MCF's Fall Movie Picks

I've come across a few good trailers lately, reminding me again that the end of one season is but the start of another. I don't know how many of these I'll see in theaters, but here are a few that stand out:


I'm not a huge fan of sports movies, and most are a blur, the same story of underdogs overcoming adversity yadda yadda yadda winning basket/goal/homerun cheering crowd dog comes home girl reconciles with quarterback/goalie/batter blah blah blah I read comics in high school. Gridiron Gang might not be all that different, and might blend in that genre in which troubled kid(s) find a mentor and turn things around. It looks like a damn good blend of those genres though, with good cinematography, and a real dramatic turn for The Rock. I’m enjoying his transition from wrestling to genuine acting, and this looks like a step in the right direction for him.


The first time I saw the trailer for The Covenant, I regarded it with disinterest, perceiving the first few scenes to be another teen soap opera like The O.C. and their ilk. That lasted for about 15 seconds before a kid falls off a cliff and survives, changing the vibe to The Lost Boys. By the time effects were in full swing, from telekinesis to pyrokinesis and other feats of magic, I was intrigued. The selling shot is the car crash and reassembly at the end. Will that be the best shot of the film? Will it just be another teen soap opera fantasy world in which there are no nerds and no ugly people? Probably, but the effects and concept are enough of a hook for me.


Hollywoodland promises to be a gritty noir drama based on the real unsolved death of a Hollywood legend. With Adrien Brody heading the investigation and Bob Hoskins playing a snarling mogul, I can lift my ban on watching Ben Affleck play a comic book superhero, especially since he's playing the part of a guy who played a superhero. I think he can handle that, and I think this will be good.


Renaissance is a futuristic animated drama in a high-contrast black-and-white style similar to Miller's Sin City. I think that says it all.


The Prestige pits Hugh Jackman against Christian Bale as rival magicians in 19th-Century London. Besides starring two recent icons from comic book movie franchises, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie round out the ingredients for a magic spell.


Casino Royale is generating controversy on many levels. Fans are unhappy that the film not only reboots the James Bond franchise, starting over after 20 official films, one spoof, one ”unofficial” movie, and one television play, but they dislike the choice of Daniel Craig as the new Bond. I'd have to see the film, but between the trailer and his awesome turn in the ultra-cool narcotics crime drama Layer Cake, I'm not sure what they're upset about. Of the 23 total films, official and otherwise, that have been made about James Bond, I've seen 17, and I'll probably devote a more comprehensive post to the franchise once I've seen them all.


Why is DOA on this list? It's definitely not going to be high cinema, offering us yet another film based on fighting themed video games. That genre has never been done as well before or since the original Mortal Kombat, and this will probably have even less of a plot. Five half-naked women, including Jaime Pressly, running around fighting ninjas? Yes, why is it on my list? It may remain a mystery...


I expect that The Last Kiss will have the same great soundtrack, angst, introspection, and Zach Braff humor that I enjoyed in Garden State, so I'm looking forward to it.


I can't wait to see Saw III. The first one had a decent twist and was interesting enough as a stand-alone piece, but the second one, which I saw recently, had great ties to the first one and an even better twist. Tobin Bell is outstanding as a villain. I love a good trilogy, whatever the genre, and this horror series is well on its way to becoming one.


These last two trailers are the ones I saw most recently, prior to Beerfest, and possibly the ones I'm most looking forward to. The Departed has an amazing cast. My jaw was agape at the recognition factor. It's as though someone said, “Hey, let's get all these young actors who normally carry movies on their own, and throw them into a Scorcese picture with veterans like Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin.” This thing may be three hours long to accommodate DiCaprio, Damon and Mark Wahlberg alongside those guys. The plot looks intriguing, parallel tales of a cop undercover among crooks, and a crook undercover among cops. Is there any difference between cops and criminals, as Nicholson's character posits? Will this be the Donnie Brasco of this decade? By the time the Van Morrison cover of Comfortably Numb was playing, I knew I'd have to find out.


I knew nothing about The Fountain when the trailer began. I was mildly interested in what appeared to be a historical period piece about the search for the fountain of youth. Go Ponce de León. Suddenly the trailer shifted to modern times, and I recognized Hugh Jackman and realized the lovely Rachel Weisz was playing the leading lady in both time periods. Was Jackman the conquistador in the first segment? Were they some kind of immortals? Did he find the fountain? Why was her character dying then? Suddenly it shifted again to a future unlike anything I've seen before, to the year 2500. Suddenly, the hook flashed across the screen: “A Film by Darren Aronofsky.” The Pi guy? A surreal love story between Jackman and Weisz transcending three different time periods? I am so there. I might need someone to explain it to me after it’s over, but I’m still so there.