Autumn-atic
cinema

>> Monster mists, killer aliens, steamy sex scenes and much more fall into cinemas this season

LAST MAN STANDING: I Am Legend

There’s no arguing that this summer featured a surprising number of smart and satisfying entertainments—Bourne, Harry Potter, the Apatow comedies. But they were sprinkled among a spectacular number of crappy sequels and threequels, and it’s somewhat of a relief to get into fall, with its prestige pictures, classy comedies and, yeah, another Saw movie. This autumn sees a grab bag of family flicks, arthouse weepers, actor-directed dramas and high-toned thrillers—enough to make you forget that stupid Fantastic Four sequel.

Fantasy, sci-fi and Saw

On the fantastical front, however, one of the movies I’m personally most looking forward to is

The Golden Compass, directed by Chris Weitz and based on the first book in Philip Pullman’s sublime His Dark Materials series of novels. It stars Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards; let’s hope it lives up to the brilliantly inventive book (Dec. 7). Will Smith stars in I Am Legend, where he plays the last man alive—possibly—in a New York wracked by plague; it’s based on the book by Richard Matheson, which was previously adapted as the Charlton Heston vehicle Omega Man (Dec. 14).

Beowulf could be... interesting. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on the epic poem, the movie features Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins and Crispin Glover—or at least CGI-rendered versions of them—battling baddies (Nov. 16). Speaking of baddies, those aliens and those Predators are mixing it up again in Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, sequel to the sad spin-off of those venerable series (Dec. 25). Speaking of sequels, yup, that crazy Jigsaw Killer is back in Saw IV—expect more torture for your money (Oct. 26). Milla Jovovich fans can also rejoice, as the actress/model/singer continues her single-minded focus on perfecting the Resident Evil concept with Extinction, third in the series (Sept. 21).

Fog in aisle five

You know what’s really scary? Stephen King’s novella The Mist, about a dude trapped in a supermarket while an evil, monster-filled mist creeps into town. Frank Darabont must think so too, as he’s adapted it into a new film starring Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden (Nov. 21). Less scary is National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which has Nicolas Cage once again digging up dirt about U.S. history, this time on the trail of some sort of “Presidential Book of Secrets.” Helen Mirren, of all people, co-stars as his mom (Dec. 21).

The political thriller’s been making somewhat of a comeback in recent years. Gavin Hood of Tsotsi fame, is the director behind Rendition, in which Reese Witherspoon plays the wife of a terrorism suspect who is reported “disappeared” by the CIA (Oct. 19) In Peter Berg’s The Kingdom, Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner are part of a U.S. intelligence team sent to investigate a terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia (Sept. 28).

A supposed arty Western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford features Brad Pitt as the former and Casey Affleck as the latter; Zooey Deschanel co-stars (Sept. 21). Former “Alfies” Michael Caine and Jude Law also team up, this time in a remake of Sleuth, courtesy of director Kenneth Branagh (Oct. 2).

Queens and gangsters

You don’t see non-genre, period sequels too often, but Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age is one of them. Cate Blanchett returns as the eponymous queen, with Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh (Oct. 12). Ridley Scott’s latest is also a period piece, albeit a more recent one: American Gangster stars Denzel Washington as real-life ’60s and ’70s Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas (Nov. 2).

Our own Denys Arcand is back for the first time since Les Invasions barbares with L’Âge des ténèbres, about a civil servant (Marc Labrèche) who escapes into dreams every night (Dec. 7). Paul Thomas Anderson returns to directing after a five-year absence with There Will Be Blood, a loose adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel starring Daniel Day-Lewis as an amoral oil man (Dec. 26). Francis Ford Coppola directs for the first time in a decade with the period love story Youth Without Youth, starring Tim Roth (Dec. 14). Robert Redford also returns to the director’s chair for the first time since 2000’s (ugh) The Legend of Bagger Vance with Lions for Lambs, a politically charged drama with Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep (Nov. 9). In a similar vein is Charlie Wilson’s War, about the real-life Texas politician of the title, played by Tom Hanks, who assisted the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Julia Roberts also stars (Dec. 25).

Ang Lee’s latest is burning up screens at film festivals with its allegedly super-steamy sex scenes. Lust, Caution is a thriller starring Tony Leung and Joan Chen (Oct. 4). Sex is also the subject of Atonement, based on the Ian McEwan novel and starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy (Dec. 7).

Sean Penn’s latest, Into the Wild, based on the Jon Krakauer book about a kid who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness, never to return, is getting the best reviews of his directing career. Emile Hirsch stars (Sept. 21). Ben Affleck makes his directing debut with kidnapping drama Gone Baby Gone, set in his native Boston and starring his brother Casey (Oct. 19). Fellow actor-director George Clooney’s latest is Leatherheads, an early-1900s football story starring Renée Zellweger and John Krasinski (Dec. 7).

ROYAL RETURN: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Familial fun and dysfunction

On the family-angst comedy tip, Wes Anderson’s latest, The Darjeeling Limited, doesn’t look like much of a departure for the director, focusing on three troubled brothers (Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody) on a colourful train trip through India (Sept. 29). Noah Baumbach, who co-wrote Anderson’s last movie, is baum-back with Margot at the Wedding, starring Jack Black and Nicole Kidman (Nov. 16).

BROTHERS IN HARM: The Darjeeling Limited

If you’re feeling the need for even more Judd Apatow, check out the music-biz satire Walk Hard, starring John C. Reilly as a country singer, which he penned (Dec. 21). And if you need more Michael in your life, check out Juno, featuring Michael Cera and Ellen Page and directed by Jason Reitman (Dec. 14). David Schwimmer takes the helm for Run, Fatboy, Run, a comedy featuring Brit writer/actor Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead).

The always awesome Steve Carell stars in Dan in Real Life, a comedy about a dude who falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend, here played by Juliette Binoche (Oct. 12). In The Heartbreak Kid, a remake of the 1973 Elaine May comedy, Ben Stiller plays a straying hubbie on his honeymoon (Oct. 5).

For kids and fellow travellers, Jerry Seinfeld hits the big screen in a family-friendly fashion with Bee Movie, an animated adventure about a bee who goes on strike (Nov. 2). In Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Dustin Hoffman plays the mister of the title, a toy store magnate looking to bequeath his business to Natalie Portman (Nov. 16). The ever-charming Amy Adams stars in Enchanted as an animated Disney princess who ends up in the real world hanging out with Patrick Dempsey (Nov. 21).