Fall Movies We Can't Wait To See

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The Words (Sept. 7)

When a desperate writer (Bradley Cooper) lucks upon a brilliant lost manuscript, he publishes it as his own — and becomes a literary sensation. All's well until the actual author (Jeremy Irons) emerges to confront him. ''[The older man] had faced his own demons, so to speak. He knows that a man has to carry the burden of what he's done,'' says Irons. Cooper, who helped his boyhood friends Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal get the film made, says he was drawn to its themes: '' 'Will my life ever have meaning? Will I ever fulfill my potential?' Could I relate to that? Absolutely.'' —Jeff Labrecque

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Bachelorette (Sept. 7)

No, Bachelorette isn't about teary reality-TV rose ceremonies. Debut director Leslye Headland adapted her darkly comic play about three party-hearty BFFs (Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, and Kirsten Dunst) who embark on a night of debauchery just before the wedding of a plus-size friend they used to call Pig Face (Rebel Wilson). It's less Bridesmaids and more The Hangover by way of Heathers. ''I thought it would be funny to call it Bachelorette because we don't have a word for women who are single,'' says Headland. ''We just have bachelor with -ette on the end of it — which is sort of sad, but funny, too.'' —Adam B. Vary

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Hello I Must Be Going (Sept. 7)

Sundance crowds were abuzz over New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey's turn as Amy, a depressed 35-year-old divorcée forced to move back in with her parents (Blythe Danner and John Rubinstein). Amy doesn't expect to fall in love again, but she's taken by surprise by a 19-year-old actor (Girls' Christopher Abbott). Lynskey and Abbott have some steamy love scenes — but their chemistry wasn't exactly instant. ''We had a very practical conversation after the first time we kissed,'' says Lynskey. ''We were like robots.'' At least it was great practice for the awkward sex scenes in Girls. —Grady Smith

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The Master (Sept. 14)

The Paul Thomas Anderson movie may be dividing voters, but Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams all have solid shots at acting nominations — Phil Bray

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a 1950s spiritual movement that seems to have similarities to Scientology, the Hollywood-friendly belief system that L. Ron Hubbard founded in 1952. ''[Scientology] was one of the bigger movements at the time, but there were a lot of movements at that time,'' says Hoffman. ''There's nothing about how I'm behaving or talking that echoes [Hubbard]. I thought of a lot of other bigger-than-life personalities, charismatic people like Orson Welles.'' In fact, the movie's central figure isn't Dodd at all but a damaged alcoholic named Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), who feels adrift in the years since fighting in World War II. ''Joaquin's character is like a beaten dog,'' says Hoffman, who adored working with the famously intense Phoenix in his first big-screen appearance since 2010's faux documentary I'm Still Here. ''No matter where he goes, [Quell] gets into severe trouble. And somehow I'm able to deal with him.'' —Rob Brunner

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Arbitrage (Sept. 14)

Since he's playing a billionaire money manager whose well-manicured world crumbles after years of engaging in fraudulent activities, Richard Gere is prepared for the Bernie Madoff comparisons. ''I said, 'Embrace it,' '' says the actor, a Golden Globe winner for the 2002 musical Chicago. ''[The character] speaks to our heart of hearts, where maybe we've all made compromises we shouldn't have.'' Expect a big push for Gere to score his first Oscar nod for director Nicholas Jarecki's timely drama, which was well received at this year's Sundance Film Festival. —Dave Karger

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Trouble With the Curve (Sept. 21)

Tired '' Get off my lawn! '' growls from Clint Eastwood in an irredeemably derivative sports-redemption drama. Read Lisa's review. — Keith Bernstein

