Newlyweds (2011)  Drama

Directors: Edward Burns

Writers: Edward Burns

Stars:

 Edward Burns, Caitlin Fitzgerald and Kerry Bishé
THE BUZZ:

Newlyweds Buzzy and Katie find their blissful life disrupted by the arrival of his half-sister and news of her sister's marriage troubles.




Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011)  Drama

Directors: Asghar Farhadi

Writers: Asghar Farhadi

Stars:

 Peyman Maadi, Leila Hatami and Sareh Bayat
THE BUZZ: Writer-director Asghar Farhadi's drama was a major (and surprise) winner at the Berlin Film Festival, where it scooped up 3 Golden Bears (best picture, actor, and actress) and 2 other awards; a slew of other festival wins have followed as Sony Pictures Classics gears up for Oscar season.


Pariah (2011)  Drama

Directors: Dee Rees

Writers: Dee Rees

Stars:

 Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans and Aasha Davis
THE BUZZ: With a prestigious and eye-brow raising release date, it seems as though Focus Features has complete faith in Dee Rees' Sundance winner, a feature-length expansion of her 2007 short. Ever since it kicked off Sundance 2011, the reviews here have been nearly universally strong; those some have taken its Hype Williams-style aesthetic to task, the story and performances are the focus here. And, personally, I love how stacked this month is with films directed by women...


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)  Drama

Directors: Stephen Daldry

Writers: Eric Roth (screenplay), Jonathan Safran Foer (novel)

Stars:

 Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock
THE BUZZ: No scooters this Christmas for Tom Hanks; instead, he takes a backseat to "Teen Jeopardy" champ Thomas Horn, making his film debut as the precocious pre-adolscent at the center of Jonathan Safran Foer's 9/11-set mystery/adventure. It's a fact that Stephen Daldry-directed films always earn Oscar nominations, and Warner Bros. obviously is going for a major push here. Hanks and Sandra Bullock, who play Mr. and Mrs. Schell, are destined for Supporting Actor/Actress nominations, and since this is shaping up to be the Year of Viola Davis, look for her name to be a part of the mix, too.


The Iron Lady (2011)  Drama

Directors: Phyllida Lloyd

Writers: Abi Morgan (screenplay)

Stars:

 Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and Richard E. Grant
THE BUZZ: Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd returns with an obvious awards contender, the ace in Harvey Weinstein's loaded hand this year. Though we have eyes on My Week with Marilyn), two quid says Meryl Streep's name is already engraved on the next Best Actress Oscar. Can I just say, though, as innocent and breezy as Mamma was, it was also a shoddily made movie that was poorly framed and oftentimes out of focus -- literally. Sorry to be a killjoy, but I'm anticipating something better crafted for Lloyd's follow-up.


Roadie (2011)  Drama

Directors: Michael Cuesta

Writers: Gerald Cuesta, Michael Cuesta

Stars:

 Ron Eldard, Bobby Cannavale and Jill Hennessy
THE BUZZ: Sadly, Michael Cuesta has never managed to live up to the promise we first saw in L.I.E., but kudos to him for getting his projects made in an increasingly difficult environment. Is it mean to say this comes across like the guy version of Hysterical Blindness?


Sleeping Beauty (2011)  Drama

Directors: Julia Leigh

Writers: Julia Leigh (screenplay)

Stars:

 http://Emily Browning, Rachael Blake and Ewen Leslie
THE BUZZ: Poor Emily Browning (Sucker Punch); her breakout year turned out to be a snoozefest instead. This film's sexually-charged content divided audiences at its Cannes Film Festival premiere, but not in a good way, and wound up generating more negative reviews than controversy.


Kinyarwanda (2011)  Drama

Directors: Alrick Brown

Writers: Charles Plath (storyline consultant), Alrick Brown

Stars:

 http://Cleophas Kabasita, Hadidja Zaninka and Marc Gwamaka
THE BUZZ: Alrick Brown's feature debut first scored an audience award at Sundance; most recently, it picked up a similar honor at the American Film Institute Festival. A coalition of black film organizations comprise the distribution company for this multi-layered character drama.


Autoreiji (2010)  Drama

Directors: Takeshi Kitano

Writers: Takeshi Kitano

Stars:

 http://Takeshi Kitano, Kippei Shiina and Ryo Kase
THE BUZZ: It's been many years since we've been treated to a new film from the always-welcome Beat Takeshi; last time out, he directed himself to his biggest Stateside success with Zatôichi. Can he top himself with a contemporary Yakuza tale? There's no major release set for this weekend, so one of these art-house films is poised for a breakthrough. Looks like Takeshi is developing a sequel, too.


Shame (2011)  Drama

Directors: Steve McQueen

Writers: Abi Morgan (screenplay), Steve McQueen (screenplay)

Stars:

 http://Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan and James Badge Dale
THE BUZZ: Like Drive before it, Steve McQueen's follow-up to Hunger has earned the strongest reviews of the year from the festival circuit, though this NC-17 foray into the world of sex addiction will be harder to market than an almost-mute Ryan Gosling action movie. Michael Fassbender, looking hollow but heaps more robust than his career launching performance in Hunger, will earn most of the headlines for his endowment, which is often on display, but the true focus should be on McQueen's artful, purposeful, and uncompromising direction. Okay, really I can't wait to see Fassbender naked.