9. Malavita
Director: Luc Besson Starring: Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer Is the world ready for a Luc Besson helmed gangster culture clash epic starring Robert De Niro and Tommy Lee Jones? Well, ready it might not be, but excited it definitely should be, even if Besson's films aren't always judged to be the most intellectually stimulating on offer. Malavita follows the Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, who are relocated to Normandy under the witness protection program, but fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard. Sounds deliciously odd, and this being Besson, the potential for violence should be through the roof.
8. Blood Ties
Director: Guillaume Canet Starring: Clive Owen, Billy Crudup & Marion Cotillard. The plot sounds solid enough, as two brothers on either side of the law face off over organised crime in 1970s Brooklyn, and it might well fit with the Cannes that featured both Lawless and Killing Them Softly last year - they like trends on the Croisette - but the biggest appeal here is the fact that the cast features Marion Cotillard, Mila Kunis and Zoe Saldana, all in one film. Astonishing. There's also James Caan in there for the gangster genre nod, and the idea to cast Clive Owen and Billy Crudup - who is painfully underused in films - as brothers will be inspired as long as Owen manages a good accent.