Though it happens twice a year, every year, Daylight Saving Time seem to sneak up on people anyway. This Sunday we’ll be setting our clocks forward one hour, losing 60 minutes of precious sleep in the process, but Hollywood is rolling out a new batch of movies to entice us into theaters with the time we have left.

The big story at the box office this weekend is Watchmen, the much-anticipated film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ popular 1986 comic book series of the same name. The film, directed by Zack Snyder (300), stars Jackie Earle Haley (The Bad News Bears), Patrick Wilson (The Phantom of the Opera), Malin Akerman (27 Dresses), Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) and Matthew Goode (Match Point), as a band of superheroes in 1985 who unearth a plot to destroy and discredit all past and present superheroes. While the film has been eagerly awaited by fans of the graphic novels, it has also faced many challenges getting to theaters, including budget issues and concerns that the source material is too complex for the big screen. Despite these difficulties, the film’s makers hope that the cult-like following the comic books enjoy will transfer to box office success this weekend.

Following in the action/thriller vein is The Horsemen, a film centered on a mysterious serial killer and the detective trying to bring him down. Dennis Quaid (The Right Stuff) stars as emotionally stunted and recently widowed detective Aidan Breslin, who begins investigating a series of gruesome murders which reflect the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as described in the Bible: War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. While the film sounds a lot like Seven, the 1995 Brad Pitt vehicle about a serial killer who patterns his killings after the Seven Deadly Sins, The Horsemen hopes to bring something unique to the murder/thriller genre.

Two foreign films round out the selection of new movies opening this weekend. The first, 12, is a Russian film which is an adaptation of a Reginald Rose play entitled Twelve Angry Men and a remake of the 1957 Sidney Lumet movie with the same title. Nikita Mikhalkov directs and stars in this version, which tells the story of 12 jurors who are given the task of deciding the guilt or innocence of a young Chechen boy who is accused of killing his stepfather, a Russian military officer. As the jury tries to come to a unanimous decision, the difficult life of the boy is revealed in flashbacks. The film presents audiences with not only a glimpse into the dynamic psychological aspects of serving on a jury but also into the complex history of the conflicted relationship between Russia and Chechnya. It’s a tall undertaking for a film that clocks in at less than three hours in length, but one which has been recognized and rewarded at international film festivals around the globe.

Finally, following loosely in the tradition of films such as Paris, Je T’aime and New York, I Love You, Tokyo! is actually the catch-all name for three separate short films directed by a triumvirate of non-Japanese directors. The films share the common setting in Japan’s bustling capital. The first featurette is entitled Interior Design and is the work of inventive director Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and follows a poor, artistic couple struggling to live and make their art in Tokyo. Merde is the offering of French director Léos Carax (The Lovers on the Bridge), which follows a wretched Tokyo sewer-dweller and a pompous French magistrate visiting the city. Finally, Shaking Tokyo, directed by Korean monster-movie guru Bong Joon-ho (The Host), examines the relationship between a shut-in and a lovely young delivery woman in need of his help. Tokyo! packs three films by award-winning international directors into one movie, which sounds like a pretty good deal to us.

—John Bavoso