It's that time of year again. Here is a preview of the movies that will be
released over the next three months.


October 2 - A Serious Man

The Coen Brothers strike again. They've really been cranking them out lately,
and the quickened pace doesn't seem to have hurt the quality. Despite the
title, this is one of their more comedic works, which of course are no less
dark than their pure thrillers.

October 2 - Whip It

Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with this girl power sports flick
starring Ellen Page. It doesn't look or sound good at all, but the early word
from the Toronto film festival (critics and audiences alike) is spectacular.
I'm interested.

October 6 - The Wild Stallion

HORSEY!

October 9 - An Education (limited)

The IMDb: "A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban
London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice
her age." The limited release will be an Oscar-qualifying run; presumably,
it will expand from there if it does well.

The pedigree here is the screenwriter Nick Hornby, who wrote About a Boy and
Fever Pitch.

October 16 - Where the Wild Things Are

Anticipation has been high on this one for years. When stories broke out
about re-editing in the aftermath of a preview screening that had little
kids scared and crying, fans of the book and of director Spike Jonze were
paranoid that the studio was dumbing down Jonze's cut. Jonze denied that
this was the case, but I would not be surprised if the film was never quite
THAT edgy in the first place. Still, Jonze is crazy, weird, and ingenious,
and it seems highly unlikely that he would have created the usual sort of
mainstream children's book adaptation. Although the trailer looks kind of
unappealing, I suspect that's simply because the movie is too complex and
nuanced to sell in sound bites. Which is weird, because the book cover does
the book justice enough.

October 16 - The Road

A father and son wander a post-apocalyptic America. Together, they search
desperately for their one last chance of survival: I Am Legend's box office
grosses.

Kidding aside, a movie with Charlize Theron, Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, and
Robert Duvall will at least have some great acting to look at.

October 20 - Wildfire: The Arabian Heart

HORSEY!

October 23 - Astro Boy

The original anime is reborn in 3D.

October 23 - Amelia

A biopic about Amelia Earhart, one of the most famous missing persons in recent
history. In an attempt to fly around the world in 1937, she disappeared
somewhere over the Pacific and was never heard from again. Probably what
really happened to her was simple and tragic, but the unknown inspires us to
speculate about stranger tales. I'm not sure how fanciful this film will get,
but perhaps not at all.

The film looks to be an Oscar contender and may land Hilary Swank her third
nomination. Ewan McGregor, Richard Gere, and Christopher Eccleston are also
in it.

October 23 - Saw VI

Good grief.

October 27 - Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (direct to DVD)

The second of at least four direct-to-DVD Tinker Bell features planned, all
being released in consecutive years. Although these have direct roots to
the classic Disney version of Peter Pan, it's nice that Disney is no longer
banging out terrible sequels to EVERY animated movie in their canon anymore.
And last year's Tinker Bell movie, while unseen by me, appears to have been
well liked.

November 6 - The Box

You loved the moral quandary! Now see the film!

"The Box" is about a young couple who are gifted with a wooden box with a
button. If they press it, they'll get a million dollars -- but it will kill
another human being, someone they don't know, somewhere else in the world.
Curiously, this is not the first movie based on a philosophical question about
morals. "Return To Paradise" (1998) explored a variant of the prisoner's
dilemma, which is also the crux of the game show "Deal Or No Deal."

Although movies like this seem like they're made more for pitches than actual
audiences, quandaries like these can be great starting points for intelligent,
character-centered psychological dramas. I don't know about this one, though.
If the story doesn't grow beyond the central conceit, it seems doubtful it can
give us anything that a thousand classroom, dinner table, and Internet debates
can provide.

November 6 - The Men Who Stare At Goats

The IMDb summary: "A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime
when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S.
Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their
missions."

What is it about the word "Iraq" that's such a turn-off? Probably it's
because we're sick enough of the real life war, and perhaps also because it
conjures thoughts of liberal Hollywood preaching to the masses -- something
that can be almost as grating to other liberals as to conservatives.

The sheer volume of Iraq war movies is itself a breach with movie history.
Also there were some patriotic WWII movies made in the 40s, by and large the
rule of thumb is that war movies are historical, and if there is any
commentary on a current war, it's reflected through the portrayal of an
earlier war. The reasoning is simple: you can't talk about contemporary
political issues directly without immediately polarizing audiences at the
first mention. Disguise what you're really talking about just a little, and
you can actually get people to look at and consider something from a different
perspective. (This is also why science fiction is such a good vehicle for
social commentary. You can make up proxies to stand in for whole peoples and
nations without tainting them with all the preconceptions audiences bring
with them.)

I'm not necessarily a huge proponent of the idea. Wars are different and
probably shouldn't be confused with each other by projecting the circumstances
and perceptions and issues of one through another. I'm just saying: it's
really odd that so many filmmakers are talking about the Iraq war BY ACTUALLY
TALKING ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR. That the vast majority of these films have tanked
at the box office just goes to show why so many smarter storytellers use
allegory.

