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Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Set in an alternate vision of the year 1985, the murder of an ex-superhero causes a vigilante named Rorshach (Haley) to look into the matter, an investigation that reunites him with his surviving old colleagues -- all of them former superheroes themselves -- and gradually unveils a conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future.

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THE BUZZ: With this movie and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, comic-book superheroes will continue to dominate the box office in 2009, a year after the genre truly broke as a bankable entity. And in Watchmen's case, never has a storyline been so intricate, with arcs that span from the Cuban Missle Crisis to the Reagan Era, and out to Mars and back again. Is it fit for mass consumption? Surely, especially now that audiences are connecting with anti-heroes (or, in this case, ex-superheroes), and let's not forget how in the 1980s are, too. Already people are talking about director Zack Snyder's page-to-screen take on the graphic novel by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore (the latter of whom is not on board with the project, thank you very much) -- has he copied the look of it too much? Not enough? Or are you, like thousands of other people, reading the book for the first time?

Message Boards: What people need to realize about the ending. | WATCHMEN WONT CLICK ON SCREEN

All About Steve

Director: Phil Traill
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church (Full Cast)
Studio: Fox 2000 Pictures

The Plot: After Mary Horowitz (Bullock) has one date with a CNN cameraman (Cooper), the brilliant crossword-puzzle constructor decides the hunk is her true love. While she alienates him by trailing him all over the country, she falls in with a crew of misfits who appreciate her eccentric nature.

THE BUZZ: There's so much to the story here -- blind love, cable news, codependency, crosswords puzzles? -- I almost crave something a bit more formulaic. Do you like convoluted romcoms? More puzzling is exactly how Phil Traill, a celebrated short filmmaker in the UK, got wrangled into making this his Stateside debut. Maybe Sandra B. chased him all over the island ...

Message Boards: FILMING IN SITKA ALASKA!! | Screenings?

Race to Witch Mountain

Director: Andy Fickman
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb (Full Cast)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Plot: When a cab driver (Johnson) picks up an unusual fare -- a brother and sister duo with paranormal powers, who are being pursued by a nefarious organization -- he teams up with a discredited astrophysicist (Gugino) to protect the kids and, ultimately, the rest of humankind.

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A UFO expert enlists the help of a cabbie to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.

THE BUZZ: Original Witch Mountain stars Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann are on board for Disney's redo of enduring and still-kinda-scary 1975 family movie, but how far will Disney in their attempt to preserve the story's integrity? Rather far, it seems, if the footage we saw at Comic-Con is any indication. Director Andy Fickman is looking to make his first break from his more-cushy films (She's the Man, The Game Plan) by picking up the mythology 30 years after the first film was set. Will it be PG or PG-13, people are asking, but when you have AnnaSophia Robb aboard, co-star of the "Hard PG" Bridge to Terabithia, I think Fickman and Disney are up to something special here.

Message Boards: The book/location of Witch Mountain | Random pix from LV shoot:

Sunshine Cleaning (limited)

Director: Christine Jeffs
Stars: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin (Full Cast)
Studio: Overture Films

The Plot: Industrious single mother Rose Lorkowski (Adams) starts an unusual business in order to send her son to a private school; alongside her unreliable sister (Blunt), the two women enter the world of biohazard removal and crime scene clean-ups.

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THE BUZZ: The Sundance set wasn't particularly wowed by director Christine Jeffs's follow-up to Sylvia, though I think this is one of the more resonant films that screened at the 2008 festival. Jeffs is unafraid to explore the vagueness of certain family dynamics, and to rely on visuals in the places where too-much-exposition typically is used. There is, of course, much backstory to be discovered in the relationship between Adams and Blunt, and yes, Alan Arkin again inhabits the role of quirky old man ... but are these bad things? Of course not. Think of Adams in Junebug form, and Blunt all Gothic and smeared eyeliner; get psyched for a solid supporting performance from Clifton Collins Jr., too.

Message Boards: Blunt's Accent? | Sushine Carpet Cleaners

Duplicity

Director: Tony Gilroy
Stars: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures

The Plot: A pair of corporate spies (Owen and Roberts) who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses -- but can they learn to truly love and trust one another?

