Fall 2010 Movies: The Top Ten Movies for Men Who Miss Summer

The movie lineup for Fall of 2010 has a little something for everyone. The leaves changing colors and the heat of Summer blockbusters gone, some may be tempted to slip into some more dreary dramatic movies. However, in looking at the fall movie releases and deciding which ten I would most like to see or recommend, I felt compelled to keep the good vibes of Summer rolling. Have some fun in the Fall! Impossible not to note, however, that my choices all seem to be more fitting for a male target audience; yep, total dude movies.

10. MACHETE - September 3rd 2010 - Directed by: Robert Rodriguez - starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson, Steven Seagal, Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Lohan.

Machete follows an ex-Federale who is out for revenge against the former employers who set him up. It is based off of the faux trailer that debuted with the movie Grindhouse.

Marketing for Machete has been fairly strong. This is not going to be the right fit for everyone, but coming off of the success of The Expendables, I think Machete could do quite well, or at least better than the Grindhouse movie itself did. Ladies may choose to check out the romantic comedy Going The Distance instead, but I think male power may win the box office.

Robert Rodriguez movies are always packed with FUN. I do not like all of his movies, but anything he has had some creative touch on I am at least willing to check out. Machete does not look like it will disappoint. I think it will be an over-the-top blast of B movie action fun, mixed all up with healthy doses of comedy and sexy vixens. It is Danny Trejo's time to shine!

9. UNSTOPPABLE - November 12th 2010 - Directed by: Tony Scott - starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson.

A train stocked with poisonous, combustible gases is unmanned and out of control, roaring down the tracks towards civilization. Two men in another train may be the only ones capable of stopping ultimate train induced destruction!

Unstoppable is opening up between two weekends that will have other hit movies. A big comedy from the previous weekend is probably going to steal some arrival thunder and then the next Harry Potter installation is following Unstoppable's opening bid weekend. Tony Scott's previous movie about a train was The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 and I'm not sure if that one lived up to expectations. However, you get three strikes before you are out and Tony Scott and Denzel Washington are going up to bat with Star Trek's Captain Kirk this time in Chris Pine. I don't expect impressive numbers from the debut, but solid enough.

A simple premise is sometimes best and I think the concept for Unstoppable is as simple as they come. Both Denzel Washington and Chris Pine are actors capable of carrying an action packed movie such as this and I think director Tony Scott has an interesting eye for visuals, in terms of how his movies look; mainly in color schemes. One can expect that this will be a lot of rambling dialog showing people talking into CBs or having the camera spin around them in a control booth, cut with trains ramming into things, but sometimes it is great just to sit down and watch basic blockbuster style filmmaking at work. Too bad there's not a Michael Bay movie opening. The action could appeal to those who want the adrenaline rush, but are tired of all the gun battles between cops and robbers.

8. WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS - September 24th 2010 - Directed by: Oliver Stone - starring: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Charlie Sheen, Susan Sarandon.

Michael Douglas steps back into the shoes of infamous 80s movie icon Gordon Gecko. A sequel to the 1987 Oliver Stone movie Wall Street, this time crooked stockbroker Gecko is just getting out of prison and finds an eager new protégé looking to team up with him in the world of financial commodities.

Oliver Stone has not truly made a hit movie in quite sometime, but I would expect this return to the world of Wall Street to draw in a decent amount of former fans. At the box office, I'm not sure if this tale of greed will be hot enough to defeat the kiddie movies and other dramas hitting theaters around the same frame of time, but sequels are generally proven money makes in the long haul and Oliver Stone doing one at least tips the odds in favor of being good.

I was not a huge fan of the original Wall Street, but I think Oliver Stone is due for some more success. The movie trailers for this are slick and entertaining, and with the strong cast in place I think it should end up being just as slick and entertaining full length.

7. MY SOUL TO TAKE - October 8th 2010 - Directed by: Wes Craven - starring: Max Thieriot, Denzel Whitaker, Zena Grey, Emily Meade, Nick Lashaway.

A serial killer is stalking seven young adults who were born on the same night that he was supposedly killed.

Many will overlook this movie due to it seemingly being another glossed over looking, teen horror movie. The competition is stiff at the box office in October. However, this is a Wes Craven written and directed original, so if it turns out to be good, word of mouth could propel it to the same performance levels as the Scream franchise.

As commercial and cliché as the movie appears in the first trailer released, there is also something inviting about the premise and scenarios presented within it. This could end up being another run of the mill " anyone could be the killer" formula movies, however, my curiosity wants to give Wes Craven the benefit of the doubt and will most likely get my butt parked into a movie theater seat for a viewing.

6. JACKASS 3D - October 15th 2010 - Directed by: Jeff Tremaine - starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacey, Ryan Dunn, Jason Acuna, Dave England.

Another installment of crazy stunts and gags as performed by the famous Jackass crew. This is the third time they have brought their television show infamy to the big screen.

