Weekend Roundtable: Most Anticipated Fall 2015 Movies

Now that we’ve left the dog days of summer behind, the fall movie season promises to bring some very promising new movies, from tentpole blockbusters to intriguing art films. From now until the end of the year, what movies are you most excited to see?

For the purposes of this topic, we’re defining the fall movie season as the beginning of September to the last day of the year. Let’s please not quibble over the fact that fall technically ends on December 21st.

Brian Hoss

No doubt the prospects of ‘Spectre’ and ‘Star Wars’ are impossible to ignore, especially since the studios have been running trailers nonstop for the past six months. Having already seen and enjoyed ‘Everest’ in IMAX, my hope is that either ‘Crimson Peak‘ or ‘Creed‘ turns out to be worth seeing more than once. Placing hopes on the horror and sports genres respectively is a bit tricky. I’ve convinced my significant other that the period setting of ‘Crimson Peak’ is worth her time (Guillermo del Toro, please don’t let me down), but if ‘Creed’ goes bad that might be the real horror show.

Shannon Nutt

Like many (most?) of my colleagues, I’m incredibly excited about both ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ and ‘Spectre‘, so I won’t go into details about why I’m anticipating those two releases, as it probably goes without saying.

I’m also cautiously optimistic about ‘The Peanuts Movie‘. Charles Shultz’s animated TV specials (and several theatrical releases) were a big part of my childhood growing up, and despite the fact that the movie opts for CGI computer animation over 2D traditional animation, I get the sense that the creators of this new release have gone out of the way to remain loyal to the Charlie Brown and Snoopy that we know and love.

Also on my must-see list for the remainder of 2015 is ‘Creed‘, which is best described as a continuation but not quite a sequel to the ‘Rocky’ franchise. Sylvester Stallone once again returns to the big screen as the Italian Stallion, but in a supporting role as the focus is now on Apollo Creed’s son. This one I’m a little more concerned about. Some of the story that has leaked has me worried that Stallone (who neither wrote nor directed this latest effort, which comes from Ryan Coogler of ‘Fruitvale Station’) may risk ruining all the good will that he created with the perfect sendoff for the Rocky character in ‘Rocky Balboa’. However, the first trailer for the movie looked really good, and I suspect that this might turn out to be one of the surprise sleeper hits of the fall.

Mike Attebery

Boy, are there ever some interesting looking movies coming out between now and the end of the year. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to all of them, but I’m gonna try my best to sneak away to see the following: ‘Steve Jobs‘, ‘Truth‘, ‘Burnt‘, ‘Spectre‘ (!!!), ‘Trumbo‘, ‘The Good Dinosaur‘, and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘.

Chris Chiarella (Sound & Vision)

Setting aside the most obvious one which shall remain nameless (let’s just say that I already have my wardrobe picked out for December 18th), I will confess great curiosity for Ridley Scott’s ‘The Martian‘. I haven’t read the book but my wife has and she’s as eager to make the pilgrimage to the multiplex as I’ve ever seen her, so that’s quite an endorsement. Adding to my enthusiasm is that the film was shot in native 3D, a medium in which we know from ‘Prometheus’ that Mr. Scott is quite adroit, and I think that the subject matter will probably lend itself to large-format exhibition rather impressively. I think back to the profound emotional response I had to ‘Gravity’ in IMAX 3D and I’m now firmly committed to leave the safety of my hallowed home theater, at least for a few hours, to witness Matt Damon sciencing the shit out of his predicament.

Luke Hickman

This end of the year is shaping up to be fully-loaded, but ‘Spectre’ and ‘Star Wars’ aren’t the movies I’m most excited for. Three other releases have my full attention.

Two of my favorite things – Joe Wright and Peter Pan – combine for the October 9th release of ‘Pan‘. I’m dying to see it. Bummed that it was pushed back from its original summer release, I’m anxious to see how this visceral experience pans out. Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara and (surprisingly) Garrett Hedlund all look fantastic in the trailer.

The October 16th period horror film ‘Crimson Peak‘ has also piqued my interest. Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska were fantastic opposite each another in ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’, so I’m excited to see them re-teamed alongside Jessica Chastain under the direction of Guillermo del Toro.

As a lover and student of his work (my collegiate capstone project was a lengthy dissection and assessment of the female characters in his first four films), my most anticipated film of 2015 is Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight‘. I can’t wait to see his gorgeous super-wide 70mm presentation. The entire cast has me revved up. I’ve successfully avoided the leaked script and all spoilers thus far and am ready to make a road trip 400 miles to the nearest 70mm projector if need be to see ‘The Hateful Eight’ as early as possible.

M. Enois Duarte

Aside from the obvious choices of ‘Spectre’ and ‘The Force Awakens’, there are three movies I’m really looking forward to in the coming months. The first one, and the one being released the soonest, is Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Crimson Peak‘. I simply love horror movies, and this atmospherically gothic tale looks as though it will please on every level.