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THE BUZZ: Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) is back to write, direct, and confuse with another crime/suspense story, but this time there's some lovemaking to be had. I'm all phew for many reasons: Tom Wilkinson's has reunited with Gilroy for another supporting role; Paul Giamatti replaced Billy Bob Thornton as one of the warring CEOs; we finally get to see what Ocean's 11 could have been like if Tess were allowed to be more than wallpaper; Clive Owen takes a break from dark/stressful thrillers to deliver some mystery and cheer. But what this project could really use? A title change.

Message Boards: trailer | Julia Roberts is Hotter than Ever !

I Love You, Man

Director: John Hamburg
Stars: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks SKG

The Plot: An about-to-be-married guy (Rudd) realizes he doesn't have any close friends to stand by him at the ceremony, prompting a series of man-dates in order to find a best man.

THE BUZZ: Aww, cute, the notion of bro-mance goes truly mainstream here, instead of being relegated to reality shows and whatnot. Even better, writer-director John Hamburg finally returns to the big screen after going mainstream with Along Came Polly back in 2004. Without knowing the full score, we'll credit Hamburg's indie sensibilities with landing Rashida Jones from The Office in the role of Rudd's fiance and slotting Jamie Pressly as her BFF (and not the other way around). Jason Segel breaks away from Judd Apatow's clutches for a role that should make him look way less desperate, in a movie that will undoubtedly have better-realized female characters.

Message Boards: Do you know of anyone who is in a similar situation? | Will Samberg have a big role?

Knowing

Director: Alex Proyas
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne (Full Cast)
Studio: Summit Entertainment

The Plot: When Ted Myles (Cage) begins to suspect that his son has discovered an artifact that accurately predicts natural disasters and other catastrophes, he goes on to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

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THE BUZZ: Great premise, but what's with the numbers game, didn't The Number 23 make such a story device a dicey proposition for a while? Not that I'm deplaned from Alex Proyas's sci-fi trips, but even he seemed disinterested in his new movie when he presented a first look at Comic-Con this year (sans Nic Cage, who lately seems as disinterested in promoting any of his movies). I'm still giving this one a shot, however, since the trailer is effective, please it's cool to see what Proyas can do with a budget much smaller than, say, I, Robot's.

Message Boards: so im very exited for this | Anyone else think that Cage......

Monsters vs. Aliens

Director: Rob Letterman Conrad Vernon
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution

The Plot: After being hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, Susan Murphy (Witherspoon) is transformed into a monster named Ginormica and subsequently whisked away to a secret government compound where others like her have been rounded up over the years. When the Earth comes under attack by aliens, however, Ginormica and her new allies are set free to save the planet.

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THE BUZZ: Taking a page out of Pixar's playbook, D'Works may have finally caught on that audiences (and Academy voters) prefer a good story, interesting characters and funny jokes to a farting donkey. Adding an all-star line-up and 3-D effects is pretty awesome, too. Check out this awesome preview.

Message Boards: i cant believe im saying this... | cast

The Lovely Bones

Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: (Full Cast)
Studio: Paramount Pictures

The Plot: Young Susie watches over her family from heaven as they deal with the aftermath of her brutal rape and murder.

THE BUZZ: Pretty touchy subject matter here, so 'xcuse us as we focus on all the nasty backstage drama surrounding this one instead. Like, remember when Jackson gave Ryan Gosling the boot a week before shooting started because he was too demanding, er, young for the role. Then, they couldn't quite figure out the whole "heaven" thing. Then DreamWorks ditched it after their split with Paramount, which put the release date in limbo land? Drama like that deserves an Oscar. Too bad those kinda movies don't come out in March.

Message Boards: Ryan Gosling should have stayed as Jack. | boy (voice)?

Adventureland

Director: Greg Mottola
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds (Full Cast)
Studio: Miramax Films

The Plot: During the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) takes what he thinks is a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to discover it's a perfect opportunity to prepare himself for the real world.

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THE BUZZ: One of the many things I love about writer-director Greg Mottola: He could have easily leveraged his Superbad success for bigger, "better," and ultimately less funny mainstream comedies, but with Adventureland he takes on a smaller-scale project culled from his own post-grad experiences. With a note-perfect cast and a taste level that avoids dressing up his stars in period clichés, I feel like the older crowd which embraced Superbad will return to relive their awkward years here. And even though the movie co-stars Ryan Reynolds, it's guaranteed to be nowhere near as flavorless as Waiting.)

Message Boards: Script? | Kennywood!!!!!!

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