This Fall is full big dragons, mazes, space travel, mocking jays, animated bears, hot tubs, musicals forest adventures, and unnecessary sequels. Here 10 other films worth checking out.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Ryan Eggold
Directed By: Ned Benson
Originally shot in two films, subtitled “Him” and “Her”, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them combines both films to show two sides of a marriage gone bad. The film looks like a serious sad state of affairs. – just like the Beatles’s Eleanor Rigby song starts, “Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Chastain and McAvoy are both good actors. Their skills paired with a unique film concept should make for an interesting film. The full 201-minute (3hrs 21mins) Him/Her is scheduled to be released in October. Yikes! I hope they provide an intermission.
September 12th
Kill the Messenger
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jeremy Renner, Michael Sheen, Robert Patrick, Ray Liotta, Michael K Williams, Paz Vega.
Directed By: Michael Coesta
Before Jeremy Renner saves the world in next year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, we get to see him play a reporter trying to expose CIA corruption in Kill the Messenger . Renner was an afterthought during all the American Hustle hoopla last year, but he gave a great performance in that film. Audiences can finally see if Renner can carry a film on his own. Messenger will be flooded with controversy, slanderous accusations, and tons of people saying, “That’s not how it happened” – a conspiracy theorist dream. It should make for one helluva compelling story about a man and is life’s work.
October 10th
Laggies
Starring: Chole Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell, Jeff Garlin
Directed By: Lynn Shelton
A tale about a woman who befriends a high school student while evading her boyfriend sounds more like bizarre After School Special than a feature film, but Laggies is exactly that. Director Lynn Shelton is gifted at capturing the characters in her movies and making them more than one-dimensional faces on a screen. This should make Laggies a character focused film with lots of heart and laughs. A24 Films is the studio behind it, and everything they’ve put out has been refreshing. The slate of films under their belt is impressive. They’re on a hot streak and Laggies hopes to keep that going.
October 24th
A Walk Among the Tombstones
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook
Directed By: Scott Frank
It feels like déjà vu when you hear Liam Neeson is tracking down a kidnapper. In this “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” role, Based on the crime thriller novel by Lawrence Block, Neeson plays a Matthew Scudder – an unlicensed private detective hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife. It’s familiar territory for Neeson and his fans, but director Scott Frank swears this film is different. There’s no doubt this film will showcase Scudder’s “special set of skills, while traveling the underworld of New York City.
September 19th
The Two Faces of January
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac
Directed By: Hossein Amini
An American couple traveling Greece in 1962 meet a strange tour guide on their trip. When the couple and the tour guide cross paths later, it quickly becomes a game of con vs. con as the couple and the tour guides truths start to unveil. A dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues as both parties are in need of each others help. The Two Faces of January is a crime thriller, love story, travel film wrapped into one movie. The real game is trying to decide what’s more beautiful – the performances in the film or the shots of Greece?
September 26th
Dear White People
Starring: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Brandon P Bell, Dennis Haysbert
Directed By: Justin Simien
A satiric film about black students at an Ivy League School is sure to be a hit among college students. The film teeters between a satirical look at race on campus and the relationships people have in college. The film touches on a few issues that aren’t “PC” but should make for lively post film discussions in the theater lobby. The film also introduces some fresh new Hollywood faces in Tessa Thompson and Teyonah Parris.
October 17th
Whiplash
Starring: Miles Teller, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist, J.K Simmons.
Directed By: Damien Chazelle
Teacher vs. Pupil would be putting it lightly in this story about a musical prodigy’s relationship with the conductor at a music conservatory. Miles Teller is one of Hollywood’s great young actors and he’s teamed up with J.K Simmons. Although these two are known for their humor, Whiplash looks like its more conflict than comedy. Whiplash was praised after its showing at Sundance Film Festival – Let’s hope it rocks as much as everyone says it does.
October 10th
Inherent Vice
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Benecio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Michael K Williams, Reese Witherspoon
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson
In his first film since 2012’s The Master, PTA tackles the world of 1970’s Los Angeles. Based on a novel by Thomas Pyunchon, a detective searches for his ex-girlfriends missing boyfriend. During his investigation he unearths a side of Los Angeles he didn’t know existed. PTA is no stranger to controversy, so expect Inherent Vice to dig up it’s fair share. The 70’s were a groovy time and PTA will capture all of it and then some.
December 12th
The Guest
Starring: Dan Stevens, Ethan Embry, Joel David Moore, Lance Reddick, Maika Monroe
Directed By: Adam Wingard
Adam Wingard blew people away with last year’s slasher hit You’re Next. He’s back with his new thriller The Guest. The film follows the Peterson family after a man comes to their home claiming to be a friend of their son who died in Afghanistan. As their guest sticks around, strange things start happening in the town.
September 17th
The Imitation Game
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kiera Knigtley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Charles Dance
Directed By: Morten Tyldum
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in his most Sherlock ever as the real life English mathematician Alan Turing. The Imitation Game follows Turing and his group as they try to break the Nazis’ super code. The film also follows Turing as he faces prosecution for homosexuality. Cumberbatch is an amazing actor and may get some Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Turing.
November 11th
the people's critic 