Hello there, long time no writey (been a busy few months that have gone by in barely a blink), but I plan to be back with a vengeance over the next 358 days (correct at time of going to press) and shall begin my triumphant return with a look at 10 talkies that I really think warrant their respective durations of your time this year.*

So, in no particular order:

1. A Town Called Panic

After the hysterically funny short films 'Panique au village' were used to market Cravendale Milk I was a bit dubious, and to some extent I still am, as to how the adventures of Cowboy, Indian and Horse could possibly sustain a 75 minute movie. But, these delightfully home-made feeling, dazzlingly imaginative and hilariously silly stories have a very unique appeal that conjures up a child-like glee.

2. Four Lions

Chris Morris is a genius. That should be all I need to say, but Morris isn't exactly a household name. He was responsible for the TV shows The Day Today, Brass Eye, Jam and Nathan Barley and with all his work has courted controversy at every turn. With his feature debut he isn't shying away and is attempting to make a comedy about the taboo subject of contemporary terrorism. Little else is known about the film at present, but Morris' contribution alone makes this a high priority.

3. Submarine

Another British TV comedy stalwart making the graduation to the big screen is Richard Ayoade, who, rather co-incidentally has a supporting role in Chris Morris' Nathan Barley and Morris played Denholm in series one of The IT Crowd, in which Ayoade plays Moss. Outside of his delightfully deadpan performances Ayoade is a gifted director, having worked on many music videos and helming the highly under-rated and overlooked comedic gems Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and AD/BC. Submarine is based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne and is the 80s set tale of schoolboy Oliver Tate and his romantic entanglments and features Paddy 'One of the greatest actors around today' Considine as a New Age motivational speaker.

4. Les Aventures Extraordinaires D’Adele Blanc-Sec

Luc Besson makes a hugely welcome return to live action film-making (after making the frankly hideous 'Arthur and the Minimoys' animated movies for a few too many years). Not speaking French, beyond some half-remembered school day basics, I can't quite translate the very teasing teaser currently online, but what I can glean from it is that it's set in Paris in 1912 and there seems to be some sort of pterodactyl flying around!? Regardless, it's a brand new live action feature from the director of Leon and The Fifth Element, it looks absolutely gorgeous and - based on the comic books by Jacques Tardi - promises to be a good fun romp.

5. I Love You Philip Morris

This was something of a success at the Sundance film festival last year. It's a dark comedy based on a true story, it's the directorial debut of the writers of Bad Santa and stars Jim Carrey and Ewen MacGregor. It's always a huge relief when Carrey picks more interesting projects that steer him away from the painful mugging of such risible flicks as Yes Man and Bruce Almighty. This film concerns Steve Russell (Carrey) a happily married man who after a car accident has a dramatic turnabout in his life, realizes he is gay and wishes to seize every moment he has left. In a bout of carpe diem he winds up in prison, where he meets and falls in love with the titular Philip Morris and through a series of cons longs to allow Philip and himself to have the perfect life together.

6. The Beaver

Fifteen years since she last directed a film (1995's Home for the Holidays), Jodie Foster picks up the megaphone again to direct an actor who hasn't been in front of the camera in a leading role since Signs in 2002 (he'll also be appearing in Martin Campbell's Edge of Darkness this year). Mel Gibson plays a family man who loses everything until one day he stumbles upon a beaver glove puppet that acts as some form of bizarre therapy for him. This sounds quite loopy, and is all the more appealing for it! Gibson is a consumate and skilled comedic actor (I have a big guilty soft spot for What Women Want) and this film promises to at least be visually arresting!

7. MicMacs

After spending many years developing his ill-fated adaptation of Yann Martel's Life of Pi, Amelie and Delicatessen director Jean Pierre Jeunet makes his return to cinema screens with the quirky comedic action movie MicMacs. Concerning a group of friends who plan to destroy two weapons manufacturing companies, but being Jeunet it's done with an unlikely and imaginative panache that balances the ludicrous, sentimental and heart-racing with incredible skill. And, it's always nice to see Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon on the big screen!

8. The Rum Diary

It's all about returns this year, and this film is a two-hander. Not only is it Johnny Depp stepping back into the shoes of Hunter S. Thompson (after Terry Gilliam's 1998 cult classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but it's also the first film from Withnail & I director Bruce Robinson in 18 years! Expect this adaptation to be less psychotropic than Gilliam's, as Hunter's alter-ego Paul Kemp reaches a career low whilst writing for a burnt out Caribbean newspaper.

9. The Illusionist

Anyone who thinks that 3D animation is superior to 2D should go and watch Sylvain Chomet's Belleville Rendezvous, one of the most beautiful, off-beat, heart-warming and magical films I have seen this century (so far). Chomet's follow-up is based on an unproduced, original script by French comedic genius Jacques Tati and has the same lovingly hand-drawn charm as his 2003 Oscar nominated debut.

10. Kick-Ass

Not only is 2010 my triumphant return, but it's also Nicolas Cage's. Over the past few years Cage has made a string of shockingly awful movies; Bangkok Dangerous, Next, National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets, Ghost Rider, The Wicker Man... and even though the words Ghost Rider 2 loom ominously in his future projects there are a few projects in the pipe-line that may go some way to restoring his once good name (I, personally, thought last year's Knowing was a fine B-movie sci-fi with some interesting ideas and great direction, not to mention a bold final act). Anyway, already gathering steady word-of-mouth from advance screenings and previews comes Matthew Vaughn's follow-up to fantasy romantic adventure Stardust, and it couldn't be any more different. Kick-Ass is based on a graphic novel by Mark Millar about a nobody high-schooler (Aaron Johnson, currently playing John Lennon in Nowhere Boy) who decides - despite lacking any conceivable superpowers - to become a superhero. Vaughn, in his eagerness to make this crazy, thrilling and crowd-pleasing film exactly how he wanted funded it outside the studio system and it promises to deliver one of the most memorable popcorn experiences of the year; not least for Cage as Big Daddy accompanied by 11 year old gun-toting sidekick Hit Girl!

*I've gone to some effort to try and avoid the bigger releases that definitely also deserve a gander, such as; Inception, Toy Story 3, Scott Pilgrim, The Green Hornet, Shutter Island, Green Zone, Paul, Tron Legacy, The Tree of Life...