IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS Summer fluff gives way to Oscar bait as fall movies roll out
Say goodbye to superheroes and loud blockbusters, and hello to Oscar bait. These films are arriving at multiplexes between now and Thanksgiving, dreaming of Academy Award gold as the leaves turn red.
AMERICAN ULTRA
(AUG. 21)
Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg are stoners on the run. Why? He’s a secret agent. Eisenberg adds action to his resume with this and 2016’s “Batman V Superman.” Costarring with Stewart is ultra-smart.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH
(Aug. 28)
Three survivors make an uneasy alliance in a rustic post-nuclear world. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine and Margot Robbie costar in this thoughtful apocalyptic drama that feels like 1950s-style parable sci-fi.
A WALK IN THE WOODS
(Sept. 2)
Robert Redford and Nick Nolte take a hike that changes both their lives in an old-pal flick showcasing seasoned pros.
TIME OUT OF MIND
(Sept. 9)
Richard Gere gives a memorable turn as a homeless man trying to reconnect with his daughter. Writer-director Oren Moverman’s movie is a proud descendant of John Cassavetes-style indie filmmaking.
BLACK MASS
(Sept. 18)
Johnny Depp plays Whitey Bulger, No. 2 on the Most Wanted List and South Boston’s infamous criminal-turned-FBI informant. Could Depp redeem himself after several too-wacky turns?
ABOUT RAY
(Sept. 18)
In this transgender drama, Elle Fanning is a teen girl becoming a boy. Naomi Watts and Susan Sarandon are her mom and grandmother. Fanning is one of the best young actresses around.
EVEREST
(Sept. 18)
Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin go up Earth’s highest mountain, and find disaster. The visuals are being buzzed-about.
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2
(Sept. 25)
Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) frets his half-human grandson isn’t being raised a vampire. As with the first “Hotel
Transylvania,” kids will feast.
STONEWALL
(Sept. 25)
The story of the birth of the modern gay-rights movement, in 1969 Greenwich Village. Crazy it’s taken so long to tell it.
THE INTERN
(Sept. 25)
Robert De Niro becomes an intern for a fashionista boss (Anne Hathaway). Call this one “The Raging Bull Wears Prada.”
THE WALK
(Sept. 30)
Robert Zemeckis directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this drama about Philippe Petit’s tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. It’s an amazing story, and this opening-night film for the NY Film Festival deserves its 3D and IMAX screenings.
FREEHELD
(Oct. 2)
A terminally ill woman (Ellen Page) fights to leave her pension to her domestic partner (Julianne Moore), in a film that’s relevant in light of the Supreme Court prosame sex marriage decision.
LEGEND
(Oct. 2)
Tom Hardy plays both Ronnie and Reggie Kray, British siblings whose gang terrorized London in the ’60s. Twenty-five years ago, the story was told using two brothers. Hardy one-ups that.
THE MARTIAN
(Oct. 2)
Matt Damon is an astronaut stranded on Mars. Will similarities to last year’s “Interstellar” — in which Damon had a small role as an astronaut stranded on a mysterious planet — eclipse this space drama?
PAN
(Oct. 9)
Peter Pan flies again in an origin film. Hugh Jackman is Blackbeard; Garrett Hedlund is young pirate James Hook. Rooney Mara is princess Tiger Lily. Peter Pan stories never get old.
STEVE JOBS
(Oct. 9)
Biopic of Apple’s founder. Michael Fassbender wears the mock turtleneck as Jobs; Seth Rogen is designer Steve Wozniak. Danny Boyle directs from an Aaron Sorkin script. Unlike Ashton Kutcher in “Jobs,” Fassbender may iHop into the Oscar race.
BRIDGE OF SPIES
(Oct. 16)
Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks in a drama about the negotiation between the U.S. and Soviets for an American pilot downed in the U.S.S.R. in 1960. This is Spielberg and Hanks’ fourth teamup; will it be their second to get a Best Pic nom?
TRUTH
(Oct. 16)
Drama about the fallout from Dan Rather’s 2004 report on George W. Bush’s Vietnam-era “duties.” Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett star. A film dissecting politics and media needs to be
sharp; this looks like the ticket.
GOOSEBUMPS
(Oct. 16)
The creations of writer R.L. Stine (Jack Black) come alive in this adaptation of the hit kids’ books. A generation was raised on Stine’s creepy, kooky tales.
ROCK THE KASBAH (Oct.
23)
Bill Murray is a music manager traveling with the USO in Afghanistan. Stuck in Kabul, he makes a local singer a star. Murray, showbiz satire and geopolitical sass? We’re in.
BURNT
(Oct. 23)
A burned-out chef (Bradley Cooper) finds a new recipe for living. This movie was once called “Chef,” till another movie with that name opened. As long as it’s not called “Toast.”
SUFFRAGETTE
(Oct. 23)
Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan want the right to vote in 1920s Britain. Streep+ fall=cinematic heavyweight.
OUR BRAND IS CRISIS
(Oct. 30)
American political strategists run wild in South America. With Sandra Bullock. Drama remake of a documentary.
PEANUTS
(Nov. 6)
Charlie Brown and pals return (in CG animation), and the little red-haired girl is here, too. They’d better not give her a name!
SPECTRE
(Nov. 6)
James Bond (Daniel Craig) returns. But is Christoph Waltz Blofeld — anyone see a white cat anywhere? It’s Craig’s fourth 007 film, will it be the biggest?
SPOTLIGHT
(Nov. 6)
Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton in a drama about a clergy sex abuse scandal.
THE 33
(Nov. 13)
Drama about the trapped Chilean miners. At least we know it has a happy ending.
BY THE SEA
(Nov. 13)
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt play a married couple in the ’70s. It’s the first time Jolie and Pitt have costarred since “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Did anything major happen on that film?
CAROL
(Nov. 20)
Rooney Mara is a department store clerk in ’50s NY who falls in love with older Cate Blanchett. A big hit at this year’s Cannes.
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2
(Nov. 20)
Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) futuristic fable comes to an end. The finale to an eradefining franchise.
SECRET IN THEIR EYES
(Nov. 20)
Nicole Kidman, Chiwetel Ejiofor and a de-glammed Julia Roberts in a tangled police drama.