Fall 2022 Movies to Watch Out For

The movies of fall 2022 include top actors and directors (one returning after 16 years) and some promising newcomers.

Armageddon Time stars Oscar winners Sir Anthony Hopkins and Anne Hathaway plus “Succession” star Jeremy Strong in a 1980s-set story of a white boy from a Jewish family in New York who is befriended by a Black classmate.

Triangle of Sadness You think “Below Deck” is about what it’s like to be yacht crew for the super-rich? Or “Titanic” is about how vulnerable even the highest level of society are? Wait until you see this film, with Woody Harrelson as the captain of a yacht for the .0001 percent, when things go very wrong.

Confess Fletch The laconic, snarky reporter originally played by Chevy Chase returns, this time with Jon Hamm in the role, alongside his “Mad Man” co-star John Slattery, from director Greg Mottola of “Adventureland,” “Superbad,” and “Paul.”

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Everyone loves Wierd Al. Everyone loves Daniel Radcliffe. This is going to be a treat.

Don’t Worry Darling We’ve heard a lot about the behind the scenes on Olivia Wilde’s follow-up to “Booksmart,” which looks like a more sophisticated version of “The Stepford Wives.” Now we’ll get a chance to see Harry Styles and Florence Pugh in this story about what at first likes a suburban paradise but turns out very much not to be.

Till Emmitt Till was a 14 year old Black young man from Chicago who went to visit his cousin in Mississippi in 1955. A white woman accused him of being disrespectful and he was murdered. His murderers were acquitted. Just this year, the woman involved was brought before a grand jury, and they declined to indict her. This is the story of Till’s mother, Mamie Elizabeth Till-Mobley (played by Danielle Deadwyler), who would not let America look away from what happened. She spoke out and advocated and was a key figure in the Civil Rights movement.

Operation Seawolf A veteran submarine captain (Dolph Lundgren) defends the United States from a German attack near the end of WWII.

The Whale Brendan Fraser is getting a lot of early acclaim for his performance as a morbidly obese teacher whose estranged daughter comes home. Director Darren Aronofsky always delivers the striking and unexpected.

White Noise The trailer does not give a good idea of what it is about. From what I’ve heard, the DeLillo book it is based on does not either. What we know is that Greta Gerwig and Adam Driver star as a couple in a college town confronting some strange event.

Bros The second R-rated gay male rom-com of the year also features “SNL” star Bowen Yang. The lead is co-writer Billy Eichner and behind the scenes are director Nicholas Stoller and producer Judd Apatow.

Wendell and Wilde Director Henry Selick and composer Bruno Coulais of “Coraline” reunite for another stop-motion film, featuring voices from Key and Peele (Jordan Peele also co-wrote with Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman) and Angela Bassett. Like “Coraline” and Selick’s “Nightmare Before Christmas,” it looks wonderfully creative and just the right amount of creepy.

TWO PINOCCHIOS: Disney’s live action version stars Tom Hanks as Gepetto. We’re also getting Guillermo del Toro’s version with Tilda Swinton, Ewan McGregor, and Christoph Waltz.

The Woman King The all-female force in “The Black Panther” may have been inspired in part by the real-life Agojie, the fierce, all-female warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s. General Nanisca, played by Oscar-winner Viola Davis trains her troops to take their most powerful adversary.

Meet Cute Pete Davidson (“SNL”) and Kaley Cuoco (“the Big Bang Theory”) star in a romantic comedy about a couple who keep meeting and falling in love — and then meet and fall in love again.

She Said One of the most powerful men in one of the most powerful businesses in the world was a despicable predator but no one wanted to talk about it. This is the real-life story of the persistence and integrity reporters who insisted that the truth about Harvey Weinstein be told and the courage of the women who could not be silenced.

Strange World Disney’s animated story of a family on an adventure looks fabulously inventive. “Strange” barely touches the surface. Voice talent includes Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Catherine Called Birdy The beloved novel about a feisty medieval heroine is brought to the screen by Lena Dunham.

The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever There is no comic book villain as devastating as cancer, and the loss of Chadwick Boseman will be felt deeply by the audience and the characters in this sequel.

The Fablemans Steven Spielberg’s movies are usually, in one way or another, about family. But this is his most personal, a movie inspired by his own experiences growing up as a child and teenager in love with movies. The cast includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, and Seth Rogen.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever Zac Efron stars in a story that has to be true because no one could make it up, In 1967, as protests rocked the United States and Americans were being killed in Viet Nam, some dude who was a vet decided to bring the soldiers some beer. Really. The movie also stars Bill Murray and Russell Crowe. True story here and here. My favorite quote: “In what wound up being a two-month journey, Donohue boarded the Drake Victory with a duffel bag full of American beer and some clothing. The 8,000-mile trip was grueling, and by the time the ship docked at Qui Nhơn harbor, the Marine veteran had drank all the beer and needed to replenish his supplies.In what wound up being a two-month journey, Donohue boarded the Drake Victory with a duffel bag full of American beer and some clothing. The 8,000-mile trip was grueling, and by the time the ship docked at Qui Nhơn harbor, the Marine veteran had drank all the beer and needed to replenish his supplies.”

Clerks III The View Askewniverse is rivaling the MCU and the Fast/Furious films for sheer numbers. In this one, Jay, Silent Bob, Dante and Randall are back and, what else, making a movie.

Black Adam Dwayne Johnson plays a once-enslaved man-turned god who exemplifies the term “anti-hero.”

Amsterdam David O. Russell directs and Christian Bale, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Meyers, Chris Rock Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Zoe Saldana, and Robert De Niro star in a 1930s story about some people who witness something they shouldn’t.

Medieval Inspired by the true story of Jan Žižka, one of greatest warriors in history, who led a rebel army to battle the corruption, greed and betrayal rampant amongst those clawing for power in the 14th century.