Who knew that sci-fi films were allowed to be set outside New York City? Every timeworn trope of the ‘alien invasion’ genre beloved of Cold War screenwriters has hurdled the Iron Curtain and descended on Moscow for The Darkest Hour, a virtually irredeemable mess of contrived clichés, crap CGI and Cyrillic cignage. And some things that don’t begin with C (as well as some others that do which we can’t mention here – looking at you, Bekmambetov).

As 2011 draws to an end, we’re going to look forward to the top 10 films of January 2012. From gritty dramas to spectacular sci-fi flicks, there truly is something for everyone in this collection. Plus, what with the London Olympics and the end of the world due shortly, we figured it was best to try and be optimistic about our futures…

You thought 2011 was big for film? It aint got nothing on 2012. We present our top 20 films to see in 2012; whether you’re looking for the likes of Spider-Man, Batman, epic quests, romance, aliens, Shakespeare, or Russell Crowe doing some very loud singing, the coming year will have something to delight and/or baffle you.

Escape real-life horror this 2011 with the lovely dark thrill of the cinema. We’ve got a grab-bag of the top (nearly) 30 best horror films in 2011, from franchise blockbuster to indie foreign horror. Actually, 28. We had 30 but the last two were rubbish.

Following on from the news last week that Olivia Thrilby (Juno) had signed on for The Darkest Hour, we can confirm that Emile Hirsch (Milk) has also hopped on board. The Darkest Hour, yet another in a long line of alien invasion movies, sees a group of US tourists in Russia attempting to defeat a pack of alien invaders (how original we hear you cry!).