February 1
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Warm Bodies (2013)
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Comedy
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Horror
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Romance
After R (a highly unusual zombie) saves Julie from an attack, the two
form a relationship that sets in motion a sequence of events that might
transform the entire lifeless world.
Director:Jonathan Levine |
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The Buzz: Better than The Wackness or even 50/50 is director
Jonathan Levine's first film, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane,
so I'm happy to see him returning to the horror genre for what could be
the next undead date movie -- the sub-genre introduced by Zombieland.
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Bullet to the Head (2012)
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Action
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Crime
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Thriller
After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a
Washington D.C. detective form an alliance in order to bring down their
common enemy.
Director:Walter Hill |
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The Buzz: By the numbers,
Sylvester Stallone, with his two successful character revivals and the
creation of a new, all-star franchise, is still a bigger action star
than Jason Statham. And while there's nothing new here on paper (cop,
hitman, vendettas, unlikely alliance) and Jason Momoa failed to relaunch
Conan the Barbarian, the return of director Walter Hill stokes my
initial interest in B to the H. I can already imagine the Funny
or Die parody.
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The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013)
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Drama
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Horror
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Thriller
A young family moves into an historic home in Georgia, only to learn
they are not the house's only inhabitants. Soon they find themselves in
the presence of a secret rising from underground and threatening to
bring down anyone in its path.
Director:Tom Elkins |
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The Buzz: As their Saw
franchise came to an end, Lionsgate began exploring a different realm,
one populated with demons, devils, and low-budget hits. The first Haunting
had a premise that is now quite familiar with genre fans -- doomed
kid/desperate family/new home with a portal to a dark past -- but the
sequel has a head-turning connection to the Antebellum South and a cast
of popular TV actors that are scarcely seen on the big screen. The
hurried release strategy (this date was announced mid-December) might
have something to do with the studio's recent success relaunching The
Texas Chainsaw franchise for the third time, though there's no word
on the apparent spin-off, The Haunting in New York.
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Stand Up Guys (2012)
Comedy
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Crime
A pair of aging con men try to get the old gang back together for one
last hurrah before one of the guys takes his last assignment -- to kill
his comrade.
Director:Fisher Stevens |
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The Buzz: The old pals/last
hurrah sub-genre is wheeled back out for a go-round with three actors
who could probably do it better without a script. And you have to wait
until August for Red 2.
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Sound City (2013)
Documentary
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Music
A documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van
Nuys, California.
Director:David Grohl |
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The Buzz: We pine along with
Dave Grohl for the days when bands were comprised of musicians whose
instruments were recorded onto tape, instead of all the digital wizardry
that makes contemporary rock and pop sound so homogenous. But will the
ultimately irony here be a major digital-release push?
February 8
|
Identity Thief (2013)
Comedy
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Crime
When a mild-mannered businessman learns his identity has been stolen, he
hits the road in an attempt to foil the thief -- a trip that puts him
in the path of a deceptively harmless-looking woman.
Director:Seth Gordon |
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The Buzz: The industry was in a
frenzy, trying to shape a project for Melissa McCarthy after her
breakout performance in Bridesmaids. Similar to Kristen Wiig, she
measured her big-screen options while enjoying elevated ratings for her
TV show "Mike & Molly". But consider us a bit underwhelmed by the
thought of her matching wits with Jason Bateman in his reunion with
director Seth Gordon; their career comedy Horrible Bosses was
hard-R formula at its most basic, and I fear we're in for another
raunchy outing that doesn't play to McCarthy's true genius.
|
Side Effects (2013)
Crime
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Drama
|
Thriller
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her
anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.
Director:Steven Soderbergh |
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The Buzz: Originally pitched as
a "thriller set in the world of pharmacology," the updated premise
sounds a bit like an edgy Nicholas Sparks novel written expressly for
Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum. But really it's Tatum's third film with
Steven Soderbergh - and quite possibly the director's last feature
before exploring his TV options. Soderbergh's remarks on trying to make
narratively rich box-office hits makes me feel he could have 1) bailed
from studio moviemaking after Haywire; 2) taught a
summer session at a deserving film school; and 3) pitched AMC for an
early 2013 program.
February 15
|
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
Action
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Crime
|
Thriller
John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son,
Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a
nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against
underworld forces.
