The Pitch
When two young office workers (Gordon-Levitt, Deschanel) fall for each other, this unusual rom-com hops, skips and jumps back and forth through the next 500 days, offering a privileged view of the ebb and flow, highs and lows of their relationship -- though not so privileged that we're clued in as to how their story will end.

The Scoop
Any film that features Joseph Gordon-Levitt should not be missed. Among the top tier of young American actors, he makes his every role unforgettable: For proof, check out 2001's "Manic," 2005's "Brick" and 2007's "The Lookout." His performance in "Summer" has been called "utterly brilliant," and co-star Deschanel, no slouch herself as a quirkily authentic actress, is "subtle, stunning." Cinema Blend's Josh Tyler rated this comedy one of the best movies at Sundance this year: "If it's romantic (and it is), it achieves that as only a by-product of something else, something deeper, something bigger, something even more beautiful than the standard boy-meets-girl tale. It's creative, surprising, insightful, and a must see for any lover of great film."

The Pitch
Back in the '60s, red-hot rock 'n' roll pulsed out from Rock Radio, a pirate station broadcasting from a rusty freighter somewhere in the North Sea. Teenyboppers loved it; Whitehall twits got their gaiters snarled with outrage. While a pair of colorful DJs (Hoffman, Ifans) joust for supremacy, uptight government men Dormandy and Twatt (Kenneth Branagh, Jack Davenport) plot to torpedo sex, drugs and the devil's music -- along with the boat that rocks.

The Scoop
"Boat"'s a high-concept pitch, with a supercharged soundtrack of '60s hits and a crew of wonderfully talented and funny folk, including deliciously silky Nighy, Hoffman (on recess from Oscar-bait movies) and Branagh (on recess from Shakespeare), Ifans (remember his breakout role as "Notting Hill"'s etiolated wingnut?) and Frost (sadly set adrift by Simon Pegg). Despite all that, it must be said that the film foundered in England, most reviewers faulting director Richard Curtis ("Love Actually") for wasted actors and a leaky narrative that goes nowhere.

The Pitch
Brüno, an outrageously gay fashion groupie, sashays through the U.S.A., doing what Baron Cohen's Borat did so well before him.

The Scoop
Back in 2006, Defamer.com punk'd many folks by announcing that the title of Cohen's next mockumentary would be "Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt." Spoof or not, the title works. Whether American audiences will embrace Cohen's super-swish or even stand still for more scathing satire of our clueless citizenry is an open question. Face it, Sacha, low-camp Brüno could never hold a candle to Borat and Ali G.

The Pitch
Young Thomas Uncles (Damon Wayans Jr.) -- gotta love that moniker! -- hooks up with a white hottie (Shoshana Bush) to compete in a humongous dance-off.

The Scoop
Is there a Wayans-nation in the works? Continuing to cash in on the "Every movie genre must get spoofed!" school of filmmaking, the burgeoning clan ("White Chicks," "Scary Movie 2," "Scary Movie") now sends up the dance flick, from "Flashdance" and "Dirty Dancing" to "You Got Served" and "How She Move." So step up to outrageous and tasteless and maybe even hilarious. Gross-out Exhibit No. 1: A superpregnant dance contestant pops out a baby who slides across the dance floor to fetch up in a perfect hip-hop pose.

The Pitch
When George, a successful stand-up comic (Sandler), gets the news he's afflicted with a fatal illness, he can't stop cracking wise even while the doc's trying to let him down easy. Preparing to meet his maker, George hires a personal assistant, an aspiring comic (Rogen) for whom he is a living -- for now -- icon. Naturally, bromance blossoms -- which doesn't stop George from making one last move on the girl (Leslie Mann) who got away.