November 13 - The Boat That Rocked

I wrote about this Richard Curtis comedy in last April's Summer Movie Preview.
The U.S. release got postponed, but it's already been seen in the rest of the
western world. People like it.

November 20 - Planet 51

An animated movie about an astronaut that lands on Planet 51 and finds little
green men who are afraid of alien invaders. This doesn't appear to be coming
from an established animation house, but that would have been weirder ten
years ago than today. Animation isn't an exclusive club anymore.

November 20 - The Blind Side

The IMDb summary: "The Blind Side depicts the remarkable true story of
Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home,
taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his
potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them
to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new
environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to
overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the
help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive
left tackle. In the latest chapter of his inspiring story, Oher was a First
Round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, selected by the Baltimore Ravens.
The Touhys were there to share the moment with him."

It sounds pretty dry to me, but then I'm not a sports guy, and I like football
least of all. Sandra Bullock, however...that's another story.

November 20 - The Twilight Saga: New Moon

If you'd like this, you don't need me to tell you about it.

November 25 - Fantastic Mr. Fox

Although a lesser-known Roald Dahl story than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
or James and the Giant Peach, I loved this book just as much as the others when
I was a kid. The movie trailer (though the easy recognizability of George
Clooney's voice as the title character feels wrong) looks like a lot of fun.
I love the look of the animation, which has that quirky, unearthly feel of
old-style claymation, instead of the soulless perfection of CG.

November 25 - Nine

A stage musical based on Fellini's 8 1/2? I'm there. It's not something I'd
ever have thought of (except as a joke, like, "Hey, someone should write a
video game based on L'Avventura!"), but the original film had all the
sensibility of a Gene Kelly dream sequence *anyway*, so why not go all the
way?

As for the story, there's something greatly compelling (and much more universal
that the specifics of any one film, however much a masterpiece) about tormented
artists when that torment is actually about something. When you get artists
who are in love with their own work, good or not, it's not all that interesting.
But here's a guy who is driven to art (and fame) because of an obsessive
frustration over how to reconcile the women in his life -- romantic interests,
yse, but also his mother, his agent, his muse, and so on. People searching
for answers are inherently interesting characters anyway, but people driven
to create great or even bad art in the process are intriguing in a way I'd
have to create some art to even comprehend.

November 25 - Ninja Assassin

With that title, it pretty much HAS to be good, right?

November 25 - Old Dogs

From the director of Wild Hogs comes Old Dogs (to be followed, I hope, by
Bull Frogs). It's about Robin Williams and John Travolta, business partners,
who suddenly find themselves caring for 7-year-old twins. Hilarity, or
something, ensues. Prediction: This will be Stephen's favorite film of 2009.

December 4 - Brothers

A remake of the 2004 Danish film about a family pulling itself together after
a guy goes missing in Afghanistan. Director Jim Sheridan has a strange
filmography: his last two movies were the great "In America" and the
deplored "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'". Has he lost it, or was that a fluke?

December 4 - Serious Moonlight

I can't do better than the IMDb's description for this one: "A high-powered
attorney duct tapes her adulterous husband to the toilet...right before
their home is invaded by burglars." Sounds serious.

December 4 - Up In the Air

George Clooney's third movie of the season is a comedy-drama about a "corporate
downsizing expert" -- surely the abused movie profession of all time -- whose
bachelor's lifestyle is threatened when a woman catches his eye. The early
word is very good, but it certainly doesn't look good in summary. Still,
director Jason Reitman is two for two, and it's hard to imagine him making a
movie that isn't smart.

December 11 - Invictus

It wouldn't be Oscar season without a Clint Eastwood movie. They say directing
is a young man's game, and indeed many great directors flame out early. But
it seems like Eastwood has only just gotten started. He's been successful
enough lately to provoke some backlash, even. But the reality is that even a
weak Eastwood is a good film these days, and as likely as not he'll churn out
something great. This time around, he's chronicling the life of Nelson
Mandela, played by Morgan Freeman. Matt Damon also stars.

December 11 - Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker witness a murder in New York City and must
be relocated to Wyoming in the witness protection program and probably, I dunno,
rediscover their love or something. Expect lots of comically exaggerated
double takes at things like cows and outhouses.

Wrapping back around to the Coens, you know what's great about them? Their
films feel arguably more authentically American than anybody else's today.
They've set their movies in all over the country -- many in rural places but
also in cities like Hollywood and New York City. Somehow, they always seem to
capture the feel of life in those places without ever deliberately focusing on
the quirks that *make* them different. You never get that comic double take
when the city girl discovers that a chicken has wandered into the bathroom,
or when a hillbilly discovers there's a potty in the house. They don't
exaggerate or idealize. You see Irma P. Hall in The Ladykillers or Frances
McDormand in Burn After Reading or Josh Brolin in No Country For Old Men (just
to pick some recent examples) and you realize, without quite knowing why, how
inextricably they are tied to those places. And it all feels completely
authentic in a way that these silly fish out of water stories don't get.

But I suppose that's what happens when your writers actually *have* grown up
outside of a studio lot.

