“In the Land of Women”

Warner Bros.

Starring: Adam Brody, Kristen Stewart, Meg Ryan, Olympia Dukakis, Makenzie Vega, Clark Gregg, Elena Anaya
Director: Jonathan Kasdan
Story: After Carter Webb (Brody) gets dumped, he moves from Los Angeles to Michigan to take care of his ailing grandmother (Dukakis). There he becomes involved in the lives of the family of women across the street. Ryan plays mother to Stewart and Vega.
Buzz: This feels like a very chick-flicky version of “Garden State” (with, one would assume, a much less cool soundtrack). Fresh off the cancelled “O.C.,” Brody has to show he can carry a film. It’s hard to watch Ryan without being distracted by her alleged plastic surgery — and then there’s the fact that she hasn’t been in a hit movie since 1998’s “You’ve Got Mail.” This is Kasdan’s (brother of Jake, son of Lawrence) directorial debut.
Web site: http://www.myspace.com/itlow

“Vacancy”

Screen Gems / Sony

Starring: Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry
Director: Nimród Antal
Story: David (Wilson) and Amy Fox’s (Beckinsale) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, forcing them to spend the night at the only motel around. When they find a VCR with tapes of murders that have occurred in their room, they realize that they too are being secretly filmed and must escape before the killer strikes.
Buzz: Director Antal is the man behind the very scary Hungarian film “Kontroll” (worth renting), which bodes well for the fright factor of this horror flick. The easy-going Wilson is definitely playing against type here. With her “Underworld” experience, you’d almost expect Beckinsale to be the one protecting him.
Web site: http://sonypictures.com/movies/vacancy/index.html

“Hot Fuzz”

Rogue Pictures

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan, Timothy Dalton, Martin Freeman, Paul Freeman, Bill Nighy
Director: Edgar Wright
Story: Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is a London cop who’s so good that he makes everyone else look bad. Embarrassed by his success rate, his bosses send him to the sleepy crime-free village of Sandford. There he’s teamed with the less talented, but eager Danny Butterman (Frost), who imagines his new partner is like a real-life action hero. When a series of bizarre accidents rocks the village, Angel and Butterman must crack the case. Broadbent co-stars as Sandford Police Chief Police Frank Butterman.
Buzz: Pegg and Frost were the stars of the very funny “Shaun of the Dead” (a must rent); and Pegg and director Wright wrote both scripts. BBC critic Jamie Russell said the film wasn’t quite as funny as “Shaun” and was a bit too long, but still praised it saying, “it’s a movie you’ll still want to see again, if only to get all the mini-jokes.”
Web site: http://www.hotfuzz.com/

“Rogue”

Frazer Harrison

Starring: Michael Vartan, Radha Mitchell, Stephen Curry, John Jarratt, Heather Mitchell, Mia Wasikoska, Sam Worthington
Director: Greg McLean
Story: Vartan plays an American travel writer working on a piece on the Australian Outback. His local tour guide (Mitchell) takes him and a whole group of tourists (read: meat) on a river cruise that puts them in contact with a giant crocodile.
Buzz: This one would be easy to write off, but McLean is the writer-director behind the scary Australian horror film “Wolf Creek,” so you never know. Mitchell (“Melinda and Melinda”) has become an arthouse-flower-turned-horror-movie star (“Silent Hill) with her recent films. Could it be the money?
Web site: NA

“Smiley Face”

First Look

Starring: Anna Faris, Adam Brody, John Krasinski, John Cho, Jane Lynch, Danny Masterson
Director: Gregg Araki
Story: When aspiring actress Jane (Faris) eats her roommate’s (Masterson) marijuana cupcakes by mistake, it makes her day of errands a whole lot more complicated.
Buzz: Director Araki (“Mysterious Skin”) is usually known for more serious fare, but the director isn’t afraid to get really silly with this film. Salon’s Andrew O'Hehir wrote, “‘Smiley Face’ has a wonderful performance by Anna Faris and one of the all-time great stoner monologues in movie history.” A small but enjoyable treat.
Web site: http://www.firstlookstudios.com/smiley/

“Stephanie Daley”

Regent Releasing

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Amber Tamblyn, Timothy Hutton, Melissa Leo, Jim Gaffigan, Denis O'Hare
Director: Hilary Brougher
Story: When Stephanie Daley (Tamblyn) is hospitalized during a school field trip where her dead newborn is found in a restroom, she faces charges of murder. Stephanie claims that she never knew she was pregnant. It’s up to forensic psychologist Lydie Crane (Swinton), who’s struggling with her own pregnancy, to discover the truth. Hutton co-stars as Crane’s husband.
Buzz: Brougher took home the prize for best screenplay at the Sundance Film Festival for writing this film. Variety’s Scott Foundras calls the film “a taut, provocative, sometimes overreaching but always absorbing thriller.”
Web site: http://stephaniedaley-themovie.com/

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