Fall Movie Preview

After a bleak and mostly boring summer at the theater, the fall movie season begins. There are, of course, the big ones we all know about: the next Star Wars episode, the latest Marvel movie (Thor: Ragnarok, in case you’re wondering), the Blade Runner sequel that was 34 years in the making, another Lego something or other. But there are also some other, quirkier films coming our way that hopefully will find their way into theaters near us.

Late September will see the arrival of Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House. Liam Neeson stars in this based-on-real-events thriller about the man who is better known as Deep Throat. Felt was a higher up in the FBI and was the informant who spoke to Woodward and Bernstein who wrote the Watergate stories that eventually led to Richard Nixon’s resignation. It seems as though it will be All The President’s Men but from the perspective of the shadowy figure smoking in the parking garage. Neeson looks the part and the tone seems appropriately tense and paranoid. I look forward to seeing this version of one of our nation’s pivotal moments.

 

In October, we’ll see the release of Suburbicon. It’s the first film directed by George Clooney since 2014’s The Monuments Men sputtered into theaters. Not a lot is known about the actual story, but much is being made of the fact that the script was written by the Coen brothers. Interesting fact, the script was actually written by the brothers in 1986, just after the release of their first film, Blood Simple. I’m not saying the script will be bad. I mean, Blood Simple is a fantastic film, but I do wonder. If it’s good, why did it take 30 years to produce? I’m a fan of Clooney’s direction generally and of the Coens’ writing almost always, but I will watch for this one with a bit of a suspicious eye. 

 

November will welcome Kenneth Brannagh’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s famous thriller, Murder on the Orient Express. After being hailed as another Orson Welles in his 20s, Branagh has walked a fascinatingly uneven path as a filmmaker. Sometimes he directs Marvel movies and live action Cinderella, and sometimes some of his projects, like this one, seem like a slightly desperate bid for awards. He superloads the cast with stars, chooses high class subject material (like his four hour adaptation of Hamlet from 1996), and soaks the thing in ornate set and costume design and throws the whole thing at the Oscar and Golden Globes wall to see what sticks. The thing about Brannagh is that he is clearly a guy who loves film and all its components. So even if a project like Murder on the Orient Express seems like that kid in first grade raising his hand saying, “Ooh, ooh, pick me!” they’re still usually a pleasure for other film fans to watch. 

 Finally, a film that has already had its limited release but hopefully will come to disc or streaming sometime this fall is the documentary California Typewriter, a love letter to and an examination of those clunky, outdated machine with the keys and carriage return. The documentary features various typewriter-loving celebrities like Tom Hanks, John Mayer, and Sam Shepard as well as an artist who makes sculptures out of typewriter parts. But according to the film’s website, it is also the story of California Typewriter, “one of the last standing repair shops left in America dedicated to keeping the aging machines clicking.” As a typerwriter lover myself, I am particularly interested in the light this film shines on why some of us are still moved by this antiquated technology.

So there are four films that might be a little something different for you this fall. Hopefully, some or all of them come our way so we can find out if they’re as interesting as they look.