May
The Buzz: Tony Stark faced an unbeatable foe the last time out: the sophomore slump that was Iron Man 2.
Having succumbed to an ill-advised storyline that turned much of the
spotlight on Stark's narcissism (or RDJ's, perhaps), the franchise first
shook things up by bringing in fan-favorite Shane Black to write and
direct this installment, which traffics in The Mandarin, Iron Man's
toughest-ever opponent
.
Action | Sci-Fi | Thri
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called
the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
|
|
The Buzz: Just think: When Man of Steel
makes Michael Shannon a household name, people will be able to sift
through his other films and find gems like this true story of a husband,
father, sociopath, and killer. We hear the director makes a wise
decision to keep the focus on Shannon, and that David Schwimmer (who is
piecing together an admirable indie-film resume) is barely recognizable
in his role
.
The Iceman (2012)Crime | Drama | Thriller
The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and
family man. When finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor
daughters have any clue about his real profession
|
|
Kiss of the Damned (2012)
The vampire Djuna resists the advances of Paolo, but soon gives in to
their passion. When her trouble-making sister unexpectedly comes to
visit, Djuna's love is threatened, and the whole vampire community
becomes endangered.
|
|
May 10
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Drama
|
Romance
A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor.
|
|
The Buzz: My love for certain
novels doesn't desire to see them confined to the page or protected from
being interpreted on film; take for example Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre,
a perfect adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's dreary, soot-eyed romance,
and an example of underdog cast and director choices at their most
winning. When it comes to Leonardo DiCaprio reteaming with Baz Luhrmann
to interpret F. Scott Fitzgerald's second-best novel, I often think that
the people who have the power to green light (Gatsby reference)
major projects aren't necessarily the best fit to star in them. Or act
as their director. As respected as he aims to be, Leonardo DiCaprio is
at his least effective handling serious drama; Luhrmann, with all of his
mega-budget entitlement, has bewitched the industry, but let's see how
his latest epic plays out in terms of audience appeal.
Peeples (2013)
Comedy
Sparks fly when Wade Walker crashes the Peeples annual reunion in the
Hamptons to ask for their precious daughter Grace's hand in marriage.
|
|
The Buzz: Tyler Perry expands his brand by mentoring screenwriter Tina Gordon Chism (Drumline, ATL)
for her directorial debut, which definitely sounds like it will ride
the line between Perry's full-bore family-centric comedy and his
penchant for slightly more serious life lessons. But, hey, anyone who
sees more in Craig Robinson than an ensemble or background player has my
vote of confidence.
The Buzz: Eli Roth writes, produces, and stars in his new filmmaking buddy Nicolas Lopez's indie disaster movie, which follows a Hostel-like
narrative structure where unwitting tourists have to battle against
Mother Nature at her most nefarious. Selena Gomez -- suddenly so
interesting -- makes a cameo appearance only.
Aftershock (2012)Horror | Thriller
In Chile, a group of travelers who are in an underground nightclub when a
massive earthquake hits quickly learn that reaching the surface is just
the beginning of their nightmare.
Stars:Eli Roth, Andrea Osvárt, Ariel Levy, Nicolás Martínez |
|
May 17
The Buzz: With Benedict
Cumberbatch (aka Sherlock Holmes) playing a new villain that may/may
not/but probably will have a connection to Trek history and Peter Weller
(aka RoboCop) joining the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in a major way,
what else do we need to make J.J. Abrams's return to Roddenberry space
the most anticipated sequel of 2013? A Klingon subplot? You (again,
probably) got it. More Spock Prime? Check. William Shatner cameo?
Unlikely, but we'll hold out for it once more.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror
from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a
war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
|
|
The Buzz: Looks like Greta Gerwig gets to star in a Greenberg
of her own making, as she and director Noah Baumbach co-wrote this
screenplay together in secret, and have created a work that has been as
well received as Baumbach's first two films, Kicking and Screaming and The Squid and the Whale. We still don't know if Gerwig will ever have a genuine breakthrough; that said, she's earning most of the praise here.
Frances Ha (2012)
Comedy
|
|
May 24
The Buzz: Dwayne Johnson didn't
have to save or reignite this franchise (which is becoming his
specialty); he was brought in to make the enduring and morally ambiguous
adventures of Dominic Torreto and Brian O'Conner even more appealing to
worldwide audiences. And that certainly worked, as Fast Five's
all-world box-office tally can attest. Elsewhere, we are anticipating
the soap opera-like narrative device that will bring Letty (Michelle
Rodriguez) back into the story. And we're wondering if we'll get to see a
sequel to Seth Rogen and Andy Sandberg's hysterical parody of the series.
