Rocket Science
Hal, a 15-year-old high-school student with a minor yet socially alienating (and painful) disability: he stutters uncontrollably. Determined to work through the problem, Hal opts for an extreme route he joins the school debating team, which sends him on a headfirst plunge into breakneck speech competitions and offers a much-needed boost toward correcting the problem.
Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Stars: Aaron Yoo Anna Kendrick Denis O'Hare Jonah Hill Margo Martindale Nicholas D'Agosto Reece Thompson Vincent Piazza
Rio
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Stars: Anne Hathaway George Lopez Jamie Foxx Jane Lynch Jemaine Clement Jesse Eisenberg Leslie Mann Rodrigo Santoro Wanda Sykes Will.i.am
The Ringer
Pressured by a greedy uncle (Brian Cox) and a pile of debt, lovable loser Steve Barker (Knoxville) resorts to an unthinkable, contemptible, just-crazy-enough-to-work scheme. He pretends to be mentally challenged to rig the upcoming Special Olympics and bring home the gold. But when Steve's fellow competitors get wise to the con, they inspire him to rise to the greatest challenge of all: becoming a better person.
Director: Barry W. Blaustein
Stars: Bill Chott Brian Cox Edward Barbanell Geoffrey Arend Jed Rees Johnny Knoxville Katherine Heigl Leonard Earl Howze Luis Ávalos Mike Cerrone
The Ref
Caroline and Lloyd are a married couple constantly at each other's throats, masters at crafting acid-tongued barbs at the other's expense. Indeed, they are so obsessed with belittling each other that they never stop -- not even at gunpoint. The gunman is Gus, a thief on the run from the police, who kidnaps the couple as an insurance policy, planning to use their home as a hideout. But their incessant bickering proves more than Gus bargained for, forcing him -- for the sake of his own sanity -- into the unenviable role of peacemaker. To make things even worse for Gus, he discovers that he has taken the couple hostage the night of their big Christmas party, and the guests are already on the way. Not wanting to leave Lloyd and Caroline unattended, Gus opts to attend the party, pretending to be the couple's marriage counselor. This naturally leads to a series of comic confusions, as the hostage crisis and marital tensions head towards their inevitable conclusion.
Director: Ted Demme
Stars: Adam LeFevre Christine Baranski Denis Leary Glynis Johns J.K. Simmons Judy Davis Kevin Spacey Raymond J. Barry Richard Bright Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
Rebound
An acclaimed college hoops coach is demoted to a junior varsity team after a public meltdown.
Director: Steve Carr
Stars: Breckin Meyer Eddy Martin Horatio Sanz Martin Lawrence Megan Mullally Oren Williams Patrick Warburton Steven Anthony Lawrence Steven Christopher Parker Wendy Raquel Robinson
Reality Bites
A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Director: Ben Stiller
Stars: Anne Meara Ben Stiller Ethan Hawke Harry O'Reilly Janeane Garofalo Joe Don Baker John Mahoney Steve Zahn Swoosie Kurtz Winona Ryder