Fall Movie Releases - 10/2/09

Zombieland

A pretty good trailer alerted my attention. There's a knowing sense of humor and Woody Harrelson seems to be riffing on his character from Natural Born Killers. This is a good move for Adventureland's Jesse Eisenberg, who's only done indie films prior to this. Still, I doubt it will top the similarly themed Shaun of the Dead, which looks better all the time. There's a semi-surprising big-league cameo as a bonus.

A Serious Man


The Coens' most personal film to date has a Midwestern Jewish professor having one disaster after another befall him. This leads to the testing of his faith. It's getting rave reviews and seems to be in the upper echelon of the the Coens' films (which would be at the top of all films made in the past 25 years). My most anticipated film of the fall.

Whip It


Drew Barrymore's directorial debut has a bunch of ladies (including Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat) playing in a roller derby league. Page is perfectly cast as the indie-teen hating life in a small Texas town.


The Invention of Lying

Ricky Gervais lives in a world where everybody tells the truth. He learns how to lie and uses it to his advantage. Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Jennifer Garner, and Jeffrey Tambor co-star. Gervais is great on TV, but has yet to strike gold on the big screen. Maybe this is the one. Maybe not.