J. J. Abrams

Kim Ok-vin and Shin Ha-kyun star as a wildly dysfunctional married couple in 'Thirst.'

Courtesy Focus Features

Winner of the Jury Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Thirst was largely overlooked at the time of its American theatrical release, even amid the biggest vampire craze in recent memory. That's a shame, because Chan-wook Park's latest, about a deeply devoted Roman Catholic priest (Kang-ho Song, of The Host) who turns into a reluctant Nosferatu after an ill-fated transfusion leaves him hungry for blood, is one of the year's most chilling fantasies – gory, funny and thoroughly entertaining.

Eye of the Na'vi: James Cameron's Avatar enjoys its first 16 minutes of fame.

Courtesy 20th Century Fox

By now, the story of Avatar is well known: James Cameron, who, along with George Lucas, has done more to revolutionize the moviegoing experience than any other filmmaker during the past quarter-century, began writing the sci-fi epic in 1994 and has been developing the photo-realistic 3-D technology necessary to realize his ambitious vision since the 1997 release of Titanic. After postponing the $200 million project on several occasions, his much-anticipated tale of human imperialism on an alien moon is due Dec. 18.