Fall movie choices offer wide range.
Superheroes are outnumbered by array of documentaries and surprising new, old themes
In the modern moviegoing world, where film franchises are being planned in phases like housing subdivisions, the fall film season is a gloriously unpredictable potpourri.
Walk into a random multiplex theater in mid-October, and you might stumble upon a moving biopic about the creator of Winnie the Pooh, a courtroom drama featuring Thurgood Marshall or (depending on how long “It” lingers) a homicidal child-kidnapping clown.
But it’s this diversity — and the surprises — that in recent years has made the fall arguably the strongest movie season. There seem to be fewer movie franchises logging in their fifth sequel between Labor Day and the week before Thanksgiving, and more actors taking risks.
The winter movie season will feature “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Pixar’s “Coco” and Oscar-pandering dramas such as “Darkest Hour.” But only when the leaves are still clinging to the trees will you see the inspired casting of Steve Carell and Emma Stone as Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King in “Battle of the Sexes”; the film directing debut of fashion icons Kate and Laura Mulleavy in “Woodshock”; and a new Darren Aronofsky film, “Mother!,” that has been marketed with almost no explanation what the story is about.
Trust us. It’s the fall movie season. Even if it’s not good, it will probably be interesting.
Below are previews for 11 movies we’re anticipating the most, plus 26 more in 26 words or less. Our cutoff date was Nov. 17 — movies coming out Thanksgiving week will arrive in our holiday movie preview.
IT (SEPT. 8)
Analysis: The film combines three things that drive us all to mortal terror: Stephen King, clowns and the fear of losing something in the sewer. The first trailer for “It” set a single-day record for YouTube views at 197 million views in the first day, suggesting a much darker film than the 1990s miniseries that starred Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown. Andres Muschietti directs a cast of mostly unknown young actors playing the “Losers’ Club” that confronts the ancient evil. Plan to sleep with the lights on until at least mid-November. (Not that it will save you.)
MVP: Whoever cut together that terrifying first teaser. Seriously, after this and the deceptively excellent “Suicide Squad” last year, there should be an Oscar for movie trailers.
MOTHER! (SEPT. 15)
Analysis: Darren Aronofsky has reached the post-marketing point in his career; the studios have apparently agreed to promote this film with extremely vague trailers and a story synopsis that could fit on half a business card. Here’s what we know: Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem are a married couple, who are joined in their country home by Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris. Screaming and terror ensue. Aronofsky says this is a disturbing film, and he made “Black Swan.”
MVP: Distributor Paramount Pictures, for allowing a promotional campaign that retains a sense of mystery. Almost nobody outside of Terrence Malick is allowed to do this anymore. More filmmakers should.
At left: “Justice League”: The Flash (Ezra Miller, left), Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). Warner Bros.
THE FORCE (SEPT. 15)
Analysis: Peter Nicks already made the gripping and gritty “The Waiting Room,” a documentary focusing on the emergency room workers at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Now he returns with another local story about the Oakland Police Department and its struggles to reform. “The Force” looks at the city’s police infrastructure as it struggles with federal reform demands and a scandal. Nicks is working on a third film, “Homeroom,” which will look at Oakland schools.
MVP: Filmmaker Nicks, who cares enough about the Oakland community to make an unflinching trilogy about it.
BATTLE OF THE SEXES (SEPT. 22)
Analysis: The details behind the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs are almost too odd to believe, which makes it the perfect vehicle for “Little Miss Sunshine” directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. “The Office” and “40-Year-Old Virgin” star Steve Carell has been alternating serious and comic roles in recent years. He seems to have found a perfect balance of both in Riggs. Emma Stone is a delight even in bad movies, and this one looks good.
MVP: Anyone involved in the casting for this film. Along with wonderful leads in Stone and Carell, the cast includes Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming and Elisabeth Shue.
MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE (SEPT. 29)
Analysis: The Peter Landesman-directed “Concussion” wasn’t perfect, but the filmmaker’s journalism background was an asset. The ability to translate complex issues for mass consumption will be welcome in this biopic about Watergate “Deep Throat” source Mark Felt, who retired in the North Bay. Liam Neeson portrays Felt, with a strong supporting cast including Diane Lane, Michael C. Hall (as John Dean) and Bruce Greenwood.
MVP: Landesman, who must overcome one of the most laborious film titles in recent memory, negotiates the many rumors and nuances surrounding the decision Felt made to become an anonymous source.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (OCT. 6)
Analysis: Sequels and prequels to sci-fi classics should be met with skepticism (talking to you, “Prometheus”), but this one has so much going for it. “Arrival” director Denis Villeneuve is a master at the moody sci-fi crime thriller (see his indie film “Enemy” for a lesser-known example). Hampton Fancher returns to co-write the screenplay, where a young cop played by Ryan Gosling seeks out Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard for a new adventure through futuristic Los Angeles.
MVP: It’s a tie between cinematographer Roger Deakins and score composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, strapped with the task of matching the look and sound of the original “Blade Runner.”
MARSHALL (OCT. 13)
Analysis: “House Party” director Reginald Hudlin takes an early case from first black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, putting it in what looks like a hyper-cinematic framework. Chadwick Boseman is Marshall, who goes into conservative Connecticut and teams with a white lawyer (Josh Gad) to free a black man accused of rape. The trailer includes a heavy rap soundtrack — even though the case took place 15 years before the birth of Grandmaster Flash.
MVP: Boseman, who has played James Brown and Jackie Robinson, has a wonderful ability to tap into the cinematic qualities of historical figures.
SUBURBICON (OCT. 27)
Analysis: George Clooney directs this Coen brothers script with a “Fargo”-like intensity, contrasting violent crime with the laughable (yet noble) quirks of a 1950s suburban community. Matt Damon, looking like Michael Douglas from “Falling Down,” is a whitebread-eating father fighting against mob encroachment. Oscar Isaac and Julianne Moore co-star. The existence of “Leatherheads” and “The Monuments Men” should make filmgoers suspicious of Clooney projects, but the tone here looks right.
MVP: Damon, who is always better when he’s playing a slightly creepy character (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “The Departed”) than straightforward heroic Private Ryan types.
THOR: RAGNAROK (NOV. 3)
Analysis: Despite Chris Hemsworth’s best efforts, the Thor stand-alone films have arguably been the weakest link in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But “Ragnarok” looks extremely promising, with more emphasis on Hemsworth’s underrated comic-actor skills, a gladiator fight with the Hulk, and some fantastic production design and character design, including Cate Blanchett looking fantastic as goddess of death Hela. Jeff Goldblum and Idris Elba lead an outstanding supporting cast.
MVP: Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo. We’re already penciling Rubeo’s name in our 2018 Oscar pool — if nothing else for the incredible work on Blanchett’s Hela headdress.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (NOV. 10)
Analysis: This is nowhere near the first take on “Murder on the Orient Express.” But making a modern big-budget film based on an Agatha Christie novel is such a bold move in superhero-saturated 2017, this still feels like something novel and fresh. We’re overdue for a good murder mystery on the big screen, and reliable Kenneth Branagh directs and stars, with a call-in-every-favor cast that includes Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi and Willem Dafoe.
MVP: Versatile composer Patrick Doyle, whose two film composing credits this year are “The Emoji Movie” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” We would love to see how each of those movies would play if the sheet music was switched.
JUSTICE LEAGUE (NOV. 17)
Analysis: After this summer’s “Wonder Woman” awesomeness, we would prefer every DC Comics movie focus entirely on Diana Prince fighting various wars in history. (The Spanish-American War? Korea? The Grenada conflict?) But in the supergroup assembly to fight an alien invasion, she’ll have to share at least a little screen time with Batman, Aquaman, the Flash and Cyborg. Leave Superman dead for a while longer please, and cede his screen time to Wonder Woman. We haven’t even seen the Invisible Jet yet …
MVP: “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins, who is not one of the two directors (Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon) who made this film, but is the director who made a lot of uninvested moviegoers care about this film.