Sci-fi, Action     100 mins

Will Smith & Jaden Smith

After Earth (2013) 100 min - 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. Director: M. Night Shyamalan Stars: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo, David Denman Watch Trailer Add to Watchlist 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, and the first time he's directing someone else's screenplay. Toss around your wildest ideas about alien races and environmental themes and hopefully the Will Smith/Sony thinktank will surpass your imagination and expectations.

Sci-fi, Action, Family     143 mins

Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe

Man of Steel (2013) 143 min - Action|Adventure|Fantasy|Sci-Fi Metascore: 58/100 (17 reviews) A young journalist is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race. Director: Zack Snyder Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane Watch Trailer Add to Watchlist The Buzz: We once thought it might be tough to be a superhero movie the summer after The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, especially when you're a reboot of a franchise that Bryan Singer couldn't quite relaunch seven years ago. But every behind-the-scenes decision here seems to be heading for the ultimate payoff: popular and critical success, worldwide.

animation     102 mins

Comedy     119 mins

Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson-Dylan O'Brien

Two salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find their way into a coveted internship at Google, where they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy geniuses for a shot at employment.

Action-Comedy     107 mins

James Franco-Seth Rogen

While attending a party at James Franco's house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and many other celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.

Action, Drama     130 mins

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson

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.

Crime, Thriller     115 mins

Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman

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.

Action-Adventure     116 mins

Brad Pitt

World War Z (2013) 116 min - Action|Drama|Horror|Sci-Fi|Thriller Metascore: 57/100 (8 reviews) United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself. Director: Marc Forster Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, David Morse Watch Trailer Add to Watchlist The Buzz: Marc Foster always seemed like a curious pick to helm an action-heavy adaptation of the novel by Max Brooks, and details on the out-of-focus production emerged over the summer of 2012 as to its myriad problems, from indecision as to what the zombies should look like to major crew members asking to be let go from the production. Never mind the skyrocketing budget. What first appeared to be the best franchise starter since Rise of the Planet of the Apes has a target on its back; I'm sensing this is the Men in Black 3 of Summer 2013 - meaning it will under-perform in the U.S. and make its money elsewhere.

Animation     110 mins

Monsters University (2013) 110 min - Animation|Adventure|Comedy|Family|Fantasy Metascore: 66/100 (4 reviews) A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University -- when they weren't necessarily the best of friends. Director: Dan Scanlon Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren Watch Trailer Add to Watchlist The Buzz: Initially, we were a bit disheartened to hear that Pixar was using its 2013 slot for a Monsters, Inc. prequel: we already know that Mike and Sulley wind up being best friends, so the story of how they met could feel redundant. We got a look at some Monsters University concept art at Disney's D23 event last summer, though, and now we're definitely interested to see how Pixar goes about "monsterizing" the college experience. Here's hoping that in the pantheon of Pixar sequels/prequels, this is more Toy Story 3 and less Cars 2.

Action-Adventure     149 mins

Johnny Depp & Armie Hammer

The Lone Ranger (2013) 149 min - Action|Adventure|Western Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice. Director: Gore Verbinski Stars: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson Watch Trailer Add to Watchlist The Buzz: Ever wondered if Gore Verbinski's Wild West filmmaking style is a little more calculated than the stories of his project's astronomical budgets and out-of-control production spending would have you believe? Not that we mind one bit, especially when Johnny Depp is involved; we're more certain we'll be entertained by this duo than Depp's formerly unbeatable union with Tim Burton. So bring on their version of John Reid's folkloric origins.