3. American Hustle (Dec 13 US, Dec 20 UK)
David O. Russell certainly isn't resting on his laurels after the success of last year's Silver Linings Playbook, sinking his teeth into American Hustle (originally called American Bull****), based on the Abscam scandal, in which the FBI wiretapped a stolen property operation. The insane cast includes Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Louis C.K., and Michael Pena.
The Buzz: It's hard to know where to begin, really; O. Russell proved last year that he can get great performances out of an ensemble cast (scoring nominations in all four acting categories), and the teaser released hasn't really made it clear who rises to the top; everyone seems to be bringing their A-game. No festival bows are in place as of yet, so it might be a little while before we hear anything about it, though this might give us time to weed out those lesser films that aren't going to go the awards distance.