Here are seven fall films you wouldn’t have to drag me to:
“Extract” (Friday) — This is “Office Space” turned on its head: Here the bosses are sane, and the employees are nuts. So, obviously, this is less realistic than “Office Space,” but it’s still from Mike Judge and it stars Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”) and Mila Kunis (adorable in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”).
True, “The Goode Family” was pretty terrible, but Judge has a strong film track record — in addition to “Office Space,” he made “Idiocracy,” a movie that’s tough to watch but important to see. With that film, Judge had the courage to make a sci-fi parable about the dangers of becoming a dumber society, even though he knew the movie was unmarketable. I hope he has something to say in “Extract,” too.
“The Invention of Lying” (Oct. 2) — I’m not crazy about Ricky Gervais playing roles other than David Brent, but this premise has potential: What would you do if you were the only person in the world capable of lying, and the concept was completely foreign to everyone else? Jason Bateman co-stars.
“Zombieland” (Oct. 2) — This and “Jennifer’s Body” (Sept. 18) are the fall movies we feel like we’ve already seen because so many previews have been shown. Of the two, I’m willing to spend more time with this one, because of its stellar cast: Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”), Jesse Eisenberg (“Adventureland”) and Emma Stone (great supporting roles in “Superbad” and “The House Bunny”).
“Couples Retreat” (Oct. 9) — Jason Bateman (I promise, this is the last Bateman film on my list) stars in a movie with a backdrop similar to “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” — a tropical island setting, and Kristen Bell. Also, Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau — remember when they were funny? — co-star, and they co-wrote it.
“The Box” (Nov. 6) — It has a “Twilight Zone” premise. I’ll just crib from Entertainment Weekly’s description: A financially strapped teacher (Cameron Diaz) is offered “$1 million if she presses a button on an innocuous-looking wooden box. The only downside: If she agrees, a stranger dies.” Director Richard Kelly promises it’ll be an old-fashioned suspense film, but I’m worried it might be weirder: This is the guy who gave us the impenetrable (and, I think, overrated) “Donnie Darko.”
“Brothers” (Dec. 4) — It’s a little character piece about a war-traumatized Marine, his wife and his brother. It stars Tobey Maguire (eh), Jake Gyllenhaal (he’s all right) and Natalie Portman (now that’s what I’m talking about). It’s directed by Jim Sheridan, who gave us the excellent film-about-a-family, “In America.”
“Avatar” (Dec. 18) — It marks the return of writer-director James Cameron (his last non-documentary film was a little number called “Titanic”). I can’t say I’m buying into the “Avatar” hype right now, but I suspect I will be when Dec. 18 rolls around.
What fall movies are you most looking forward to? Share your thoughts in the comment threads.