5. Sea Of Trees
Release date: To be announced. What's it about? Anyone who has seen the Vice documentary on Japan's Suicide Forest will have a clear idea of the kind of tone to expect from Sea Of Trees - this isn't going to be a feel-good movie, that's for sure. Matthew McConaughey stars as an American man who sets out into the woods to top himself where he meets a Japanese man (Ken Watanabe) with the same thing on his mind. What makes it award-worthy? Gus Van Sant is directing Sea Of Trees so the chances of it being terrible are slim to none - the subject matter certainly lends itself to Van Sant's brand of "slow cinema" so don't expect anything action-packed, but with McConaughey on top form in 2014 we can expect a solidly acted character study with the potential to clean up at film festivals.