Fall Movie Preview

I apologize for my rather lengthy hiatus from movie reviews, however, there haven’t been any that have really struck my fancy in the latter parts of the summer. Luckily, we are coming up on the holiday/fall movie season and there are quite a few I would like to see. Let’s start with October.

This past week, Appaloosa and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People were released. I’m hoping to review at least one of them within the next week, but I’m interested in seeing both. Appaloosa is a western based around a town without laws needing lawmen to clean up the mess. It’s been getting pretty good reviews and the buzz has been really positive. I hope it lives up to the hype. How to Lose Friends just looks like a fun comedy starring Kirsten Dunst and Simon Pegg. I’m all for frivolity once in a while.

I am somewhat interested in Quarantine, which is set to release this week. It doesn’t have any ‘big’ names headlining it, but it intrigues me the same way Cloverfield did last year. This movie focuses around an apartment building that is quarantined for an unknown reason and the residents are never heard from again. The only clue to their disapearances is the news crew’s footage that is discovered sometime after the event. I’m interested, but I won’t be crushed if I don’t see it until it’s available for rental.

Body of Lies, also set to release this week, looks pretty good. I was impressed with the last DiCaprio flick I saw (The Departed), so why not give this one a chance? Ridley Scott directs Leo alongside Russel Crowe in this film about an ex-journalist who is working with the CIA in order to track down an Al Qaeda leader in Jordan. From what the trailer suggests, Crowe’s character has his own agenda that doesn’t have to do with capturing the bad guy. Again, I’m interested, but won’t be disappointed if I don’t see it on the big screen. This film feels like a plea for an Oscar nod.

For all those High School Musical fans out there, the third installment of the popular Disney series is set to release later this month. I’m sure they are fun movies and I tend to appreciate films for what they are and not what they should be, but I’m just not into these. For those of you who are, I hope you enjoy senior year with Zac Efron.

Clint Eastwood’s latest picture Changeling looks pretty good. It is set in the 1920s and focuses on a Los Angeles woman’s search for her kidnapped son. Starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, Changeling’s story seems similar to LA Confidential in that Malkovich’s character is committed to exposing the corruption that has taken over the LAPD. I would suggest that anyone interested take a look at the trailer. Again, it looks like it could be an Oscar contender, but it’s too early to tell. Changeling is set to release on October 24.

Saw V will be released on the same weekend. Enough said.

Edward Norton and Colin Farrell are starring in a New York City cop movie called Pride and Glory. Looks ok. Will probably be renting it through Netflix.

On October 31st, Kevin Smith reveals Zack and Miri Make a Porno to the world. This film has been in the works for several years and I will go into it blindly for two reasons: Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen. What can I say, I’m a fan of both. Basically, two roommates, who have never had a romantic relationship, find themselves broke and decide to make a porno to get themselves out of their financial bind. The trailer looks pretty funny and I really enjoy the movie poster, which depicts two stick figures that resemble the main characters.

That pretty much covers October. Stay tuned for my outlook on November/December movies.