If there is one man truly deserving of his cult status, it is Christoper Walken. He can sing, dance, cook and he can most certainly produce the most compelling monologues. This man is a multifaceted genius; from dog-stealing psychopath to portraying the fragility of aging, his films from 2012 truly show his versatility.

In Performance, Walken plays Peter, the cellist in an internationally renowned string quartet, famous for playing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14, Opus 131. After starting to have some difficulties playing, he receives the dreadful news that he is suffering the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. Subsequently he makes the very painful decision to retire his illustrious career at the end of the season. This is devastating to the quartet that has been playing together for 25 years, and the discussion of such change stirs emotions and rivalries.

This is a very elegant, human drama, beautiful and sad as the quartet struggle to stay together in the face of competing egos, insuppressible lust and mortality. Performance is carried by the work of the very talented cast. Oscar winners Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as usual, do not disappoint.

From acclaimed Lebanese director Nadine Labaki (CARAMEL), WHERE DO WE GO NOW? tells the story of a remote, isolated Lebanese village in which both Muslims and Christians have lived peacefully together for years, although always on the brink of animosity. When civil strife begins engulfing the country and religious tensions rise, the women of the village conspire to keep their men in the dark through a series of clever schemes in an attempt to avoid escalating the already-delicate situation.