Amy Adams earned an Oscar nomination for playing Mark Wahlberg's combative girlfriend in The Fighter, but when it came to playing Clint Eastwood's feisty daughter in this baseball drama, the actress was terrified. ''I had to immediately jump in and be really sassy and sort of petulant to Mr. Eastwood,'' the 37-year-old actress (above with Eastwood) says in a hushed, still-can't-believe-it tone. ''I really had to give myself a talking-up [just] to tell him off the first day. That was not an easy thing for me to do.'' In his first onscreen role since 2008's Gran Torino, Eastwood stars as a veteran Atlanta Braves scout with failing eyesight who reluctantly accepts his daughter's help on an important recruiting trip. Justin Timberlake costars as a rival scout trying to smooth out a lifetime of hard feelings between the two. Luckily for Adams, Timberlake, and first-time director Robert Lorenz (a longtime Eastwood producer), the 82-year-old star is a lot more easygoing than the growling characters he plays on film. —Anthony Breznican

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Sept. 21)

For his debut directing a feature film, Stephen Chbosky scored a coup in casting Emma Watson in her first major post-Harry Potter role. Watson plays Sam, one of two charismatic high school students (the other is played by We Need To Talk About Kevin's Ezra Miller) who take painfully shy high school freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) under their collective wing. Watson can point to one particular scene — when Sam stands up in the back of a pickup truck driving through a tunnel — as the moment she was able to truly graduate from Hogwarts. ''I started as Emma with some Hermione still left in my system,'' she says. ''I went through the tunnel and I came out ready to start something new.'' —Sara Vilkomerson

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End of Watch (Sept. 21)

Training Day screenwriter David Ayer delves again into the often frightening world of LAPD officers in his third directorial effort, about two young cops (Crash's Michael Peña and Jake Gyllenhaal) whose partnership is tested when they battle a ruthless drug cartel. For Gyllenhaal, the film required more preparation than any previous role. ''You typically hear actors talk about how they went on a couple ride-alongs,'' he says. ''We spent five months doing it, three nights a week. By the end of this movie, Mike and I really believed we were partners. It was hard to have anybody convince us otherwise.'' The result is an unsettling exploration of friendship in the face of dangerous working conditions. Just how dangerous? ''The first ride-along I went on, someone was murdered — I saw it,'' says Gyllenhaal. ''It changed my life, this movie.'' —Dave Karger

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Dredd 3D (Sept. 21)

Karl Urban was working at a pizza parlor in his hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, when he first read the comic-book adventures of merciless future cop Judge Dredd. ''I was about 16,'' recalls the rebooted Star Trek's ''Bones'' McCoy. ''Most teenagers rebel against authority, but I gravitated towards this ultra-brutal representative of the law.'' More than two decades on, Urban found himself in South Africa portraying the lawman in a movie he hopes will go one better than 1995's Sly Stallone-starring Judge Dredd and spawn a sequel. ''I'd love to make more,'' says Urban. Well, it beats slinging pizza dough. —Clark Collis

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Looper (Sept. 28)

Director/screenwriter Rian Johnson has had the idea for Looper kicking around in his head since working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt on 2006's twisty high school noir Brick and wrote the character Joe — a looper (Mob assassin who kills targets sent back from the future) forced to ''close his loop'' by killing his final target: himself, only 30 years older (played by Bruce Willis) — for Gordon-Levitt. In March, Gordon-Levitt told WonderCon attendees in Anaheim, Calif., that Looper is ''the one [film of mine] I'm most excited for audiences to see.'' Willis told Esquire, ''It's better than anything I've ever done.'' And Emily Blunt, who plays a badass farmer whom Joe encounters as he hunts down his future self, declared it ''the best movie I've ever been a part of'' at Comic-Con in July. ''I realize that sounded very absolute,'' Blunt says now. ''[But] I feel more than anything that people are going to be quite stunned by it. This is not like anything I've seen.'' —Adam B. Vary

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Hotel Transylvania (Sept. 28)

Adam Sandler's Dracula isn't your average vampire — he runs a hotel for things that go bump in the night and tries to shelter his 118-year-old teenage daughter (Selena Gomez) from humans. But Drac's helicopter parenting is tested when a buoyant backpacker (Andy Samberg) accidentally checks in. Hotel Transylvania is the first animated feature from Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of the late Cartoon Network hit Samurai Jack, which megafan Samberg used to watch with his Lonely Island troupemates. For Samberg, the biggest surprise was just how physical voice acting can be. ''You definitely try and move your body more,'' he says. ''Genndy was really good about being like, 'Don't forget you're running!' '' —Nolan Feeney

