2011 Guide to Fall Movies to Watch

The Fall is fast approaching, and with it comes a slew of fantastic movies you're not going to want to miss. From classic sports movies to romantic comedies and beyond, expect to be bombarded with a number of movies hoping to grab your attention and their own little corners of your wallets. Here are five Fall releases you definitely want to check out.

50/50

This film, with a release date of September 30, 2011, is described by Summit Entertainment as a comedy drama "inspired by an incredible real-life experience." The movie tells the story of 27-year-old Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his attempts to deal with a cancer diagnosis. With help from his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogan), girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), and other friends and family, Adam tries to fight his disease and enjoy his life. It's always hard to deal with the topic of cancer. It always seems to spell instant-tearjerker-we've-all-seen-before. But now, with shows like The Big C, Hollywood is constantly reminding us that even the most heart-wrenching moments of life can still be kind of--if not extremely--funny, or at least lightened up with a good sense of humor. In fact, think of this film as The Big C meets your bros. The film looks to serve as a fine reminder that comedy isn't always lewd, crude, or drug-induced. Comedy, as it turns out--and as Laura Linney suggests in a July 2011 interview discussing her show, is a fantastic coping mechanism. With such a positive reminder regarding the "healing power" of comedy, 50/50 also has a great chance to serve as a beacon of hope to anyone dealing with difficult life-changes. So, yes, there will be tears--but at least some of them can be laughter-induced.

Abduction

Adults love the Bourne films: trained killers, foggy pasts, federal conspiracies, and taking matters into your own hands. The kids love the Twilight saga: hot guys, hot girls, vampires, werewolves, and tons of drama. What better way to meet in the middle than Abduction, a thriller telling the story of a young man who discovers his baby picture on a missing persons website and sets off to discover his true identity. The film has a release date of September 23, 2011. The connection to Jason Bourne should be obvious--this journey of self-discovery is not going to be an easy one, which will make for some super action scenes and cinematography. Likewise, as Lionsgate points out on the film's official website, the story shares the Bourne-impulse to "stop running and take matters into [one's] own hands." And as far as the Twilight saga goes ... the film stars Taylor Lautner. So yes, the theaters will initially be packed with teenaged girls, but those girls will take their boyfriends, and their boyfriends will go again with their bros, and their bros will tell their dads, and after two weekends the theater will be filled with a comforting composite of America's cinephile landscape. Okay, okay, that's probably not how it will work, but trust me, the film stands to have major appeal across generational lines. With a supporting cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Elisabeth Rohm, and Lily Collins, this film is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Like Crazy

Like Crazy follows the romance of a British college student named Anna (Felicity Jones) who falls in love with with an American student (Anton Yelchin) after meeting at college in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, her return to London forces them to deal with all the trials of a long-distance relationship. Sounds a little bit like Going the Distance, right? Well, not quite. In GTD, the love stays stateside, and there is some level of choice involved in the creation of the long-distance relationship. Like Crazy's long-distance romance isn't an option: it's government mandated, as Anna has been banned from the States after she overstays her visa's expiration. So, think of this as a film that "goes the distance" with more frequent flyer miles, more substance, and a lot more heart. The film was a prize-winner at the 27^th Sundance Film Festival, and takes a much more careful look at the development of a difficult love story than most romance films. The film is set to be released on October 28, 2011.

Moneyball

Moneyball tells the story of William Lamar "Billy" Beane III, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics and his use of sabermetrics--or the use of computer-generated statistical analysis--to draft players. This technique allowed Beane to put together a baseball club with both an excellent record and major cost effectiveness, which would eventually land him on Sports Illustrated list of the top ten GMs/Executives of the decade in all sports in 2009. And before you go thinking this sounds extraordinarily boring ("A baseball movie about stats? I don't think so," you're saying to yourself), keep in mind that this is basically Social Network with baseball, and that could be a very good thing. If you're still not sold, consider that the cast includes Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. This film will probably have the greatest appeal among baseball fans, who have a phenomenal sense of allegiance to not only the stats involved but the films that capture America's pastime on the silver screen. Sports movies in general always have a major appeal to wide audiences, so expect this film--despite it's somewhat mundane sounding premise--to hit one of the park ... or at least get a lot of tongues wagging. Moneyball has a release date of September 23, 2011.

Restless

Restless is a drama directed by Gus Van Sant and produced by Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard, and Brian Brazer. The film tells the story of a terminally ill teenage girl (Mia Wasikowski) who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals (Henry Hopper). It also includes their "encounters" with the ghost of a Japanese WWII kamikaze pilot (Ryo Kase) ... That is about all we know about the film at this point--despite a rather telling and somewhat pessimistic review of the film's Cannes release from The Independent--and while it has the potential to be a bit quirky, there's no denying that strange, introspective, and somewhat bizarre films have touched a major nerve with filmgoers, who love seeing the folks in Hollywood do something unexpected and off the map. Wasikowski earned major celebrity after starring as Alice in Tim burton's 2010 release of Alice in Wonderland. Hopper is the son of Hollywood legend Dennis Hopper; as just his second film, this could push him more into the public eye as an actor. Many folks are anticipating this release from Van Sant, who has come close to the Oscar with films like Good Will Hunting and Milk. The film is set to be released on September 16, 2011.

Sources

Summit Entertainment, "50/50 Official Movie Website," Summit Entertainment

Lionsgate Films, "ABDUCTION", Lionsgate

Catriona Wightman, "'The Big C' star: 'Comedy helps you cope with reality'", DigitalSpy

Russ Fischer, "'Moneyball' Trailer Starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill [EW Preview]", Slashfilm

Brendan Walsh, "Sundance 2011: Like Crazy Movie Review", ScreenCrave

Kaleem Aftab, "Restless, Cannes Film Festival", The Independent