Returning with another crash course in revisionist history, Quentin Tarantino invites us to buckle up and cast our minds back to pre-Civil War America for a trip through the South’s slave circuit. Bold, bloody, and arriving after what must have been a very short stay in the editing room, the ‘Southern’ epic Django Unchained is finally here.

Assuming the Mayans don’t bring their A-game and take out the entire world by New Year’s Eve (not likely; one thing we know about Mayans is they’re hella lazy), it will soon be 2013. And you know what that means – LOADS of shiny new 2013 films! We’ve trawled the Internet to find the Hollywood big-hitters most likely to get us going in what future generations will probably remember as 4346 in the Korean calendar. Depending on, you know, factors.

Fantastic writers Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg sign up for Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX! Thanks, Disney!

Following the pitch-black Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos draws back the curtain on some more theatre of the absurd with Alps. A group of people offer an unusual service, replacing deceased family and friends in an effort to ease the mourning process. When one of them takes her position too far, things start to get messy. Slow, deadpan and unflinchingly weird, Alps is cut from the same cloth as Dogtooth, but lacks any real bite.

No-one’s saying that video games have surpassed Hollywood’s best efforts *cough*, but a few years ago we were gifted a look at cinema-as-game and the result was eye-watering in its glory. It’s time for Best For Film’s Favourite Flicks, and we’re making a case for Crank as the greatest action film of the modern era. All because it’s really a video game.

Tom Cruise. Running. Explosion. Robot suit. You know the drill.

It’s set in Asda, or something. Sad is the day that we long for Paul W S Anderson to return

The Rock and Bruce Willis. Fighting evil. Together. We’re so, so on board with this.

We know you’ve turned up eager for your regular serving of OWL, but in light of yesterday’s extraordinary treaty between Skywalker Ranch and the House of Mouse we’ve suspended our usual Wednesday service to bring you red hot opinions from every member of the Best For Film team. You’re going to see Skyfall again tonight anyway. Buckle in for the biggest argument since Han shot first…

A distinctly Western drama/rom-com, Karan Johar’s Student of the Year is a bright and breezy affair, lacking in story and innovation, but brimming with colour, humour and brilliant performances from it’s young cast. Overlong, and at times predictable, Student of the Year is nevertheless a fun way to spend a few hours, whether you’ve ever seen a Bollywood film before or not.