Most Anticipated Films of Fall 2023

[transformers2]

We're back to the "Let's See How Many of These Actually Come Out" Phase of the 2020/21 release schedule except for a much less sensible reason. What fun! Anyways, here what I'm looking forward/hoping to see over the final 4 months of 2023.

10.The Bikeriders:
While I haven't loved all of Jeff Nichols' movies, a character study focusing on the formation, corruption and eventual demise of a midwestern motorcycle club during the 60's seems like something that's right in his wheelhouse creatively. Not to mention, the ensemble cast he put together for The Bikeriders (Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Mike Faist, Norman Reedus, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman) might be the single most talented group of actors he's ever worked with.

9.The Iron Claw:
What I wrote above about The Bikeriders could be copied-and-pasted here. Sean Durkin seems like just the filmmaker to be tasked with making a powerful movie about the triumphs and tragedy that defined the pro wrestling careers and personal lives of the Von Erich family while the actors playing the members of the family-which includes Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White and Holt McCallany- all have the charisma and fearlessness to capture all the nuances of these characters no matter how light, dark or gray they end up being.

8.Dumb Money:
Is it arguably too soon to be making a movie about the Gamestop short squeeze saga that generated a ton of headlines in the spring of 2020 and still really hasn't been resolved as of today? Perhaps. Will that prevent Dumb Money from being good? Of course not. YouTube/Reddit stock market pundits and the retail investors they inspired effectively sabotaging the efforts of hedge fund managers and their counterparts to cash-in on the failure of a major company makes for a mighty compelling dramedy hook and with the diverse skill sets of the actors (Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, America Ferrara, Anthony Ramos, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Vincent D'Onfrio, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Myha'la Harrold, Talia Ryder, Dane DeHann, Rushi Kota) and director involved (Craig Gillespie), it could end up being this decade's answer to The Big Short.

7.Rebel Moon-Part One: A Child of Fire:
I stopped watching new Star Wars shit after the godless atrocity that was Rise of Skywalker, so I'm turning to SnyderWars to get my epic space opera fix. As flawed as Snyder's movies typically are from a writing standpoint, I've always admired his ambition, visual eye and flare for action and A Child of Fire looks to have all of those in spades. Hopefully the rumors of it receiving a limited nationwide theatrical run similar to what Netflix did for Glass Onion last year come to fruition because it would be a shame if something this huge in size and scope ended up exclusively showing on small screens.

6.Poor Things:
A feminist surrealist Frankenstein riff from Yorgos Lanthimos starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Wilem Dafoe, Christopher Abbott and Jerod Carmichael is one hell of a sales pitch. I can't wait to get a better idea of just how weird and twisted this is once the reactions from Venice and Telluride roll in over the weekend.

5.Dream Scenario:
Anytime Nicolas Cage shows up in a non direct-to-VOD movie is reason to celebrate. When the movie in question is something that allows him to really tap into his eccentric, twisted sensibilities then there's grounds to throw a full-blown fucking parade. Dream Scenario marks one of those instances where a large planned gleeful procession of marching individuals and honking vehicles seems appropriate. In this dark fantasy satire from Kristoffer Borgil, Cage plays a struggling college professor who becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing in people's dreams. Joining Cage on this oddball endeavor is the likes of Michael Cera, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Kate Berlant and in a producer role, Ari Aster. If Dream Scenario hits the right absurd and/or bleak notes, it could be one of the funniest movies of the year.

4.Saltburn:
Promising Young Woman is one of the most daring and compelling English-language films that's come out in recent years and I can't wait to see what kind of madness Emerald Fennell has in store for her second film.

3.Next Goal Wins:
Given how Next Goal Wins' journey to get into theaters has gone so far, it'll likely get bumped into 2024 shortly. Regardless of whether it receives another delay or not, Taika Waititi's return to smaller movies looks like it could have the makings of a great sports dramedy and it'll be nice to see both Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss appear in something that isn't overwhelmingly dreary for once.

2.Killers of the Flower Moon:
Martin Scorsese's latest based on David Grann's 2017 novel of the same name about a string of murders committed on the land of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the 1920's after oil was discovered there drew raves out of Cannes back in May, is said to be a massive early contender for a slew of awards at this year's Oscars and has produced two of the best trailers of the year so far. Getting the chance to see an epic Scorsese crime drama on the big screen again only further juices my excitement for it.

1.The Killer:
No disrespect for taking some time to make an unlikely passion project in Mank, but the gritty version of David Fincher will always be my favorite and that's exactly what we're getting with The Killer. His first re-teaming with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker since Seven is said to be a psychological drama/action thriller hybrid about an assassin (Michael Fassbender) who has to fight off his employers as well as his own mind to complete a job that he shares a deeply personal connection to. Safe to say, The Killer sounds like it has the makings of another Fincher classic and I'm beyond excited to see what he did here.