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Pitch Perfect (Sept. 28)

In a comedy set in the competitive world of college a cappella singing, a lackluster all-female group featuring Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) faces off against a team of cocky, Rihanna-covering boys. Bridesmaids' Rebel Wilson, who plays a power belter named Fat Amy (yes, she calls herself that before the mean girls can), jumped at the chance to work in a favorite genre. ''I love movie musicals, even the ones with s--- story lines,'' she says. Wilson and Workaholics' Adam DeVine more than hold their own vocally, says director Jason Moore (Broadway's Avenue Q). ''There's a fearlessness about comedians to get up there in front of people and go for it.'' —Stephan Lee

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Won't Back Down (Sept. 28)

While it professes to be ''inspired by actual events,'' Won't Back Down — the tale of two women (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) who try to take over a broken inner-city school — is based more on the general state of public education than on any specific occurrences. Still, that doesn't mean the fiction didn't hew close to reality. ''There were certain things in the script that we had just invented, and a few months later I'd read a headline about a school somewhere where the exact same thing happened,'' says director and co-writer Daniel Barnz, the son of two educators and an active protester during his youth in the 1980s. ''I'm a sucker for David-and-Goliath stories.'' —Keith Staskiewicz

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Taken 2 (Oct. 5)

When we left off, CIA killing machine-turned-overprotective father Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) had shot, kneecapped, and otherwise beaten the snot out of dozens of Albanian goons who made the mistake of kidnapping his daughter (Maggie Grace). Now, in the sequel to 2009's most unlikely box office hit, those goons (or what's left of them) want payback. At first, Taken 2's awesomely named director, Olivier Megaton, wasn't certain that a story that ended so tidily needed a sequel. ''I didn't see the point, but I wanted to work with Liam,'' he says. ''He did all of his own fights, which is exhausting, but it looks better. He told me at the beginning, 'I'm old.' But as soon as he's in front of the camera, he's Bryan Mills killing and kicking ass.'' And no doubt stocking up on Bengay between now and the inevitable Taken 3. —Chris Nashawaty

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Frankenweenie (Oct. 5)

You can't keep a good dog down. In Frankenweenie, director Tim Burton's latest stop-motion cartoon (not to mention a full-length version of a live-action short he made back in 1984), Victor (I Am Legend's Charlie Tahan) uses mad science to resurrect his dear departed pooch, Sparky, which unleashes monster-movie havoc in his quaint suburb. Sparky isn't evil — he just looks so weird that he freaks out some folks, such as Victor's parents (Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short) and a neighbor girl (Winona Ryder). It's like the monsters in Frankenstein and King Kong, Burton says: ''They're not bad characters, they're just misunderstood.'' —Anthony Breznican

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The Paperboy (Oct. 5)

In director Lee Daniels' first film since Precious, Nicole Kidman plays an unhinged sexpot who entices a journalist (Matthew McConaughey) and his brother (Zac Efron) to help free her pen pal (John Cusack) from death row. Daniels initially had jitters about directing Kidman, but realized the A-lister was game for almost anything — including on-camera lovemaking and an already notorious scene in which she urinates on Efron to treat a jellyfish sting. But the actress drew the line at saying the N-word. ''I complained about it,'' says Daniels, ''but my producer said, 'She just finished getting bent over a pink washing machine, she's peeing...give the girl a break!' '' —Stephan Lee

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Argo (Oct. 12)

Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction. In November 1979, a group of Islamic revolutionaries stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage, holding them captive for 444 nail-biting days. At least, that's the story that ran on the front pages of U.S. newspapers and was printed in history books. But there was another chapter to the Iran hostage crisis — a top-secret subplot that remained classified until 1996. The rest of the story involves a daring and downright bizarre rescue mission in which a CIA ''exfiltration'' expert hatched a plan to pose as a Canadian film sci-fi producer in order to free six American hostages at the Canadian embassy in Tehran. You may not be able to make this stuff up, but apparently you can turn it into an awards-season thriller. —Chris Nashawaty

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Seven Psychopaths (Oct. 12)

Writer-director Martin McDonagh reteams with his In Bruges star Colin Farrell for a film about a man and his dog. Well, technically it's not his dog — it's a shih tzu that Farrell's pal (Sam Rockwell) steals from a crazed crime boss (Woody Harrelson) whose lust for vengeance escalates to include some very weird and dangerous folks (including Christopher Walken and Tom Waits) inhabiting a seedy version of Los Angeles. ''In the same way Bruges is a character in In Bruges, L.A. has a significant part in the story,'' says Farrell. ''It's always sunny, it's full of possibility, and yet all the characters' lives are s--- and they're going nowhere.'' —Keith Staskiewicz

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Here Comes the Boom (Oct. 12)

When budget cuts threaten to end the career of a kindhearted high school music instructor (Henry Winkler), a humble biology teacher (Kevin James) vows to raise the necessary funds. How? By competing in a mixed-martial-arts tournament. For James, the role meant dropping 80 pounds and stepping into the ring with actual MMA fighters, which wasn't too much of a stretch for the actor, an avid fan of the sport. ''Kevin has trained for 14 years,'' says Winkler. ''Really, for a man of size, he is like a jaguar.'' But James couldn't persuade Winkler to step into the ring. ''I will never do that!'' he says. —Grady Smith

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The Sessions (Oct. 19)

At age 38, after spending most of his life confined to an iron lung due to polio, real-life journalist and poet Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) sought to lose his virginity. So he hired a therapeutic sex surrogate — yes, that's a real job — played on screen by Helen Hunt. The film (originally titled The Surrogate) has generated Oscar buzz since winning this year's Sundance Audience Award. Hunt says the toughest challenge of her fact-based role was physically working with a paralyzed person. ''I didn't really have to act,'' she says. ''I didn't have to think about some big sexual thing. I just had to get his shirt off.'' —Adam B. Vary

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Alex Cross (Oct. 19)

Picture Tyler Perry as a running, jumping, diving, fighting action hero. The cross-dressing comedian/entrepreneur leaves the muumuus at home to play the detective-psychologist at the center of James Patterson's best-selling Alex Cross thrillers. It's a side of Perry we've never seen before on screen — and a departure from the more sedentary Cross played by Morgan Freeman in 1997's Kiss the Girls and 2001's Along Came a Spider. The plot follows Cross as he matches wits with Picasso, a cage-fighting sociopathic hitman played by Lost's Matthew Fox, who shed 35 pounds and spent many hours in the gym getting ''hyper, hyper, disturbingly lean.'' And if the role's physical challenges weren't enough, Fox also had to get inside the head of a villain who relishes the idea of inflicting pain. ''The emotional intensity of the guy was exhausting,'' he says. ''I didn't sleep much for five months.'' —Rob Brunner

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Not Fade Away (Oct. 19)

The Sopranos creator David Chase trades Mob hits for rock hits with his feature directorial debut, which follows three New Jersey teenagers who form a band after seeing the Rolling Stones on TV in 1964. The cast is filled with unfamiliar faces — except for that of Chase's Sopranos pal James Gandolfini, who plays one of the kids' fathers. Chase promises that Not Fade Away bears only superficial similarities to his HBO hit. ''It's like The Sopranos in the sense that it's in New Jersey and one of the kids is Italian and Jim Gandolfini is in it,'' he says. ''But is there red stuff on the wall all of a sudden? No.'' —Dave Karger

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Cloud Atlas (Oct. 26)

