Fall Movie Preview 2024
SEPTEMBER
WOLFS (Sept 20)
Wolfs is about two fixers who need to coverup a death and then work together against a bigger threat. It’s Michael Clayton meets Mr and Mrs Smith, and considering the two actors here (Clooney and Pitt,) were the stars of those two films, they should feel right at home with this one. Now some of the negatives are first that this one is streaming on Apple Plus, which definitely makes it less exciting than if it was in theaters (just look at last months Matt Damon Casey Affleck streaming film the Instigators for an example of how to deflate the excitement around a movie because of its release platform.) And secondly, there’s the fact that this seems like such familiar territory. Between Clooney having played a fixer before, and Pitt being in a movie where two enemy assassins have to team up together, none of this looks wildly original. But in terms of comfort (sometimes it’s nice to be in familiar territory,) and star power, this one has definitely got some potential.
The Wild Robot (September 27)
An animated movie featuring a robot as its lead. We’ve certainly seen that before, from the Iron Giant to Wall-E, but this one is about a robot out in the wilderness, interacting with animals, and trying to figure out where she belongs. It has potential to be something special, in a less-is-more kind of way, but we’ll have to see.
OCTOBER
JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX (Oct 4th)
On the one hand, you have the sequel to the movie that was one of the highest grossing, scariest, freakiest, and darkest superhero (supervillain?) movies of all time. It’s the movie that won Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor Oscar. And all of that should make one really excited about the sequel. But then there’s the fact that the first movie was such a niche thing, and the wondering if they could ever really do it again. Especially when its not fresh anymore, and we’ve already seen what it’s all about. Plus, for some strange reason (as if anything about this movie is not strange,) they are making this a musical. Now, what exactly that entails, we will have to see. For example, I don’t think it’s going to be lavish and super colorful and poppy or anything. My understanding is that Phoenix just sings his thoughts or dialogue instead of saying it from time to time. But it’s still weird, in a movie that was already weird. Will this movie be as dark and scary and also creatively interesting as the first? One can certainly hope.
Saturday Night (Oct 11th)
Here’s the thing… this one looks fun. It looks different. We all know about the show which spawned tons of comedic legends and gave them their start. What we don’t really know is how it all got started. And this movie wisely has actors playing Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, and Gilda Radnor. One has to hope that it’s not just another movie like The Late Shift, which had actors playing Letterman and Leno, and chronicled the behind the scenes musings of the late night talk show wars. That one had the impressions, but not much more. But this movie has something pretty big going for it… Director Jason Reitman. From Up in the Air to Juno to Ghostbusters Afterlife, this guy is clearly talented. Let’s hope he can pull this one off as well.
Venom: The Last Dance (Oct 25th)
With these movies, you know what you’re getting. And this is the third one of the series, which means if you didn’t like either of the other two, you won’t like this one either. But for those of us who are fans of the series… who accept its flaws, and appreciate the humor, action, and B level sophistication, this one may be just what the doctor ordered. There doesn’t seem to be a clear villain, which may be a problem, but as of now it just makes the potential and promise all the more intriguing.