DailyCandy

The stars: Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham
The gist: The Zefron channels Cole Trickle to play Dean Whipple, a farm boy speed racer with daddy issues. From Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Man Push Cart) comes an American story with great writing, smart direction, and beautiful lighting, even if it is a little corny at times.
The buzz: Aside from Lee Daniels’s The Paperboy, we haven’t seen the Z-man in an R-rated flick. He drops the F-bomb, plays with guns, and gets frisky with an older local (Graham) — awkward.

(Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)