Come on y'all, eat some of this shit!

There's a really interesting article in the new york times this weekend, it's part of the fall movie preview. A.O. Scott wrote about how movies this fall and movies in general are tending towards fantasy, nostalgia, and in some cases a flat out retreat to adolesence. Movies are not really being made about what it's like to live in america and the world right now, and when they are, they're overwrought pieces of self-serious wildly unrealistic trash like crash, hey that rhymes. He closes his article with something I thought I would never hear a film critic say and I dig it...

"Or maybe not. Several recent movies have sparked interesting conversations - about the war in Iraq, the fight against terrorism, the ethics of human cloning. These were the action blockbusters of the past summer: remakes, sequels and franchise pictures like "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," "Batman Begins," "War of the Worlds" and even "The Island." Last fall the movie that galvanized similar reflection was "The Incredibles." Of course, all these movies deal with contemporary reality on the level of allegory, which provides its own form of distance. But it is interesting that the half-encoded topical meanings found in them seem to be part of the intentions of their makers, rather than the projections of critics and other interpreters. It may be that the role of the blockbuster is to engage with matters that more self-consciously serious movies shy away from. I can't wait until next summer."

That being said, I decided to post a list of the ten films (That's a good number for lists like this) that I am excited to see this fall. Luckily, since I am not a film critic I do not look at the list as symoblizing some sort of sociological trend in filmmaking, I just see a bunch of rad-ass movies, I'm going to shell out 10.75 and up for this fall. Then again, I did see A Sound of Thunder, well there's one off the list.

The following is in no particular order

-Elizabethtown
-Jarhead
-The New World
-Lord of War (although that's tricky since it's coming out next week, but Andrew Niccol kicks ass)
-The Corpse Bride (again, next week, I hope all the good shit doesnt't come out right away and then vanish)
-Good Night, and Good Luck
-Capote
-Brokeback Mountain
-All The King's Men
-Syriana

This was actually more difficult than I expected, everything save for the last two films I have seen trailers for so I have some idea what they're going to be like. With King's and Syriana, what I've read and who is involved has got me chompin at the bit. I realized going through the films this fall that there are a few flicks like Stay (written by David Benioff) Prime (Directed by Ben Younger) and the infamous Get rich or Die Tryin (directed by Jim Sheridan). The names I associated with these films are the reason I want to see them, but for one reason or another their perspective trailers just haven't really done it for me. I really want them to be good, meaningful films but I am not completely assured yet. And none of the event movies this fall are doing anything for me, I could, however, use some more films from David Gordon Green, David O. Russell, and Wes Anderson and why not throw in another eerily beautiful minimalistic gus van sant film while your at it. That being said, I'm sure there's stuff I've forgotten about and hopefully there will be constant surprises in the coming months.

Before I go I have to give a big "whaddup" to a film First Run Features is putting out this fall, it's called One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern, it's about the 72 McGovern campaign if you haven't figured that out. And it features interviews with grown up nerds like Gore Vidal, Warren Beatty, and Gloria Steinem. And it's narrated by Amy Goodman, who kicks ass every day on her radio show democracy now. That being said, it looks interesting, I haven't seen it yet but I will, I like movies.

Sorry, one more thing, The Squid and the Whale is coming out this fall, pretty soon I think, it's fantastic, I didn't put it on the list cause I already seen it. That is to say I saw it. You, however should see it.

Thus, I good you bid evening...

"The man-poet who banged Frances - dark lady of philosophy. The parking lot crusader of truth... who turned his back on his other like a cold-blooded gangsta."