Fall Itinerary: The Season's Movie-Going Prospects

A double dose of Moore this fall. Oh, hold me!*

As a companion piece to my last post where I finally got my act together and gave y'all a proper account of what I've been seeing this year, I now want to focus my attention on what I plan to see for the rest of the film year. I might be missing a few titles (especially if there are late-season additions like Timbuktu or Grace of Monaco, which would obviously work as a double feature), but this is generally how I keep up with all of the fall/winter films on my radar, and now everyone can share in the experience! I've already seen a few of the titles, which are denoted by the addition of a grade and twitter capsule. I apologize in advance to all of the internet for not liking Gone Girl. If it makes any difference, it hurt me too.

Tier 1
(Indispensable viewing for Top 10 list)

• Leviathan – After Elena and The Return, Zvyagintsev has ownership of my heart.
• Goodbye to Language – Oh, here's the 3D innovation that Cameron/Scorsese were talking about.
• Inherent Vice – Guessing this won't be my favorite Anderson, but c'mon!
• Mr. Turner – Guessing this won't be my favorite Leigh, but c'mon!
• Birdman – Was one of the few who liked Biutiful. Theoretically interesting move for all involved.
  - An absolute marvel of grandiose form, evoking film and stage as pompous and noble exercises. Rich, peculiar ambience. Keaton A+ A–
• Gone Girl – Curious how well this one will land, but Fincher always demands loyalty.
  - Ideal material for Fincher, w/ little inspiration to approach. Tone, pace way off. Smug flippancy flattens spiky thematics. C
• Maidan – Crazy about Loznitsa since My Joy and In the Fog. Sounds like a gutsy approach to subject.
• Selma – DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere just came to Netflix. Always behind rising female auteurs.
  - Impeccable historical probing in a Lincoln vein, revealing complex, uncannily intimate nerves and organisms of an era and revolution. A–
• Foxcatcher – Loved Capote and Moneyball. Can't wait to see what Miller does with this bizarre tale.
  - Near Snowtown-levels of tonal/atmospheric oppressiveness. Obvious current builds to riveting second half. Actors give it heft. B

Tier 2

(Almost as indispensable. No way I'm missing any of these.)

• Interstellar – Nolan at 3 hours sounds iffy, but I'm digging this one's emotional vibe.
  - Inception-y amalgam of everything frustrating/brilliant about Nolan's ambitions and emotions. Sincere, for better and worse. B
• Life of Riley – Final film from Resnais. Never liked latter-day stuff as much, but easily a must-see.
• Stray Dogs – Have yet to see a Ming-liang. Looks quite impressive.
• National Gallery – Caught two hours of At Berkeley on PBS back in the winter. Excited to see more!
  - Great semi-intro to Wiseman, a lucid, pristine rumination on painstaking techniques and labors. Invigoratingly assembled. A–
• Maps to the Stars – I didn't like Cosmopolis at all, but could I be any Moore excited?
  - *Pushed to 2015, giving new meaning to my cries of "Oh, hold me," above. :(
• Two Days, One Night – Dardennes' reliable humanism coupled w/ Cotillard's dramatic potency. Eager.
  - Dardennes continue to package allegory, polish, surprises in character-specific ways. Delicate but not simplistic. B+
• Winter Sleep – Not huge on Ceylan, but, for obvious reasons, this one isn't exactly the one to miss.
• Abuse of Weakness – Breillat breaks either way for me, but Huppert always entices.
  - Breillat's bone-cold precision shines even through script's most tepid stretches. Strong Huppert perf. KO of a finale. B–
• A Most Violent Year – After Llewyn Davis I'll follow Isaac anywhere.
• Citizenfour – Always eager for docs with Weighty Issues that don't just reiterate facts we already know.
  - Vital, vivid, unsettling. Clear-eyed study of media jungle. Nails tricky balance of reluctant-but-necessary focus on Snowden. B+
• Mommy – I'm more tolerant of Dolan than most. Curious to see what's getting people on the bandwagon now.
• Pride – Looks a little stunty, trailer full of dated jokes, but cast, reviews encourage.
  - Shrewd political osmosis and a cheerful crowd-pleaser. Builds remarkable urgency, beguiling joy. Generous ensemble. Moving tale. A–
• The Guest – Know very little about the plot of this one, but has a lot of enthusiastic supporters, and I like stylistic verve.
• The Skeleton Twins – Originality likely won't be its biggest asset, but Wiig and Hader show promise.
  - Darkly funny spin on Estranged Siblings; their shared unrest and compassion. Wiig, Hader keenly perceptive to this dynamic. B+
• Rosewater – Rooting for Stewart! Love that he cast My Bernal.
• The Homesman – Loved Three Burials; Cannes response intrigues.
  - Cutting, wistful mosaic of Frontier themes, styles and characterizations. Trenchant camera, edits yield gripping authority. A–
• Beloved Sisters – Not gonna lie, everything about this radiates with appeal, to me.
• Björk: Biophilia Live – Playing for a couple of days at the Belcourt, so I might make the effort.
  - Blissful exhilaration. Marries eclectic visual wit with Björk's bravura audio-sensory pleasures. Crystalline! B+
• Tracks – Love to see Wasikowska continuing to push herself.
• The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby – Finally able to see this! Hope Weinsteins didn't mangle it.
  - Ambitious but stultifying ideas, POV, framework. Able cast, but few cogent cases made for characters. C
• Still Alice – Hi, I'm Luke, and I love Julianne Moore.

