Fall Movie Preview 2013
Posted on September 5, 2013 at 8:00 am
Fall doesn’t start officially for another few weeks, but the fall movie season won’t wait that long. Traditionally, fall is when we start seeing some movies for grown-ups after all of the chases and explosions of the summer. Let’s take a look at what’s coming, including some prestige dramas with Oscar-worthy performances, some silly comedies, some scary thrillers, some romance, and even a superhero or two and a couple of high-profile sequels coming in September, October, and November.
Dramas:
“Rush” is written by Peter Morgan, who specializes in real-life stories of conflict between two strong characters like “The Queen” and “The King of Scotland.” Here he re-teams with his “Frost/Nixon” director Ron Howard for the true story of competing Formula One race car drivers.
“Gravity” stars Sandra Bullock as an astronaut stranded in space. Director Alfonso Cuarón wowed the fans at Comic-Con with early footage.
“Captain Phillips” is based on a chilling real-life story of an American ship taken over by Somali pirates with nothing to lose. Tom Hanks plays the merchant marine captain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp6jpeDeQmE“12 Years a Slave” has Chiwetal Ejiofor in the true story of a free black man from New York who was sold into slavery, and wrote about it after he was freed.
“The 5th Estate” is the story of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
“All is Lost” has just one actor: Robert Redford, as a man lost at sea.
“Diana” stars Naomi Watts as the Princess of Wales, focusing on her relationship with an Indian doctor (Naveen Andrews), who may have been her greatest love.
“Grace of Monaco” stars Watts’ BFF, Nicole Kidman, as another royal blonde icon, actress-turned princess Grace Kelly.
“Last Vegas” has an all-star cast of Oscar-winners: Kevin Kline, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Douglas in the story of a Las Vegas bachelor party they swear is not another version of “The Hangover.”
“The Wolf of Wall Street” reunites director Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio in this fact-based story of the rise and fall of a financial crook. This may be Matthew McConaughey’s year for an Oscar — in this film and in “Dallas Buyer’s Club” he looks very impressive.
Big books about teenage heroes:
“Catching Fire” is the second chapter in “The Hunger Games,” with Jennifer Lawrence returning as Katniss Everdeen.
“Ender’s Game” stars Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, and “Hugo’s” Asa Butterfield in the story of a boy trained to defeat alien invaders.
“The Book Thief” is about a girl in Nazi Germany who steals to help her family.
“Great Expectations” is yet another version of the Dickens classic, with Helen Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham.
Comedies:
“Anchorman 2” takes Ron Burgundy and his clueless colleagues enter the era of 24-hour news channels in this sequel. The 70’s clothes, I’d like to point out, are not exaggerated.
“The Family” stars Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer as a mob couple in the witness protection program, under the supervision of federal agent Tommy Lee Jones.
“Delivery Man” has Vince Vaughn as (what else) a slacker. He is stunned to learn that through a bureaucratic oversight, his donations to a sperm bank have resulted in 533 children.
Romance:
“Enough Said” stars James Gandolfini in one of his last performances — his first as a romantic lead, opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Catherine Keener as his ex-wife.
“About Time” may feel like deja vu for Rachel McAdams, who once again finds herself falling in love with a time traveler.
Documentaries:
“Salinger” is the story of the 20th century’s most famously reclusive author. One bombshell has already been reported. There may be five unpublished novels coming from the man who wrote Catcher in the Rye.
“Inequality for All” documents the growing income inequality and its consequences.
“Metallica Through the Never” combines 3D performance footage with a fictional story about a roadie.
For the Whole Family:
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2”
“Frozen” is an animated musical from Disney inspired by the classic fairy tale, “The Snow Queen.”
Roger Rees stars in this stunning Royal Shakespeare Company version of Dickens’ story of a poor brother and sister making their way despite the cruelty of their rich and powerful uncle. This is a nine-hour version of the live performance that mesmerized audiences in London and New York. There is also a 2003 movie version with Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway and Nathan Lane.
An orphan with a mysterious benefactor loves a girl who has been trained never to love. The David Lean-directed version with John Mills and Jean Simmons is hauntingly beautiful. Simmons later starred as the elderly Miss Havisham in a 1991 miniseries. And there is a new version coming out later this year with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham-Carter.
A stylish modern-day version stars Gwenyth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke.
The BBC miniseries about a decades-long lawsuit that destroys a family stars Gillian Anderson as the chilly but mysterious Lady Deadlock.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It was the time of the French revolution and in this version Ronald Coleman unforgettably explains, “It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done. It is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known.” 
W.C. Fields plays the ever-in-debt, ever-optimistic Mr. Micawber in this sumptuous and exquisitely cast MGM version of Dickens’ autobiographical novel.
A best picture Oscar winner, “Oliver!” is a glorious musical adaptation of Dickens’ story about an orphan taken in by a thief. Disney also did an animated version with animals called 
.