Director:John Moore |
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The Buzz: If the Patrick
Stewart casting rumors turn out to be true, John McClane's fifth outing
might have a villain as iconic as Hans Gruber. Talk about a franchise we
still love but would benefit from some vitality; as happy as we are to
Jai Courtney in the role of McClane's son, the Die Hard saga
needs more than youth to truly revitalize our interest. As The
Expendables and Red have proved, aging action heroes can be
more than just a box-office draw; they can be pop-cultural events, too.
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Beautiful Creatures (2013)
Drama
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Fantasy
Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new
girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective
families, their history and their town.
Director:Richard LaGravenese |
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The Buzz: Warner Brothers might
not ever replicate the success of the Harry Potter franchise,
but this four-book series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl has
potential to thrill die-hard fans of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes while
introducing newbies to the secrets of Gatlin County. I like how the
studio has followed the Potter model of getting adult-oriented
filmmakers to handle youth-skewing source material; in this case,
screenplay doctor and sometime director Richard LaGravenese might find
his greatest success to date. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to seeing
more Jack O'Connell, yet another cast member from the defunt program Skins who is getting a
Hollywood shot. Playing the mysterious Lena is Alice Englert in her
first major role.
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Safe Haven (2013)
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Drama
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Mystery
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Romance
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Thriller
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina
where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret
that haunts her.
Director:Lasse Hallström |
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The Buzz: Lasse Hallström
appears to have found safe haven translating the work of Nicholas Sparks
into hit movies, and if this project does indeed land Keira Knightley,
the actress should kick off 2013 with a box-office success after two
previous artier endeavors, Seeking a Friend for the End
of the World and Anna
Karenina. Let's see, though, how audiences react to themes of
domestic abuse, and I'm curious who will be cast to play the man from
protagonist Katie's past.
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Escape from Planet Earth (2013)
Animation
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Adventure
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Comedy
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Family
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Sci-Fi
Astronaut Scorch Supernova finds himself caught in a trap when he
responds to an SOS from a notoriously dangerous alien planet.
Director:Cal Brunker |
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The Buzz: The Weinstein Company
is an Oscar-winning powerhouse, for sure, but they haven't fared well
in the lucrative world of animated movies. The studio has turned to one
of the production companies behind Hoodwinked! for their
space adventure, which admittedly looks cool with its big, blue-headed
astronauts. But the keys to success with kid movies are marketing and
advertising, the kinds of expenditures Harvey & co. specialize in
when there are awards to be won.
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A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012)
Comedy
A graphic designer's enviable life slides into despair when his
girlfriend breaks up with him.
Director:Roman Coppola |
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The Buzz: The first trailer
didn't quite stoke my enthusiasm for Roman Coppola's follow-up to the
visual achievement that was CQ, but I have faith
that his new work is much more than a costume party starring Charlie
Sheen. And if I'm wrong, I will finally side with a close friend who
asserts that there is no space in the current art world for musings of
the Coppola Aristocracy.
February 22
|
Snitch (2013)
Action
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Drama
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Thriller
A father goes undercover for the DEA in order to free his son who was
imprisoned after being set up in drug deal.
Director:Ric Roman Waugh |
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The Buzz:
Stuntman-turned-filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh takes the reins for Dwayne
Johnson's second attempt to come across like an everyman (see: Walking Tall). What's
most encouraging is the supporting cast, which is populated by three
guys from some of the butchest cable TV programs in recent times: Jon
Bernthal ("Walking Dead"), Harold Perrineau ("Oz"), and Michael Kenneth
Williams ("The Wire"). We have to wonder if this movie would have been
even better as a mini-series?
|
Dark Skies (2013)
Horror
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Sci-Fi
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Thriller
As the Barret family's peaceful suburban life is rocked by an escalating
series of disturbing events, they come to learn that a terrifying and
deadly force is after them.
Director:Scott Charles Stewart |
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The Buzz: What currently reads
like an "American Horror Story: Asylum" sub-plot gets stretched into a
feature from director Scott Charles Stewart, who will hopefully ease off
the visual-effects indulgences that turned his first two movies -- Legion and Priest -- into
unintended spectacles. The first trailer was refreshingly old school.
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