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Let’s face it: 2014 hasn’t been the best year for movies. Even the four months of Summer Blockbuster Season—typically a thrilling time filled with big-budget action, adventure, and laughs—left audiences feeling less than impressed. Fortunately, though, a new season is dawning. The kids are heading back to school, the leaves are starting to fall, and Hollywood is bracing itself for another Award Season. That’s got to be good news, right? Well, let’s take a look at what’s in store for the next couple of months at your friendly neighborhood theater and decide for ourselves, shall we?
Please note: films are listed by week. I’ve used Friday as the standard release date, though some will open earlier in the week. Others will be opening in limited release, so release dates in your area will vary. And others will change release dates about as often as I change my daughter’s diaper. So be sure to check your local listings for exact dates and times.
SEPTEMBER 5:
Okay, so award season never really gets off to a bang—and this year is no different. After Labor Day, everyone’s too busy to race out to the theater—so, as a result, studios don’t release much of anything.
This year’s post-Labor Day releases include The Identical, the story of a musical family from the ‘50s through the ‘70s, and God Help the Girl starring Emily Browning as an aspiring songwriter in Scotland.
Non-musical releases include Kelly & Cal, with Juliette Lewis starring as a former rocker turned suburban mommy, and the Western drama Frontera, starring Ed Harris.
Kristin’s Pick: I’m going to give my first pick of the fall to Kelly & Cal—mostly because, as a suburban mommy, I might just relate.
SEPTEMBER 12:
This week, in the thriller No Good Deed, Taraji P. Henson learns that it’s probably not a good idea to open the door and allow strangers to come in and use your phone—even if they do look like Idris Elba. And Tom Hardy stars in The Drop, based on the short story by Dennis Lehane.
For the family, there’s Dolphin Tale 2, which picks up the true story of Winter the dolphin following her rescue in 2011’s Dolphin Tale.
And, for a few laughs, there’s Search Party, starring Alison Brie, Krysten Ritter, and T. J. Miller.
Kristin’s Pick: Search Party is definitely a long shot—since, while I was researching these films, it didn’t have a single piece of marketing materials available. Not even a poster. But it still sounds like the most promising option of this week.
SEPTEMBER 19:
This week, in Fox’s adaptation of The Maze Runner, a group of boys find themselves trapped in the middle of a massive maze, forced to work together to try to get out. And in the crime thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones, Liam Neeson stars as...does it matter? It’s a crime thriller starring Liam Neeson. You know what to expect.
For some dark family comedy, there’s director Shawn Levy’s This Is Where I Leave You, in which four grown siblings are forced to live under the same roof for a week after their father’s death. With a cast that includes Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, and many more, it’s sure to be one crazy family reunion.
Also this week, Simon Pegg stars in Hector and the Search for Happiness, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader play estranged siblings in the drama The Skeleton Twins, and Mia Wasikowska travels across Australia in Tracks.
Kristin’s Pick: Though several of this week’s releases seem somewhat promising, I’m going to go with This Is Where I Leave You—because it looks like a painfully funny family comedy.
SEPTEMBER 26:
This week, director Antoine Fuqua reunites with his Training Day star, Denzel Washington, for The Equalizer. Washington stars as a former black ops agent who comes out of hiding to help a teenager in trouble.
For the kids, there’s the animated film The Boxtrolls, which follows along on the adventures of an orphaned boy who was raised by trash-collecting trolls who wander the streets at night.
Other releases this week include Lynn Shelton’s Laggies, Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen in The Two Faces of January (directed by Drive screenwriter Hossein Amini), and James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them.
Kristin’s Pick: This week’s releases offer another couple of promising picks—but I’ll give my pick to The Boxtrolls, in hopes that it’ll have the same clever, quirky style as Coraline and ParaNorman.
OCTOBER 3:
Let the real award season race begin! This week, David Fincher returns with his adaptation of author Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck as a man whose innocence is called into question after his wife goes missing.
Also this week, Reese Witherspoon stars in the inspirational drama The Good Lie, about a strong-willed American woman who welcomes Sudanese refugees into her home.
And, for the October scares, there’s Annabelle, about a creepy, satanic doll (which makes me glad that my mom has gotten over her antique doll phase).
Kristin’s Pick: This one’s a no-brainer. I’m so eager to see Fincher’s Gone Girl that I’m still hoping to read the book before the movie hits theaters.
OCTOBER 10:
This week offers a very different kind of literary adaptation, with Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner starring in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Meanwhile, Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin turns to drama for The Judge, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as a successful lawyer who returns home to reconnect with his father (Robert Duvall), a powerful judge who’s been accused of murder.
Also this week, another cheating wife wreaks havoc on her family in the thriller Addicted, Miles Teller stars as an aspiring young jazz drummer in Whiplash, and Jeremy Renner plays a real-life journalist who comes under attack by the CIA in Kill the Messenger.
Kristin’s Pick: Once again, this week offers some intriguing options, but I’ve got to give my pick to the adaptation of an old favorite, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
OCTOBER 17:
This week offers a little bit of something for everyone. For adrenaline junkies, End of Watch director David Ayer teams up with Brad Pitt for Fury, a World War II drama about a sergeant who leads his team on a dangerous mission in a tank in the middle of enemy territory.
For the hopeless romantics, there’s The Best of Me, about a couple of high school sweethearts who reunite years later.
For the family, there’s The Book of Life, an animated adventure produced by Guillermo del Toro—which means that it should be completely out of the ordinary.
Birdman claims to be a kind-of comedy (and the cast does include Zach Galifianakis), but considering that it was directed by the guy who made Babel and Biutiful, so I wouldn’t expect any side-splitting laughs.
And, finally, for the horror buffs, there’s Luke Evans in the gothic origins story Dracula Untold.
Kristin’s Pick: Though I’m definitely interested in The Book of Life, I’ve got to give my pick to Fury—because...well...it’s Brad Pitt.
OCTOBER 24:
The weekend before Halloween offers a couple of horrific options—including the supernatural horrors of Paranormal Activity 5 and Ouija.
But, if you’re not in the mood for a scary movie, there’s also Matthew Vaughn’s comic spy thriller, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Shailene Woodley in the literary thriller White Bird in a Blizzard, and St. Vincent, starring Bill Murray as a loud-mouthed veteran who befriends his troubled young neighbor.
Kristin’s Pick: Sure, it’s October, and I’m supposed to be into the latest horror releases, but I’d rather give my pick to Kingsman—because it teams Vaughn with a pretty amazing cast (including Sam Jackson, Colin Firth, and Michael Caine). And you just can’t go wrong with a lineup like that.
OCTOBER 31:
In case you haven’t already gotten your fill of Halloween releases, this weekend features the release of the horror anthology sequel ABCs of Death 2.
Or, for something just a little different, there’s Nightcrawler, a pitch-black drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as an aspiring freelance journalist who will stop at absolutely nothing to get a scoop.
Kristin’s Pick: Though memories of Enemy make it difficult to get behind another edgy Jake Gyllenhaal drama, I think I’ll take a chance on Nightcrawler anyway.
There you have it: the first two months of this year’s Award Season. There’s a lot to digest here—so let’s all take some time to contemplate this year’s picks. Then be sure to move on to Part Two of my fall preview, when the Award Season battles really start to heat up.
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