Looking Forward to Fall and Winter Movies

As we enter the dog days of summer, with only the dregs of the summer blockbuster season left before us, it's time to look ahead to Labor Day, the unofficial start of the fall movie season, when holiday tentpoles, quirkier midsize pictures, and all the serious Oscar bait and art films come out to play. I'll have a post mortem on the 2010 summer cinemascape in a little while - piranhas and Danny Trejo may yet make their mark - but right now I'd like to take a look at some of my most anticipated films of the fall and winter of 2010. To avoid tonal whiplash, I'm dividing this up into two posts - one for more mainstream and genre releases, and one for the awards contenders. I'm sure there will be some crossover, so bear with me. Up first, the big guns:

"The Town" - Ben Affleck made an impressive directing debut in 2007 with "Gone Baby Gone," a social drama set in his native Boston. He doesn't seem to be straying far from familiar territory with "The Town," a tale of cops and robbers set in a similar blue-collar, Bostonian milieu. Affleck will be starring this time, along with John Hamm, Rebecca Hall, and Jeremy Renner. Similar crime dramas haven't been doing so well lately, critically or commercially, so it'll be interesting to see if this one can break free from the pack.

"Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" - The financial meltdown of 2008 provided the impetus for Oliver Stone to revisit Gordon Gekko, the nefarious corporate raider embodied by Michael Douglas in "Wall Street," who declared "greed is good" and became an icon of the American financial system's dark side. In light of the recession, it's the perfect time for a sequel, but timeliness alone does not a movie make, and Stone's recent track record hasn't been stellar. Fingers crossed that the new film is worthy of Douglas's return to his most celebrated role.

"Buried" - The most prominent of the ultra-low budget indie films that have emerged on the festival scene lately. I group "Buried" with the mainstream releases because it has good crossover potential thanks to its star, Ryan Reynolds, and a genre premise that is sure to get attention: a contractor in Iraq is kidnapped and buried alive, with only his cell-phone and a few other objects on hand. The entire film (Lionsgate's announced reshoots not withstanding) takes place in the confines of the tiny sepulchre Reynolds is buried in.

"RED" - "RED" is an acronym for "Retired, Extremely Dangerous," and follows the former members of a special team of CIA operatives, who are forced to reunite and break out the heavy artillery when they come under threat. Featuring a cast full of seasoned thespians behaving badly, including Helen Mirren, John Malkovitch, Morgan Freeman, and Ernest Borgnine, with Bruce Willis on point, the trailer is so joyously over-the-top, I have to smile just thinking about it. Any film that gives John Malkovitch an excuse to to play unhinged is one I will put down money for.

"Monsters" - Another micro-budget indie, following in the footsteps of last year's "District 9." This time the aliens have landed on Mexico, and our heroes' trek to cross the border into the United States will no doubt be rife with not-so-subtle social commentary and even less subtle sci-fi splatter. Unlike "Buried," "Monsters" will only be in limited release for Halloween, but it should still provide a nice alternative to "Paranormal Activity 2" and the seventh (!) installment of "Saw," for those lucky enough to find it.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I" - It's hard to remember a time when "Harry Potter" wasn't a part of the popular culture, and there wasn't a "Potter" movie in theaters or looming on the horizon. The newest installment hitting theaters in November is not the franchise's big screen swan song - Warner Brothers split the final book's adaptation into a two-parter to squeeze a few more dollars out of the Potterdammerung - so we'll just have to make do with the penultimate chapter this year, which will set-up to the final showdown.

"Tangled" - Called "Rapunzel" and "Rapunzel: Unbraided" during the course of its rocky development, Disney's latest animated fairy-tale purports to put a modern spin on the classic story. It's far too soon to tell whether this will truly be something fresh from the Mouse House, or if "Tangled" is just another "Shrek" clone. Princess films have historically been Disney's strong suit, but they stumbled with last year's "The Princess and the Frog." However, with PIXAR keeping an eye on Disney's animation department these days, we have every reason to hope for the best.

"The Tourist" - I'll admit that my interest in this crime drama, based on the French thriller "Anthony Zimmer," is primarily due to the cast. Johnny Depp will be headlining in the title role, with Angelina Jolie, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, and Timothy Dalton filling out the ensemble. "The Tourist" will also mark the English language debut of director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, best known for the Oscar-winning "The Lives of Others." A release date of December 10th was just announced, which is a promising vote of confidence from the Sony execs.

"TRON Legacy" - Only a few years ago, a sequel to "TRON" would have been nearly unthinkable. Now with Jeff Bridges riding the wave of comeback success and a torrent of 80s nostalgia showing no signs of letting up, it's one of the most anticipated films of the year. I can vouch for solid buzz from the Comic-Con crowd, and with a little help from the vaunted Disney marketing machine, mainstream audiences may be willing to embrace the property at last. For my part, "TRON" is an indelible part of my earliest memories, and I can't wait to hear those lightcycles again.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" - 20th Century FOX and director Michael Apted taking the reins of the "Narnia" franchise has some fans worried, but with the same writers and cast involved, I doubt there will be any major changes in quality. "Dawn Treader" was my favorite of the "Narnia" books with its fantastic sea voyage to the literal edge of the world. I'm hoping that with such strong material, the newest "Narnia" film might surprise us and spur enough momentum to get a few more installments made.

To be continued...