Wrapping your head around Cloud Atlas, the first film from the elusive Wachowski siblings since 2008's Speed Racer, is no easy task. Based on the six interwoven tales in David Mitchell's 2004 novel, the movie presents a single, unified story line exploring the consequences of courage and betrayal across continents, time periods, and even genres. Co-written and codirected by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), the film features a starry cast of actors — including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Hugh Grant — portraying up to six different roles apiece to echo the novel's theme of interconnectedness. ''I read the screenplay and was nearly hopelessly confused,'' says Hanks, ''but I was intrigued.'' His secret weapons? Color-coded highlighters and sticky notes, which he used to sort out all the plot threads. Despite the independently financed project's lofty ambitions, the Wachowskis insist they haven't forsaken their action-loving fans. ''Some people are just going to take this as a great ride. And hopefully some people will be more profoundly affected by it,'' says Andy Wachowski. ''We like to make movies that you can enjoy on many different levels.'' Highlighters are optional. —Adam Markovitz

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Chasing Mavericks (Oct. 26)

Gerard Butler wasn't an expert surfer when he agreed to play Frosty Hesson, the mentor of late surfing icon Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston), in an inspirational 1990s-set biopic. ''I'd only surfed two or three times before,'' says the Scottish star of 300 and The Ugly Truth. But Butler quickly found a passion for riding the waves — even after a horrific wipeout during shooting landed him in the hospital (he was released after spending a night under observation). ''I wanted to go right back out there,'' he says. ''I think I was in shock. Looking back now, I'd be a little less gung ho.'' —Josh Rottenberg

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Wreck-It Ralph (Nov. 2)

1. Wreck-It Ralph 2. Frankenweenie 3. Brave 4. Paranorman 5. Rise of the Guardians Sometimes the voters choose films from far outside the mainstream for — Disney

What happens when a longtime villain decides to go rogue? He turns good, naturally. That's the premise of Wreck-It Ralph, about a 1980s videogame baddie (voiced by John C. Reilly) who, after 30-odd years of causing trouble, rebels against his programming and leaps into other arcade games to prove he's really a hero. When Ralph goes off the reservation, he's pursued by the goody-two-shoes protagonist of his original game, Fix-It Felix, Jr. (30 Rock's Jack McBrayer), and befriends Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) from a dessert-themed racing game. He also crosses paths with Sergeant Calhoun (Glee's Jane Lynch), a sci-fi-shooter heroine with a surprising soft side. Keep a lookout for cameos from videogame mainstays like Clyde the Ghost from Pac-Man and a down-on-his-luck Q*bert. —Anthony Breznican

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Flight (Nov. 2)

Denzel Washington's explosive role as a pilot who's drunk during a plane crash — but still saves almost everyone on board — could earn him — Robert Zuckerman

Director Robert Zemeckis is rebooting his live-action career with a drama about a pilot (Denzel Washington) who lands a failing plane and becomes a media hero — until his alcoholism comes to light. Zemeckis agreed to make the film for a mere $30 million, a far cry from his usual $150 million-plus budgets. Still, Zemeckis didn't cut corners on his cast, which includes John Goodman as a ponytailed drug dealer, Don Cheadle as a no-nonsense attorney, and Melissa Leo as a federal investigator. Then there's two-time Oscar winner Washington, tackling his most awards-friendly role since 2007's American Gangster. Goodman credits the star with keeping the set lighthearted. ''When you work with somebody that good, it's not like working,'' says Goodman. ''You just hang out and play.'' Consider us on board. —Adam Markovitz

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The Man With the Iron Fists (Nov. 2)

Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA raised $20 million for his directorial debut, a martial-arts epic set in 19th-century China starring Lucy Liu as a brothel madam and Oscar winner Russell Crowe as a mercenary. The hip-hop giant himself plays the titular role of a blacksmith who gets caught in the middle of chopsocky mayhem when a much-sought-after shipment of gold travels through his village. So, what's a black blacksmith doing in 19th-century China? RZA admits he's taken some liberties with history. Creating that universe in Shanghai wasn't his only big challenge. Getting Crowe to sign on to the movie in the first place proved daunting. ''We became friends over the years, but he was like, 'I'm not doing a f---ing kung fu film. I'm a f---ing thespian, Bobby!' '' laughs RZA. ''I was like, 'Trust me, Russ, I'm an artist.' And he trusted me.'' —Clark Collis

