Weekend at the Movies: Oct. 7

AUSTIN (KXAN) - We're still more than a year away from election day, but political candidates are already jockeying for position.

Jockeying for a place in your weekend movie plans is George Clooney. He plays a governor whose political ambitions may be undone by a hotshot advisor, played by Ryan Gosling.

Gosling gets lost on the campaign trail in "The Ides of March." He plays the press secretary to Clooney's front-running presidential candidate, as they look to lock down the Democratic Party nomination at the Ohio primary. But Gosling's flirtations with both an intern and with a political rival could lead to scandal that threatens to doom the Clooney campaign. "The Ides of March" is rated R.

• Click here to see the movie trailers.

Hugh Jackman trades boxing gloves for battle bots in "Real Steel." He's a down-and-out fighter trying to make a buck on the new sport of robot boxing. But one knockout after another leads him to a junkyard, where his son finds an old sparring bot. The father and son rebuild their strained relationship as they rebuild the old scrapper into a championship contender. "Real Steel" is rated PG-13.

Martin Sheen shares a tense last moment with his son in "The Way." He's a buttoned-up doctor who doesn't approve of his offspring's carefree ways. But when Daniel, played by real-life son Emilio Estevez dies, the father takes up the journey his son started. "The Way" opens in limited theaters this week. It's rated PG-13.

And if you're in the mood for some Saturday morning cartoons, starting at noon the Alamo Ritz is putting on its Cartoon Cereal Party . The cartoon is "Jem."