The Drop (September 12th)
So far I have been a fan of the films adapted from Dennis Lehane's novels. This one has a good cast and a promising trailer. I especially like the "Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco" vibe I'm getting from the late James Gandolfini's role.
The Guest (September 17th)
Director Adam Wingard and frequent screenwriting collaborator Simon Barrett have a solid filmmaking history together (their previous film, You're Next, made my Top 10 list last year), and film festival buzz about this film has been mostly positive. Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens is getting a lot of praise for his equally charming and disturbing lead role.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (September 19th)
While on the surface this looks like yet another in a long line of carbon copy Liam Neeson thrillers, this film has a lot more going on behind the scenes. It's based on a bestselling book series by acclaimed mystery novelist Lawrence Block, and has been written and directed by the very talented Scott Frank. This marks Frank's second foray into directing, following his entertaining The Lookout. Plus Frank wrote the screenplays for Get Shorty, Minority Report and Out of Sight. So yeah, he's good.
Tusk (September 19th)
Kevin Smith's reputation has not fared well in the post-Jay & Silent Bob years. But his last film, the dark and underrated Red State, was a surprising tonal and stylistic departure from the sophomoric, raunchy comedies on which he built his name. And Tusk looks like a further step in this new, darker direction. Plus Michael Parks is never not great.
Gone Girl (October 3rd)
David Fincher directs, therefore I shall see it without thinking twice about it. Plus it looks like this might be a great pre-Batman opportunity to remind audiences that Ben Affleck is, indeed, a good dramatic actor when he's not picking his roles unscrupulously. My hope is that Affleck will soon benefit from the same acting career revival that Matthew McConaughey has recently been enjoying. If not, I guess he always has that Best Picture-winning writer/director career to fall back on.
Harmontown (October 3rd)
Because it's Dan Harmon, the creator of TV's Community. That's all the reason I need.
White Bird in a Blizzard (October 24th)
Gregg Araki doesn't always make good movies, but he never makes uninteresting ones. Plus this looks like his highest-profile cast yet. And Eva Green likely continues her year of quietly dominating every project she's in. Sorry, Shailene Woodley, you're great and all, but Eva Green has screen charisma that will never be overtaken.
Nightcrawler (October 31st)
Writer/director Dan Gilroy is the brother of the esteemed Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton). From the trailer, it looks like filmmaking talent might run in the family.
Rosewater (November 7th)
The writing & directing debut of Jon Stewart. The film is based on a true story, and Stewart was inspired to make it after interviewing the subject both before and after his detention (of which Stewart's The Daily Show played an unexpected part). Like many people, I'm very curious to see what Stewart can do outside of political comedy.
The Babadook (November 28th)
This is the film I am most anticipating seeing. It's gotten rave reviews from every festival in which it's been featured, and is supposedly one of the more terrifying movies of the past few years. Finding a good horror movie is hard enough, but finding a great one is a truly rare occurrence. I hope it can survive its hype.
