Starring hot Brit actor Hugh Dancy (Savage Grace, er, Basic Instinct 2) and even hotter Rose Byrne, it's a Generation Y love story with a twist, as the blossoming love between Adam (Dancy) and neighbour Beth (Byrne) is complicated by Adam's Asperger's syndrome. Can love triumph? Ooh, we wonder Photograph: PR
Striking timing for this tale of a Palestinian woman offered a US green card for her family and the dilemmas it provokes. It's director Cherien Dabis's debut feature, though he has produced an episode of The L Word Photograph: PR
Jeff Daniels stars as the eponymous author of a bestselling guide to spirituality who, in truth, hasn't a clue what life is about. As the movie is described as 'ultimately inspiring' it seems likely he learns something, probably through his interactions with single mum Elizabeth (Lauren Graham) Photograph: PR
Robert Siegel, writer of The Wrestler and former editor-in-chief of The Onion (how cool a CV is that?), makes his directorial debut in a tale of fandom gone wrong. Comedian Patton Oswalt stars as the man with the NFL bedsheets who follows his favourite player into something of a nightmare Photograph: PR
Fear not, the uglyphobic, this movie is directed by, and stars, the highly cuddleable John Krasinski, aka Jim from the US Office. Adapted from a collection of short stories by the late David Foster Wallace, it follows academic Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson) as she tries to understand why she was dumped by taking a journey to the dark heart of men Photograph: PR
At last, it's the metaphysical tragicomedy you've been waiting for! Yes, that's the only slightly pretentious genre that this movie written and directed by Sophie Barthes (no relation to Roland, we think) has created. Starring Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti, he attempts to get to the heart of his role as Uncle Vanya through freezedrying his soul. Charlie Kaufman may wish to know that the narrative then shifts 'seamlessly through ontological landscapes' Photograph: PR
Another directorial debut, another ensemble cast, but this time there won't be many laughs. Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan star as the parents who suffer the loss of their eldest child, a tragedy that precipitates familial meltdown. An Ordinary People for the noughties? Photograph: PR
To boldly go where Seth Rogen would never be allowed to go by his agent, that's the mission of Humpday. Familiar premise: slacker buddies pushing each other to the ultimate dare. Unfamiliar conclusion: they make a gay porn film. It's a 'bromantic comedy', apparently, directed by Mumblecore alumnus Lynn Shelton Photograph: PR
You know how Slumdog Millionaire is the feelgood movie of the year? Well, this ain't. Also a tale of two boys trying to escape the crime and squalor of their lives in the slums, this time the setting is the Mexican border with the US and the blight of the drug trade is depicted unflinchingly. This is the first feature from director Cary Joji Fukunaga who reprises the themes from his Oscar-nominated short Victoria Para Chino Photograph: PR
It may be a long, long way away from achieving it, but there is the whiff of award fodder about Taking Chance. Pretty much a solo vehicle for Kevin Bacon as US marine Michael Strobel who volunteers to escort the body of a fellow marine home from the Iraq war. Part-scripted by the real-life Strobel and director Russ Katz – formerly Sofia Coppola's producer – the ingredients seem to be there. One question: has Hollywood anything left to say on the conflict? Photograph: PR
