Movie Lust

Here's SOME of the movies that I'm especially interested in seeing this fall.

September:

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD: Brad Pitt is the Old West outlaw, with Casey Affleck the man who'll eventually gun him down.

*FEAST OF LOVE: Morgan Freeman [in his first romantic role], Jane Alexander, Greg Kinnear and Radha Mitchell lead the cast in director Robert Benton's ensemble romance.

GREAT WORLD OF SOUND: Two talent scouts for a small record label gradually learn it's a con game preying on singers' dreams of stardom. [Already heard great stuff about this one.]

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON: Apollo astronauts share recollections in a documentary about the NASA moon landings.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH: Parents seek their missing son, who has just come home from Iraq. With Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron. Paul Haggis directs.

*IRA & ABBY: A mismatched couple (Jennifer Westfeldt and Chris Messina) takes a stab at romance. With Jason Alexander, Frances Conroy and Fred Willard.

*THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB: Six modern people's lives parallel Austen's classic tales. With Maria Bello, Jimmy Smits and Amy Brenneman. Book adaptation.

THE KINGDOM: Jamie Foxx is a fed tracking a friend's killer in Saudi Arabia. With Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper.

LUST, CAUTION: Director Ang Lee follows "Brokeback Mountain" with a World War II spy thriller set in Shanghai.

SILK: A merchant has a forbidden affair with a woman in 19th century Japan. With Keira Knightley and Michael Pitt.

October:

*DAN IN REAL LIFE: A widower (Steve Carell) falls for the girlfriend (Juliette Binoche) of his brother (Dane Cook).

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE: Cate Blanchett reteams with co-star Geoffrey Rush and director Shekhar Kapur for more in the saga of Queen Elizabeth I [with Clive Owen in a rare romantic part, as Sir Walter Raleigh].

GONE BABY GONE: Ben Affleck directs brother Casey Affleck in the tale of private eyes searching for an abducted girl.

GRACE IS GONE: A father (John Cusack) takes his daughters on a road trip to postpone telling them their mother has been killed in Iraq.

*MICHAEL CLAYTON: George Clooney is an attorney handling dirty work for a corporate firm embroiled in a major class-action suit. [Already heard great stuff about this one.]

MUSIC WITHIN: A soldier (Ron Livingston) who loses his hearing in Vietnam becomes an activist for the disabled.

RAILS & TIES: Tragedy brings together a train conductor, his ailing wife and an orphaned boy. With Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden.

RENDITION: A woman (Reese Witherspoon) races to find her Egyptian-born husband after he disappears on a flight to Washington. With Jake Gyllenhaal and Meryl Streep.

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE: A widow (Halle Berry) finds solace in one of her husband's friends (Benicio Del Toro). David Duchovny co-stars.

November:

CROSSING OVER: An immigrant drama in Los Angeles features an ensemble including Harrison Ford, Sean Penn and Ashley Judd.

LIONS FOR LAMBS: Robert Redford directs himself, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep in a drama that plays out against the war on terrorism.

*LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA: Lovers wait half a century to reunite in the adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel. Book adaptation.

*MARGOT AT THE WEDDING: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black and John Turturro star in a comic drama about family nuptials. [Already heard great stuff about this one.]
December:

ATONEMENT: Lives are shattered after a teen falsely accuses her sister's lover of a crime. With Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. Book adaptation.

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman plot American strategy against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Mike Nichols directs.

HONEYDRIPPER: An Alabama man tries to save his juke joint by hiring a star electric guitar player. Danny Glover stars, John Sayles directs.

LEATHERHEADS: George Clooney directs and stars with Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski in a love triangle set in the world of 1920s football.

P.S. I LOVE YOU: Hilary Swank stars in a drama about a widow whose husband left behind tasks to help her get over her grief.

REDACTED: Tragedy follows amid the persecution of an Iraqi girl and her family by U.S. troops. Brian De Palma directs.

*THE SAVAGES: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney are siblings forced to care for their ailing estranged father. [Already heard great stuff about this one.]

THE WALKER: Woody Harrelson is a Washington escort who must clear his name of scandal. With Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe and Lauren Bacall.

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH: Francis Ford Coppola directs Tim Roth as a professor-turned-fugitive as World war II approaches. [Already heard great stuff about this one.]