Fall Movie Preview

By Nate Storey

10 to See
These are the films that are must-see. That includes Oscar-probables, as well as the best looking comedies, dramas, and action films.

Burn After Reading
Director: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Stars: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton
Release Date: September 12
Synopsis: Two gym employees happen upon a disc that contains an ex-CIA operative’s tell-all manuscript and they attempt to blackmail the operative.
My Take: This is probably one of the top films of the fall, coming from the Coen Brothers and featuring many of their go-to actors (Clooney, McDormand, etc.). This is their first film since the Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men and clearly harkens back to their zanier comedic roots such as Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Choke
Director: Clark Gregg
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald
Release Date: September 26
Synopsis: A sex-addicted man who spends his days working at Colonial Williamsburg and his nights pretending to choke on food at restaurants to get money for his mother’s hospital bills
My Take: I’ve long thought this Chuck Palahniuk novel would be a good candidate for film adaptation, and it will be interesting to see if this is as well liked as Fight Club, though we should not expect them to be comparable, as they are very different novels.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Director: Peter Sollett
Stars: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings
Release Date: October 3
Synopsis: Nick and Norah pretend to be a couple but end up kissing, leading to a first date that lasts all night and travels all across New York City.
My Take: Michael Cera is one of my favorite awkward young actors, and I readily await anything he’s involved with. I also look forward to learning what songs find their way onto the titular playlist.

Body of Lies
Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong
Release Date: October 10
Synopsis: An ex-journalist works with a tough CIA operative who will not tolerate failure.
My Take: The combo of DiCaprio and Crowe and Scott and William Monahan (writer of The Departed) all working together is extremely exciting and the modern setting in the Middle East should provide a strong backdrop.

W.
Director: Oliver Stone
Stars: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd
Release Date: October 17
Synopsis: The film follows the rise of George W. Bush as he ascends to the White House.
My Take: This is one of the most highly anticipated films of the season and despite Oliver Stone’s misses, this should be a highly interesting interpretation of the President’s life. It will surely be controversial and undoubtedly will benefit of being released while Bush is still in office. Josh Brolin has set himself as the “it” man of late and steals most every scene he is in, no matter what movie.

Synecdoche, New York
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams
Release Date: October 24
Synopsis: A theatre director deals with his work, relationships and more as he tries to build a life-size version of New York for his upcoming play.
My Take: This has all the markings of greatness. Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine, Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) gets the chance to direct his own work finally and Philip Seymour Hoffman is pretty much perfect in everything he does.

RocknRolla
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba
Release Date: October 31
Synopsis: London’s underworld goes crazy in a power grab following a real-estate scam which leaves millions up in the air.
My Take: This looks like it could be just as entertaining as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, or at least in the same ballpark. Expect lots of explosions, lots of swearing (which always sound better when delivered with a British accent), and lots of bloodshed.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Director: Kevin Smith
Stars: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks
Release Date: October 31
Synopsis: Two friends decide to make a porno to get some money, and discover hidden feelings for each other.
My Take: With the most recent trailer having just been released, I now have a better idea of how this film will look and feel (the title kinda says it all about what it will be about), and this looks like one of Kevin Smith’s best films in awhile (certainly better than Jersey Girl and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back).

Quantum of Solace
Director: Marc Forster
Stars: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric
Release Date: November 14
Synopsis: After picking up where the previous Bond movie left off, James Bond hunts down a ruthless businessman with connections to his former love interest’s betrayal.
My Take: Casino Royale was a great action film, and I can’t wait to see what they cook up this time. The title doesn’t bother me or seem that awkward, and the trailer is extremely exciting.

Milk
Director: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch
Release Date: December 5
Synopsis: The film tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay city supervisor of San Francisco in 1977.
My Take: The Academy loves biopics and it looks like Sean Penn went all out for the role. Now, I’m not usually a fan of Penn, but when he pulls off a role, he can knock it out of the park ( Mystic River).

10 With Potential
These are the films that look like they could be good, but either not enough information is known at this point or it’s just too early to tell based on what has been seen.

The Duchess
Director: Saul Dibb
Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper
Release Date: September 19
Synopsis: The film tells the story of Georgiana Cavendish, an 18th century aristocrat who endured a difficult marriage to the Duke of Devonshire, and was known for her beauty, political maneuvers, and gambling indulgences.
My Take: If there’s anything Keira Knightley is good at, it seems; its period pieces, so expect this film to do well and be well-received. However, at this point, I’m kind of wishing she’d branch out and do something else.

Towelhead
Director: Alan Ball
Stars: Summer Bishil, Aaron Eckhart, Peter Macdissi
Release Date: September 26
Synopsis: A young Arab-American teen goes to live with her strict father in Texas.
My Take: This could be a strong indie darling film, and it sounds like it focuses on interesting topics. The writers also did American Beauty, which is an all around amazing film. Look for this one to show up at The Majestic soon.

Blindness
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael García Bernal
Release Date: September 26
Synopsis: Society suddenly begins to loose sight and only one woman remains able to see.
My Take: The trailers for this look interesting, but not exceptional and Fernando Meirelles has shown he is a talented director (see City of God or The Constant Gardener), but I’m not sure about casting (Ruffalo and Moore as a couple? It just feels awkward).

