This is a good time of year for film buffs. We're able to reflect on what the first six months has brought us, while still looking ahead at what's typically the better part of the year in film. We've got a couple of big summer movies left, as well as some of the smaller, critically acclaimed movies that are as much a feature of fall and winter as leaves and snow.
Narrowing down a list of films due out between now and December that look promising is almost a cruel practice, mainly because of the films that wind up being left out. There's the big ones, like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1(11/21) and the final installment of The Hobbit(12/17). There's the comedy sequels to Horrible Bosses(11/26) and Hot Tub Time Machine(12/25), not to mention Dumb and Dumber To(11/14). Then there's the ones whose trailers just do a good job of selling you, like Simon Pegg's feel good comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness(9/26), or Michael Keaton's uber-weird superhero flickBirdman(10/17).
Image courtesy of: Roger Wong/INFphoto.com
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10.Wish I Was Here
Release Date: July 18 (limited release)
Director: Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Kate Hudson, Josh Gad
This is the first of three films on this list that have generated buzz for things other than what happens between their opening and closing credits. In the case of Wish I Was Here, it's that it's the product of Zach Braff's fairly controversial Kickstarter campaign. Regardless of your stance on crowdsourcing, though, it's Braff's first feature directed since Garden State, so we have the comfort of knowing even if the film ends up missing the mark we'll have a pretty stellar soundtrack.
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9.The Judge
Release Date: October 10
Director: David Dobkin
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga
Robert Downey Jr. seems born to play a fast-talking hot shot lawyer, and the chance to see he and Robert Duvall play off each other for a full movie is enough to make any "most anticipated" list.
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8. The Interview
Release Date: October 10
Directors: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco
Rogen and Goldberg are the comedy collaborators behind Superbad, Pineapple Express, and This is the End. If that's not enough to sell you, how about the face that North Korea has called this movie an "act of war"?
[ new page = Fury ]
7. Fury
Release Date: November 14
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman
Brad Pitt tries his hand at another World War II film, but this one looks slightly more conventional than Inglourious Basterds. It's got a look similar to Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, and it's not likely that was just by coincidence. If Fury can give be half as effective as either of them it will be a worthy venture.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
Release Date: August 1
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper
We've been inundated with comic book movies over the past decade or so, so when one comes up that looks as offbeat and unconventional as this does it's easy to get excited. Plus, Bradley Cooper as a talking Raccoon.
[ new page = Boyhood ]
5. Boyhood
Release Date: July 11
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater
You'll be hard pressed to read or hear anything about this film that doesn't mention its unique shooting style, and with good reason. It's a film about a family that takes place over the course of twelve years, and was shot in small increments over the course of twelve years, so all the characters age before our eyes. We've seen something similar done with the 7 Up documentary series, but nothing done as a scripted narrative film such as this.
[ new page = Kill the Messenger ]
4. Kill the Messenger
Release Date: October 10
Director: Michael Cuesta
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Barry Pepper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Kill the Messenger has a powerhouse cast and an intriguing story of a journalist's involvement in the CIA's relationship with Nicaraguan drug cartel. The trailer manages to give away a ton while still feeling like a major tease.
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3. Kingsman: The Secret Service
Release Date: October 24
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson
Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick Ass and X-Men: First Class is something of a master of the modern action film. His movies are fun, fast, and somewhat mindless. Not mindless in the way that no thought was put into them, but mindless in the way that he's done all he can to make accessible films that are easy to watch (and re-watch). Kingsman seems to fall right in line with that.
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2. Foxcatcher
Release Date: November 14
Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum
Just watch the trailer and try not to get excited for this one. Steve Carell and Channing Tatum look and sound how we have never seen or heard them before. Add in that it's the third feature from Capote and Moneyball director Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher has all the promise in the world.
[ new page = Gone Girl ]
1. Gone Girl
Release Date: October 3
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike
Based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl is directed by David Fincher, who is no stranger to the dark crime drama. Count on this film to be the one to own this year's award season.
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