Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
NOTE: all dates subject to change; be sure to check each film’s ratings.
September 14:
Jodie Foster stars in the topical crime drama The Brave One with Terence Howard. The action fantasy Dragon Wars and Billy Bob Thornton’s latest dark comedy Mr. Woodcock also open.
September 21:
Jessica Alba tries slapstick comedy with Dane Cook in Good Luck Chuck while Resident Evil: Extinction continues one of the few financially successful video game adaptations.
In Sydney White, Amanda Bynes stars in a modern update of the classic Snow White fairy tale, set in college.
Sean Penn directs the outdoor drama Into the Wild, based on the 1996 non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer about a man who abandons modern life for the Alaskan Wilderness.
The Assassination of Jeese James by the Coward Robert Ford takes a deeper look into the famous outlaw. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck (Ocean’s 11) star.
The visually appealing '60s musical Across the Universe and the Tommy Lee Jones/Charlize Theron drama In the Valley of Elah both get wider releases.
September 28:
The Kingdom follows a special government team investigating terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia. Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, and Chris Cooper (Bourne Identity, Breach) star.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays a star quarterback who discovers he has a daughter in the Disney comedy The Game Plan. Kyra Sedgewick (The Closer television series) and newcomer Madison Pettis co-star.
October 5:
Ben Stiller stars in the remake of The Heartbreak Kid, directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly.
George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins) star in the promising legal thriller Michael Clayton.
October 12:
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) stars in the thriller We Own the Night with Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall, and Eva Mendes.
Elizabeth: Golden Age reprises Cate Blanchett’s Oscar® winning role as the famous British Queen. Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush also star.
October 19:
The thriller Rendition has plenty of star power including stars Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, and recent Oscar® winner Alan Arkin.
The sports spoof The Comebacks goes for football laughs and 30 Days of Night stars Josh Hartnett as a small town sheriff dealing with vampires… in Alaska.
Joaquin Phoenix hits the screen again in the family drama Reservation Road co-starring Jennifer Connelly, Mark Ruffalo, and Mira Sorvino.
October 26:
Steve Carrell stars in the comedy Dan in Real Life about life trials involving his brother, played by Dane Cook, and a love interest played by Oscar® winner Juliette Binoche.
John Cusack adopts a unique little one in Martian Child while Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, and David Duchovny star in the drama Things We Lost in the Fire.
Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz) and Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible 2) star in the comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run, directed by Friends alum David Schwimmer.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas gets a 3-D release while the horror-filled Saw series continues with Saw IV.
November 2:
Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott team up again in the crime drama American Gangster. Crowe stars as a detective trying to dethrone a powerful antagonist played by Denzel Washington.
Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zelleweger lend their voices to the computer animated Bee Movie.
November 9:
Robert Redford stars and directs Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise in the political/legal drama Lions for Lambs.
Fred Claus goes for holiday laughs. Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, Kathy Bates, and Rachel Weisz star.
Set in Los Angeles, the genre mixing Southland Tales boasts stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, and SNL comediennes Amy Poehler and Cheri O’Teri.
Directors/brothers Joel and Ethan Coen helm the thriller No Country for Old Men, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel. Tommy Lee Jones stars as a local sheriff while Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin also factor in.
November 16:
Director Robert Zemeckis adapts the classic Beowulf using the same motion capture technology used in his Polar Express film. Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, and Robin Wright Penn (Forrest Gump) star.
Dustin Hoffman plays a 243-year-old toy-store owner in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium with Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman.
November 21:
Disney’s musical comedy Enchanted puts fairy tales into another unique spin. Susan Sarandon, Amy Adams, and Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy television series) star.
Stephen King’s The Mist provides some supermarket scares as a mysterious fog hits a small town store.
November 30:
Thomas Kinkade’s The Christmas Cottage stars Oscar® winners Jon Voight and Marcia Gay Harden.
Flawless, starring Michael Caine and Demi Moore, and Woody Allen’s latest directorial effort Cassandra’s Dream, starring Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, get limited releases.
December 7:
Leatherheads chronicles the National Football League’s origins with stars George Clooney, Renee Zelleweger, and John Krasinski (The Office television series).
Fantasy film The Golden Compass reteams Nicole Kidman, Eva Green, and Daniel Craig in the adaptation of the Philip Pullman fantasy novel.
December 14:
Will Smith goes high on action and low on dialogue in the novel adaptation of I Am Legend.
The singing Alvin and the Chipmunks are revived with Jason Lee (My Name is Earl television series) starring as their famous “handler” Dave.
December 21:
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in the drama/comedy The Bucket List directed by Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally).
John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights) headlines in the music mockumentary/comedy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Sweeney Todd marks yet another Johnny Depp/Tim Burton collaboration. This musical also stars Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat).
Nicolas Cage reprises his role as historian/adventurer Ben Gates in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Oscar® winner Helen Mirren (The Queen) makes a great addition to the returning cast.
Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler (300) star in the romance P.S., I Love You.
December 25:
Charlie Wilson’s War tells the political tale of Afghan mujahideen funding. Veteran director Mike Nichols guides Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Set in 1935, an English professor takes a small Texas debate team to the big time in The Great Debaters with Denzel Washington directing/starring with recent Oscar® winner Forrest Whitaker.
Christmas holiday action movies usually don't hit blockbuster status but the sequel Alien vs. Predator: Requiem will try.
