In 2008 action comedy Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller’s character learns the hard way the perils inherent in going Full Retard for his role in fictitious drama ‘Simple Jack’. Rebecca Hall has clearly never seen Tropic Thunder. She’s never even heard of it.

The opening film for this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, it would be difficult to claim that William Friedkin’s Killer Joe was an obvious selection. Populated by grim people doing some pretty grim things, it’s a dark drama with both a sexual and violent edge. There’s levity, sure – in fact, there’s quite a lot of laughs – but it’s safe to say this isn’t an easy going crowd pleaser. Yet that’s just what makes it such a brilliant choice. You’ll never look at Matthew McConaughey or southern fried chicken in quite the same light again.

The omnitalented Ben Drew (aka Plan B) adds directing and screenwriting to his CV with a searing debut set in the crime-ridden streets where he grew up. As insightful as Kidulthood, as brutal as Harry Brown and as intrinsically moral as one of Aesop’s Fables, this East End thrillride is the real deal.

Think you’ve seen whimsy? Man, you do not know whimsy until you’ve seen The Soul Of Flies, a no-budget crowd pleaser which seeks not only to whimsy your pants off, but to convince you life is one long crazy road trip full of wonder and enchantment, and not basically rubbish – until the film ends and you suddenly remember that it is.

If you love your girls fast, your changing room scenes frequent, your motivational talks incessant and plenty of sporting montages, then you’re definitely going to love Fast Girls. This big hunk o’ sports cheese drama is hitting our screens just in time for the London Olympics 2012, meaning that we can get our fix of competitive athletes without ever setting foot into the big city. Huzzah!

Fresh from winning two major awards at the Berlinale, A Royal Affair is soon to arrive on our shores and give you (probably) your first ever taste of Danish history. Excited? You should be. Brimming with intrigue, action and drama, this is period drama for people who prefer The Wire to Downton Abbey.

Growing up, eh? It’s almost too much trouble to bother with. Lisa Aschan’s impressive directorial debut takes a unflinchingly uncomfortable trip down puberty lane in this sparse yet absorbing drama about two sisters feeling their way through the trials and tribulations of being a girl and that. Though barely-there dialogue and a certain detachment from her characters mean we’re never quite sure what it is Ashchan is trying to achieve, the questions she throws up about sexuality, friendship and balancing niftily on a horse more than make up for the lack of answers.

Maverick writer-director Maïwenn submerges herself in the grim and forbidding world of the BPE – the French police unit tasked with protecting vulnerable children – in this painfully realistic drama, drawn entirely from real-life cases. You’ll never forget it, but you might wish you could.

James Huth’s French language Western is big, colourful and deeply silly. Sitting somewhere between Blazing Saddles and the Milky Bar adverts, Lucky Luke has all the right ingredients but none of the structure or depth to support itself as anything other than a cartoonish comedy. But with a cast boasting the likes of Jean Dujardin (in the days before he was George Valentin), and a whole lot of silly gags, you might find Lucky Luke a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

A calm, quiet and much-needed antidote to the braying Life-Affirming tales shoved our way by the good old Yoo Es of Ay, Breathing tracks a young man’s tentative journey back to reality after it seems he’s given up on the idea. Careful cinematography, a stripped down script and a stonking soundtrack make this unassuming little film well worth a watch – and besides, we’ve always said more heart-filling tales should be set mainly in a morgue.