Tier 3

(Likely won't skip, for a number of different factors.)

• Nightcrawler – Loyal to Jake, but I am feeling concerned about his propensity for twitchy affectation.
  - Shocking, I guess? Best surprises come from Jake. Frames, sound, atmospherics all entice. Thin blanket of rancid concepts. B–
• The Babadook – Everything I hear seems to guarantee I'll be utterly shattered by the end. But in a good way?
  - Fearless, indelible plunge into traumatized tone and formal conviction. Eerie, relentless scares, specific to character, milieu. B+
• Whiplash – Heard a few discouraging words from festival screenings, but still curious, obviously.
  - Hyperbolic style, perfunctory script beats limit actors and scenarios; grows increasingly senseless as it goes. Why such raves? C
• Wild – Obviously awaiting the return of Reese, however rote the material sounds.
  - Strains to tie Cheryl's physical and spiritual voyage, but a fair stab. Iffy flashbacks; immediate textures. Welcome home, Reese! B–
• Force Majeure – A favorite of many at TIFF. Interested to see where they go with the premise.
  - Unbeatable start poses tasty setup, but from there: a slippery slope in tone, insight, and tension. Characters a bit vague. B
• Big Eyes – Not sure how to feel about Burton or Waltz, but Adams a big sell.
  - Tritely dramatized in script and direction, shrouding character motivations/perceptions. Faulty tone fails cast, story. Cumbersome. D
• Dear White People – Sundance dramedies go either way for me, but I'm really rooting for this one.
  - Defiant eccentricity makes film feel shaky, but also displays considerable breadth in humor, characters, tough ideas. B
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya – Last from Studio Ghibli for a while. Looks gorgeous
• Fury – Kind of like Monuments Men (Big Stars and History!), except not nauseatingly horrible? Will follow Pitt to the end.
  - Grisly swerves, lurid acrobatics, minus EoW's brazen voice. Dodges complex politics of story. Sound, MVP actors have charisma. C
• Listen Up Phillip – The perfect match for Schwartzman's house style?
  - Candid, deceptively aloof study of writerly narcissism. Vinegary wordplay redeems structural limits. Moss astounds. B
• American Sniper – Trailer sure got to me. Cooper's been on a role, lately. Just what Eastwood needs?
• Starred Up – I kind of like Mackenzie. O'Connell's going to be hard to ignore.
  - Mackenzie acerbic as ever with meticulous rhythms and textures of a gutsy if slightly precarious script. O'Connell delivers. B
• The Two Faces of January – Weird that it's taken so long to arrive, but this cast looks stunning.
  - Handsome. Taut one minute, overly mannered the next. Dunst weirdly short shrifted. Mortensen easily MVP. C+
• Camp X-Ray – I happen to think Stewart is very capable. Moaadi wowed in A Separation.
  - Leads anchor heightened, absorbing dual character study. Nabs balance of empathy and strife even when scenes underscore both. B–
• Top Five – Having trouble gauging the reaction to this one, but I'm admiring Rock's creative risks lately.
• Lilting – Every time I give Whishaw a chance I get smacked in the face. Still: gay-interest.
• Cake – Based on stills and synopsis I feared this to be Aniston's Own Love Song, but thrilled that this isn't the case.
• The Drop – Glad to have Tom back from Nolan-land. Final Gandolfini role.
• Unbroken – Missed In the Land of Blood and Honey, but loving Jolie's enthusiasm over this.
• The Good Lie – Been hearing that this isn't just White Savior fodder. I can make the time.
  - Assured, thoughtful handling of narrative and theme; characters, ideas never sold short. Cast aids dips into tedium. B–

Tier 4

(A little on the fence, but curious.)

