CREDIT: YouTube/The Weinstein Company

Australian Film Critics Craig Mathieson (CM) and Ed Gibbs (EG) reveal the 2014 Australian Summer Movie Guide. The movies in the said guide include Oscar contenders "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," "Philomena," and "Inside Llewyn Davis," blockbusters "Robocop" and "Wolf Creek 2," and arthouse flicks "The Great Beauty" and "Blue is the Warmest Colour." "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," "Frozen," "Philomena" and "The Railway Man" are also included in the list even if these films will be released in Australia on Dec. 26, 2013. Check out Gibbs and Mathieson's complete list of the 2014 Australian Summer Movie Guide below.

The 2014 Australian Summer Movie Guide:

BLOCKBUSTERS:

  • "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

Showing: Dec. 26, 2013

Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly and Richard Armitage

In a report by The Age, Craig Mathieson (CM) sums up the latest "The Hobbit" installment in a few choice words.

"In brief: fewer Dwarf songs about washing up, more Orc fighting," said Mathieson in The Age report.

  • "47 Ronin"

Showing: Jan. 16, 2014

Stars: Keanu Reeves and Rinko Kikuchi

A martial arts fantasy epic which includes samurais and a supernatural war that Reeves must fight in.

"Filmed in Hungary, England, Japan and the imaginations of fanboys around the world," said Mathieson in The Age report.

  • "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

Showing: Jan. 16, 2014

Stars: Keira Knightley and Chris Pine

This film is about author Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan, which was portrayed by Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford in past movies. Knightley and Pine star as Mr. and Mrs. Ryan. CM wonders if it will be like James Bond or Jason Bourne films.

  • "Robocop"

Showing: Feb. 6, 2014

Stars: Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson

An update of the 1987 sci-fi film about a cyborg police officer set in a dystopian Detroit in 2028.

  • "Lone Survivor"

Showing: Feb. 20, 2014

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana

This film is an adaptation of Marcus Luttrell's memoir about his failed mission in Afghanistan with his SEAL team in 2005.

  • "Wolf Creek 2"

Showing: Feb. 20, 2014

Stars: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr

Mick Taylor is back to terrorise tourists in the Australian outback.

FAMILY

  • "Frozen"

Showing: Dec. 26, 2013

Stars: Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel

This animated film is an update of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen."

  • "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

Showing: Dec. 26, 2013

Stars: Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig

Ben Stiller acts and directs in this film adaptation of James Thurber's 1939 short story about a man and his elaborate daydreams and fantasies.

  • "Walking with Dinosaurs"

Showing: Jan. 1, 2014

Stars: Justin Long and John Leguizamo

A film based on the BBC's 1999 documentary series about dinosaurs. It features digitally created dinosaurs which were created in part by Australian FX house Animal Logic.

  • "Free Birds"

Showing: Jan. 9, 2014

Stars: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Amy Poehler and George Takei

This is a 3D computer-animated film about turkeys and the Thanksgiving Day tradition of eating these birds featuring the voices of Wilson, Harrelson and Poehler.

  • "Justin Bieber's Believe"

Showing: Jan. 24, 2014

Stars: Justin Bieber, featuring Usher

This is the sequel to the film "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," which was released in 2011. It shows Bieber's 3D arena concert footage and his life as a pop star. It is directed by "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" director Jon M. Chu, who also directed Justin's 2011 film.

OSCAR CONTENDERS:

  • "Philomena"

Showing: Dec. 26, 2013

Stars: Judi Dench and Steve Coogan

This is a film about Irish Catholic Philomena Lee and journalist Martin Sixsmith, who becomes Lee's mentor.

"Dench is superb," said Gibbs in The Age report.

  • "August: Osage County"

Showing: Jan. 1, 2014

Stars: Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts

This is John Wells' adaptation of Tracey Letts' play about a dysfunctional family with a matriarch who has cancer.

  • "Saving Mr. Banks"

Showing: Jan. 9, 2014

Stars: Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson

A film about the making of the film "Mary Poppins" and how Walt Disney eventually convinced its author P.L. Travers to make it a movie.

  • "Her"

Showing: Jan. 16, 2014

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson

This is a unique romantic film about a salesman and a voice in an operating system, much like Siri, Apple Inc. iOS' intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator.

  • "Inside Llewyn Davis"

Showing: Jan. 16, 2014
Stars: Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac

This film is about the 1960s folk revival scene of in Greenwich Village, New York City.

  • "The Wolf of Wall Street

Showing: Jan. 23, 2014

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill

Another DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese collaboration about Jordan Belfort and his finances as well as his involvement with fraud.

  • "12 Years a Slave"

Showing: Jan. 30, 2014

Stars: Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor, featuring Brad Pitt

This is a film produced by Brad Pitt and directed by British director Steve McQueen ("Shame," "Hunger") about Solomon Northup's 1853 autobiography.

  • "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"

Showing: Feb. 6, 2014

Stars: Idris Elba and Naomie Harris

A posthumous biopic of Mandela which chronicles his inspiring and courageous life as he fights apartheid, becomes imprisoned for it and ultimately elected as president.

  • "Dallas Buyers Club"

Showing: Feb. 13, 2014

Stars: Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto

This is a film about Texan redneck hustler and AIDS victim Ron Woodroof, played by McConaughey who sells AIDS medicine to his fellow sufferers.

  • "All is Lost"

Showing: Feb. 20, 2014

Stars: Robert Redford

J.C. Chandor's film about a man that is lost at sea, which is brilliantly played by Robert Redford.

  • "Nebraska"

Showing: Feb. 20, 2014

Stars: Will Forte and Bruce Dern

This is a film by director Alexander Payne ("The Descendents") about a father who apparently won the Lotto and vows to cross America because of it.

ARTHOUSE:

  • "The Railway Man"

Showing: Dec. 26, 2013

Stars: Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth

This is a film by Australian filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky, which is an adaptation of Eric Lomax's 1995 autobiography. It is about a former British soldier who was brutally tortured by Japanese forces during World War II.

  • "The Great Beauty"

Showing: Jan. 23, 2014

Stars: Carlo Verdone and Toni Servillo

This is a film about an ageing journalist named Jep Gambardella, played by Toni Servillo who reflects on his life and his surroundings in Rome.

  • "The Past"

Showing: Feb. 6, 2014

Stars: Berenice Bejo and Tahar Rahim

This is a film by Asghar Farhadi ("A Separation") about a divorce between a married couple played by Berenice Bejo ("The Artist") as the wife and Tahar Rahim as her husband.

  • "Blue is the Warmest Colour"

Showing: Feb. 13, 2014

Stars: Lé´a Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos

A winner of the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or, it is a film by Abdellatif Kechiche about a female student who falls in love with another woman.

  • "Le Week-end

Showing: Feb. 20, 2014

Stars: Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan

This is a film about a married couple portrayed by British actors Broadbent and Duncan whose marriage is falling apart.

The 2014 Australian Summer Movie Guide by Australian film critics Craig Mathieson and Ed Gibbs is a comprehensive list of films to watch in 2014. Make sure to catch these noteworthy films which promise viewers an entertaining time at the cinemas.

CREDIT: YouTube/MOVIES Coming Soon