There are always more films than I possibly have time to see in January and February, teased into release by the lure of potential Oscars.
The critics have been in inevitable raptures having been rationed potential cinematic gems for the previous 10 months (film distributors know that earlier releases of Oscar fodder stand pretty much no chance as the academy seems to have short memories).
And so I get excited too about what might be on offer for my viewing pleasure and although I try to pay no heed to what the critics think, I can't ignore the film posters with the lines of five stars and splashes of superlatives.
The last four films I've seen have all been given so called critical acclaim and shortlisted for various awards (some have even won a gong or two already).
But have they lived up to the hype? (Click on the film title for the trailer)
1. Up in the air (Metacritic score: 83/100; Stan score: 61/100)
Everyone seemed to be raving about Clooney in this. But he was George Clooney playing the same character he plays in most of his films. Yes the film lucked in by having a particularly apt theme but it was amusing rather than funny and shied away from being as black as it promised. I did enjoy it for a tired on Friday night and just want to site with a glass of wine movie but I wouldn't applaud energetically if it won any big awards.
2. A Prophet (Metacritic score: none given; Stan score: 65/100)
It won at Cannes and at the London film festival and I had genuine high hopes for this prison/gangs/cultural clash drama but after and initial tense half an hour or so, it started to lose its hold. I found it difficult to follow who was working for whom and who was spying on who etc. and although it has quite a worrying message I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that it wasn't quite as gripping as the film poster adjectives had led me to believe.
3. The Road (Metacritic score: 90/100; Stan score: 90/100)
Now I nearly didn't go and see this. I'd heard how harrowing the book was and wondered whether is was suitable January film. But having listened to an interview with the director John Hillcoat on Radio 4's brilliant film programme, curiousity got the better of my fears about being depressed by it and I'm glad it did. I loved it. I was gripped from the outset and yes it was harrowing and depressing at times it was ultimately heartening. It deserves to win big on all accounts.
4. Precious (Metacritic score: 79/100; Stan score 82/100)
The trailer made me cry everytime I saw it so I had high hopes and while I was surprised I didn't cry more, there were a couple of heart wrenching scenes in it. It was refreshing to see a gritty, brutal and real teen drama that wasn't about gangs. Even Maria Carey was convincing as a social working with her face stripped bare of make up. Shame they couldn't do the same for Paula Patton, who played the teacher Miss Rain and looks like a young Whitney Houston. She was just too well turned out and groomed to fit naturally with the rest of the film.
Picture by Buschap on Flickr and used under creative commons license