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Director: Tom Brady
Stars: Nick Swardson, Don Johnson, Christina Ricci (Full Cast)
Studio: Columbia Pictures

The Plot: After learning that his parents were porn stars in the 1970s, a nerdy guy (Swardson) leaves his home in northern Iowa for Hollywood, hoping to follow in their footsteps. He's taken in by a down-and-out director (Johnson) who sees a bright future for him and the kid.

THE BUZZ: Tom Brady directed Rob Schneider's only good movie (The Hot Chick), but he also directed The Comebacks, one movie in a clutch of bombs that caused mini-studio Fox Atomic to close-up shop. Can this movie and its retro cast (even Christina Ricci qualifies, kinda) succeed where Zack and Miri Make a Porno failed?

Message Boards: Got Script? Will Trade | On set pic

The American [9/1]

Director: Anton Corbijn
Stars: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido (Full Cast)
Studio: Focus Features

The Plot: An assassin hiding out in an Italian village while he anticipates his last-ever assignment tempts fate by seeking out the friendship of a priest (Bonacelli) as well as the affection of a local woman (Placido).

THE BUZZ: Renown music-video director Anton Corbijn created an art-scene frenzy with his Joy Division biography, Control, back in 2007/08. Without any intended irony, we love that this production is so non-American (Hollywood) in its casting. All of the players surrounding Clooney should vie for the spotlight here, especially Thekla Reuten (if you've seen In Bruges, you'll know who she is) and the sensation-causing Violante Placido. Meanwhile, screenwriter Rowan Joffe has our attention, but more so for another 2010 film, Brighton Rock, his adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, which also finds him making his debut as director.

Message Boards: Filming in the north of Sweden has begun | Irina Björklund cast as Clooney's girl friend

The Town

Director: Ben Affleck
Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Career thief Doug MacRay (Affleck) considers deepening his relationship with Claire (Hall), a bank teller who was traumatized by a recent heist -- and who has no idea that Doug was behind the crime. Meanwhile, an investigator (Hamm), who is close to unmasking Doug's secret life, wrestles with his feelings for Claire.

Photos (see all 2 | slideshow)

THE BUZZ: Literally as I'm writing this, the press is creating a faux-romance between Ben Affleck and co-star Blake Lively, the actress who is becoming as famous as her "Gossip Girl" character, Serena van der Woodsen, who was sickened -- sickened! -- by the way the world of publicity works in that show's ho-hum third season. And the funny thing is: Lively isn't the female lead here, it's Ms. Rebecca Hall, a.k.a. the best thing from Woody Allen's best movie of last decade, Vicky Christina Barcelona. Kudos to the production for its cast-assemblage skills, and to Affleck himself for becoming more of a filmmaker and less of a celebrity; however, we're only half willing to travel back to Boston for another tragi-drama.

Message Boards: Not to be a prude... | What will this be rated? R or PG-13?

The Roommate

Director: Christian E. Christiansen
Stars: Minka Kelly, Leighton Meester, Cam Gigandet (Full Cast)
Studio: Screen Gems

The Plot: College student Sara (Kelly) finds her safety jeopardized after she's assigned to a dorm room with a new roommate, Rebecca (Meester).

THE BUZZ: Funny: "Gossip Girl"'s dueling female leads have movies coming out in the same month. We've always loved Blair more than Serena, and The Roommate is shaping up to be another undeniable camp-thriller from Screen Gems, who made serious bank with Obsessed last year. Another reason we're anticipating this one? The presence of Minka Kelly, a bright spot from (500 Days of Summer (and, of course, "Friday Night Lights").

Message Boards: WHO WANTS THE SCRIPT!!! | Woot!! I've got the script!

Warrior

Director: Gavin O'Connor
Stars: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton (Full Cast)
Studio: Lionsgate

The Plot: Ex-Marine Tommy Riordan (Hardy) returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh to train for a mixed martial arts tournament with a major cast prize. Looking to his father (Nolte), an alcoholic former coach, for guidance is tough enough, but Tommy's chosen path also is putting him on a collision course with his older brother, Brendan (Edgerton), a former MMA and current struggling parent.

THE BUZZ: Snaps to Lionsgate for casting a pair of non-Americans in the newest project from writer-director Gavin O'Connor. Though Hollywood has yet to turn the world of mixed-martial arts into a hot movie, this one looks like it might register with critics (especially the ones who loved Tom Hardy in Bronson) and mainstream audiences (who like chiseled bodies and family drama) alike.

Message Boards: Release Date | Filming Locations?

Red Dawn

Director: Dan Bradley
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson (Full Cast)
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

The Plot: A group of young people look to save their town from an invasion of Chinese and Russian soldiers.

THE BUZZ: This fan site is doing a top-rank job of one of the last MGM productions under its current leadership. (The debt-ridden studio is up for sale, don't you know.) Our question: since both Chinese and Russian aggressors infiltrate U.S. soil in the remake, does that mean the project is twice as xenophobic as the original? Also: will this be MGM's Fame of 2010?

Message Boards: This Film is Doomed for 1 Simple Reason.... | Liberal Spin?

You Again

Director: Andy Fickman
Stars: Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Sigourney Weaver (Full Cast)
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

The Plot: When Marni (Bell) realizes her brother is about to marry the girl who bullied her in high school (Yustman), she sets out to expose the fiancée's true colors.

THE BUZZ: Look at the comediennes lined up here, aside from Kristen Bell: Sigourney Weaver will play Odette Yustman's aunt; Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty White will play Bell's mother and grandmother, respectively; Kristen Chenoweth will be the wedding planner. We imagine the comedic sum total will be greater than Ms. Bell's last 5 movies combined. Though we do wish the proceedings had a chance of being R-rated instead of the timid PG-13.

Message Boards: bully or sister | Photo's of Bell and Curtis!

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Brothers

The Plot: Soren is a young Barn Owl who lives in the peaceful forest of Tyto. Kidnapped and brought to the foreboding St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, Soren must face certain challenges -- including taking his first-ever flight -- on a dangerous adventure that leads to the mythical Great Ga'Hoole Tree, where he and his friends Gylfie, Twilight, and Digge look to fight a great evil in their world.

THE BUZZ: Warner Bros. has a possible successor to Harry Potter's throne in Zack Snyder's animated adaptation of Kathryn Lasky's children books (novels 1-3 are condensed into this movie). However, among the myriad pitfalls here is the potential to become the new Golden Compass. But I do have to say I'm quite curious as to Snyder's aesthetic; his fresh armor took a hit with Watchmen, but I think the filmmaker's best days are in front of him.

Message Boards: What genius had the idea to bring ZACH SNYDER on as director? | Will it be watchable if you haven't seen the series?

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