Eagle Eye
Director: D.J. Caruso
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson
Release Date: September 26
Synopsis: A young man and a single mother are framed by a mysterious voice over the phone which blackmails them into helping an unknown terrorist cell.
My Take: This looks like it has a lot in it that the trailers are not explicitly revealing, so it has potential, but despite the recent good work Shia LaBeouf has done, he still looks like the 12-year old I remember from Evens Stevens, and that is hard for me to shake.

Appaloosa
Director: Ed Harris
Stars: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger
Release Date: October 3
Synopsis: Two lawmen fight to save a town from a tyrannical rancher.
My Take: Ed Harris and Viggo Mortenson look to make a decent pairing as Harris returns to the director’s chair. His first directorial attempt was the award-winning Pollock. Westerns are tricky though, and can be hit or miss (Unforgiven vs. The Quick and the Dead).

City of Ember
Director: Gil Kenan
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Toby Jones, Bill Murray
Release Date: October 10
Synopsis: The underground City of Ember’s lights and generator are beginning to fade after years of helping the city’s inhabitants survive a holocaust. Two teenagers struggle to find the truth of the city’s origins and help the inhabitants escape their dying city.
My Take: This sounds like a fun fantasy story ready to be adapted to the screen, though fantasies are hard to adapt and this could end up sputtering as some recent attempts have done.

Religulous
Director: Larry Charles
Stars: Bill Maher
Release Date: November 5
Synopsis: Bill Maher, an atheist and comedian, attempts to learn about different world religions.
My Take: Bill Maher teams up with the director of Borat, which could lead to an interesting and amusing film. This is a film to keep your eye on.

Role Models
Director: David Wain
Stars: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks
Release Date: November 7
Synopsis: Two energy drink reps are forced to work in a Big Brother program after narrowly missing out on going to jail.
My Take: This looks like it could have been a Judd Apatow film, but it isn’t, which to me seems like an good reason to give it a chance. Also, Paul Rudd is a scene stealer, and I’m glad he’s getting some more lead roles.

Bolt
Director: Byron Howard & Chris Williams
Stars: John Travolta, Susie Essman, Mark Walton
Release Date: November 21
Synopsis: Bolt has played a superhero dog on TV his whole life and assumes that he truly is gifted with great strength and power. A mistake leaves him loose in New York City and he must find his way across the country with no one but a housecat and a hamster for company.
My Take: CGI movies are either fun for everyone or they try too hard and end up looking horrible. This looks to fall closer to the former, but Disney’s recent CGI film attempts have been less than stellar. Both Meet the Robinsons and Chicken Little were received poorly.

The Road
Director: John Hillcoat
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Release Date: November 26
Synopsis: In the wake of an unexplained apocalyptic event, a father and son trek south to find a more suitable home.
My Take: It seems that the second one Cormac McCarthy novel struck paydirt, they rushed this one into production, which worries me about the quality of the script. Still, the novel is a Pulitzer prize winner, so that means they story is probably still good (as long as they didn’t change or add too much).

6 to Skip
These films look so appallingly bad and insulting to the intelligence of the nation that they should be avoided at all costs.

Bangkok Dangerous
Director: Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang
Stars: Nicolas Cage
Release Date: September 5
Synopsis: A hitman works in Bangkok falls in love with a local mute woman and has an errand boy.
My Take: Nicholas Cage needs to stop trying to be an action star, mostly because his hair is all wrong (even when it’s fake). This remake will most definitely be horrible and suffers all the more because in the original it is the hitman who is mute, not the love interest. I also don’t understand why the directors of the original would agree to remake their own film in English while changing the story and the characters.

My Best Friend’s Girl
Director: Howard Deutch
Stars: Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs
Release Date: September 19
Synopsis: One man makes a living by going on dates with people’s recent ex’s in an attempt to drive them back to their former boyfriends.
My Take: I’m tired of Dane Cook trying to act, mostly because he has one character, and he keeps taking these roles in the lowest denominator films.

Lakeview Terrace
Director: Neil LaBute
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington
Release Date: September 19
Synopsis: An LAPD cop tries to force out the new interracial couple next door.
My Take: I’ve seen the trailer several times in theatres, and my main problem with this film is that I can’t really relate to anyone in the picture. Samuel L Jackson comes off as a jerk and the couple seems derivative and boring.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Director: Raja Gosnell
Stars: Drew Barrymore, George Lopez
Release Date: October 3
Synopsis: A pampered Chihuahua gets lost in Mexico and must learn of her ancestors.
My Take: This looks like a biopic of Paris Hilton’s dog. Why would anyone want to see that?

The Haunting of Molly Hartley
Director: Mickey Liddell
Stars: Haley Bennett, Chace Crawford
Release Date: October 31
Synopsis: Molly Hartley looks to escape her troubled past at a new school, but a terrible fate awaits her as she nears her 18 th birthday.
My Take: Watching the trailer, the first thing that comes to mind is that it reminds me of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which is among the biggest wastes of money I’ve spent money on in theatres.

Twilight
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke
Release Date: November 21
Synopsis: A young teenage girl moves into a small town and falls for her classmate who turns out to be a vampire.
My Take: Teenage girls everywhere will flock to see this, but I vote to steer clear. The trailers are less than exciting and the synopsis of the book makes it seem like it’s 300 pages of angst and 100 pages of actual conflict and story.