Based solely on the exciting teaser trailer, my next choice is Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s ‘The Revenant‘. Little is known about the film except that the plot is loosely based on Michael Punke’s novel, which is itself inspired by the real adventures of legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass.

Finally, the film I’m most excited for is Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight‘, and the reason is the most obvious imaginable. I have yet to be disappointed by any of his productions, and after the terrific ‘Django Unchained’, this is my most anticipated film of the year.

Adam Tyner (DVDTalk)

The Good Dinosaur‘ roars into theaters the day before Thanksgiving, and this is the most excited I’ve been for a movie I know nothing about. I couldn’t give you a thumbnail summary of the premise. I have no idea who’s contributing their voices. I haven’t seen so much as a teaser trailer or a poster. The movie had me at “Pixar.”

Chris Boylan (Big Picture Big Sound)

Star Wars‘ is high on my list of most anticipated films of 2015. Seeing the first film in theaters when I was ten made a big impression on me, and I’m willing to look past the disappointment of the prequel trilogy in hopes that the next episode will revitalize the franchise. I’m a fan of J.J. Abrams, both from ‘Lost’ and the ‘Star Trek’ reboot, and am curious to see just how many lens flares it takes to accentuate the drama of the ‘Star Wars’ universe.

I’m also excited to see ‘The Martian‘. I’m a fan of sci-fi in general and Mars colonization in specific. Also, Ridley Scott directed two of my favorite sci-fi movies (‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Alien’). While his more recent work (‘Prometheus’, ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’) hasn’t moved me, I think he has the potential to do great things with this material.

I’m also looking forward to seeing ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2‘. Being a fan of the books, I thought Jennifer Lawrence was a little too imposing in stature to play the petite waif Katniss Everdeen, but she carries the role of reluctant heroine well. The earlier films in the series have done a great job in realizing the books’ dystopian imagery: the bland, drab existence in the outer districts contrasted with the garish and overly colorful life in the Capital. It will be interesting to see how the filmmakers capture the final attack on the Capital with all its deadly defenses, as well as the final confrontation between the leaders of the rebellion and those in the Capital. I do hope they stay true to the books as this final conflict is part of what made the series so enjoyable to read.

Josh Zyber

Honestly, as much as I’d like it to be good, I’m very wary of the new ‘Star Wars’. I’m burnt out on the franchise and don’t have a lot of faith in J.J. Abrams.

I don’t get out to the movie theater much these days, but I damn well will be there opening weekend for ‘Spectre‘. I’ve seen every James Bond movie since ‘Licence to Kill’ theatrically, and I loved what Sam Mendes did in ‘Skyfall’. Can he possibly top that movie? Probably not, but I’m a sucker for anything this franchise dishes out regardless.

I recently finished the audiobook for ‘The Martian‘ and am curious how that film turns out. The trailers haven’t wowed me, and of course the Ridley Scott factor makes me very nervous, but the story is so simple and straightforward (it’s basically ‘Apollo 13’ meets ‘Cast Away’) that Scott would almost have to deliberately go out of his way to screw it up… Shit, now that I say that, this is probably going to be garbage, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll skip it after all.

What movies are you looking forward to seeing this fall? Tell us in the Comments.

21 comments

  1. Chris B

    Sicario, Black Mass, Spectre, Star Wars, Hateful Eight, The Witch, The Martian and I kinda even wanna see Krampus a little bit TBH.

  2. Bill

    No to Star Wars VII. I’ve outgrown that franchise and am disgusted with Disney’s early marketing of the toys. Too exploitative. Make a good movie first and then sell the toys. Good Dinosaur just to see if Pixar can have two critical successes in a row, The Martian but in 2D. Based on the previews I can’t imagine how 3D could make much of a difference. Lastly Hunger Games III (IV?). I’ve invested too much time, money and interest in this franchise and have to see the final resolution (but will it really be THE FINAL?).

    • How does someone “outgrow” the franchise? Star Wars has always been for everyone, didnt know you could outgrow it….and why wouldnt Hunger Games be the last? Its the last book in the series and there hasnt been any more, unless they go off and write their own story and produce a movie that has nothing to do with books, there wont be any more of them. As someone already said about Scott and 3D, The Martian was filmed that way on purpose, Prometheus was great in 3D and I’m sure gravity was too (dont know since my Bluray is messed up and 3D doesnt work for some reason) but IMAX 3D in the theater for that one got nothing but high praise, kind of weighs against just the trailer itself, thats only in 2D anyways. You sound like a very negative person all around in that post 🙂

