FALL PREVIEW:
Let’s start with this. There isn’t a whole lot that looks especially great for the Fall. And that might be the first time I’ve said that, EVER. Summer movie season has come and gone, and so has all of the excitement. Let’s be honest. It was all about Barbenheimer. Not that either of those two movies was great, but the phenomenon of combining them, and then the two movies being such a sensation, was something pretty special. It’s also kind of cool that the two biggest movies of the year so far were Super Mario Brothers and Barbie, both based on nostalgic IPs. Here’s hoping somewhere and somehow this leads to either a live action Masters of the Universe or a live action Thundercats movie, or both, being made.
And now, let’s talk, once and for all, about the Fall movies. The reason why they don’t look especially great most definitely has to do with streaming, and the way that you really don’t have to go to the movies to see good quality these days. But here is the list and here are my thoughts on each respective film….
The Creator (Sept 29th)
An interesting looking sci-fi movie, this one seems to be about robots taking over and the fight between robots and humans, which is something that we’ve seen over the years from Terminator 2 to I Robot. But this one looks different. It has the addition of a kid robot, kind of like AI, and a human who has to protect him. You can kind of see where this one is going. The human (played by Jon David Washington,) probably starts out as a robot hunter, then has a change of heart when he meets the target, and by the end is probably facing off against the other robot hunters that he used to work alongside. It looks predictable (the assassin with a change of heart movie has been done again and again, in films like The Replacement Killers,) and yet it still looks pretty cool.
Reptile (Sept 29th)
It’s a serial killer movie with a talented cast. Benecio Del Toro. Justin Timberlake. Alicia Silverstone. This one might be worth checking out for Silverstone alone, who hasn’t had a screen presence since the nineties. This one is pretty ambiguous, meaning it’s hard to get a read on the tone. Will it be incredible dark? Will there be some humor? And what exactly will make it stand out from all of the other serial killer movies out there? From the trailer, the main distinction seems to be that it is about a team of detectives trying to crack the case, instead of just one or two. Still, there are lots of questions that need to be answered with this one.
Dumb Money (Sept 29th)
This one looks great because of two reasons… the cast and the idea. The idea is what really makes it special. In January of 2021, just two and a half years ago, there was a scandal involving Game Stop, a store that sells video games. The fact that this happened so recently is pretty fantastic, and the fact that it had to do with nerd culture and today’s youth, also makes it pretty cool. The relevance of this thing is amazing. And the cast here is also spot on. Pete Davidson, Seth Rogen, and Paul Dano. Who knows if the movie is good or not, but the potential for something fun is right there.
Old Dads (Oct 20th)
The idea is pretty basic. Three guys in their forties or even fifties who become dads very late in life. The humor will be based on the new way of doing things compared to the old ways. Kind of like Cobra Kai with the Johnny Lawrence character. And there will be a lot of making fun of the sensitive times we are living in. Bill Burr is an awesome stand up comic. Based on that, this one might be funny. But it also feels like it might be in line with other things we’ve seen before, and not all that original.
Killers of the Flower Moon (Oct 20th)
It’s a Scorcese movie that rvteams the director with both DeNiro and Dicaprio. Now, to be clear, these are the two go-to Scorcese actors of the past three decades. DeNiro was his original guy, going back to Mean Streets and Raging Bull in the seventies and eighties. DeNiro continued to be his guy through the nineties with Goodfellas and Casino. And then Scorcese switched to DiCaprio, who became his new guy. And the way he found DiCaprio… a recommendation from DeNiro, who had worked with Dicaprio when the actor was just a boy in a movie called This Boy’s Life. In the past two decades, Scorcese has been all about DiCaprio, casting him in everything from The Departed to The Wolf of Wall Street. But then Scorcese got back with DeNiro, in The Irishman. And now, finally, he is bridging his two stars together. As far as the movie itself, the story looks interesting enough. It’s about oil found on Native American land and the way that some Americans decide to marry the Natives in order to have rights to the oil. Oh, and there’s murder and corruption involved too. Let’s be honest, it looks a little like There Will Be Blood, and is not something that would really be garnering attention if it wasn’t for the director and cast. But those things go a long way, and here’s hoping this one turns out to be pretty good.
The Marvels (Nov 10th)
Well, one has to go in optimistic, right? Marvel has been dropping the ball left and right over the past few years. Their Disney Plus shows have ultimately been pretty lousy. Their movies haven’t exactly been a whole lot better. The simple fact is, they forgot to care about connecting their movies together. There isn’t one overarching storyline anymore (the first three phases were all about the Infinity Stones. This new phase or phases…. who knows?) Marvel claims the thing that links these movies together is the multiverse, but that’s not true. Only a few movies had anything to do with that (Spider Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of MAdnesss, Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the Disney Plus Shows WandaVision, and Loki.) But there have been so many movies in between those that had nothing to do with any connections to all this. Compare that to what Marvel used to do, where everything was connected. As far as the Marvel goes, it will be cool to see these three heroes team up, but also, honestly, only one of them is a movie star. That would be Captain Marvel, played by Oscar winner Brie Larson. Other than that, there’s Photon or whatever the girl’s name is (Monica Rambeu? Or is that her mother who was Captain Marvel’s friend?) and Ms. Marvel from the Disney Plus show. Honestly, this one would probably be better as a show than a movie. But let’s go in optimist and hope for the best Marvel really needs it.
Maestro (Nov 22nd)
And here’s where we start getting yo the real Oscar contenders. Never have the front runners been more clear so far out ahead of time than this. It will be Oppenheimer and Barbie (yes, Barbie. Even the Oscars won’t ignore that phenomenon.) It will be Killers of the Flower Moon. And then it will be these next two… Maestro and Napoleon.
Maestro is Bradley Cooper’s directing follow up to A Star Is Born. Similarly music-based, this one is once again sure to show off Coopers talents both in front of and behind the camera. The actor has become a giant of Hollywood, turning out creative and interesting performances for years, from Silver Linings Playbook to voice work in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. But with directing, he has found a new avenue, and considering how great A Star is Born turned out to be, this one has a lot of potential.
Napoleon (Nov 22nd)
Also a most-likely awards contender is Napoleon. Directed by Ridley Scott, the best director for period piece battle movies (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, The Last Duel,) this one is based on a historical figure and stars Oscar favorite Joaquin Phoenix. Now that being said, sometimes when the cards are stacked up this neatly for the Oscar’s, it’s a little too obvious, sbd the Oscar’s make a point to ignore it. Examples include Pay It Forward (Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt,) The Last Duel, House of Gucci, and Exodus: Gods and Kings (starring Christian Bale.) Considering that those last three movies were all directed by Scott, it seems like the Oscars are into his Schtick, and ignore him about as often as they recognize him. But this one checks off the historic biopic boxes, which go a long way.
As far as the movie itself. Most likely it will be pretty good. Phoenix is a fun, talented actor. And nobody does battles better than Scott. So lots of potential with this one.
Wonka (Dec 15th)
One of the stories that they really do keep remaking again and again. This one is a prequel. But didn’t we already get that with the Tim Burton – Johnny Depp version? I suppose that movie was a mix between a prequel and a retelling of the story we know. Whereas this one will be exclusively a prequel, telling about the young Willy Wonka and how he got his start as a chocolate maker. Timothy Chalamet looks great in the role. And Hugh Grant playing an Oompa Loompa seems like fun too. Here’s hoping for the best.