The Lookout: 30 Movies to Get Excited about This Fall

1. 3:10 TO YUMA (Sept. 7)
Christian Bale and Russell Crowe go toe-to-toe in this Western remake.
2. THE HUNTING PARTY (Sept. 7)
Journalists Richard Gere and Terrence Howard become targets in a Bosnian conflict while following a story.
3. SHOOT 'EM UP (Sept. 7)
Paul Giamatti and Clive Owen. And lots of guns. 'Nuff said.
4. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (Sept. 14)
Visual master Julie Taymor brings her mind-blowing touch to this musical made entirely of Beatles songs.
5. THE BRAVE ONE (Sept. 14)
Jodie Foster goes deep into ass-kicking revenge mode after her lover is murdered.
6. EASTERN PROMISES (Sept. 14)
David Cronenberg's ultra-violent take on the Russian mob.
7. IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH (Sept. 14)
Tommy Lee Jones searches for his son, a missing-in-action soldier, in this year's Best Picture front-runner.
8. THE KINGDOM (Sept. 28)
Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and Chris Cooper investigate a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. This is without a doubt the year's best film.
9. LAKE OF FIRE (Oct. 3)
No stranger to controversy himself, AMERICAN HISTORY X's Tony Kaye directs this documentary on the abortion issue.
10. GRACE IS GONE (Oct. 5)
The vastly underrated John Cusack goes for Oscar gold as a dad who can't bring himself to let his daughters know that their mother has been killed in Iraq.
11. MICHAEL CLAYTON (Oct. 5)
George Clooney is also a Best Actor front-runner as a scheming lawyer whose life unravels.
12. CONTROL (Oct. 10)
Music video director Anton Corbijn makes his feature debut with a biopic on Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.
13. ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (Oct. 12)
The most pedigreed movie of the year (odd for a sequel) sees Cate Blanchett, the greatest actress on the planet, reprising her role as the great Queen.
14. FAT GIRLS (Oct. 19)
Rowlett High School graduate Ash Christian directs this coming-of-age tale about a gay teen and his portly best friend.
15. GONE BABY GONE (Oct. 19)
Ben Affleck steps behind the camera to adapt MYSTIC RIVER author Dennis Lahane's novel about an abduction investigation gone awry.
16. RESERVATION ROAD (Oct. 19)
The aftermath of a car accident connects Mark Ruffalo, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jennifer Connelly.
17. RUN, FATBOY, RUN (Oct. 26)
Simon Pegg tries to woo Thandie Newton by entering a marathon. We'll see how that goes.
18. AMERICAN GANGSTER (Nov. 2)
Russell Crowe is hot on the trail of mob boss Denzel Washington in Ridley Scott's return to form. You know you're SO there.
19. JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN (Nov. 2)
Acclaimed doc follows one of punk rock's godfathers.
20. LIONS FOR LAMBS (Nov. 9)
Robert Redford directs and stars in this anti-war drama. If he can let the powerful acting override the Important with a Capital I message, he might just have something.
21. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Nov. 9)
The Coens go dark for the first time in years, adapting Cormac McCarthy's novel about a chilling killer (Javier Bardem) who terrorizes a small Texas town.
22. SOUTHLAND TALES (Nov. 9)
Richard Kelly's oft-delayed follow-up to DONNIE DARKO is bound to be misunderstood, and probably brilliant. The Rock, Seann William Scott, and Sarah Michelle Gellar star as people whose lives intersect in L.A. on the eve of apocalypse.
23. I'M NOT THERE (Nov. 21)
Todd Haynes, known for visual stylishness but not subtlety, directs this quasi-biopic about Bob Dylan.
24. STEPHEN KING'S THE MIST (Nov. 21)
Stephen King's two best adaptations have come from Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE). We'll see if the third time's the charm as supermarket customers hide from an incoming fog.
25. I AM LEGEND (Dec. 14)
Will Smith is the last person on earth (or is he?) in this remake of THE OMEGA MAN.
26. SWEENEY TODD (Dec. 21)
Tim Burton directs his muses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the first big screen adaptation of the classic musical.
27. WALK HARD (Dec. 21)
Musical biopics get the send-up they deserve thanks to Judd Apatow and John C. Reilly.
28. CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (Christmas Day)
Aaron Sorkin writes this partially true of a Texas oilman (Tom Hanks) who gets mixed up in a Middle Eastern invasion plot.
29. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Dec. 26)
P.T. Anderson gets a little serious for a minute to adapt Upton Sinclair's novel about greed and oil.
30. THE DARJEELING LIMITED (TBD)
Wes Anderson is back in this road picture starring brothers Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, and Owen Wilson. At this point, you either love or hate Andersonian whimsy. But who can resist that cast?