Movies for the new year

Film fans often embrace the new year as they draw closer and closer to the coming year's most anticipated flicks. Echoing a trend of years past, many of the most anticipated films of 2013 are sequels, prequels and reboots of classic films and stories. Expect some blockbuster action flicks and favorite heroes to once again enchant the masses. Here are some of the films that figure to garner audience attention in 2013.

* Texas Chainsaw 3D: Leatherface will once again grace the big screen, this time displaying his standard gore and violence in 3D. Hundreds of miles away from the original massacre, a young woman learns she has inherited a Texas estate from a grandmother she never knew. When she goes to collect her wealth, she discovers horror in the Victorian mansion that is now hers.

* Iron Man 3: Tony Stark is forced to go up against his most powerful enemy yet. Will he be able to conquer the Mandarin?

* A Good Day to Die Hard: John McClane is back in a new adventure when he travels to Russia to help out his son who seems to have gone astray. But Jack is really a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear weapons heist. Father and son must team up to prevail.

* Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters: Those who enjoyed the classic children's tale of Hansel and Gretel are in for a surprise when the story is turned on its head. Hansel and Gretel are now 15 years older and are specialized bounty hunters looking to annihilate witches.

* Man of Steel: Followers of the Superman franchise will no doubt tune in to watch this new take on the well-known tale of an alien baby who grows up with super-human powers.

* The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: The popular follow-up to one of last year's biggest hits is slated for late 2013. Heroine Katniss faces the anger of The Capitol after her rebellion and defiance helped her win the annual Hunger Games.

* Jack the Giant Slayer: This drama takes an adult perspective of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" legend. After a princess is captured, the long-standing peace between humans and giants is altered. Jack, a young farmer, is given the chance to enter the giants' kingdom in hopes of a rescue.

* Oz: The Great and Powerful: Another children's tale to be revamped, this movie focuses on the wizard from "The Wizard of Oz," telling the story of how a Kansas charlatan became the Great and Powerful Wizard.

* Star Trek Into Darkness: The USS Enterprise's crew is thrown into another chapter of space exploration.

* The Wolverine: Logan must confront a mysterious figure from his past and wage an epic battle that could change his life forever. This film loosely follows the early 1980s comic book miniseries.

* The Smurfs 2: The little blue guys are back, and this time they're up against evil wizard Gargamel's newest threat: mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties.

* Safe Haven: A young woman arrives in North Carolina, where she develops a bond with a widower. The relationship could reveal the dark secret that haunts her mysterious past.

* The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: This movie will tell the story of Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and the scary adventure he takes with 13 dwarves.