      • Bill

        1. I look back on Star Wars now as part of my youth. I find it almost impossible to sit through it anymore without getting bored. Today I want movies with more substance/story and much better acting. (e.g. Fisher in the first ten minutes is terrible until she drops that pseudo-British “princess” accent).
        2. Games would not be the first time that a franchise got extended by leaving the something open ended at the end of the “final” film of a series. I just hope that doesn’t happen with HG but what’s to stop them from writing a further picture involving the characters from the franchise.
        3. Based on the previews The Martian seems a very flat type of movie. I do admit that i’m not a fan of 3D for the reason that my brain eliminates it after about 40 minutes so I might be being a little harsh.
        4. Am I negative? Yes. I’ve been disappointed too many times by too many movies in the last decade to ever again walk into a theatre with high hopes. Even Jackson let me down with his Hobbit.

  3. charles contreras

    For sure I want to see Spectre and Star Wars on the big screen. I’ll have to figure out how to make the time to see them as I’m on the road a lot. The Martian also intrigues me, but I may wait until it’s available on home video, the same goes for Creed, although the trailer sparked my interest in it.

  4. Deaditelord

    There’s actually quite a bit that I’m looking forward to seeing this fall. Sicario, Crimson Peak, Star Wars, The Martian. I didn’t realize The Hateful Eight was a fall movie (I thought it was coming out Christmas weekend or late January), but it definitely is on my most anticipated list.

    I also want to be excited about Spectre, but it seems like with each new entry the Bond movies are starting to inch closer to what the series used to be before Daniel Craig took over. (A few more gadgets here, a couple of over-the-top villains there.) While I love many of the older movies, Die Another Day really killed my interest in watching a traditional Bond film so seeing how Spectre is reintroducing some of these elements – albeit to a smaller degree – reduces my enthusiasm about the new movie. Hopefully I’m wrong though and it turns out to be fantastic.

    • Timcharger

      “it seems like with each new entry the Bond movies are starting to inch closer to what the series used to be before Daniel Craig took over.”

      Yeah, I so agree with this. After each new film, I’ll rewatch Casino Royale
      and be both happy and sad. So happy that Casino Royale does exist, but
      sad that the new entry didn’t capture what CR did. Hoping that Spectre
      will make me want to rewatch the new entry again, before rushing back
      to CR.

    • Bolo

      I will definitely see ‘SPECTRE’. I want to be excited, but I’ve just got a bad feeling about it. Throughout the Craig run, they keep trying to “explain” Bond as a character in some way that they think is deep or compelling but none of it sticks as far as I’m concerned. Everything I see from ‘SPECTRE’ looks like they’re now trying to turn him into some sort of “chosen one” figure and Blofeld has been this unseen hand grooming him all along for some great destiny. I really hope it’s not that, because that’s awful.

  5. ‘Pan’, indeed. Not the biggest fan of Joe Wright’s ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (Donald Sutherland was fantastic in it, though) or ‘Atonement’, but ‘Anna Karenina’ wowed me. Wright definitely is a visionary. Here’s hoping for a ‘Hook’-esque masterpiece.

    • ‘P&P’ and ‘Atonement’ didn’t do it for me either, but ‘Hanna’ and ‘Anna Karenina’ definitely made me love Wright. I’ve wanted to go back and re-visit the earlier two to see if they’re better now that I know his style. Either way, ‘Pan’ appears to be amazing. I hope it can hold up!

      • Bolo

        I’m not sure I’m interested at all in another Peter Pan retelling right now, but I do agree that Wright has a cool style and I hope he connects with projects that let him realize his potential. I do think fantasy might be the perfect genre for him.

  6. Star Wars and Krampus, nothing else I really care to pay for and will wait till it hits home. Skyfall was great but I didnt bother seeing it in the theater and I wont bother with Spectre either.

    Crimson Peak I keep forgetting about and the trailer looks good, but my fear is that its too damn polished and wont have the right feel a creepy gothic horror should have. The best one I’ve seen like that was the Woman in Black, great period piece in the horror genre and Peak looks NOTHING like that, honestly it looks like Hellboy and Pacific Rim in visual style with some fun horror thrown in, the trailer didnt creep me out at all, but since I’m a Del Toro fan, I’m hoping this will be good but going by the trailer, I’m really not too sure.

    Hateful Eight is Tarantino, yay, not really caring about him either, I’ve never been a big fan of his in any way so while this does look good….again its not something I’m paying to see at the theater but thats a theme for me anymore in general because I just dont have the time or extra cash to go like I used to, a soon to be 4 year old will do that to your movie going experience 😉 But Star Wars I’m shooting for midnight release on that one, taking the day off the next day, if I cant get in to that, I’m still taking the day off and going first showing I can get to 🙂

  7. cardpetree

    So we just had a brand new theater built in Louisville, KY that has Dolby Atmos. Surely Star Wars will be released with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack right?

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