Also Plan on Watching:
The Equalizer 3
El Conde
My Animal
A Haunting in Venice
Expend4bles
It Lives Inside
The Creator
Dicks: The Musical
Fair Play
Saw X
Foe
Freelance
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Pain Hustlers
Priscilla
Quiz Lady
Rustin
The Marvels
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
May December
Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
Thanksgiving
Maestro
Napoleon
Eileen
Leave the World Behind
The Zone of Interest
Anyone but You
Wonka
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom
Ferrari

Might Watch:
The Marsh King's Daughter
Reptile
Nyad
American Fiction
All of Us Strangers

[Buscemi2]

It's time for Tran's quad-yearly "I want to see everything" post!

So far, it looks like Killers of the Flower Moon and Anatomy of a Fall are my only must-sees. I'll wait for trailers and reviews on whatever other movies I might have interest in.

[transformers2]

It took you over a year to pull out that tired-ass insult again! Kudos on the restraint my friend.

[numbersix]

Dune Part 2 would have been my #1 film of the season. Still think it was a dumb move by Warner.

Anyway, plenty to see this year

Already seen and liked: Anatomy of a Fall, Perpetrator



Also interested: Napoleon, Cat Person, The Killer, El Conde, Bikeriders, May December, The Colour Purple, Next Goal Wins

10: The Exorcist: Believer
If one were to believe what they saw in the trailer, this sequel looks like every derivative exorcism film that came after. But my love of the first film (and appreciation of the third) will make me see this. And the team did a decent job with the Halloween sequel so maybe, just maybe it won't be as dumb as the trailers suggest.

9: The Holdovers
Payne is returning to the world of normal sized people, so hopefully this dramedy works. It's been a while since I saw Paul Giamatti lead something. Where's he been?

8: Fingernails
The director used to work for Yorgos Lanthimos, and his debut film Apples certainly belongs in the Greek New Wave, so I'm eager to see what this studio project looks like.

7: Dumb Money
I was bemused by the true story (and a little annoyed I didn't get in on it. I did, however, make a grand total of $25 from Elon Musk's attempt to make DogeCoin a thing), and the trailer made it look interesting enough.

6: Eileen
It's been years since theatre director William Oldroyd made his impressive debut Lady Macbeth. Reviews have been good for this, so count me in.

5: Saltburn
Emereld Fenning is a talented writer, and although I had many issues with Promising Young Woman, she's still a witty and provocative film-maker, so I hope this delivers.

4: Fair Play
Critics raved so much about this at Sundance that Netflix forked out a nice amount for it. Love the premise and apparently the cast are exceptional. And I don't even have to leave my house to watch this one (Chien, is that smoke coming out of your ears?)

3: Killers of the Flower Moon
It's been a while since Scorsese has made something great. The Irishman was overlong and felt like nothing new. But I have to say the trailers make Killers look amazing, plus this is the closest Scorsese has come to making a John Ford movie. Hope it's worth the nearly 4 hour runtime.

2: Poor Things
I'm a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, so this is a must. That said, the trailers make it look very kooky and this could potentilaly be a silly misfire, but regardless of press response I'm going to see it anyway.

1: The Zone of Interest
Glazer is a fascinating film-maker, even if I don't always love his work. This is apparently a cold, harsh film, but a deeply powerful one, and I'm convinced it should have won the Palm D'Or. So for that Zone of Things double-bill I'm going to see this one first.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

The Dune 2 delay made me so upset, I cancelled my AMC A-List. So I don't know how much I'll get out to the theaters this fall, even on discount Tuesday.

That being said, the movies I will for sure be seeing:

Killers of the Flower Moon - duh, it's an incredible true story done by Martin+Leo.

The Creator - I don't know much about it, I've skipped the trailer successfully so far. But I'm all in on original sci-fi, even if it's reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode (what isn't, at this point...)

Napoleon - usually I'd wait until it hits streaming, but it's been awhile since I've seen a Ridley Scott film on the big screen.

Dumb Money - I was all in on Gamestop during that January, so I'm excited to see how it's told. With a great cast, to boot.

Painkillers - know nothing about it but Emily Blunt and Chris Evans is enough

Saltburn - Promising Young Woman propelled Fennell into "see whatever this director puts out" territory

(Unfortunately, I'll also probably see The Marvels, because I've seen every MCU entry in theaters and I don't wanna stop the streak. Though I wish I would've stopped before seeing Thor: Love & Thunder or Ant-Man: Quantumania)

[Buscemi2]

Is any "technology is evil" movie really original? These movies seem to exist because that's the world the 0.1% want.

Give us a movie where technology saves us from the real villains: humanity.