The arts in 2012: film

Shame (dir. Steve McQueen)

Artist and film-maker Steve McQueen follows up his award-winning Hunger with this study of Brandon, a compulsive sex addict in Manhattan, played by Michael Fassbender. Brandon is forced to consider his life choices, and their origins, when his equally troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) comes to stay with him in his bachelor pad. Released on 13 January.

Coriolanus (dir. Ralph Fiennes)

This has reportedly been a "passion project" for Ralph Fiennes for years: an adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, a play about a Roman military hero and autocratic leader who despises the people and the political arts of appeasing them. Rejected by Rome, he makes common cause with the city's enemy in order to wage a bitter war of revenge. Released on 20 January.

The Descendants (dir. Alexander Payne)

Payne, the director of Election, About Schmidt and Sideways, is known as cinema's poet of the male menopause. Here, he takes George Clooney further into his silver years with this bittersweet drama about a man, played by Clooney, who discovers after his wife's death that she was cheating on him. Now he must rebuild his relationship with his teenage daughters. Released on 27 January.

The Muppets (dir. James Bobin)

It's time to play the music; it's time to light the lights; it's time to pump out the entirely justified liberal propaganda. The Muppets are back in another feature movie: this time they are battling to save their theatre from an evil oilman, Tex Richman, played by Chris Cooper. Will Cooper do a BP-style Brit accent? Maybe: the director is talented Brit James Bobin. Released on 10 February.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (dir. Sean Durkin)

This disturbing indie has collected raves on the festival circuit. Martha, played by Elizabeth Olsen, is a troubled young woman who is staying with her sister, having escaped from a cult. On the edge of breakdown, she is plagued by anxieties that they are coming to get her. Could she be right? Released on 3 February.

A Dangerous Method (dir. David Cronenberg)

Working from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, Cronenberg investigates the complex, painful and fraught relationship between Freud and Jung, played by Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender, centring on a patient they both treated: the neurotic and beautiful Sabina, played by Keira Knightley. Released on 10 February.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

The Turkish film-maker returns with a disturbing tale of strange, unclassifiable grandeur. Over a long, sleepless night, a group of cops and one distraught civilian witness look for a corpse in the Anatolian steppes. Secrets are unearthed, and terrible truths revealed. Released on 16 March.

The Dark Knight Rises (dir. Christopher Nolan)

Fanboy excitement rises to nuclear levels with the new Batman movie from Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale as Batman, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and Tom Hardy as the terrifying terrorist Bane, who poses a mighty challenge to the Dark Knight's power. Released on 20 July.

Skyfall (dir. Sam Mendes)

The 23rd Bond movie brings Daniel Craig back as 007, alongside Javier Bardem as the sinister baddie, stroking the metaphorical white cat. In this outing, Bond must reportedly take action against a threat directed against M, played by Judi Dench. This time, Naomie Harris will be toying with 007's heart. Released on 26 October.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (dir. Peter Jackson)

It has been almost a decade since the last episode of Peter Jackson's mighty Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now he returns, with the first of a two-part adaptation of Tolkien's 1937 fantasy classic The Hobbit, starring Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, journeying to reclaim something taken by the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). Released on 14 December.