Fall Into Film

Autumn Movie Preview 2018

  

story by DAN HUDAK

The headlines for this fall’s new releases are sure to get any movie fan excited, and given that statistics suggest October and November releases are the most likely to win major Oscars, it’s possible that the next Best Picture Oscar winner is right here. So let the Oscar bait begin! Remember release dates are subject to change, but you’ll want to keep this lighthearted preview handy so you can catch the films that spark your interest.
Opens Sept. 14
The Predator
Yet another Predator movie, this time about the efforts of soldiers and a science teacher as they fight the titular villain after a kid welcomes it to Earth. Damn kids.
A Simple Favor
Bridesmaids director Paul Feig helms this crime drama in which Anna Kendrick tries to figure out why Blake Lively disappears from their small town. It begs the question: If Blake Lively disappeared from Hollywood, would anyone notice?
White Boy Rick
Matthew McConaughey stars as the father of a street hustler, drug kingpin and FBI informant. Nothing about that seems all right all right all right.
Sept. 21
The House with a Clock in Its Walls
This adaptation of John Bellairs’ novel stars Jack Black and Cate Blanchett, directed by horror maestro Eli Roth. With the PG rating, it seems the only thing horrific about it is that title!
Fahrenheit 11/9
Documentarian Michael Moore goes full throttle on President Trump, no doubt similar to what he did to George W. Bush in Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).
The Sisters Brothers
It’s a Western/comedy/crime movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix as brothers (whose last name is Sisters) who are assassins, but its title has me thinking about how our mothers have fathers, aunts have uncles, etc.
Colette
As the title character, Keira Knightley—perhaps best known today as the author of Gigi—writes for her husband, then for herself, and has relationships with women in early 1900s Paris.
Sept. 28
Night School
Kevin Hart plays a man who must earn his GED, and Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) plays his teacher. If you’re familiar with these two, you’ll likely find this idea funny; if not, never mind.
Smallfoot
Here’s a twist: The animated tale is about a Yeti (voice of Channing Tatum) who hears there's a new, potentially dangerous creature living near his tribe: Humans.
The Old Man & The Gun
Robert Redford’s final performance! The 81-year-old plays a bank robber who falls for Sissy Spacek while being chased by a detective, played by Casey Affleck.
Oct. 5
They’ve given a Spider-Man villain, Venom, him/its own movie. This is not a Marvel Cinematic Universe release, so here’s hoping it’s better than the last time Sony put Venom on screen in in 2007.
Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga step into the lead roles of a story that’s been filmed three times already. The good news? The trailers and buzz are cause for excitement!
Oct. 12
First Man
Damien Chazelle follows up his Oscar-winning La La Land with his go-to guy, Ryan Gosling, as astronaut Neil Armstrong in the story of Apollo 11. It’s the movie I’m most looking forward to this awards season.
Bad Times at the El Royale
The El Royale is the kind of 1960s hotel you check into, but may not ever check out. Jon Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth and Dakota Johnson are among the guests in this twisty crime-thriller.
Beautiful Boy
Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) plays a drug addict whose story is recalled through the eyes of his father, played by Steve Carell. Expect tears and pathos, and possibly Oscar noms for both.
Oct. 19
Halloween
It’s a direct sequel to the original (1978), and Jamie Lee Curtis returns with David Gordon Green directing. If nothing else, Green knows that it can’t be worse than any of the other sequels!
Serenity
Matthew McConaughey again, this time as Anne Hathaway’s ex. They conspire to kill her new husband. It makes you wonder if her character has any friends at all.
Oct. 26
Johnny English Strikes Again
This is the first time Rowan Atkinson’s oddly goofy yet lovable (up to a point) Johnny English has struck since he was Reborn in 2011.
Nov. 2
The Nutcracker & the Four Realms
Isn’t it about time somebody brought this story to the big screen during the holidays>
Bohemian Rhapsody
Is this the story of Freddie Mercury’s real life? Or is it just fantasy? This Queen biopic—as well as Rami Malek’s performance as Mercury—is guaranteed to rock you.
Nobody’s Fool
Of all the movies opening this fall, this one is the most likely to be immediately profitable. Why? Because Tyler Perry made it, and his films almost always turn a profit opening weekend.
Boy Erased
Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman play religious parents who send their homosexual son (Lucas Hedges) to gay conversion therapy. One wonders if such therapy ever worked for anyone, ever.
Suspiria
Yup, they’ve remade Dario Argento’s horror classic, and it’s Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino who did the remaking.
Nov. 9
The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Lisbeth Salander lives, just not in a story written by the late Stieg Larsson. The film, based on the book of the same name by David Lagercrantz, stars Claire Foy as Lisbeth and Swedish actor Sverir Gudnason as Mikael Blomkvist.
The Grinch
Benedict Cumberbatch voices The Grinch in this new animated interpretation of the story of the green misanthrope that no one asked for.
The Front Runner
Hugh Jackman doesn’t sing or slash people with long, sharp claws in this interpretation of Gary Hart’s ill-fated and scandalous 1988 presidential campaign. Directed by Jason Reitman (Juno).
Holmes and Watson
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play the Brit detective duo in this Sherlockian spoof. Ralph Fiennes is Moriarty!
Nov. 16
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
The second prequel has Newt (Eddie Redmayne) and Dumbledore (Jude Law) squaring off against Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
Widows
Director Steve McQueen’s follow-up to <12 a="" slave="" years=""> is about four widows left heavily in debt when their husbands die, so they take matters into their own hands. Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya and Michelle Rodriguez star.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
You’ll be excited to learn this is a Joel & Ethan Coen () film, but that joy will be dampened upon your discovery that it was intended to be a Netflix anthology series and was edited down to two hours, 12 minutes.
Nov. 23
Ralph Breaks the Internet
The Wreck-It-Ralph sequel tells of Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) going into the Internet (as opposed to video games). Disney princesses have much-buzzed-about cameos!
Creed II
This sequel to the stellar Creed is about Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) as he fights Ivan Drago’s son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu). Remember: Ivan killed Adonis’ father, Apollo.
Nov. 30
If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins follows up his Oscar-winning Moonlight with this adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. For the record, La La Land is still better than Moonlight.
Dec. 7
Mary, Queen of Scots
Saoirse Ronan is Mary Stuart, and Margot Robbie is her rival Elizabeth I in this drama about their relationship. Both women were Best Actress nominees last year, and if this is as good as it looks, they may well be on top again this year.
Dec.
Christian Bale stars as Dick Cheney in the latest from Adam McKay (The Big Short) that includes Amy Adams as wife Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld.
Dec. 19
Mary Poppins Returns
Twenty years later, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) returns to find a grown Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael (Ben Whishaw), and a family in need of her magical help once again. Meryl Streep, Lin Manuel Miranda and Dick Van Dyke also star.
Dec. 21
Aquaman
We know director James Wan (Furious 7) can handle the action. The reality, though, is that all DC Comics Extended Universe movies not named Wonder Woman have been disappointments, and the trailers give little reason for optimism here.
Bumblebee
If the Transformers movies have been losing money, why does Paramount think a spinoff will be a success?
Welcome to Marwen
Fantasy and reality merge once again for Robert Zemeckis (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) in this story of a man (the now-ubiquitous Steve Carell) who uses photography and figurines to recover from a brutal attack. This is the third Carell movie this season! He's everywhere.
Dec. 25
On the Basis of Sex
Biopic of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, starring Felicity Jones as Ruth and Armie Hammer as Ruth’s husband, Marty. Along with the doc RBG earlier this year, the “Notorious RBG” continues to create headlines in her mid-80s.