December 11 - The Princess and the Frog

Much ado has been made about Disney's return to its roots, with this
traditionally animated fairy tale story. Seeing the trailer makes me realize
just how much I've missed hand-drawn animation. I *really* loved Enchanted,
but I was also afraid it heralded the death of this age-old genre.
(Historically, once something gets a successful parody, it's hard to go back
and do it seriously and un-self-consciously again.) I love Pixar as much as
anybody, but the success of CG needn't turn a whole medium into a lost art.

The production is headed up by the team who did The Great Mouse Detective,
The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet (this last a weak
entry but better than people gave it credit for). I'm excited.

Much ado has also been made about the race of the lead character. She'll be
the first black character to lead a Disney animated film, which is kind of
exciting. But there has also been a smattering of complaints, too. One,
the character apparently doesn't spend a lot of time in human form, so the
racial distinction is lost; two, the story has some New Orleans voodoo
mysticism in it, which is seen as reinforcing stereotypes. I think both of
these criticisms have merit...if the purpose of the project was to introduce
a black character into the Disney canon. If, on the other hand, the purpose
of the project was to tell this particular story, how else would one go
about it?

I suspect the complaints will evaporate once the movie comes out. It's pretty
evident just from the trailer that they've created a great character here.
If audiences wind up loving her as they love so many other Disney characters,
nothing else will matter.

December 11 - The Lovely Bones

After making Return of the King, Peter Jackson said he owed a small movie to
his wife, screenwriter Fran Walsh. King Kong was not a small movie, but he
finally got around to The Lovely Bones...and then seems to have made that a
big movie, too. While the story certainly seems to be a dark and intimate
character drama (albeit with fantastical elements), the *look* of it is...huge.
I don't know how else to describe it. Watch the trailer. It's stunning.

In a nutshell, a girl is murdered, and she watches over her family and killer
from the afterlife. She struggles with the love of her family and her desire
for vengeance, which come into conflict somehow.

I just hope Mark Wahlberg doesn't screw it up. Directed well, he can shine,
as in The Departed; directed poorly, and he's downright embarrassing, as in
The Happening. Jackson is a great storyteller, but I don't know how tightly
he holds his actors' reins.

December 18 - Avatar

James Cameron really shouldn't have taken those 12 years off, at least
insofar as priming audience expectations go. As with The Phantom Menace and
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a prolonged absence from a sensation raises
expectations to impossible heights. James Cameron, the definitive sci-fi
action director of the 80s and 90s, flew the coup after Titanic, still the
highest grossing film of all time. Apparently he wanted to get involved in
other types of things, like deep sea documentaries and I don't know what else.
Which is great, if that's what he wanted to do. But it creates an
impossibility for his comeback film, an impossibility complicated further by
the hype about how Avatar will be the single most visually dazzling film ever
made and, oh yeah, revolutionize 3D, too.

But check out the trailer. The film IS as outrageously audacious as it needs
to be to do all those things. As Stephen said to me in an email, this film
cannot possibly be just okay. It'll be spectacularly great or spectacularly
terrible.

December 25 - Return To Yucca Flats: Desert Man-Beast

Tagline: "30 Corpses ... 1 Man Beast ... 0 Plot" Is this a first? The first
movie to be turned into a franchise on the strength of the Mystery Science
Theater 3000 episode? (I don't count Michael Bay's The Island, which
pretended the film it remade, The Clonus Horror, never existed.) Here's
hoping for "Muchas Manos: More Hands of Fate."

December 25 - It's Complicated

Is the new trend in movie romances to title them after dialogue cliches?
We had "He's Just Not That Into You" earlier this year. Expect "Let's Just Be
Friends" and "It's Not Me, It's You" in 2010.

Anyway, this is a Nancy Meyers vehicle, which probably tells you everything
you need to know.

December 25 - Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Ugh.

December 25 - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Heath Ledger's final performance, incomplete, was salvaged when director Terry
Gilliam that his story naturally lent itself to that character having
continually different appearances. That allowed him to cast other actors --
Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell -- in Ledger's role. It was a
potentially inspired idea, the kind of thing that, if it works, probably
should have been the plan all along. The amazing thing is that, for once, a
great tragedy *didn't* sink another Gilliam production into oblivion.

December 25 - Sherlock Holmes

I'm okay with reinventing classic characters. "Without a Clue," which
speculates that Holmes (Michael Caine) was a bumbling fool and Watson (Ben
Kingsley) was the real genius, was a whole lot of fun.

But I'm not okay with dumbing classic characters down just to make them
more palatable to the lowest common denominator, who can't accept anything on
the screen that doesn't meet their narrow preconceptions. You want to know why
there are no new ideas in Hollywood? It's because audiences are so hostile to
them. And before you say that a faithful rendition of Sherlock Holmes isn't
exactly a new idea, well, it is to a great many. "Sherlock, Stock, and Two
Smoking Barrels" just attaches a familiar name to a contemporary filmmaking
style to sell some tickets.