Published: September 10, 2009 10:14 am      

Studios start thinking Oscar in fall

Well, fellow moviegoers, we made it through another summer. It was fun, wasn’t it?

Sure, there were some bumps in the road (I’m looking at you, “Transformers 2”), but by and large, it was a pretty wild three-month blockbuster trip. But now, the autumn is upon us, time to kick back and relax, free from all the bright lights, big explosions and huge buckets of popcorn.

But wait …

What if I told you that a different kind of reward awaited you in movie theaters this fall? What if I told you that while the leaves are changing, the movies are too? Interested?

Autumn is an important time for Hollywood studios great and small. While they make bank from May to August, September is the time when they start worrying about hardware, aka that little golden dude called Oscar and his many friends that are less glamorous but no less important to filmmaking.

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d take a few moments to throw out a few suggestions for high quality motion pictures you can catch at the box office over the next four months or so. They won’t be as glitzy, there won’t be as many stars, and you can bet they won’t make as much money, but they’re like to prove more than satisfying in their own special way (And no, “New Moon” will not be on this list. Deal with it.).



The Informant (Sept. 18)

Director Steven Soderbergh (“Ocean’s 11,” “The Good German”) and superstar Matt Damon reunited in this dark comedy that takes viewers inside the true story of a whistle-blowing executive at a Midwestern foodstuffs company.

Damon stars as the bipolar whistle-blower Mark Whitacre, who tips off the FBI to his company’s corrupt price-fixing tactics and then quickly becomes the bureau’s man on the inside, leaving him filled with grand expectations of life as a superspy. Soderbergh’s been a slightly underground filmmaker since “Ocean’s 13,” so it’s good to see him back at the forefront of cinematic envelope-pushing with something outrageous. And of course, it’s always fun to watch Damon play a crazy person.



A Serious Man (Oct. 2)

The legendary Coen Brothers (“No Country for Old Men,” “Burn After Reading”) return this fall, this time with relatively unknown actors and a much quieter pace with this dark comedy about a man in the thick of domestic chaos.

Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Larry Gopnik, a college professor living in a Minnesota suburb. The film follows his journey to three different rabbis for spiritual guidance after his wife begins to contemplate leaving him, both of his children begin stealing his money, and one of his students threatens to sue him.

I know what you might be thinking, and I don’t care if you think it sounds boring. This is the Coen Brothers we’re talking about, the guys who made quirky movies the stuff of legend. Check it out, thank me later.



Where the Wild Things Are (Oct. 16)

Director Spike Jonze (“Adaptation,” “Being John Malkovich”) teams up with a stellar cast that includes James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and Forest Whitaker for this ambitious adaptation of the beloved Maurice Sendak children’s book. With Sendak’s blessing, Jonze and screenwriter Dave Eggers have expanded on the story, turning it from an amusing dream to an epic.

If you’ve been to the movies recently, you’ve no doubt seen the trailers. Jonze is known for its weirdness, and this is his shot to prove that he’s also got heart.



The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

(Oct. 16)

This film is particular noteworthy because it marks the last hurrah of one of our finest actors taken from us too soon. “Parnassus” was the film Heath Ledger was working on when he died, and in a final tribute, the rest of his role was rewritten to include his character going through various physical changes, and his remaining scenes were performed by fellow actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrell.

The film itself is an odd journey of an immortal carnival leader, Doctor Parnassus, who once made a deal with the devil (played by Tom Waits. Awesome) for a magical mirror that will lead his patrons into other worlds. But now, the devil has come to collect his due, which just so happens to be Parnassus’ daughter. The final appearance by Ledger is tantalizing enough, but the film also promises to be yet another dark fairy tale from director Terry Gilliam (a former member of Monty Python and director of great films like “The Fisher King”).



Sherlock Holmes

(Dec. 25)

Take the best director of British crime films alive (Guy Ritchie), pair him with the hottest quirky yet talented star on the planet right now (Robert Downey Jr. ) and throw in one of the most legendary literary characters of all time, and you’ve got the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes,” a fresh take on the greatest detective every imagined.

Downey stars as Holmes, with Jude Law accompanying him as Dr. Watson and Rachel McAdams as American femme fatale Irene Adler. The film pits Holmes and Watson against cult leader Lord Blackwood, who promises as he is led to his execution to exact a great and supernatural revenge against all of Britain. The film’s trailer, filled with humor, action and everything in between, he already been making moviegoers (this one included) rise to attention, making me all the more excited about this one.

So there you have it, folks, just a small sample of the good stuff coming up this fall. See you at the movies.