• Miss Julie – Reactions a little dismaying, yet feel more convinced than ever that I need to see it.
• Into the Woods – Fans of source material swear by it. Has Marshall exhausted all good will?
  - Songs, cast have appeal, but barely sustain Marshall's dissonance, tale's fleeting charm. Smartly-played by non-Depps. Fine. C+
• The Theory of Everything – I'd see it anyway for the Oscars and the cast, but "excited" I am not.
  - Not impervious to biopic cliché or unsubtle accentuation of theme, but Marsh, cast unearth rich nuances from both. B
• The Imitation Game – Same as Theory. Maybe looks slightly less appealing than that one.
• The Boxtrolls – Laika's two-for-two for me and the reviews are all good, but I'm still hesitant.
• Beyond the Lights – Yet another tale of the woes of fame and fortune. Good-looking cast, though.- Keenly and carefully considered study of depression and stardom. Subversive, satisfying stab at formula. Mbatha-Raw! B+
• Low Down – Actors entice; story beats feel very familiar from trailer and plot descriptions.
• White Bird in a Blizzard – Never have warmed to Araki. Little stacked in its favor, beyond Woodley.
• The Book of Life – Maybe if the reviews are good. Design could elevate it?
• Kill the Messenger – Renner's barely sustaining enthusiasm at this point, but could surprise?
• Big Hero 6 – Frozen impressed. But Marvel opportunism seems a big discouraging step-down from Princess sisterhood.
  - Visible influences from prior Disney/Marvel outings. Sensitive warmth drowns them, esp. via disarmingly "huggable" robot. B
• Before I Go to Sleep – I'm not opposed to another modest Kidman-Firth surprise, but I'm skeptical.
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Made it through first two. Maybe I can tolerate this one?
  - Not flip about themes, internal conflicts of be all/end all finale, but still whiffs of misguided execution C
• Annie – Adore Quvenzhané, but the fact that this was originally intended for Willow Smith alarms.
  - Quvenzhané sells chintziness, script's better intentions more amiably than Gluck. Changes in setting, character utterly floundered. C

Tier 5

(Spring/Summer titles that are on my radar in some form.)

