Fall is when the big movie studios bring out their best movies – at least in theory.
This is when most Oscars are won, though.
And, even though summer used to be the lone blockbuster
season, fall is now a place where many a blockbuster can be found.
This fall, viewers will be treated to trips back to Middle
Earth and The Hunger Games – all the while experiencing new worlds like Ender’s
Game and Oldboy.
It looks to be an exciting upcoming movie season.
So, when are this fall’s most anticipated movies hitting
theaters?
12 Years A Slave (Oct. 18): In 1841 a free black man
(Chiwetel Ejiofor) is kidnapped and sold to a sadistic slave owner in the Deep
South. Also starring Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch. I’m in this
one for the cast alone.
All Is Lost (Oct. 18): Robert Redford stars in this movie
about an old man all alone on his sinking sailboat in the Indian Ocean. Yeah,
it sounds pretty boring to me, too.
American Hustle (Dec. 13): Christian Bale, Amy Adams,
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner and Louis C.K. start in this
movie about an unhinged FBI agent, two con artists, a volatile power broker and
a loose-cannon housewife. Yeah, it actually looks hilarious – and you can’t
beat the cast.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Dec. 2): Will Ferrell,
Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and Christina Applegate return for more zany news
station antics. Here’s hoping the second lives up the cult classic nature of
the first movie in the series. That’s going to be a hard pedigree to live up
to, though.
August: Osage County (Dec. 25): Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts,
Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis
and Ewan MacGregor star in this film about a
dysfunctional family and the way they interact with each other. This is
supposed to be a big one.
Carrie (Oct. 18): As a general rule, I loathe horror
remakes. I can count on one hand the number that should have actually been
turned into films. I like Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore a great deal. I
have doubts, though, that this classic needs to be remade. I will probably see
it, though.
The Counselor (Oct. 25): Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt,
Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz unite in this Ridley Scott film about a lawyer
drawn into a drug-running operation. I’m over Pitt, but I’m a big fan of
Fassbender and Barden. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Diana (October TBA): Naomi Watts and Naveen Andrews start in
the true life story of Diana’s later years leading up to her death. Watts is
supposedly Oscar worthy in the role.
Don Jon (Sept. 27): This flick already suffers from a bad
title, so that’s something that’s going to be hard to overcome. Still, this the
cast involved in this movie (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson and
Julianne-Moore) is too good not to at least check out. The movie, directed by
Gordon-Levitt, is about a tough-talking New Jersey guy in the middle of a love
triangle when his heart belongs to someone else – himself.
Ender’s Game (Nov. 1): I’m not going to lie; I liked the
trailer for this. Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford
and Asa Butterfield unite for
this story about a kid who’s recruited by the military to lead humankind’s last
stand against aliens.
Escape Plan (Oct. 18): Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester
Stallone reunite (again) in this 1980s action throwback. This time, they bring
Jim Caviezel along for the ride. I like The Expendables movies – but I’m pretty
much over this duo in anything else.
The Family (Sept. 13): Robert DeNiro is hit or miss these
days. He was great in Silver Linings Playbook and he was terrible in The Big
Wedding. Still, the trailer for this Luc Besson rated R comedy focuses on a Mafioso-turned-snitch
that has trouble adjusting to his new life. Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee
Jones co-star. It has a winning cast, so maybe it will have a winning outcome.
The Fifth Estate (Oct. 18): Benedict Cumberbatch stars as
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Right now I would watch Cumberbatch read the
phone book, but I’ll probably wait until this one comes out on DVD.
Gravity (Oct. 4): Science fiction seems like a weird genre
for Sandra Bullock and George Clooney to meet in – but maybe that’s while it
will work? Alfonso Cuaron is a gifted director and I have a hard time believing
he would make a movie that’s terrible – even though I have a lot of trepidation
about this movie. This is the story of an astronaut (Bullock) stranded in space
after losing sight of her ship and co-pilot (Clooney).
Grudge Match (Dec. 25): Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro
team up for the second time in the same year – and this time they’re joined by
Kim Basinger. This time Stallone and DeNiro play rival pugilists stepping back
in the ring for one last fight. Wasn’t that Rocky Balboa a few years ago?
Her (Nov. 20): Joaquin Phoenix (didn’t he retire) stars as a
soon-to-be divorced man who buys a new
computer operating system (Scarlett
Johansson) whose almost-human voice is so empathetic he begins to fall in low
with “her.” Amy Adams and Rooney Mara also star. I think I’ll pass – despite the
talent involved.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Dec. 13): The three
original Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson are some of my all time
favorite films. I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed in the first
Hobbit movie. Sill, Orlando Bloom is returning in this one and Benedict
Cumberbatch is breathing life into the dragon Smaug. Jackson needs to remember
that you don’t have to pad these movies. The source material stands on its own.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Nov. 22): This is the movie
I’m most looking forward to this fall. This is the middle film in the trilogy
about Katniss Everdeen and the havoc she wreaks in her dystopian world. Most of
the cast is back, including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth,
Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson. They’re joined by newcomers Philip Seymour
Hoffman and Jeffrey Wright, among others. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Insidious: Chapter 2 (Sept. 13): Really? Didn’t we say all
we needed to with the first Insidious? Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne return in
the sequel – even though the first movie was terrible. Can you say pass?
Jack Ryan (Dec. 25): Chris Pine is awesome. That’s all I
have to say. Pairing him with Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley and Kenneth
Brannagh - -in a film directed by Brannagh – only leaves me with warm feelings.
Pine has big shoes to fill – but he’s used to that. I think he’ll be fine.
Kill Your Darlings (Oct. 16): Daniel Radcliffe has proven
himself to be a capable little actor – with or without the wand in his hand.
Michael C. Hall and Ben Foster join him in this film about poet Allen Ginsberg.
Labor Day (Dec. 25): Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star as an
escaped convict who takes shelter with
a mentally fragile and reclusive single
mother.
Last Vegas (Nov. 1): Michael Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan
Freeman and Kevin Kline unite as four boyhood friends that hit Las Vegas for a
bachelor party. You can imagine what hijinks ensue. Still, the cast is
interesting.
Machete Kills (Oct. 11): Robert Rodriguez goes ultra-violent
again. This time he brings back favorite Danny Trejo and pairs him with Mel
Gibson and Carlos Estevez (Charlie Sheen for those that don’t know) and pits
them against each other in the sequel to 2010’s cult hit Machete.
The Monuments Men (Dec. 18): George Clooney, Matt Damon,
Bill Murray, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and Cate Blanchette star in this war
adventure tale. Really? You had me at Bill Murray and John Goodman.
Prisoners (Sept. 20): Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul
Dano, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo and Viola Davis? That’s one power fast. This
ensemble tells the story of a detective searching for two missing young girls
and the anguished father (Jackman) who decides to take the law into his own
hands. This looks like it could be a sleeper hit.
Rush (Sept. 20): This movie will show whether or not Chris Hemsworth has real leading man power
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Dec. 25): Ben Stiller,
Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn and Shirley MacLaine star in this film by Ben Stiller.
I’m over Ben Stiller.
Thor: The Dark World (Nov. 8): All the familiar faces are
back, including Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony
Hopkins as super hero Thor has to entrust estranged brother Loki in his
attempts to save Earth from Christopher Eccleston. It will be interesting to
see if this franchise can live on despite its out there premise. I will be in
theaters opening night.
The Wolf of Wall Street (Nov. 15): Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah
Hill, Matthew McConaughey and Jon Bernthal star in this Martin Scorsese film
about bankers and how much they’re really like mobsters. The cast is too strong
to ignore.
What do you think? What movie are you most looking forward to this fall?
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