By Sherry Lipp

The summer movie season is getting close to wrapping up, hard as that may be to believe. With only a few big summer movies left to hit the theaters (The Expendables 2, ParaNorman, The Awakening), it’s time to think about fall. Here’s a list of 10 films that we are looking forward to.

Branded – Sept. 7 – September 7th is still technically summer, but as far as movies go, it’s fall. This film is probably not going to be a huge hit, but the trailer caught our eye. It’s basically advertising taken to the furthest extreme with a desire for products being programmed right into our minds. It all looks a little crazy, and we think it could be good. Check out the trailer here.

Looper – Sept. 28 – This sci-fi thriller stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, and Jeff Daniels. Its intriguing premise features hitmen called “loopers” who travel through time to carry out their kills. Joe (Gordon-Levitt) faces a dilemma went he is sent through time to kill his future self (Willis).

Frankenweenie – Oct. 5 – An expansion of a live-action short Tim Burton directed before he made his first feature, this animated feature about a boy who resurrects his beloved pet dog (à la Frankenstein’s monster) looks like a sentimental favorite and a family film for all ages. The black-and-white, stop-motion animation film features voice work from Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, and Martin Landau.

Taken 2 – Oct. 5 – In 2009 Taken became a suprise hit, and has worked up even more of a following in the three years since its release. It’s not too big of a surprise a sequel has been made. The question is whether they can do it again. Taken was a taught thriller with an excellent performance from Liam Neeson. It’s kind of a stretch that similar events will happen to Neeson’s character again, but it looks like everything is tied together in a revenge plot. Maggie Grace returns as Neeson’s daughter along with Famke Janssen as his estranged wife.

Argo – Oct. 12 – After Gone Baby Gone and The Town, Ben Affleck has really begun to prove himself as a director. His latest project looks like it could be his most ambitious project yet. While, we don’t think Argo is the best choice for a title (it’s bound to leave a few people scratching their heads when they see it on the marquee), the movie itself looks very interesting. Based on true events, it centers on the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Argo focuses on a little known event where a small group of the hostage were able to escape and hide out in the Tehran home of a Canadian ambassador. A rescue attempt involved operatives going into the country under the guise of making a sci-fi film called “Argo.” The film stars Affleck, Brian Cranston, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin.

Flight – Nov. 2 – This film might make us afraid to fly, but it looks pretty gripping. It stars Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, and John Goodman. Washington plays a pilot who heroically lands a plane that seems doomed to crash. He comes under investigation for his actions prior to the flight in what looks like a tense courtroom drama, to say the least. Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis returns to live-action directing with this, after a trio of animated films.

The Man With The Iron Fists – Nov. 2 -This Quentin Tarantino presentation was produced by Eli Roth and marks the directorial debut of RZA (of the Wu-Tang Clan), who also stars and co-wrote with Roth. Before you write off this martial arts extravaganza as some kind of vanity project for RZA, consider the fact that the film also stars Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. Read our interview with another featured cast member, Rick Yune (The Fast and the Furious, Die Another Day), right here!

Red Dawn – Nov. 21 – Remakes abound, and if any movie was a good candidate for it it’s this one. The 1984 original capitalized on Cold War fears with Russia as the menace threatening our very way of life. The film starred a bevy of teen sensations (okay, they weren’t all actually teens, but they played them) including Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Grey. This one lacks the star power, save for Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Snow White & The Huntsman, Avengers), but it looks like a lot of fun. As fun as a communist invasion can be, at least. This time the threat is from North Korea, with a little help from some renegade friends. Oh, and look out for Connor Cruise in the trailer, which you can see here.  

Zero Dark Thirty – Dec. 19 – This film is Kathryn Bigelow’s follow up to her Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker. This film chronicles the hunt for Osama Bin Laden in the years following 9/11. The film was already in progress at the time of the raid on his compound. The film has sparked controversy, with claims the crew reviewed classified information. Some say the film takes a partisan stance in favor of President Obama. Bigelow denies partisan claims, and the studio moved the film from October to post-election December. The film stars Joel Edgerton, Jessica Chastain, Kyle Chandler, and Jason Clarke.

Django Unchained – Dec. 25 – We might be in the minority, but we weren’t crazy about Quentin Tarantino’s last film, Inglourious Basterds. But being fans of most of Tarantino’s earlier films we’re always interested in what he’s doing next. This film has gone through numerous rewrites and casting changes, but still has Hollywood buzzing. The film is set in the later days of slavery, and like Basterds, plays loose with historical fact. However, Tarantino says he is not taking slavery lightly, and is set to tell a story that captures the essence of the time period. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, and Kerry Washington.

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Chaz Lipp
Sherry Lipp
Sherry is a writer/blogger specializing in entertainment and food writing. You can find her gluten and grain-free food articles at scdforlife.com.

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