• The Last of the Unjust – The notion of seeing 3 more hours of Lanzmann's footage deeply excites!
  - Frank, indelible witness's ethically shaky position. Deft in Lanzmann's own tie to atrocities. More than a Shoah rehash. A
• The Missing Picture – This has been in my Netflix queue forever. Why is this still unwatched?!
  - Moving, poetic, aptly diverse in form and detail. Takes risks of testimony-via-clay figures and turns them into virtues. A
• Closed Curtain – Panahi's cinematic voice more crucial than ever.
• Unrelated – Premiered in 2008. U.S. finally getting a release. Unsure about availability.
  - Crisp, economical style as a rich meditation on barely-contained ennui. Wise choices in structure, performance avoid cliché. A
• Child's Pose – Also, been available on Netflix forever. Romanian New Wave still fascinates.
  - Worthy in every respect. Melodramatic surges, socio-political allegory, toxic protagonist thrill even as ideas begin to ebb. B
• Obvious Child – Know a lot of fans of Jenny Slate. Vital topic that Apatow would run from, screaming.
  - One small step for U.S. indie cinema, one bold leap in tiny but vital political progression. Funny, tender. Slate amazes. B+
• Manakamana – An endurance test? Maybe. But those festival reactions are hard to beat.
  - Laconic subjects, static camera are a challenge, but beams with quotidian pleasures. Local nuances overwhelmed by conceit? B
• The Final Member – A "penetrating" doc from what I gather.
  - Oddity of Penis-museum doc opens gate for ribbing or base inquiry of subject, but finds intelligent engagement with story. B
• We Are the Best! – Everything I hear about this is nothing less than excellent.
  - Funny, caustic, and humane. Rare tale of adolescent confusion that attains acute profundity without feeling confused. A–
• Before You Know It – I root for any documentary that studies what others ignore.
• Land Ho! – Loved Eenhoorn in This is Martin Bonner; qualified fan of Cold Weather.
  - Sweet, semi-intimate take on well worn tale of aging/male bonding. Both feel like crutches as a result, but are sharp and impactful. B–
• The Amazing Catfish – Wanted to see this so badly at NaFF. Agnès Godard is a treasure.
  - Intricate family snapshot, lent lithe humanist detail from Godard. Hews to a familiar pulse, but heart stays intact. B
• The German Doctor – Sounds intriguing, though not rave material for most?
• The One I Love – Love Moss and Duplass. Have no clue what the premise actually is.
  - Safety Not Guaranteed-ish: stalls on unique ideas/scenarios, coasts on savory cast. Creative mind-tease and genre-bending. B–
• Finding Fela – Playing Belcourt's Doctober, but at the worst possible time for me. Still, looks promising for Gibney.
  - Gibney's repetitive grooves an odd fit for Fela's indefatigable musical rebellion. Enlightening if awkwardly assembled sketch. B–
• The Trip to Italy – First film was a howler. Doesn't look like a retread.
• Hide Your Smiling Faces – A lot of enthusiastic supporters! Why have I yet to budge?
  - Rigorous and refreshingly lucid regional excavation, building new weight in adolescent inquiry/sibling bonds. B
• The Face of Love – Annette Bening falls for Ed Harris. Again. Love these two.
• Belle – Mbatha-Raw supposedly the year's great find. Vehicle seems shaky?
• The Congress – Didn't get into Waltz, but this seems much more daring.
  - Laudable conceptual brio, with sharper undercurrents than Folman's last, but quickly degenerates into listless entropy. B–
• It Felt Like Love – Understudy of Fisk Tank, Fat Girl, etc. Could excel on its own terms, though.
  - Familiar sketch, but also observant and tactile in ways that few U.S. indies ever bother to be. Hittman its biggest find. B–
• The Strange Little Cat – Available on Fandor. Been curious about this since its festival run last year.
• Get on Up – Viola is in this. Boseman is an enticing prospect. It's been out since August. How have I not seen this?
  - Adheres to predictable, stifling biopic arcs, despite tonal and structural gambles. Odd padding, dull camera, electric star turn. C+
• Muppets Most Wanted – Predecessor didn't thrill me as much as others. Step in the right direction?
  - Like Muppets, hems songs, gags, actors into self-aware antics; but nails absurdist delight of prior entries. Bliss. B
• Neighbors – Supposedly a great showcase for Byrne, and not just frat-bro antics!
  - Typical shabbiness from Rogen/Stoller group, but generously funny material for its ensemble. Strong adult/adolescent critique. B
• Alive Inside – Subject hits close to home for me. Lot of fans.
• Tammy – No, reviews aren't great, but I root for any comedy that actually cares about its women.
  - Frustratingly slipshod in conception, but warmly and valiantly explores what most comedies ignore. One hell of a firework show! C+
• Frankie & Alice – After 4 years, a commercial release is obtained! Morbidly curious.
  - After 4-year wait, outcome fails to fascinate like troubled distribution. Sax botches story. Berry preserves what she can. D+
• The Rover – Cannes reactions disappoint, but I feel like I owe it to Michôd after Animal Kingdom.
• Jimmy P. – Latest from Desplechin, but such a tepid response from Cannes. A year and a half ago.
• Non-Stop – Apparently quite fun. Gotta have some Moore and Nyong'o.
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Thought the first was pretty banal, but I'm open to being surprised.
• Cold in July – Hall doesn't have the best track record with movies, but I hear this is good.
  - Taut, insinuating narrative puzzle at beginning. Strong on region/period nuances. Still, crude reliance on sexual brutality. B–
• Hellion – Finally ready to meet Aaron Paul.
• Venus in Fur – Polanski does one-stage setting again. Same middling results as Carnage?
  - Wicked arsenal of intellectual playfulness and mercurial energies. Smart, if not quite elegant in self-reflexive psychology. B
• The Railway Man – I hear it's better than its reputation. Kidman can easily persuade me.
  - Mixed blessings in frankness of emotion, subject, and narrative presentation, but a sobering stab. Firth very moving. B–
• Lucy – Rooting for ScarJo since Don Jon. Mixed reaction, but I can handle stupid fun.
• Calvary – Didn't care for The Guard. Curious about new direction in tone, though.
  - Like The Guard, arranges a prime showcase for Gleason, but smugly churlish tone often irks, even amid loftier themes and ambitions. C–
• Mood Indigo – Haven't been excited by Gondry since Dave Chappelle's Block Party.
  - Gondry's Pee-wee-inspired take on The Congress, with the manic energy/melancholic undertones that implies. Still, hard to savor. C+
• Veronica Mars – By which I mean, I want to watch the show, first. I love Kristen Bell.
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Sequel seemed a dubious idea, but (hyperbolic?) reviews say otherwise.
• Words & Pictures – I mean, it looks awful, but Binoche!
• The Other Woman – I should be more excited for this, but it just seems so disgustingly sexist.
• Chef – Favrea wins heart of film food critics with Culinary Integrity! Wins back sexy wife. Everyone be charmed!
• Palo Alto – Should I be interested in this if I have no interest in reading James Franco's short fiction?
• Magic in the Moonlight – Mustered some enthusiasm for Stone and Firth, but still: bad reviews.
• What If – Waiting for Radcliffe and Kazan to stretch their abilities. Also: Potterhead.
  - Opposite of innovative, but funnier and smarter about male-female friendship than I wagered going in. Good showcase for leads. B–
• The Fault in Our Stars – Not big on YA adaptations, but loved Woodley in Spectacular Now. 
  - Torpid mix of earnest approach and pandering sentiment. Stilted dialogue and scenarios. Dern its saving grace. C–
• The Raid 2 – Plenty are into its craftsmanship, which I'm not against. Grisliness more irksome.
• Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – My best hope is Rourke, but even he looks like he's running on fumes.
• Divergent – Good to have lead roles for women in mainstream cinema. Next step: make them interesting!
• The Giver – Film makes shambles of themes, actors, stylistic conceit from what I hear.
• Fading Gigolo – Ideal double bill for Chef? Two tales of middle-aged male fantasies and self-flattery.
• Jersey Boys – Nothing screams "Broadway" more than Eastwood's dull colors or mannequin actors.
  - Dramatic paralysis. Tunes utterly devoid of joy or catchiness. Squanders promise of cast, barring Walken. Eastwood adrift. D
• Dom Hemingway – Not sure if this is where I want to see Law going.
• A Million Ways to Die in the West – Loved Ted, but this is looking more like Family Guy than American Dad. (i.e. richer characters, humor)
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – A misguided disaster of comic proportions!

