Rise of the Fall – Movie Edition

Now that summer is over and done with, here are the 15 movies I am looking forward to the most this fall, in the order in which they will be released.

Jackass: Number Two (Sept. 22)

Shortbus (Oct. 4): This urban dramedy from John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) follows seven very different people, as they navigate between the paths of love and sex in modern-day New York City.

The Departed (Oct. 6): Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Wahlberg in this remake of the hit 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs.

The Queen (Oct. 6): Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth II in this Stephen Frears-directed revealing and witty portrait of the British royal family immediately following the death of Princess Diana.

Little Children (Oct. 6)

Infamous (Oct. 13): Lest you dismiss it as just another Truman Capote film, know that this star-studded affair (featuring Toby Jones as the In Cold Blood scribe and Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee) explores the author’s uptown New York life more than last year’s Capote.

Flags of Our Fathers (Oct. 20): Clint Eastwood directs Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach (Windtalkers), and Jamie Bell (King Kong) and tells the life stories of the six men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII.

Marie Antoinette (Oct. 20)

The Prestige (Oct. 20): Christopher Nolan (Memento) directs Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as two clashing stage magicians in 1878, as they spin webs of deceit and exposure, while feuding to outwit and destroy each another.

Running with Scissors (Oct. 20)

Babel (Oct. 27): Alexander Gonzáles Iñárritu (21 Grams) delivers a series of interconnected dramas –set in Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, and Japan – that features Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, and Kôji Yakusho.

Volver (Nov. 3)

Stranger Than Fiction (Nov. 10): IRS auditor Will Ferrell suddenly finds himself the subject of Emma Thompson’s narration – a narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work to his love interest…to his imminent death.

Bobby (Nov. 17): Emilo Estevez directs Anthony Hopkins, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, and Mark Valley, among others, in this re-telling of the assassination of the titular Sen. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968.

Casino Royale (Nov. 17)

Photo: Paramount Vantage (Babel).