It's a big week for British cinema, with the highly-anticipated War Horse finally making its way to our screens. Here's the best of big-screen offerings out this week, so you can start planning your trips to the cinema.
Stephen Spielberg's epic, old-school adaptation of Michael Morpugo's book has already had the Duchess of Cambridge reaching for her hanky at the London premiere, according to a delightfully indiscreet Spielberg.
Fresh-faced youngster Jeremy Irvine stars as Albie, a farm-boy who forms a bond with horse Joey, until the First World War forces them apart.
The script is by Richard Curtis, known for TV hit Blackadder and romantic big-screen blockbusters Love Actually and Notting Hill. As well as Irvine, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Emily Watson star in this homage to comradeship in all its forms.
Shame
The 14 horses who play Joey in War Horse might have to share acting honours this week with Michael Fassbender, already winning awards for his performance in Shame, director Alexander McQueen's exploration of a man living with a sex addiction. Carey Mulligan co-stars, and Fassbender has gone on record saying what a privilege it was to meet people dealing with this condition in everyday life:
Margin Call
The insider run-down on the banking crisis that continues to keep the western world on its financial knees, is posited by director J Chandor in Margin Call. He tracks the 24-hour period of an investment bank as it totters on the brink of collapse. An all-star cast is led by Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany and Demi Moore and, while you may not have much sympathy for any of the privileged protagonists, it's a nonetheless intimate insight into just how we might have got into this fine mess...
A Useful Life
In Uruguay's official selection for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, a man who has worked at a cinema for 25 years is forced to adjust to a new life when the cinema is finally shut down. In a witty move, director Federico Veiroj has cast a real-life film critic Jorge Jellinek as the central protagonist. Deeply nostalgic and obviously a meta-must-see for all cinema buffs: