DRIVE - From Nicolas Winding Refn, director of our favorite artsy Viking film (VALHALLA RISING). Ryan Gosling plays a stuntman and mechanic who moonlights as a getaway driver. Carey Mulligan is the neighbor he falls for while the father of her child is away in prison. This is much, much better than your average action movie, thanks to the cast and the director's offbeat approach.

50/50 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Adam, a public radio employee whose cautious, healthy lifestyle doesn't prevent him from contracting a rare form of spinal cancer, in this surprisingly upbeat dramedy. Seth Rogen is Adam's obnoxious but secretly caring best friend, and Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick is the inexperienced, awkward grad student Adam winds up with as a hospital appointed therapist. Don't be scared away by the "big C," this is one of the sweetest, most heartwarming comedies of the year.

TODAY'S SPECIAL - Comedian Aasif Mandvi, best known as THE DAILY SHOW's "Senior Muslim Correspondent," co-wrote and stars in this charming foodie comedy about a family-owned Indian restaurant in Queens. Mandvi plays an ambitious sous chef in an expensive French restaurant, who quits to run his father's Tandoori Palace after being passed up for a promotion. Knowing nothing about his roots, he has to track down a mysterious Indian cab driver to teach him how to prepare a proper garam masala...

THE MILL & THE CROSS - This unusual historical drama brings to life Pieter Bruegel’s masterpiece "The Way To Calvary," a subversive depiction of Christ's passion set in 1564 Flanders, under brutal Spanish occupation. A visually epic feast for history and art history buffs, it follows several characters who appear in Bruegel's painting.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER - This conspiracy thriller about UN diplomats' collusion in sex trafficking is based on actual events. Rachel Weisz plays an American police officer who takes a job as a peacekeeper in 1999 Bosnia, but gets embroiled in a web of surprising corruption.

THE IDES OF MARCH - Another successful George Clooney venture, this political drama takes place during a Democratic presidential primary. Clooney is the no-nonsense, man-of-the-people candidate, with Ryan Gosling playing an ambitious young press secretary whose idealism is shattered when he finds himself face to face with the dark side of politics.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE - This winner of multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards stars Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson, a politician and gangster who ruled over Prohibition era Atlantic City, turning it into a gambling haven. Another one of our favorite oddballs, Michael Shannon, plays an FBI agent attempting to enforce Prohibition laws in a city ruled by gangsters.

SPORK - This indie musical comedy set in the '90s chronicles the plight of "Spork," a lonely hermaphrodite teen living in a Midwest trailer park. Attention Gen X and Gen Y: this movie comes complete with towering, hair-sprayed bangs, juggalos, and fly-girl dances.

PUNCTURE - Based on actual events, this indie legal drama follows an underdog team of personal injury lawyers who find they are the only firm who will take on a medical supplies monopoly that is suppressing the sale of safety needles (a single-use syringe whose inventor came up with the idea after a nurse friend contracted AIDs from an accidental needle prick). What makes this a little more poignant than it could have been is the fact that one of the lawyers is a heroin addict, driven perhaps out of guilt that his vices have left him unscathed, while medical workers who save lives are needlessly dying.

MONEYBALL - Who knew that computer-based analysis of baseball drafts could be so exciting? This sports-and-statistics drama is up for six Oscars this year, including Best Picture, and Best Lead Actor for Brad Pitt.

ANOTHER HAPPY DAY - Ellen Barkin upstages everyone in this prickly ensemble dramedy, as the black sheep of her dysfunctional family. With a teenage son addicted to painkillers and a college-aged daughter who obsessively cuts herself, she finds herself the object of her family's contempt at her eldest son's elaborate wedding.

MYSTERIES OF LISBON - This visually lush adaptation of Castelo Branco’s 1854 novel is an epic tale of intertwining fates, spanning decades in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France. At the center of the tale is Joao, an illegitimate orphan who sets out to find the truth of his parentage.

I'M GLAD MY MOTHER IS ALIVE - In this French drama, a teenager who was old enough to remember being given up for adoption by his carefree mother, begins an obsessive journey to find her. When he finds that she is once again a single mother, he takes on the self-appointed role of helping her raise her young son, with tragic consequences.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK - Produced by Guillermo del Toro, this is actually a surprisingly decent remake of the 1973 cult classic. In this update, a troubled young girl is sent away to live with her architect father and his new girlfriend, in a restored art nouveau mansion whose eerie beauty alone makes this worth watching. When a hidden basement is uncovered, the girl begins hearing fairies calling to her from an old fireplace, but her father thinks she just needs therapy... This is a good, old-fashioned chiller.

KILLING BONO - Based on a true story, this Irish dramedy chronicles the "second-best band" in 1970s Dublin, fronted by brothers Neil and Ivan McCormick. When younger brother Ivan finds out that Neil blocked his chance at being rhythm guitarist for U2, things start to get ugly...

HAPPY, HAPPY - Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, this quirky Norwegian dramedy tells the story of Kaja, a cheery optimist whose reasons for optimism are actually few and far between. When a seemingly "perfect" couple moves in next door to Kaja and her sullen husband, the happy exteriors of both couples begin to crumble as secrets and infidelities are revealed.

RESTLESS - The latest from Gus Van Sant is a sort of HAROLD & MAUDE tribute, from what we could gather, only the elderly love interest whose time is dwindling has been replaced with a young cancer patient.

THE LAST LIONS - In this breathtaking National Geographic documentary, a mother lion attempts to raise her three cubs by herself, after losing her mate and being kicked out of her pride. Filled with both edge-of-your-seat action and touching intimacy, this emotional roller coaster has something for everyone. When the mother lion attempts to single-handedly take down the largest, healthiest male buffalo in a herd, after losing a cub and howling at the sky all night, you can not help but feel her desperation and sorrow escaping from the screen. The ultimate drama, a fierce mother squaring off against a cruel world.SPECIAL TREATMENT - Isabelle Huppert plays a high-priced Paris prostitute who specializes in role-playing, in this erotic drama that compares prostitution to psychotherapy.

MILDRED PIERCE - Director Todd Haynes has a meticulous eye for vintage details (think FAR FROM HEAVEN and VELVET GOLDMINE), so expect some serious eye candy with your drama in this adaptation of James N. Cain's novel. More faithful to the source material than the classic Joan Crawford film, this one stars Kate Winslet as Mildred, and Evan Rachel Wood as the daughter who manipulates her at every turn.

THE BIG YEAR - Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black compete to spot the most species of birds in one year, jetting all over North America to support their charming obsession. This one is pretty family-friendly.

THE MAN FROM LONDON - Slightly more accessible than most of Hungarian director Bela Tarr's art films, this one is a sort of murder mystery, with a harbor worker (Maloin) witnessing a murder and finding a suitcase filled with cash. His newfound prize will weigh on his soul and change his view of everything around him. Tilda Swinton stars as Maloin's ex-wife, who becomes suspicious of his newfound fortune.

AURORA - From the Romanian director of THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, this very black comedy follows a disgruntled divorcee whose seemingly minor frustrations pile up until he commits a series of murders.

I AM - In the Oprah-approved category, this inspirational documentary follows the director of comedy classics like ACE VENTURA and BRUCE ALMIGHTY, as he decides to leave the rat race behind and find the interconnectedness of all things. Includes interviews with Howard Zinn, Desmond Tutu, and more.