Tier 6

(We'll see.)

• St. Vincent – Murray plays another dour asshole. But let's condescend to McCarthy for deciding to switch it up.
• My Old Lady – Normally, I'm not that against comfort-blanket viewing, but this one smells fishy.
• The Maze Runner – Don't know what it is about YA adaptations that make them look all the same these days.
• Dumb and Dumber To – That trailer: a lot of cringing. (Still might be dragged to it.)
• The Interview – Loved Neighbors, but I'm guessing this is more Pineapple/This is the End territory.
• Exodus: Gods and Kings – Title suggests hot new franchise. Tarsem would be ideal!
• This is Where I Leave You – Cast looks okay; on paper, at least. Why wouldn't you hire the Real Steel director for this?
  - Appealing cast can't shake formulaic setups, wobbly tone. Switch out Levy for Demme and you have a start. D+
• One Chance – Was actually quite beguiled by Corden in Begin Again, but not feeling this one at all.
  - Very Slumdog-meets-Billy Elliot: tiresome, over-edited, condescendingly sympathetic. Script tarnishes Corden's affability. D+
• The Zero Theorem – Increasingly missable from what I gather. Not even Waltz can save it?
• Horns – Meh, I'll probably just watch What If.
• The Judge – Finally! A chance to see RDJ and Duvall outmug one another in a father-son dramedy!
• Harmontown – Harmon gets #sixseasonsandamovie and another venue to grouch about his despair.
• Men, Women, & Children – This time Emma Thompson narrates instead of Tobey Maguire, so progress?
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – I didn't catch Fire, as it turns out. Intrigue still eludes me.
• The Equalizer – Washington goes Mel Gibson? I'll just wait for his next Unstoppable, thanks.

Tier 7

(Haha!)

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – Come kick off Carell's Oscar campaign!
• Annabelle – The only thing scary here is the shameless coattail-riding of The Conjuring.
• The Best of Me – Hoffman does Sparks. Not exactly dissimalar to how I'd describe The Last Station.
• John Wick – Keanu Reeves avenges his murdered dog? Can't imagine this being in poor taste.
• The Identical – NaFF '14's closing night film. Stayed away then, likely staying away now.
• Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – Amazed that three of these have even been demanded.
• Tusk – The fact that this is under Night at the Museum should tell you how I feel about Kevin Smith's career.
• Horrible Bosses 2 – If making me want to hurl is funny, then the first was fucking hilarious!