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Skyfall (Nov. 9)

For the 23rd official entry in the Bond series, director Sam Mendes promises plenty of action (including hand-to-hand combat atop a moving train) and sexy times (notably between Daniel Craig and French actress Bérénice Marlohe) — plus a memorable adversary in Javier Bardem's Silva, who seems bent on an elaborate plot to take down MI6 and its chief, M (Judi Dench). Another new face (and a sign of the changing Bond ethos): a gun-toting new agent played by 28 Days Later star Naomie Harris. One trailer shows the two finding themselves in a close shave — literally. ''It took me several lessons to learn how to do that,'' she says of her barbering skills. ''I did get to the point where I was able to use a real razor, but I didn't subject Daniel to that.'' After all, Craig's face may be the Bond franchise's most valuable asset these days. ''It's definitely worth more than a few quid, that's for sure!'' —Clark Collis

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Lincoln (Nov. 9)

Penny for your thoughts? For Steven Spielberg, this first image of Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals) captures not just the star's uncanny resemblance to the 16th U.S. president but also the pensive quality that made him a great leader. ''Lincoln had a very complicated — and at the same time extremely clear — inner life,'' says the director. ''He thought things out. He argued both sides of every issue. And he was very careful in making any decision. As a matter of fact, his opponents criticized him often for being impossibly slow to a decision.'' The screenplay, by playwright Tony Kushner (husband of EW columnist Mark Harris), excerpts only a portion of Goodwin's book, focusing on the last four months of Lincoln's life and the political strategizing that helped push the Union to victory in the Civil War. ''Our movie is really about a working leader who must make tough decisions and get things done in the face of overwhelming opposition,'' Spielberg says. —Anthony Breznican

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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 (Nov. 16)

In Part 2, newlywed Bella (Kristen Stewart) is finally a vampire and can spend eternity in love with her husband Edward (Robert Pattinson). Pattinson calls the series' final installment ''stranger than all the other films put together'' — perhaps because just about everyone in the film is either a vampire or a member of Jacob's wolf pack. Meanwhile, Jacob, who has spent so much of the series pining for Bella, finds true love after ''imprinting'' on Bella and Edward's infant child, Renesmee (played by 11-year-old newcomer Mackenzie Foy). But the real drama of Part 2 comes courtesy of an unfortunate miscommunication with the ruling vampire class known as the Volturi that sends them on a mission to destroy Renesmee. Add to that writer Stephenie Meyer's decision to change up plot points in the final third of the film. Never fear, Twifans! Pattinson says the film ''does [Meyer's tale] a serious justice.'' —Sara Vilkomerson

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Anna Karenina (Nov. 16)

Keira Knightley first read Leo Tolstoy's 1877 novel Anna Karenina in her late teens. ''I remember thinking it was the most romantic thing ever,'' says the actress, now 27. But when she reread the classic last summer before filming began on director Joe Wright's big-screen adaptation, she was surprised at how differently she felt about the story of Anna, who's married to an aristocrat (Jude Law) but drawn into an all-consuming affair with a cavalry officer (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). ''She's actually kind of an antihero,'' says Knightley, noting that while she doesn't personally agree with many of Anna's actions, she couldn't judge her character too harshly. ''The only thing that's required is empathy.'' —Sara Vilkomerson

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Life of Pi (Nov. 21)

