Don Jon (2013)

90 min   -   Comedy Metascore: 57/100 (5 reviews) A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love. Director:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt Stars:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza THE BUZZ: Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets serious behind the camera, goes all Jersey in front of it, and emerges with strong reviews for his directorial debut. One savvy reviewer deemed it "aMarty for the internet porn era."

Baggage Claim (2013)

 Comedy

Pledging to keep herself from being the oldest and the only woman in her entire family never to wed, Montana embarks on a thirty-day, thirty-thousand-mile expedition to charm a potential suitor into becoming her fiancé.

Director:

 David E. Talbert

Stars:

 Paula Patton, Taye Diggs, Jill Scott, Djimon Hounsou

THE BUZZ: Paula Patton as a spinster flight attendant? We don't buy it. However! Jumping the Broom = actually funny, so we're ultimately on board with Patton in nuptials-comedy mode.

Rush (2013)

123 min   -   Action | Biography | Drama | Sport A spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Director:  Ron Howard Stars:  Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Natalie Dormer THE BUZZ: Senna made the real world of Formula 1 racing one of the best documentaries in recent history. Will a dramatized version of champion rider Niki Lauda's obsessive competitive streak register with a wide audience? Well, with Ron Howard directing, we can't help but think this will be the safest race around. The upshot: Daniel Brühl's first starring role in the States.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

Animation | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Flint Lockwood now works at The Live Corp Company for his idol Chester V. But he's forced to leave his post when he learns that his most infamous machine is still operational and is churning out menacing food-animal hybrids.

Directors:

 Cody Cameron | Kris Pearn

Stars:

 Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Will Forte, Neil Patrick Harris

THE BUZZ: The semi-rehashed plot outline makes Cloudy 2 feel a bit like The Hangover Part IIuntil we go for a popcorn refill while our younger friends tell us about the awesome things we missed.

Battle of the Year (2013)

109 min   -   Music Battle of the Year attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years. Dante enlists Blake to assemble a team of the best dancers and bring the Trophy back to America where it started. Director:  Benson Lee Stars:  Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso, Josh Peck, Caity Lotz THE BUZZ: Chris Brown might not put his past with Rihanna behind him in the indefinite future, but unlike, say, Mel Gibson, he's managed to find success despite a tarnished public image. Here, he teams up with Josh Peck for director Benson Lee, who is turning his documentary into a feature for Screen Gems, who haven't put out a dance movie since Stomp the Yard, surprisingly. I'll make a large-popcorn bet that Brown's character redeems himself during the course of this battle.

Prisoners (2013)

107 min   -   Crime | Drama | Thriller When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family? Director:  Denis Villeneuve Stars:  Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo THE BUZZ: Zodiac spotlighted Jake Gyllenhaal as a nascent detective, and it was one of his finest roles to date. He also nailed the buddy-cop relationship in End of Watch, so I'm excited to see him as a cocky detective going up against a frantic Hugh Jackman in this Black List script by Aaron Guzikowski, who wrote Contraband. The young screenwriter's project sat in the laps of several directors (including Bryan Singer and Antoine Fuqua) before Denis Villeneuve came aboard to direct his follow-up to the excellent, Oscar-nominated Incendies. Given the cast's pedigree, the director's cache, and the adult-skewing subject matter, we think this is a true awards candidate in the Warner Bros. 2013 roster.

The Family (2013)

The Family (2013)  Action | Comedy | Crime The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard. Director:  Luc Besson Stars:  Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron Duration:  THE BUZZ: In a way, Malavita is this year's Flight, in that the project represents director Luc Besson's return to the kind of filmmaking that tends to suit him best.

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

Director:

 James Wan

Stars:

 Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye

Duration: 105 min   -   Horror | Thriller

THE BUZZ: Fans of the original are wondering just how Patrick Wilson will figure into chapter two of the horror hit; without giving too much away, Wilson's character didn't pass away, but he's not really Josh Lambert anymore, either ...

Salinger (2013)

An unprecedented look inside the private world of J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye.

Director:

 Shane Salerno

Stars:

 Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Judd Apatow, John Cusack

Duration: 120 min   -   Documentary

THE BUZZ: It's rather cool to consider the biggest film spoiler of the year might have something to do with new works being published by an author who wrote a series of novels while in seclusion. If any documentary can outpace 20 Feet from Stardom at the box office, this is it.

Riddick (2013)

Left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick finds himself up against an alien race of predators. Activating an emergency beacon alerts two ships: one carrying a new breed of mercenary, the other captained by a man from Riddick's past.

Director:

David Twohy

Stars: 

Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff, Jordi Mollà

Duration: 119 min   -   Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

THE BUZZ: If you could get Vin Diesel going on an uncensored review of his 15+ years in the industry and its attendant highs and many lows, it'd be worth the listen. Now that Fast Fivehas made Diesel a worldwide star, his development slate is beefing up with projects old and new. Something tells me Riddick's real victories will come from his overseas campaigns, and that U.S. audiences might be more inclined to catch up with him at home.