I think Jackass 3D will do very well in numbers. The trailer for it has been making crowds laugh every time I see it played in the theater. It has been some time since the Jackass guys have been in the spotlight and they have timed their return nicely. The 3D aspect of this is what should really draw in the fans and I feel is the perfect type of movie for such technology: more spectacle than plot.

I recommend this because I think the use of 3D will be spot on for this movie. The Jackass guys are getting older and there is also a lot of nostalgia value in going out to see and support them injuring themselves again.

5. RED - October 15th 2010 - Directed by: Robert Schwentke - starring: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine.

A group of retired black-ops agents come back together to fight off the assassins that want them dead.

A loaded cast if big stars and loads of action: this movie is primed to do some serious ticket sales business. However, it does have some obstacles in the form of some perhaps being turned off by the quirky comic book nature of the tale and of course Jackass 3D opening on the same day.

I think Red is an easy recommendation based off of Bruce Willis' star power alone. H generally brings you the bang for your buck, and seeing Helen Mirren toting a shotgun is just icing on the cake.

4. THE SOCIAL NETWORK - October 1st 2010 - Directed by: David Fincher - starring: Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Joseph Mazzello.

A look behind the curtain of what is Facebook! Or more accurately, this is a movie telling the tale of how Facebook came to be and follows the creators through the drama of inception and their legal issues.

Facebook is only one of the most popular things on the entire planet! There's no way that The Social Network fails to garner enough attention to be a success. October IS filled with lots of competition, but I think The Social Network is less a dark horse and more of a leading competitor with the edge of big studio advertising support.

The movie trailer does not make The Social Network look any different from your average coming of age or scandal story. However, the director alone gets my vote for suggesting people go and check out the flick. David Fincher movies always have a rich, dark tone to the visuals and nine times out of ten are fully engaging for the length of the picture. I consider The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button a misstep, but Seven, Fight Club, and Zodiac are all outstanding examples of his work. This is a Fall movie through and through, but will have enough stylish flair to make it dramatic eye candy as opposed to just a snooze-fest.

3. LET ME IN - October 1st 2010 - Directed by: Matt Reeves - Starring: Chloe Mortez, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas.

An American remake of the 2008 Swedish movie Let The Right One In. Let Me In is about a young, bullied boy, who befriends a vampire girl living in his apartment complex.

The original was a big hit even with subtitles, those who enjoyed it will be baited into seeing this one out of curiosity and those who missed the original will be going for a first time adventure. Opening on the same weekend as The Social Network could be a profits issue, along with backlash for being a remake in general.

I loved the moody tone set in Let The Right One in, but the American Let Me In appears to have more action judging via the trailer. This could be a misstep or it could provide more entertainment value. Aside from the mood, I thought that Let The Right One is was very flawed and I am supportive of a remake that might improve upon the formula. The choice for the leading lady vampire, Chloe Mortez, is also worth getting excited about. This young lady is proving to be an interesting face to watch, proven ten times over by her awesome role in the superhero movie Kick-Ass.

2. DUE DATE - November 5th 2010 - Directed by: Todd Phillips - starring: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Fox, Juliette Lewis, Michelle Monaghan, Alan Arkin, Danny McBride, RZA.

A man in route to see his child birthed is forced into making the road trip with an eccentric aspiring actor.

The Hangover was a huge hit and Todd Phillips was the director of that movie as well, pair that fact up with the cast of Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis: Due Date is set to RULE the box office!

Todd Phillips makes some funny movies. I was one of the few who did not actually like The Hangover, but I am a big fan of both Road Trip and Old School. The casting choices and going back to the Road Trip formula both make me think Due Date will be a great movie. The trailer is funny as well, leading me to believe this one is going to be a "must see."

1. THE TOWN - September 17th 2010 - Directed by: Ben Affleck - starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Chris Cooper.

A bank robber must deal with the consequences of a new romance between himself and a bank manager that was unknowingly a part of one of his heists, as the FBI try to bring him and his crew down.

The Town is nestled into a busy couple of movie weeks in September. Its profits might be kept in check by people seeing more lighthearted popcorn style movies such as the latest Resident Evil installment, children adventures like Legend Of The Guardians, comedies like Easy A and Like You, potential surprise hits like comedy The Virginity Hit, and of course the Wall Street sequel. Hopefully The Town can catch the same critical buzz it garned with Affleck's previous directing gig.

Ben Affleck has become a better actor as he has aged. His full length directorial debut of Gone Baby Gone was very impressive. If he can capture the same tone set by Gone Baby Gone then I think The Town could end up being the most powerful movie of the fall season. There were moments of Gone Baby Gone where I got chills! The Town looks like it could bring the powerhouse drama, yet this time with more guns blazing action as well, making the formula somewhat in the vein of movies such as the Robert De Niro and Al Pacino caper titled Heat. There is nothing wrong at all with being compared to Heat; great movie. The Town looks to be the perfect mix of Fall drama with some shoot'em up for the summer blockbuster crowd.