Every year there are some great movies that you may have missed because they weren’t shown in your local cinema, had already left by the time you had the time to go see them, or you just hadn’t heard of them. Well, this list is will help remedy that! In no particular order, here are ten fantastic cinema releases that you most likely missed:

1. THE IMPOSTER
Documentaries aren’t for everyone, and hearing that this movie is the best documentary of the year probably doesn’t add much to its appeal. But this is unlike any documentary you’ve ever seen. The story of a missing young boy, his family’s years-long search for him, and the tale of the man who pretended to be him and took his place in his home is absolutely insane. It's all the more horrifying when you know it’s all true.


2. MARGIN CALL

A knock-out cast - Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci and Paul Bettany to name just a few - come together to tell the story of employees from various levels on the career ladder, all working for the same investment bank on the night that one of them discovers that the global economy is about to collapse. Never getting too caught up in the complicated details, this is a terrifically tense tale of how different people react to the end of their world as they know it.


3. YOUNG ADULT

Rudely ignored by the Oscars last year, Charlize Theron's performance in this movie is possibly the best she’s given in her career. Her character Mavis Gary was the most popular teenager in her town, and emotionally shes never developed beyond that. When she gets an invite from her high school boyfriend to his new baby’s christening, she takes that as a hint that he wants to get back with her. Caustic, dark and hilarious.


4. THE HUNT

A bit of a hot-topic, The Hunt tells the story of Lucas (Mads Mikklesen), who has been wrongfully accused of peadophilia by the very young daughter of his best friend. Dealing with the town’s "guilty-even-if-proven-innocent" reaction, and the unravelling of Lucas’ life as every action or inaction he takes further vilifies him, this is an uncomfortable but gripping watch, with an award-worthy performance by Mikklesen.


5. SIGHTSEERS

Chris and Tina are a new-ish couple, and decide to head off on a caravan-ing tour around England’s lesser known tourist destinations. But along the way, Chris’ homicidal tendencies come out as he bumps off anyone he finds rude or annoying. Thinking this is something they could do as a couple, Tina soon joins him in his murderous ways, but her blood-lust may be a bit too much for him to handle. A very dark, very violent, very British comedy.


6. GOON
Seann William Scott is Doug, a bit of a dummy in a family full of geniuses. He's working as a bouncer when he gets recruited by the local ice hockey team as their new enforcer; basically the guy who will take all the hits while someone else does all the scoring. Scott is hilariously soft hearted but hard-headed, a big teddy-bear of a man who doesn’t want to knock anyone’s teeth out unless he absolutely has to. Which he often does.


7. DREDD
 Unfairly compared to The Raid upon release - yes, the plot is basically the same, but production on Dredd began long before The Raid - this should have been the great return of the forever-masked avenger after Stallone’s terrible turn back in the 90’s. Karl Urban is fantastic as the gruff law-man in an apocalyptic wasteland, and Lena Headey was one of the year’s best villains. Fantastic visuals, shockingly violent and with a wicked sense of humour, this will be a DVD favourite for years to come.


8. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
The first major role for Emma Watson since finishing up the Harry Potter series, this is a teen comedy drama that doesn’t skimp on the funny or on the sad. It tells the story of Charlie (Logan Lerman), a boy trying to find his place in the world after his best friend commits suicide. He's taken under the wings of Sam (Watson) and Patrick (a scene stealing Ezra Miller), in one of the few movies to properly convey the endless sea of awkward confusion that comes with being a teenager.


9. SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
Having just found out that a comet is about to hit the planet, killing everyone in the process, and with his wife having just run off in a panic, Dodge (Steve Carrell) decides to go on a road-trip to re-visit his high-school sweetheart. But also along for the ride is Penny (Keira Knightley), his kooky but loveable neighbour who wants contact her family before it’s too late. Finding humour in the most depressing of scenarios, this is definitely one of the oddest love stories you’ll ever see.


10. HOLY MOTORS
Trying to describe what Holy Motors is about would be both pointless and a bit spoilery. Monsieur Oscar (an all-of-the-awards worthy Denis Lavant) travels around Paris in a limousine from dawn until dusk, and throughout the course of the day he becomes a powerful businessman, an assassin, a graveyard monster, a loving family man, a beggar and a CGI nymphomaniac. Figuring out how all of these characters fit together is most of the fun, especially once Kylie Minogue shows up. Without doubt, the weirdest movie of 2012.