Movies (the September edition)

I'm a movie whore. I love watching 'em, comparing, critiquing, knowing the behind-the-scenes stuff, what & when they're coming out and who's in 'em. I love the variety; that I can find delight (or fault) in everything from a lame comedy to an award winning drama is awesome!

Now it is September, which means autumn is upon us and with it comes the Fall movie season! As the weather gets colder, it drives folks to more indoor activities (like going to the cinema) which means higher stakes to make bigger bank for the movie industry. Also, the award season is around the corner - and boy does the impending line up show it.

Thus, for your reading pleasure, here is the list, in order of release date, of films coming out this month that I want to see; from "kinda want" to "super really want". I've included synopses and links. Enjoy and, of course, let me know if you would want to see one with me because I love spending time with friends and having someone to chat about the movie with afterward (even better if said chatting occurs over pie!)

9/4
All About Steve - Sandra Bullock stars as Mary, a pretty, smart and eccentric crossword puzzler who is set up on a blind date with CNN cameraman Steve (The Hangover's Bradley Cooper) and the sparks fly...for Mary. When Steve is called away to work, Mary takes up the mission of following him and his crew across the country hoping to convince him that they belong together. This movie has three big things going for it: 1) I love Sandra Bullock comedies; that woman rocks! 2) Bradley Cooper (if you have not see The Hangover, you should) is HAWT! 3) I have a good friend named Steve making the title and premise 10x more amusing to me (right up there with the scene in Over The Hedge when Hammy the Squirrel suggests they name the hedge Steve "itsaprettyname!")

Carriers -Pandemic thriller starring Chris Pike (aka Capt Kirk in the recent Star Trek movie) and, oh look, guest spot by Christopher Meloni (of Law & Order:SVU). It looks like it could be an average pandemic and possibly zombie-esque thriller. Chris Pike has proved he's got some acting chops though. I think the thing that piques my interest is the societal downfall/ survival aspect. I nearly always enjoy seeing what a film or book does with dystopic or anti-utopia scenarios.

Extract - The latest comedy from Mike Judge (writer/director of Office Space), this time he takes the bosses side of things. Joel (Jason Bateman) is the owner of an extract plant and is having a myriad of business and personal problems. Also stars Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig and J.K. Simmons. For starters I dig Judge's work. For seconds, Jason Bateman rocks my casbah. 'Nuff said.

Gamer - Gerard Butler is literally fighting a war for his life, the only problem is that he's not the one in control of his actions. As a death row inmate he is the living player in a game where others control his actions and whether he wins or loses and winning is what will get him out of prison back to his family. Let's see, what could Kris possibly love about this movie? Lots of decently done action sequences. Check. Anti-utopic plot line. Check! Michael C. Hall (from Six Feet Under and Dexter). Check! Gerard Butler (aka hot, talented Scottish actor). CHECK! I am ALL about this one!

9/9
9 - Originally an Academy Award nominated short, writer/director Shawn Acker has expanded his work into a full length animated wonder. Set in an apocalyptic future where humans are gone, nine rag dolls created by a scientist try to understand the world around them and why they were created while fighting the evils that surround them. You all know I love a good dystopic story. The animation looks tight! Featuring the voice talents of Elijah Wood, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Jennifer Connelly. Produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted and -thank you Steve- the writer of Night Watch and Day Watch). The trailer alone makes me all tingly and giddy.

9/18
Pandorum - Sci-fi thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as astronauts who awake in hyper-sleep chambers with no memory of who they are or why they are here. As they explore their seemingly deserted space craft in search of any clue to their identities or their mission, the horrifying realization dawns that they are not alone. *gasp, shriek and all that* OK, it's been a while since I've seen a thriller/horror trailer that actually caught my interest; horror is general not my gig. The sci-fi/space factor got a hook in me though and with the movie featuring Norman Reedus (from The Boondock Saints) and giving Ben Foster a starring role, they can count me in. You see Ben Foster is one of the tops on my underrated actors list. He's attractive in a quirky kinda way and has excellent acting range. Whether he's a love sick teen (Get Over It), a violent young criminal (Hostage and Alpha Dogs), a mutant (X-Men: The Last Stand) or an outlaw cowboy alongside Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma) this guy has proved his chops. I've been watching him for a while now and love seeing where his career has led him.

9/25
The Boys Are Back - Joe Warr (Clive Owen) is a talented, witty and action-oriented sports writer who finds himself at a complete loss when his wife tragically dies leaving him to be a single father to two sons, a six-year-old and a teen from a previous marriage. "United by unspoken love, conflicted by fierce feelings and in search of a road forward, the three multi-generational boys of the Warr household, father and sons alike, must each find their own way, however tenuous, to grow up." (imdb.com) A dramatic and touching look at fatherhood, family, loss and everyday life. I love Clive Owen and am occasionally a sucker for a good touchy-feely flick.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men - An anthropology grad student deals with her recent break-up by conducting interviews with various men. John Krasinski picked up the rights to this set of stories by David Foster Wallace with the first paycheck he got for his role on The Office. Krasinski adapted them to the screenplay, directs and even acts in what sounds like a sociologically interesting movie.

Fame - Revamp and update of the 1980's musical about students attending the New York Academy of Performing Arts. Featuring Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally and Bebe Neuwirth as the faculty and original cast member Debbie Allen as the principal. It's like a G-rated, teenage version Rent hahaha!

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell - Based on the book of the same title by Tucker Max, Max also wrote the screenplay and this is his synopsis from imdb.com: "Tucker decides to take an impromptu trip to celebrate his friend's bachelor party. He drags his friend into a lie with his fiancée, gets him into trouble and then abandons him in order to pursue a hilarious carnal interest. Tucker is disinvited to the wedding, and in order to get back in, Tucker has to find a way to balance his narcissism with the demands of friendship." Stars Matt Czuchry (Gilmore Girls and The Good Wife). It could be funny, it could suck...I haven't even read the book. *shrug*

Surrogates - Sci-fi flick based on a graphic novel, oooooh. In a future where humans remain isolated and safely experience the world through an idealized robotic "surrogates". But when people start dying while plugged into their surrogate, Detective Greer (Bruce Willis) must "unplug" and go out into the real world to find the murderer before all hell breaks loose; because, you know, that's what society does. This could turn out to be either really cool or...well, I won't name names, but we all know there have been some awesome sci-fi books/ graphic novels that have been turned into not-so-awesome movies.


I would also just like to say, about getting the trailers for these from imdb...I'm so friggin sick of those pre-trailer commercials for Haagen Dazs "Five" line that I may never eat their ice cream again. OK, I'm done :)