Prisoners  (September 20th)  Hugh Jackman, Terence Howard,  and Octavia Spencer star in this  thriller about missing children. The  plot centers on a pair of families  whose youngest disappear one day  while playing outside. Signs point  to a creepy young man, but no real  evidence is found against him. The  futility of the police’s investigation  pushes the parents to their limits and  leaves two little girls and friends’  humanity in the balance.
Don Jon  (September 27th)  Joseph Gordon Levitt wrote,  directed, and leads a modern  adaptation of the famous womanizer  (traditionally “Don Juan” or “Don  Giovanni”). As your typical brotype,  Jon only cares about sex,  possessions, and his body. When  he meets his newest girl (Scarlet  Johansson), he’s instantly smitten  and makes an effort to change  his ways. Of course, things get  complicated as she discovers his  eccentricities and his parents try to  get him to settle down and start a  family.
Carrie  (October 18th)  A remake of the Stephen King  classic, now featuring Chloe Grace  Moretz in the title role and Julianne  Moore as her fundamentalist  mother. It was originally scheduled  to come out in March (often a  “dump month”), but was pushed  back to October, a prime horror  release window, indicating that the  studio has a good deal of faith in the  film. To be fair, this year has sparse  Halloween competition, so that was  also probably a factor.
Machete Kills  (October 11th)  The originator of (and  pretty much only entry in) the  “Mexploitation” genre is back.  Michelle Rodriguez and director  Robert Rodriguez (no relation)  return alongside Danny Trejo and  bring an all-new, all-star cast,  including Mel Gibson, Sofia Vergara,  Charlie Sheen, and Lady Gaga. Who  really knows what the plot is, but the  last movie featured Trejo repelling  into a hospital window with a man’s  intestines. So, this series either is  your thing or it isn’t.
Catching Fire  (November 22nd)  Katniss, Peeta and Stanley  Tucci return for another round  of the Hunger Games, this time  a tournament of champions. As  Katniss’ (Jennifer Lawrence) fame  rises in proportion to an insurgency,  officials in the capital look for a  way to dispose of her. Katniss,  meanwhile, finds herself torn  between Gale (Liam Hemsworth), a  strapping leader of his people, and  the more meek and loyal Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).  
Gravity  (October 4th)  An intense astronaut adventure  with a minimal cast, foremost  George Clooney and Sandra  Bullock. Alfonso Cuaron (“Children  of Men”) directs the story of a space  explorer (Bullock) who becomes  stranded when debris hits the shuttle  and knocks her into open space.  Cuaron is a fan of single takes, and  the second trailer lives up to that  promise.
The Wolf of Wall Street  (November 15th)  Martin Scorsese reteams Leonardo DiCaprio for a tale  about stock market activity that  is… less than super OK with the  federal government. Jonah Hill  looks like he’s going for another  Best Supporting nomination, not  to mention Leo hoping to break his  perennial “always a bridesmaid”  status at the Oscars.
Captain Phillips  (October 11th)  Tom Hanks trots out his yearly Best Actor run with the true life story of a cargo ship besieged by pirates. The titular maritime leader does his  best to protect his men: fighting off  the boarders with hoses, alerting the  authorities, and even giving himself  up while his men hide. Al jabs at  Hanks aside, the film does look  pretty riveting.
Frozen  (November 27th)  Disney’s latest non-Pixar,  non-Marvel film hits theaters this  Thanksgiving. Kristen Bell and Josh  Gad lend their voices to a tale about  a girl who braves the Arctic weather  to find and rescue her sister, whose  powers have caused years of freeze  and ice.