SEPTEMBER 19

The Maze Runner

It’s hard not to think of the countless movies lately featuring a dystopian future and a young cast when watching this trailer. I hope it sticks with the sci-fi/horror atmosphere and doesn’t get into some political plot that is a recurring theme in those other films.

Tusk

Kevin Smith doesn’t make a lot of movies anymore so I was a bit surprised when I heard about this one.  This movie looks like it takes more of a cue from “Human Centipede” than “Mallrats,” so I’m not really sure what to think of it.  I did laugh at the podcasting references, and the part of the trailer where Kevin Smith is credited as being a podcaster himself.

OCTOBER 3

Gone Girl

Future Batman, Ben Affleck, gets a big chance to show how much he’s matured as an actor since his Daredevil days in this new mystery from director David Fincher. Fincher’s films always look great in trailers so hopefully this plays just as well upon final release.

OCTOBER 17

Birdman

Speaking of actors cast as Batman, Michael Keaton stars in a dark comedy about an actor whose most famous role was playing an iconic superhero and how he’s struggling to shake that fame and get his career back on track. So not only is Keaton perfectly cast, but the supporting players are great as well. This could be brilliant if everyone involved pulls it off.

Dracula Untold

I’m not a fan of Dracula films that paint a heroic backstory for the character. I would love a Dracula movie where he’s more like Hannibal Lecter, a villain so evil you can’t help but root for him, but he’s still the villain. I do tend to like Legendary films though, so maybe this Dracula reboot will surprise me.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Rumors keep swirling that Studio Ghibli may not be around much longer, so if you can find a theater that’s playing their latest film, this could be one of the last original Ghibli movies to get a western release. 

OCTOBER 24

The Book of Life

Guillermo del Toro produces this computer animated film, and it seems like everything he touches lately does well. I do think the original title “Day of the Dead” made a lot more sense but they probably didn’t want to scare kids away.

OCTOBER 31

Horns

This movie drops on Halloween night which is appropriate because it’s based on the novel of the same name written by Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill. It’s funny watching this trailer shortly after watching the trailer for “Gone Girl” because they share similar plots at the start but huge differences in what happens next.

NOVEMBER 7

The Theory of Everything

I don’t highlight a lot of romantic dramas in these seasonal movie previews, but I thought the subject matter of this film would appeal to visitors of the site. It’s the story of Stephen Hawking as told by his first wife, Jane Wilde. While it seems to contain a lot of the tropes of these types of films, the glimpse into Hawking’s early life does look fascinating.

Big Hero 6

Using inspiration from existing superheroes to transform an android balloon guy into something more is not what I expected when Disney bought out Marvel, but Disney animation has been on a roll lately. Recent hits like “Wreck-It-Ralph” and “Frozen” prove they are on the right track and may have even surpassed Pixar creatively. We’ll see if this movie continues the trend.

Interstellar

This movie has two things I love, space travel and Christopher Nolan in the director’s chair again. Make that three things, because it also has Matthew McConaughey monologuing. Seriously, I’ve been way into every Nolan movie since he first blew me away with “Memento” and I love that he gets to do what he wants on such a large scale.

NOVEMBER 14

Dumb and Dumber To

And the last movie before the holiday season starts up the following week is a sequel to the 20-year-old surprise hit comedy. I assume it took so long because Jim Carrey was one of the biggest stars in the world for about a decade, but now that he has come back down to earth, he’s down for anything. Maybe it will be the shot his career needs, but judging by the trailer, probably not.



So that’s it for the fall. There ended up being more films of interest than I originally expected, so I passed over a few mainstream movies, but if you want to discuss those or any other films I missed, please participate in the comments. Also, don’t forget to rank the fall movies of 2014 below and see you again in late November!