Here in Texas the summer heat has broken and it’s started raining. Kids are headed back to school, and in theaters Tropic Thunder heralded the end of the summer blockbuster season. Hollywood’s fall offerings are now only weeks away, and with the departure of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for warmer climates in summer 2009, the holiday movie season’s top dog position is more wide open than ever.
Whether it’s Oscar contenders, sweeping epics, or fantasy franchises centered around terribly romantic, toothless vampires, Fall 2008 is as packed as any other. They may not all be good, but we’ve got a look at some of the movies most likely to grab your attention in the next few months. Use this as your guide to the must see movies rolling their way into movie theaters this fall. Click the titles below for detailed information on each film, and for a more detail listing of everything hitting theaters for the rest of the year, visit our Upcoming Movies section.
Burn After Reading
Why you should care: The failures of Tom Hanks as Colonel Sanders now long forgotten, the Joel and Ethan Coen could be on another roll after the success of No Country For Old Men. Plus Brad Pitt has wacky hair. Brad’s always at his best when he has wacky hair.
Appaloosa
Why you should care: Viggo Mortensen lets his love of the wild west loose again, this time with Ed Harris as his gun-toting partner in the story of a pair of hired guns cleaning up a corrupt town. Sure you’ll have to put up with Renee Zellweger’s squinting, but it is pretty dusty in New Mexico. Maybe this time she has a good excuse.
Ghost Town
Why you should care: Ricky Gervais plays a man annoyed by ghosts. Will his talent for television rub off on his movies? Most of what we’ve seen from the film so far has seemed pretty bland, but with Gervais involved you have to believe there’s more to this movie than meets the eye.
Lakeview Terrace
Why you should care: Sam Jackson plays a cop who terrorizes his neighbor. What’s not to like? Sam Jackson terrorizing anyone is good. In this case, he’s terrorizing the super-hot Kerry Washington and the soon-to-be Nite Owl Patrick Wilson.
Eagle Eye
Why you should care: A race against time terrorist thriller that’s a little bit Matrix and a little bit Mission Impossible. It’s the movie Rosario ditched a starring role in Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno to be in, and it’s the re-teaming of D.J. Caruso and Shia LaBeouf. The two found big success together in 2007 with Disturbia.
Choke
Why you should care: The always underrated Sam Rockwell stars in the story of depravity and scumbaggery. It got good buzz earlier in the year at Sundance, and the trailers make it look like it’s a filthy delight full of strippers and men boycotting the practice of bathing. If you’re down with dirty, this is your movie.
Blindness
Why you should care: The concept is rife with wickedly cool science fiction possibilities. Julianne Moore stars as the only sighted woman in a world where everyone else has suddenly gone blind. Critics who saw it early were split, and the movie has been retooled since then. Can high-concept work for a wider audience?
Religulous
Why you should care: The movie isn’t even out yet, and people are already offended. Noted Atheist and comedian Bill Maher explores and, probably mocks, the wacky world of religion by talking to people Borat-style. It’s directed by Borat’s Larry Charles, so it’s a method the movie should have down pat.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Why you should care: Because people like singing, CGI dogs? I’m at a loss on this one, but there’s no denying that it has plenty of people, middle-aged women and little kids mostly, pretty excited. See it if you’re looking for something to go to with your mom. Otherwise, find somewhere to hide. The Chihuahuas are coming!
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Why you should care: It stars two youngsters on the rise in 40 Year-Old Virgin’s Kat Dennings and Juno’s Michael Cera. The film follows their adventures clubbing and wandering the city for one night, two people thrust together with nothing in common but their discerning tastes in music, on a quest for a secret rock show and possibly falling in love.
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
Why you should care: Simon Pegg, Jeff Bridges, Kirsten Dunst, and Transformers hotness Megan Fox, that’s why. They star in the story of a bumbling celebrity journalist (Pegg) who stumbles into high society and pisses everyone off.
City of Ember
Why you should care: Bill Murray in a fantasy movie… of sorts. An underground city of lights is running out of power, and its up to two kids and Tim Robbin to save it. Murray plays the city’s deluded mayor, presiding over a world of potentially stunning visual flair.
Body of Lies
Why you should care: Ridley Scott directs another tense thriller, this time pitting his perennial muse Russell Crowe against Martin Scorsese’s current inspiration Leonardo DiCaprio. The plot is a complex mish mash of CIA crosses, double crosses and terrorist threats, but you’re interested because you want to see Russell Crowe and Leo DiCaprio try to act each others’ pants off.
Max Payne
Why you should care: Yeah it’s based on a videogame, which is usually a sure sign of failure. But it’s based on what is by all accounts, a pretty good video game, and the trailers have more of that stunning visual flair I keep drooling all over. Besides, Mark Wahlberg needs to do something good, if he’s ever going to recover from The Happening.
W.
Why you should care: Always controversial director Oliver Stone attempts to sum up the life of a still sitting and still very much hated, U.S. president. Will it be a disaster? Will it be a comedy? What the heck is Stone up to? There’s only one way to find out.
High School Musical 3
Why you should care: The biggest thing in the history of pandering kids TV makes its way to the big screen. On DVD it ripped up sales records, on television it scored huge ratings for Disney… and now your kids are going to force you to see it with them, or at least drop them off at the theater and come back in two hours. Actually, for adults, that’s probably the better option.
