“Holmes and Watson”
Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Lauren Lapkus, Ralph Fiennes, Rob Brydon
Synopsis: Ferrell and Reilly take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic sleuths Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in yet another reimagining.
What You Need to Know: Did we really need another Sherlock Holmes movie? Well, while you ponder how often we really need to go to to the well of 221B Baker Street to find new movies, Ferrell and Reilly are going to take their patented slapstick charm to the literary giants. The duo has always, at the very least, been good to deliver a fun time, though, Etan Cohen’s the sole writer and director on this. Let’s hope the new comedy is a dramatic improvement over 2015’s unpleasant “Get Hard.” The ceiling here feels like we’ll get the “Step Brothers”-ification of Sherlock and Watson with Masterpiece Theater polish; quite funny, if nothing revolutionary. But hey, even if the movie doesn’t work out, it’ll be a gas to watch Fiennes play Professor Moriarty and see budding comedic talents like Lapkus and Brydon get to shine in a big studio venture. Oh, and the reliable trio of Kelly MacDonald, Rebecca Hall and Hugh Laurie are in the supporting cast, too. Maybe this one will crack the case. Or, at least, rebound from that awful poster.
Release Date: December 21 – CW
“Aquaman”
Cast: Jason Momoa, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Randall Park, Djimon Hounsou
Synopsis: Arthur Curry discovers that he is heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must decide whether he will embrace his destiny as a hero.
What You Need to Know: Meant to be the first leg of the DC extended universe in the post-“Justice League” era, there’s a lot riding on Momoa and his “Aquaman.” Diminishing returns for WB’s ‘Superman‘ and ‘Batman‘ A-list franchises don’t bode well for this second-tier standalone outing, yet if “Wonder Woman” can surprise, there’s room to hope that this one’s release in the midst of the December Oscar glut will buck trends. If nothing else, the studio is giving the film all the supporting talent it could hope for, with Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, and Willem Dafoe all signed up.
Release Date: December 21 – WC
“Destroyer”
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Scoot McNairy
Synopsis: An LAPD officer reconnects with people from a previous undercover assignment in order to make peace with her past.
What You Need to Know: Very little is actually known about Karyn Kusama’s upcoming crime thriller other than the actors involved, a vague premise and an ominous title. The film reteams the “Girlfight” director with Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, the screenwriting duo behind Kusama’s criminally underseen “The Invitation,” which may infer that another moody, atmospheric feature is set to result from their forthcoming collaboration. Despite the air of ambiguity surrounding the project, it’s probably safe to assume that whoever or whatever “Destroyer” turns out to be, it will not be your typical Christmas release.
Release Date: December 25 – JC
“On The Basis of Sex”
Cast: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, Sam Waterston
Synopsis: Ruth Bader Ginsburg teams up with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of sex discrimination.
What You Need to Know: Coming off her great work producing/directing on “The Leftovers,” Mimi Leder steps behind the camera for her first feature film since the 2009 crime thriller “The Code,” which I’m assuming no one saw (right?), and brings her “Leftovers” star Justin Theroux with her to tell the story of a young RBG. Felicity Jones has been doing amazing work for years, but it’ll be exciting to see her inhabit a real-life character, much like her Oscar-nominated take on Jane Hawking, in a starring role. The release date suggests an award hopeful, so expect an uplifting biopic about a young RBG fighting for gender equality, which is way more prescient than it should be.
Release Date: December 25 – CG
“Roma”
Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Nancy García García, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey, Carlos Peralta, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa, Verónica García
Synopsis: A story that chronicles a year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
What You Need to Know: Premiering at Venice Film Festival and screening Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón’s (“Gravity”) “Roma” is the filmmaker’s self-proclaimed most personal film of his career. Among a career spanning over 35 years, this will mark only Cuarón’s eighth feature. Suffice it to say, he makes quality films over quantity, having only directed one film that received a rotten score by Rotten Tomatoes (“Great Expectations”). “Love, Courage, Hope, Change, Home” are the words that display on screen during the gorgeous black and white trailer, hinting at some of the universal themes that “Roma” will cover. It is also Cuarón’s most personal film to date, as it is “inspired by the women from his childhood and the matriarchy that shaped his world,” according to the production. “Roma” deals with classism and racism set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving Mexico characterized by a conflict between a government-backed militia and student demonstrators. The film will certainly parallel the border issue facing the Trump administration and its deplorable followers today, and their conflict with virtually anyone with a rational mind. Netflix will distribute the film in select theaters and on its streaming platform later this year.
Release Date: December 16 (Premiere at Venice) – AA
“Ad Astra”
Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Kennedy.
Synopsis: An Army Corps engineer searches across the galaxy for his father, who disappeared on a mission to find alien life 20 years prior (not official).
What You Need to Know: Over a career that spans three decades, American filmmaker James Gray (“The Immigrant,” “Two Lovers,” “The Yards“), has made nothing, but thoughtful, artful, top notch films. People have noticed. One of them is Brad Pitt who has, over the years, attempted to work with Gray several times (and almost starred in “The Lost City Of Z“). Well, after years of back and forth, Pitt is finally on board “Ad Astra,” an epic science fiction thriller written by Gray and Ethan Gross (“Fringe“). It’s a little weird that Gray, an indie darling director, is not at one of the film festivals with the film, but it could just mean the VFX-heavy film is just not quite ready. Perhaps a surprise NYFF screening or AFI?
Release Date: Fall TBD
Honorable Mention
There’s obviously tons of more films coming out this fall that are worthy and frankly, we could be here forever. But a few that come to mind that we had to cut for time are Robert Greene‘s acclaimed documentary’s “Bisbee ’17” (Sept. 5); “Paul Weitz‘s “Bel Canto” with Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe (Sept. 14); “Colette” with Keira Knightley (Sept. 21); ; the M.I.A. doc “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.” (Sept. 28); the Hal Ashby doc “Hal” (Oct. 14); Melanie Laurent’s “Galveston” with Elle Fanning and Ben Foster (Oct. 19); Jim Hosking’s “An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn” starring Aubrey Plaza (Oct.19); Hilary Swank in “What They Had” (Oct. 19); Frederick Wiseman‘s “Monrovia, Indiana”(Oct. 26).
Joseph Kahn’s “Bodied” (Nov. 2); documentarian Matthew Heineman’s narrative feature debut “A Private War” with Rosamund Pike (Nov. 2); the J.J. Abrams-produced “Overlord” (Nov. 9); Corneliu Porumboiu’s new drama “Infinite Football” (Nov 9); Lukas Dhont’s Cannes fave “Girl” (Nov. 16); Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” which also premieres at TIFF (Nov. 21); Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro” (Nov 30); Julian Schnabel’s “At Eternity’s Gate” (November 16); Nicolas Pesce‘s “Piercing” with Christopher Abbott and Mia Wasikowska (Dec. 7); critically-acclaimed Cannes drama “Capernaum” (Dec. 4); Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” (Dec. 21), whew.
And you know what? A lot of this changes after Telluride, Venice, and TIFF. If there’s a film premiering there that don’t have a release date but lands major buzz — perhaps films like Sebastián Lelio‘s “Gloria Belle” with Julianne Moore, Claire Denis‘ “High Life,” “Vox Lux” starring Natalie Portman, “The Mountain” featuring Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Kent’s “The Nightingale,” S. Craig Zahler‘s “Dragged Across Concrete” with Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn and more — expect some company to swoop in, buy it and stake a place in the fall or awards season landscape somewhere. Keep your eyes peeled and enjoy the fall.