Fall movies...

I have a subscription to Entertainment Weekly. It's really a stupid magazine to subscribe to because pretty much all of the information in the magazine is available on their website, but the subscription was 'free' (I redeemed some frequent flyer miles that were going to expire). Luckily the subscription will run out in the next few issues.

Every now and again, though, there is something mildly interesting. Recently we got the fall movie preview issue with - as the cover so boldly proclaims - 'all the buzz on 106 new films'.

My thoughts, mostly in chronological order...with my level of excitement out of 10.

• Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - (9 out of 10) - The first is a remarkably rewatchable comedy classic. It's going to be tough to top the original, but if anybody can do it, I have faith in the Channel 4 News Team.
• Rush - (4) - meh...1970's period piece about Formula 1 racing...Olivia Wilde is attractive. There is that.
• Thanks for Sharing (6) - This one looks at least a bit intriguing, but the idea of a sex addict dealing with life and falling in love is at least interesting.
• Metallica Through the Never - (3) - I liked the Metallica album, but I don't have any interest in seeing a full movie of their performances, no matter how much 'action heavy narrative' they include.
• The Family - (6) - I'd watch DeNiro and Pfeiffer in most anything, and the idea of a fish-out-of-water family in US witness protection landing in France could make for some fun times.
• Don Jon - (8) - I'll watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt in just about anything at this point. He has full faith and credit with me after his run of films (Dark Knight Rises, Brick, Lincoln, Looper, Premium Rush, Inception, 50/50, (500) Days of Summer). Scarlett Johansson is an atrocious actress, but she's nice to look at.
• Baggage Claim - (3) - blech
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 - (5) -Didn't see the first one, but the trailer looks funny.

• Enough Said - (3) - I can't see Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a dramatic role.
• Touchy Feely - (4) - meh...indie drama about two siblings' senses of touch changing dramatically...zzzzzzz
• Parkland - (6) - I could be convinced to watch more about the post-JFK assassination era.
• Prisoners - (5) - Good cast (Jackman, Gyllenhaal, Howard, Bello) but with a revenge thing that doesn't interest.
• Riddick - (3) - Didn't see the first...no interest in the second
• Insidious: Chapter 2 - (4) - Didn't see the first...barely any interest in the second
• Gravity - (8) - Alfonso Cuaron gets the benefit of the doubt. So does George Clooney. The trailer is creepy.

• Captain Phillips - (5) - Tom Hanks is a great actor, but nothing grabs me here.
• 12 Years a Slave - (4) - meh...
• The Counselor - (7) - Good cast...fun, quick trailer...love Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt
• The Fifth Estate - (5) - Cumberbatch's white hair is frickin' unsettling. No thanks...
• Romeo and Juliet - (3) - Not again, folks...unless you can do something different (thank you, Baz Luhrmann), I don't need it done again.
• Jacka$$ presents: Bad Grandpa -  (2) - yuck
• All is Lost - (7) - I can't imagine what Redford will do to keep our attention for two solid hours, but I am intrigued. At least Will Smith had a dog and zombies in I am Legend.
• Carrie - (6) - Never saw the original, but I've enjoyed Chloe Grace Moretz in the things I've seen her in (Kick A$$, Let Me In, (500) Days of Summer, not Dark Shadows).
• Escape Plan - (2) - Stalone and Schwarzenegger together at last! I'm not a huge fan of either.
• Runner Runner - (7) - JT is the man. I don't understand how he isn't in everything at this point. Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, yo.

• Diana - (3) - meh...
• Kill Your Darlings - (5) - Admittedly, I've never joined in the cult of Ginsberg, but the stodgy private school film is tough to carry off.
• Blue is the Warmest Color - (3) - French...three hours long...no thanks
• Machete Kills - (5) - Didn't see the first. Don't feel like I'm missing anything.
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - (7) - The second book was my least favorite of the three. The Quarter Quell, however, will be fascinating to see translated to the screen.
• The Best Man Holiday - (3) - I'm thinking that the film is not exactly marketed to me.
• Grace of Monaco - (4) - There was a time when I would see Nicole Kidman in anything. That was To Die For. This interests me far less.
• Ender's Game - (6) - Sci-fi can be loads of fun. The visual effects in the trailer are pretty cool.
• Last Vegas - (3) - Good cast...old dudes having one last fling in Vegas...maybe in twenty years.
• Thor: The Dark World - (10) - I'm there the first weekend if not the first day. Go Charlie!
• The Wolf of Wall Street - (7) - Dance, Leo, dance!

• The Book Thief - (4) - I need to read Nick DePeel's copy of this book before he graduates.
• Delivery Man - (-2) - I hate Vince Vaughn...more than I hate feta and olives.
• Oldboy - (6) - In general, I love Spike Lee's joints. I tried to watch the original of this a few years back and even checked out three copies of the DVD from the library. All three stopped at exactly the same place in the movie on my DVD player, so I at least don't know how it ends.
• Her - (6) - Wait, all we get is Scarlett Johansson's acting (via voice) without getting to look at her. I'm not sure that's a great marketing choice, folks.
• Black Nativity - (2) - Christian themes? All-black cast? Adaptation of a poet's work? Count me out...
• Frozen - (4) - Disney animated leaves me a little cold.
• Great Expectations - (4) - Oh...good...lord. Are there no original ideas in Hollywood? Katydid, isn't there something on the Black List that deserves to be made instead of this piece of retread?
• About Time - (5) - Time travel? maybe interesting...director known for Notting Hill and Love Actually...maybe a little less interesting.
• Nebraska - (6) - For some reason, the idea of old guys in a midwest state interest me way more than do old guys in Vegas.
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - (3) - I admire Nelson Mandela for his struggle. I don't want to watch his struggle.
• August: Osage County - (5) - I can't stand even looking at Julia Roberts. She and Vince Vaughn should do a movie together.
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - (5) - I sat through the seventy-four hours of Lord of the Rings. It was good stuff. I read The Hobbit in seventh grade, but I don't remember it clocking in at a couple thousand pages or anything.
• Out of the Furnace - (7) - Christian Bale has the benefit of the doubt for anything he does. Trailer looks great.

• Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas - (3) - The man is rich. He doesn't need my money, too.
• Inside Llewyn Davis - (7) - Coen brothers...all good. Greenwich Village folk scene from the '60's...all good, too.
• The Monuments Men - (8) - I dig that they're still making Oceans 11 films, but I thought the Clooney versions were set in present day. Is this supposed to be their fathers?
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - (7) - Any description of this turns me off. The trailer, though, looks brilliant.

• Jack Ryan - (6) - I'm down with the series all the way back to Red October, and I enjoyed Chris Pine's JTKirk.
• Dallas Buyer's Club - (8) - I'm really enjoying late career Matthew McConaughey.
• 47 Ronin - (4) - Whoa...
• American Hustle - (7) - All good with the big five in the cast (Bale, Adams, Cooper, Lawrence, Renner).
• Philomena - (4) - We lived on Philomena Avenue in the first house that we bought.
• The Invisible Woman - (4) - No More Dickens!
• Saving Mr Banks - (4) - I don't have the Disney-file gene in me. Of course I haven't ever been to the parks, so that could change, I guess.
• Labor Day - (5) - Good cast...how many more movies do I have left? Three? Okay, I can do that.
• Lone Survivor - (6) - Mark Wahlberg has turned into a fairly decent actor. I would not have predicted that.
• Grudge Match - Again with the Stallone boxing? Seriously?

Which of the flicks coming out this fall most excite you?