After a summer of what he calls "Dumb and Dumber” movies, film critic David Luhrssen is looking forward to fall's film line-up.
“We are starving for something better,” Luhrssen says.
He says there are at least 10 Oscar contenders on the docket this autumn, and several of them are based on true stories. But there are also adaptation of stage plays and original screenplays that should grab attention.
Here are his top fall flicks to see:
- Gravity is an astronaut movie starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.
- Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the next installment of the newest cultural phenomenon, starring Jennifer Lawrence.
- Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorcese, is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
- Thor: The Dark World is a blockbuster sequel starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman.
- The Ender’s Game features an unusually gifted child sent to an advanced military school in space to prepare for a future invasion.
- August: Osage County, based on the award-winning stage play, is brought to screen by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep. Three women live their separate lives until a family crisis brings them back together.
- Captain Phillips stars Tom Hanks as a the real-life captain of a ship hijacked by Somali pirates.
- Fifth Estate, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is based on the memoir of the founder of Wikileaks.
- Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, tells the story behind the making of Disney’s Mary Poppins.
- The Monuments Men, starring Matt Damon and George Clooney, is about an actual Allied raid into Nazi-occupied Europe to rescue paintings and art.
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a remake of a classic Danny Kaye movie, starring Ben Stiller. An office worker, who lives inside fantasy worlds where he gets to live an adventurous life while romancing his co-worker, sets off a global journey to fix things when both of their jobs are threatened.
- Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom chronicles Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
David Luhrssen is an author, critic, historian, and speaker. He is also the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Shepherd Express.
