In our previous stories, we told you about big pictures, family-friendly movies, and Oscar contenders that are coming out this fall. In our final segment, we look at some of the unique movies that were festival hits, or have new Netflix deals.
One of the topics you might think about is to look at movies that were filmed in your part of the country. What kind of hub-bub did the film crews create? How much did the production contribute to your local economy?
Real life adventures
There are biopics and real-life dramatizations galore heading to theaters over the next few months. They kick off with Everest (Sept. 18), about climbers who tackled the tallest mountain in the world during an epic storm.
The 33, due on Nov. 13, stars Antonio Banderas in the highly publicized story of the miners caught in the 2010 Chilean collapse.
For In the Heart of the Sea (Dec. 11), Chris Hemsworth is on a ship fighting a sperm whale in the story that was the basis for Moby Dick.
There are two big scandal films of interest to the journalism world.
Truth (Oct. 16) stars Robert Redford as Dan Rather in this film about the scandal surrounding “Rathergate” and the falsified documents he used in a report.
Spotlight (Nov. 6) has a top-notch cast Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci, as Boston Globe reporters who broke the story on the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal.
Tom Hardy gets in on the mafia action in Legend (Oct. 2), in which he plays twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Philippe Petit (the man who walked on a wire between the Twin Towers) in The Walk (Sept. 30).
Bryan Cranston brings to life Dalton Trumbo, a communist who was blacklisted by Hollywood in the 1940s in Trumbo (Nov. 6).
Tom Hiddleston croons as singer Hank Williams in I Saw the Light (Nov. 27). Will Smith portrays Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic neuropathologist who discovered the connection between head trauma in football players and long-term brain damage in Concussion (Dec. 25).
Julianne Moore is Laurel Hester, the New Jersey police lieutenant who fought to have her pension benefits given to her domestic partner in Freeheld (Oct. 2).
Last year’s Oscar winning Best Actor, Eddie Redmayne, may be making a return trip for his performance as Lili Elbe (one of the first patients to receive a sex-reassignment surgery) in The Danish Girl (Nov. 27).
Michael Fassbender is tapped to portray the Apple co-founder in Steve Jobs (Oct. 9), written by The Social Network screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.
On Oct. 16, Tom Hanks can be seen in The Bridge of Spies, a new Steven Spielberg film about real-life lawyer James B. Donovan who was tapped to negotiate the release of a downed American pilot in trade for the release of a Soviet spy.
Sandra Bullock stars as a political fixer in Our Brand Is Crisis (Oct. 30), a film based on the documentary of the same name.
The wild cards
There are a few wild cards that could be breakout hits that don’t fit the typical categories, like Burnt (Oct. 23) starring Bradley Cooper as a hot-shot chef trying to restart his career, or Brooklyn (Nov. 6) a Sundance favorite starring Saoirse Ronan in a period drama centered on a love triangle.
Julia Roberts stars as an FBI agent whose daughter was brutally murdered in Secret in Their Eyes (Nov. 20). Brie Larson is in Room (Oct. 16), based on the popular novel by Emma Donoghue, as a woman who is kidnapped and trapped in one room for seven years.
Rooney Mara is a shopgirl having an affair with a socialite in Carol (Nov. 20) and Jennifer Lawrence reunites with David O. Russell again in Joy (Dec. 25)
By the Sea (Nov. 13) doesn’t seem like it has the makings of a break-out hit, as its a film about a bickering couple on vacation in 1970s France, but then again it stars real-life husband and wife Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, so their loyal fans may buoy this film to box office success.
And lastly there’s Beasts of No Nation, based on the 2005 novel about a group of mercenaries in war-torn Africa, and a young boy who is drafted into their service.
It’s controversial not because of its subject matter, but because it is one of the first major movies to be released by Netflix. It’s streaming on Oct. 16, the same day as it arrives in theaters, which could put a major dent in its opening weekend profits, and isn’t making theater owners very happy.
Could this be a trend? What does it mean for theaters? What kinds of movies could benefit from this treatment?
Our movie preview stories offer lots of ideas to keep you busy through Christmas. Be sure to read the whole set.