Saw V
Why you should care: If it’s Halloween… it must be yet another Saw. It’s become a scare-time tradition, and this year we’ll have yet another incarnation in the ongoing legacy of that sicko Jigsaw. People show no sign of tiring of this thing, and Lionsgate shows no sign of quitting.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Why you should care: Kevin Smith won his battle with the MPAA, and now you’ll get to see the movie as he intended in theaters. The title really says it all, but if that doesn’t do it for you how about Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Justin Long, and Superman Brandon Routh in one of the raunchiest, funniest comedies of the year?
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Why you should care: The first one was a huge hit for DreamWorks, looking for someone to go after running out of steam with Shrek. The entire original voice cast including Ben Stiller, Sacha Baron Cohen, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, and even the dearly departed Bernie Mac as Zuba, returns for more singing and dancing animal attacks. Move it move it!
Quantum of Solace
Why you should care: The 22nd James Bond film may have a somewhat stupid title, but after the success of Casino Royale there’s no doubt it’ll do well. Daniel Craig returns for his second stint as a younger, more thuggish James Bond with a script written by Oscar winner Paul Haggis and directed this time by Finding Neverland auteur Marc Forster.
Australia
Why you should care: Baz Luhrman is back, this time with a movie focused on the cowboy history of his native Australia. To bring his sweeping Oz epic to life, he’s brought along Australia’s biggest stars in Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.
Soul Men
Why you should care: Both Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes appear in this somewhat oddly timed movie about two contentious soul singers coming together to more the death of their band leader. Bernie Mac and Sam Jackson star and sing their way together through the movie, with Hayes in a brief cameo, his last brief cameo, as himself.
Bolt
Why you should care: Disney’s next computer animated adventure is not a Pixar movie. But it does have John Travolta and Miley Cyrus providing voices. In spite of them, the trailers look cute and the story of a dog who plays a superhero on TV and doesn’t realize he isn’t also one in real life, should be lots of fun.
Twilight
Why you should care: Anyone not already familiar with the books on which Twilight is based may be left wondering, what’s the big deal? But the books are huge sellers and they have fans aplenty, fans ready to line up around the block and cheer on this Catherine Hardwicke adaptation of the toothless (literally, no fangs folks) vampire novels.
The Road
Why you should care: It’s based on a book by Cormac McCarthy, the guy who also wrote All the Pretty Horses and No Country For Old Men. Viggo Mortensen stars in the movie version as a man on a post-apocalyptic journey with his son through the aftermath of a world-ending cataclysm.
Milk
Why you should care: Sean Penn as a gay rights icon? Directed by Gus Van Sant? Ah yes. Smell that? It’s the smell of someone frying up November’s biggest bite of Oscar bait.
Transporter 3
Why you should care: Because after sitting through two hours of Sean Penn self-righteousness, you’ll be ready to watch someone kick ass. That someone is Jason Statham, and he’s back driving cars and punching people in the head.
Punisher: War Zone
Why you should care: Because if they keep making Punisher movies long enough, one of them has to be good eventually… doesn’t it? Ok, maybe not.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Why you should care: The latest in a long line of remakes which didn’t need to happen stars Keanu Reeves as an alien come to Earth to warn us we need to change our evil ways. In the original, the alien in question wanted us to stop blowing each other up. In the remake, Keanu wants everyone to drive a Prias.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Why you should care: Brad Pitt continues his fall domination with a time travel flick… of sorts. Based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgeral, Pitt stars alongside Cate Blanchett as a man born in the 80s and aging backwards through time.
Yes Man
Why you should care: Jim Carrey is saying yes to everything these days, even really crummy comedies like this one. Mimicking his own recent career choices, the movie has him playing a man who joins a self-help program which forces him to say “yes” to everything, getting him into all sorts of wacky comedic situations which probably won’t be at all funny.
Seven Pounds
Why you should care: Because it’s not about some minor Will Smith weight gain. Instead, the Fresh Prince goes back after Oscar, re-teaming with the team who made Pursuit of Happyness for a movie about a man who will change the lives of seven strangers.
The Spirit
Why you should care: Director Frank Miller’s presentation at Comic Con was the disaster of the convention, will the movie be better than it looks? Can Frank Miller direct without Robert Rodriguez standing behind him to make sure he won’t screw it up? I’m betting no, but we’ll find out for sure on Christmas.
Bedtime Stories
Why you should care: Adam Sandler plays a hotel handyman who tells bedtime stories which mysteriously seem to come true. At first he uses his newfound powers to get money and chicks and stuff, but when the kids his storytelling to start to interfere his bedtime stories have unexpected consequences. Somewhere along the way it rains brightly colored gumballs.
Marley and Me
Why you should care: Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston learn important life lessons from their neurotic dog. The first teaser trailer seems to be focused on showing us Jennifer Aniston running down a beach, bouncing up and down in slow motion, hopefully this doesn’t mean the lesson has something to do with a resurrection of Baywatch.
Valkyrie
Why you should care: Tom Cruise straps on an eye-patch and plays a Nazi for Bryan Singer in the based on a true story of the guy who almost assassinated Hitler. History says he failed, so don’t expect a happy ending… unless you’re an antisemite.
Revolutionary Road
Why you should care: Titanic’s power couple Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite for director Sam Mendes. Yes, they’re playing a couple, though it’s a couple having marital troubles instead of a new couple having, well, breathing troubles. To solve their marital malaise the couple moves to Paris while the film throws big ideas at the audience and questions the American dream. Wait, people still believe in the American dream? Then what happened to all of the white picket fences?
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