vintage automobiles, Cars looks - yet again - like a visual treat and is sure to be just as much a runaway hit as Pixar's other films. But merchandising men beware: a car doesn't have quite the same cuddly toy appeal as Nemo or Sully.

Southland Tales (September)

Finally out of the summer, we come across some interesting curiosities - and they don't come any more curious than Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly. His first film since his bunny-themed 2002 cult hit, Southland Tales promises just as much headscratching wierdness as its predecessor - just without the rabbit, of course. Set in near-future LA, it features The Rock as an amnesiac actor and (presumably much to her male fans' glee) Sarah Michelle Gellar as a porn star. However, despite its strangeness, one of Darko's strengths was its low key, down to earth, drama. Hopefully, this epic, multi-narrative ensemble piece (which will also see tie-in graphic novels released) won't sacrifice such intimacy for sprawling grandness.

The Black Dahlia (October)

Brian De Palma owes a huge debt to Alfred Hitchcock. The Carrie director has, throughout his career, paid homage to the portly Brit with his suspense laden, taut films, the most obvious of which being the Michael Caine-in-a-dress featuring Dressed to Kill. But with The Black Dahlia - an adaptation of James Ellroy's novel - he's borrowing firmly from the film noirs of the 30s and 40s. Scarlett Johansson - who was born to play a Rita Hayworth-in-Gilda kind of role - stars as the girlfriend of cop Aaron Ekhart who becomes entangled in the real life murder of Elizabeth Short among the Hollywood hills. De Palma's been off colour in the last few years, seeming more like a poor parody of himself rather than Hitchock. But if he can channel the same kind of menace and mystery as fellow Ellroy adap LA Confidential, it's sure to be a must-see.