Fall-Winter Movie Season 2014

Now that Summer Movie Season is over, its time to turn to the upcoming Fall-Winter movies.  This is the time usually when the "important" movies come out.  The reason being that studios want Academy and other awards groups to have their movies fresh in voters minds.

Lately, however, some studios realized that this is a good time to release a big blockbuster because there is less competition, even though more people are home watching television.

Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).

So here are some of the movies that are coming out along with my level of excitement.

September 19

The Maze Runner - I find the trailer incredibly intriguing and I think I'm going to see this one in the theater if I can (****)

This is Where I Leave You - This could be better than typical dysfunctional family movies, but I find that Jason Bateman and Tina Fey movies tend to disappoint (***)

A Walk Among the Tombstones - I think "Liam Neeson Kills a Bunch of Bad Guys in Horrible, Horrible Ways" is becoming its own genre of film.  I'm curious (***)

Tusk - Looks like Clerks meets The Human Centipede.  No thank you (*)

Hector and the Search For Happiness - I like the look of this film and it reminds me of the previews I saw for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  I just hope its better than the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (***)


September 26

The Equalizer - It looks like Denzel is trying to encroach on Liam territory.  And the trailers look like he pulled it off (****)

The Boxtrolls - I want to get excited about this, but it looks like a cheap Monsters Inc.

October 3

Gone Girl - I'm not sure why, but the trailers have me so intrigued.  And Affleck is currently in the full bloom of his Ben-aissance.  I'm there opening night (*****)

October 10

The Judge - I like the cast and the plot, but I get the sneaking feeling that this is going to be a cliche'd mess.
(***)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day - I don't know the source material, so I think I'll wait on this one.  (**)

Dracula Untold - This feels like a SyFy movie with a big(ger) budget. (**)

Whipplash - I'm sure he's a lovely person, but I really don't like Miles Teller.  And I don't care for Jazz, so there isn't a big draw for me here in this story about a struggling Jazz drumming student.  (*)

Kill the Messenger - I like Jeremy Renner, but Iran-Contra doesn't feel like a pressing dramatic issue (**)

Christian Mingle - Honestly, I can't tell if this is going to be any good, but it doesn't look like it mocks people of faith, and that alone has me curious.
October 17

Fury - This could be good despite it having Shia LeBouf, but I'm in no hurry to see it (***)

The Best of Me - Another Nicholas Sparks novel turned movie.  Expect a high body count (*)

Birdman - This could either be very good or very bad, but I'm pulling for Michael Keaton to make a big comeback (**)

Kingsman: The Secret Service - This feels like Kick Ass but in England.  Not a big selling point (**)

White Bird in a Blizzard - A title this pretentious is rarely seen outside of France (*)

St. Vincent - I like Bill Murray, but this looks like nothing special (**)

October 31

Nightcrawler - Unfortunately this is not a movie about one of my favorite X-Men, but it is a movie about a creepy news reporter starring a creepy Jake Gyllenhal (*)

November 7

Interstellar - Christopher Nolan has not made a bad movie and I found the trailers enthralling. (*****)

Big Hero 6 - Disney's digital studios have grown up a lot in the last few years and this is brought to us by Marvel who has a great cinematic track record (****)

The Theory of Everything - This is pure Oscar-bait and I can't wait to see it (****)

November 14

Foxcatcher - I love Steve Carrel, but I can't get my head around this one (***)

Dumb and Dumber To - The previous film does not hold a special place in my heart like it does for so many others.  The actors feel old and so do the jokes (**)

November 21

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - I thought the last 2 movies were very good, so I will be there opening night (*****)

The Imitation Game - I know the history behind this story and it is very sad.  I might wait for Netflix (**)

November 28

Horrible Bosses 2 - The first one was fairly decent.  I might check this one out too, but I can wait to watch it at home (***)

Penguins of Madagascar - These guys are the best thing about the Madagascar movies.  I'd be curious to see if they could hold a movie all on their own (***)

December 12

Exodus: Gods and Kings - If Ridley Scott can bring the same intesity that he brought to Gladiator, then this could be all kinds of awesome (****)


December 19

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies - I am so excited to see this.  I can't wait to see all of the heartbreakingly powerful parts of the book come to life (*****)

Annie - Probably the biggest rift in my marriage is the dissagreement my wife and I have over Annie.  But this remake looks pretty good (**)

A Night At The Museum: Secret of the Tomb - I enjoyed the first two... at home.  This one will be no different (**)