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Agent Hobbs enlists the aid of Dom and team to help bring a rival gang,
led by Owen Shaw, to justice. In exchange for clear records, they must
put an end to their schemes, no matter how personal the cost
|
|
The Hangover Part III (2013)
Comedy
This time, there's no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong,
right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.
|
|
The Buzz: The Hangover Part II was essentially a carbon copy of The Hangover,
but it made enough money (almost $600 million worldwide) that Warner
Bros. broke out the check book to get the principal cast and director Todd Phillips
back on board to conclude the "trilogy" with one last outing. Rumor has
it that the boys will be spending time in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and
Tijuana, which seems much more entertaining than their dreary Bangkok
outing in Part II. Still, it's concerning that they are once again
working on a tight schedule - putting only two years between sequels is
rarely a good idea - and it's hard to imagine they will ever be able to
successfully reproduce the unique alchemy of dark comedy and mystery
that worked so well the first time.
Epic (2013)
Animation
|
Adventure
|
Comedy
|
Fantasy
A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a
battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking
place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to
save their world -- and ours.
|
|
The Buzz: Chris Wedge has been immersed in the Ice Age universe since its inception, alongside his co-director, Carlos Saldanha. Like Saldanha, who ventured out on his own with Rio, Wedge is going solo for Epic, which was first announced as an adaptation of the children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce, though the plot seems to have morphed into something slightly more akin to the work of Hayao Miyazaki.
The Buzz: The most unexpected
trilogy (said with love) was shot in secret last year and announced a
few months before its debut at Sundance 2013. Given the 9-year gaps
between each film, it might just become the fictional equivalent of Seven Up! documentary series; we'd happily follow Jesse and Celine until death does them part.
Before Midnight (2013)
Drama
|
|
May 31
After Earth (2013)
Action
|
Adventure
|
Sci-Fi
A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on
Earth, 1,000 years after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher
injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.
|
|
The Buzz: In this era of Tumblr
production blogs and actors tweeting during breaks, the quieter a set
is, the more we're intrigued by the movie. Even if it's an M. Night
Shyamalan project - his first time directing someone else's screenplay.
Toss around your wildest ideas in terms of alien races and environmental
themes and hopefully the Will Smith/Sony thinktank will surpass your
imagination and expectations.
Now You See Me (2013)
Thriller
FBI agents track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during
their performances and reward their audiences with the money.
|
|
| Watch Trailer Add to Watchlist |
The Buzz: The Chemical Brothers
scoring a Louis Leterrier movie about magicians who redistribute the
wealth from their heists? The French director is certainly finding ways
to trafficking in the fun, borderline absurd type of entertainment he
learned while making movies with Luc Besson. There are many bigger names
on screen and behind the scenes here, and one imagines the budget will
be on the higher end of the scale as the worldwide marketing kicks in.
Like it or not, the key here is going to be in the marketing; get people
excited by the potential awesomeness of Morgan Freeman, Jesse
Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and others matching wits and
the winter box office returns could be mighty.
The Buzz: Nick Offerman and
Allison Brie might be two of the most recognizable names in this cast,
but Jordan Vogt-Roberts's feature debut is centered on a trio of young
actors, and we hear that one of them -- Moises Arias -- might enjoy a Christopher Mintz-Plasse-like breakout for his work as Biaggio, the most curious and loyal friend two runaway boys could ask for.
The Kings of Summer (2013)Comedy
Three teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to
spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the
land.
|
|
The Purge (2013)
Horror
|
Sci-Fi
|
Thriller
If on one night every year, you could commit any crime without facing
consequences, what would you do? Over the course of a single night, a
family will be tested to see how far they will go to protect themselves
when the vicious outside world breaks into their home.
|
|
The Buzz: Producer Jason Blum has set up projects all over Hollywood since Paranormal Activity
proved itself as a franchise instead of a mere one-off success, and
here he's pushing the kind of horror story that freaks us out the most:
the kind that could actually happen in real life. Meanwhile, Ethan Hawke
might pull a semi-McConaughey this year with a trio of films that seem
to have respective built-in audiences.
The Buzz: Brit Marling's second
project with her co-writer/director Zal Batmanglij might seem a bit
more conventional with its structure when compared to their first film, Sound of My Voice,
a triumph that saw Marling exhibit her true promise as both an actress
and a screenwriter. Here, she plays an outsider trying to infiltrate a
group of freegan anarchists under Alexander Skarsgard's influence. Also
worth noting is Ellen Page's performance - her best in years.
The East (2013)Action | Drama | Mystery | Thrill
An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities
irrevocably changed after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist
group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
|
|