The Scoop
OK, how can this not be a fall-down-funny movie, given this premise, cast and crew? Well, for starters, here's writer-director-producer and all-round king of comedy Judd Apatow ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up," "You Don't Mess With the Zohan"): "I'm trying to make a very serious movie that is twice as funny as my other movies. Wish me luck!" A first look at "Funny" catches smart-ass Sandler projecting that strangely effective sweetness he's occasionally capable of -- and Rogen, Schwartzman ("The Darjeeling Limited") and Hill ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall") come off as a surprisingly empathic support group.

The Pitch
McConaughey plays a womanizing jerk whose cynicism curdles his younger brother's happiness on the eve of his wedding. But comeuppance looms, as the ghosts of all the girls this Casanova has dumped show up, to escort him through past, present and future love affairs -- all washouts and dead ends.

The Scoop
Clever notion this: Scrooge as misogynistic horn dog, electroshocked by therapeutic trips down memory lane and a scary vision of the future. Merry Christmas, Mr. McConaughey, and bless us studs every one! Director Mark Waters helmed both "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday," so let's bank on his injecting some acerbic hilarity into McConaughey's odyssey from free spirit to marriage-worthy grown-up. Otherwise, enjoy eyeballing official hunkdom, along with the possibility of actual acting from Garner, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer and Robert Forster.

The Pitch
In order to save a car dealership from going broke, Don Ready (Piven) and his motley crew throw themselves into sales big-time -- taking lots of pit stops to down mass quantities of booze and ogle strippers. But then true love rears its pretty head, spoiling all the fun.

The Scoop
Produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, responsible for the unspeakably hilarious "Talladega Nights" and the just plain unspeakable "Step Brothers," "Goods" will surely run on raunchy humor (Don Ready's mantra: "I have hair on my balls, and I sell cars. The end.") and high-schoolish hijinks (like inciting a revolution to restore humankind's God-given rights to smoke on airplanes). Is "Entourage"'s über-agent up to carrying a feature-length comedy? First-time director Neal Brennan brings street cred -- he wrote, produced, directed and co-created "Chappelle's Show" -- so if Piven can deliver, and Helms, Riggle, and Koechner are up to their usual comic speed, "Goods" might actually make a box-office killing.

The Pitch
Doug's getting hitched, so naturally he and his three pals (Helms, Cooper, Galifianakis) go totally berserk during the mother-of-all bachelor parties. Trouble is, next morning Doug has disappeared, a tiger owns the bathroom and a baby is nesting in the closet. How to reconstruct what happened in Vegas, so that the boys can find their friend in time for his Los Angeles wedding?

The Scoop
There are actually fans who pant for the latest Peter Pan laff-fest from Todd Phillips ("Frat House," "Road Trip," "Old School") -- and what better launchpad for adolescent hijinks than a wedding and Vegas, fave comedy elements in far too many recent flicks. Hunkish Cooper is definitely a comedic up-and-comer, graduating from TV's "Alias" to the guy who so memorably tackled Vince Vaughn in "Wedding Crashers" to "He's Just Not That Into You" and "All About Steve." "Daily Show" vet and Angela's hapless fiancé on "The Office," Ed Helms just oozes funny, while Zach Galifianakis must have been typecast on the strength of his stellar turn as Dave the Bear in "What Happens in Vegas." Party on, dudes!

The Pitch
High points of über-nerd Dennis Cooverman's (Rust) valedictory speech: a passionate declaration of love for the hottest girl (Panettiere) in high school and a major diss of her jock boyfriend. That night, Beth Cooper -- in the voluptuous flesh -- makes a house call! Will the Cooverman's dreams come true -- or will that vengeful boyfriend turn the enchanted evening into our boy's worst nightmare?

The Scoop
This low-rent rom-com could shape up as a hybrid of "Home Alone" (directed by Columbus back in the '90s) and "Superbad," the gold standard of male adolescent fantasy. Remains to be seen whether it will tickle the funny bones of anyone who doesn't worship Seth Rogen and Michael Cera. A survivor of "Psycho Sleepover," Rust probably won't measure up to that duo's comic deftness -- and Panettiere, slumming, might prefer to be swimming with dolphins.