It was a Summer blockbuster season for the record books, and the kickass train keeps rolling into Fall with dozens of flicks we're crazy excited for... and a few worth a big neon warning to steer clear of!
With CraveOnline's Fall Movie Guide, you've got a handy reference for all the hottest movies the next three months is set to deliver. So don't blame us when you find yourself dragged into Uwe Boll's next disaster, or the latest cookie-cutter romcom Kate Hudson decides to ruin next...
Machete
Release Date: September 3, 2010
Director: Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Robert DeNiro
Rating: R
Machete is based on the fake trailer in Robert Rodriguez's 2007 Grindhouse, featuring Danny Trejo and Jeff Fahey reprising their original roles.
The feature version of the trailer finds Machete (Trejo) a renegade former Mexican Federale, roaming the streets of Texas after a shakedown from drug lord Torrez (Steven Seagal). Reluctantly, Machete takes an offer from spin doctor Benz (Fahey) to assassinate McLaughlin (Robert De Niro) a corrupt Senator. Double crossed and on the run Machete braves the odds with the help of Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), a saucy taco slinger, Padre (Cheech Marin) his holy brother, and April (Lindsay Lohan) a socialite with a penchant for guns. All while being tracked by Sartana (Jessica Alba), a sexy ICE agent with a special interest in the blade slinger
CraveOnline's Call: If there's one movie we're definitely seeing this month, it's Machete. It's not even a question. And if this doesn't kick more ass than anything else we've seen so far this year, the world may as well come to an end now, because that's a disappointment we've got no way to prepare for.
The American
Release Date: September 3, 2010
Director: Anton Corbijn
Starring: George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido
Rating: R
Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller. As an assassin, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Violante Placido). Jack and Clara’s time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate...
CraveOnline's Call: Clooney as an assassin? That's something worth checking out. Aside from that Leatherheads mess a few years back, ol' George has had a pretty great run in recent years. Here's hoping it continues with The American.
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D
Release Date: September 10, 2010
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller, Ali Larter, Kim Coates
Rating: R
In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Milla Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead - and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.
CraveOnline's Call: The films thus far have mostly been pretty terrible, but we're still holding out hope...
Devil
Release Date: September 17 , 2010
Director: Drew Dowdle, John Erick Dowdle
Starring: Chris Messina, Geoffrey Arend, Caroline Dhavernas, Matt Craven
Rating: R
A group of strangers board an elevator in an office building in an unnamed city, only for it to break down, entrapping all five passengers. Soon, it becomes apparent that one of the passengers is not as human as she or he first seems – indeed, the Devil stands among them. But which one is it?
CraveOnline's Call: Shyamalan wrote the film, but didn't direct. Does that mean Devil has a chance of not being a supreme waste of time? It's very possible. But it wasn't the best sign when audiences laughed like hell at the trailer in theaters...
I'm Still Here
Release Date: September 10, 2010
Director: Casey Affleck
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: R
The directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Casey Affleck, I'm Still Here is a striking portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of internationally acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, I’m Still Here follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
CraveOnline's Call: It was Hollywood's worst-kept secret that Phoenix was actually making a documentary as we watched him chunk out and try to pass himself off as a rapper - who never quite seemed to take the mic and actually do it. Here's hoping we're not wasting more of our time by looking at the finished product.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Release Date: September 24, 2010
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Josh Brolin
Rating: R
Shia LaBeouf stars with Michael Douglas, who'll reprise his Gordon Gekko role. Langella will play Lewis Zabel, an old-time broker who mentors LaBeouf's character, a young Wall Street broker.
When Gekko comes out of prison, he essentially has to redefine himself, redefine his character, he's looking for that second chance.
LaBeouf portrays Jake Moore, who is the fiancé of Gekko's daughter, played by Carey Mulligan; Josh Brolin as the head of an investment bank; and Susan Sarandon as Jake's mother. Charlie Sheen, who played the central role of Bud Fox, a young trader, in the original, will make a cameo in the sequel.
CraveOnline's Call: This sequel's been a very long time in the making, but with our nation getting bent over a red, white and blue barrel through corporate gluttony and political & economic downward spirals these days, now's as fitting a time as ever to introduce the next generation of Wall Street demons.
The Social Network
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Rashida Jones
Rating: R
Writer/producer Aaron Sorkin announced on his Facebook page that he is going to be writing a movie about the popular social networking site. Mark Zuckenberg created the site in 2004 at Harvard during his sophomore year. It now has over 60 million members and is valued at $16 billion.
Eisenberg will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Timberlake will play Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became Facebook's founding president; and Andrew Garfield will play Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who fell out with Zuckerberg over money
CraveOnline's Call: When we first heard about this one, eyebrows were firmly cocked. Then Fincher signed on, Reznor agreed to help with the music and the trailer suddenly looked pretty damn good.
Bagman
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Director: George Hickenlooper
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz, Rachelle Lefevre
Rating: R
Kevin Spacey will play disgraced Washington power broker Jack Abramoff in the true story-based thriller Casino Jack. The film stars Spacey as the once high-powered lobbyist whose bribery schemes and fraudulent dealings with Indian casinos ultimately landed him in prison.
CraveOnline's Call: Spacey's bound to kick all kinds of ass as one of Washington's most sickening characters. Check it out.
Stone
Release Date: October 8, 2010
Director: John Curran
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich
Rating: R
Stone is about a convicted arsonist (Norton) who looks to manipulate a parole officer (De Niro) into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife (Jovovich) in the lawman's path.
CraveOnline's Call: The last time Edward Norton was in jail in a film it was his first starring role - and also one of his best. With a cast like this and inevitable plot twists in store, we'd be fools not to check this out.
RED
Release Date: October 15, 2010
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich
Rating: PG-13
Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA’s top agents – but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.
CraveOnline's Call: Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich on the run from Bruce Willis. You tell me what could be more awesomely bizarre. Let's do this.
Jackass 3D
Release Date: October 15, 2010
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius
Rating: R
Johnny Knoxville and his buddies are up to their daredevil comic antics again, despite nearly killing themselves hundreds of times over in the previous films and tv shows. Expect a whole lot of naked guys causing each other great pain. No, this is not a gay porn.
CraveOnline's Call: The ever-increasingly homoerotic Jackass franchise continues.... of course we're gonna be there!
Saw 3D
Release Date: October 29, 2010
Director: Kevin Greutert
Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Gina Holden, Betsy Russell
Rating: R
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror...
CraveOnline's Call: Seriously. It's time to stop. But something tells us this new chapter is a whole new beginning...
Due Date
Release Date: November 5 , 2010
Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis
Rating: R
Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is an expectant first-time father whose wife's due date is a mere five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at her side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan--on what turns out to be a cross-country road trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, numerous friendships and Peter's last nerve
CraveOnline's Call: I haven't laughed this hard since The Hangover. The dissonant chemistry between Downey and Galifianakis is beyond addictive to watch, and the most hilarious thing you'll see this year, guaranteed.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Release Date: November 19, 2010
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Rating: PG13
The final chapter of the Harry Potter film series begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave Hogwarts behind and set out to find and destroy the Horcruxes--the secret to Voldemort's power and immortality.
CraveOnline's Call: We've been beaten in the face with the previous six movies for time untold, so let's not pretend that this isn't going to be absolutely everywhere and inescapable. Just please, for the love of god, don't call it "HP7".