Ever since Life of Pi was published in 2001, readers from around the world have written author Yann Martel to say how they were inspired by the survival story of an Indian boy lost at sea in a lifeboat with a hungry Bengal tiger. Numerous filmmakers were also drawn to Martel's best-seller, thanks to its dramatic life-and-death conflict and florid imagery, but after M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie) each mounted efforts to adapt the novel, it seemed unlikely the project would ever come to fruition Twentieth Century Fox approached Ang Lee. The Oscar winner admits he had a lot of hesitation. ''I thought it was unmakeable, even though it's very inspiring,'' Lee says. But Lee tends to have good luck with the impossible. He took a leap of faith, and Life of Pi (Lee's first foray into 3-D) is generating awards buzz in major categories as well as in the visual-effects arena. Though Lee used a real tiger in some scenes, the more complicated sequences required an animal that was entirely digital. Given all the complexities overcome to get this film to the big screen, the last thing Lee needed was one costar devouring another. —Anthony Breznican

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Silver Linings Playbook (Nov. 21)

Nominations : Eight — the first film in decades to receive nominations in all four categories, Silver Linings ' David O. Russell also hopes to — JoJo Whilden

Life's a bummer for Pat (Bradley Cooper), a former high school history teacher recently sprung from a mental institution. In director David O. Russell's adaptation of Matthew Quick's acclaimed 2008 novel, Pat still pines for his estranged wife (Brea Bee) and bristles after moving back home with his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver). The one bright spot on Pat's horizon is the odd allegiance he forms with a young widow played by Jennifer Lawrence. The Hunger Games star says she was drawn to the prickly, uncompromising nature of her role. ''There's always these characters overcoming something by doing therapy, or somebody goes through a great deal and comes out on the other side,'' she says. ''I thought it was cool for somebody to be like, 'This is who I am, take it or leave it.''' —Karen Valby

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Rise of the Guardians (Nov. 21)

Release date: Nov. 21 Stars: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, HughJackman, Jude Law What it's about: The Guardians — including Baldwin's tattooed Santa Claus — must — Dreamworks Animation

Santa Claus is now a tattooed, tough-talking chap (voiced by Alec Baldwin) who teams up with warrior versions of the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) and the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) as well as young Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to keep Jude Law's villainous bogeyman, Pitch, from taking over the world. ''This is kind of the Justice League of childhood,'' Baldwin says of DreamWorks Animation's offbeat take on the beloved mythological figures. ''They might not be fit, toned, gleaming action heroes, but they all have a bit of an edge to them. They're not all sweet or syrupy.'' Evildoers, beware. Santa can shake you like a bowl full of jelly. —Anthony Breznican

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Red Dawn (Nov. 21)

This remake of 1984's Soviets-in-Colorado war film — about a group of high schoolers fighting a commie invasion — was shot almost three years ago but got held up due to MGM's financial woes. In the meantime, its then-unknown stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) got famous. In addition, the bad guy, China, was changed in postproduction to one that's less of a threat to a potential filmgoing market: North Korea. But that doesn't mean the film lost any of its rah-rah-USA spirit. ''It's my chance to be Captain America,'' jokes Hemsworth, an Aussie. ''I get to be patriotic here.'' —Keith Staskiewicz

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Killing Them Softly (Nov. 30)

Having worked with Brad Pitt on 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, writer-director Andrew Dominik knew just who to call when he was looking for a hitman for his gritty new thriller. Pitt plays a hired gun tailing two not-so-bright hoodlums (newbie Scoot McNairy and Animal Kingdom's Ben Mendelsohn) who rob a Mob-protected poker game. How did Dominik get Pitt to sign on? ''It was all very simple. I texted Brad, asking if he was interested, and he wrote back 'Yes,' '' says Dominik. ''We basically worked the whole thing out via text message over half an hour.'' —Sara Vilkomerson

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Hyde Park on Hudson (Dec. 7)

In an unlikely turn, Bill Murray — carrying a film for the first time since 2005's Broken Flowers — plays Franklin D. Roosevelt during a historic 1939 weekend meeting with England's King George VI (Samuel West). Adapted by Richard Nelson from his 2009 BBC radio play, the film is told in part from the perspective of Margaret ''Daisy'' Stuckley (Laura Linney), FDR's distant cousin and confidante. Director Roger Michell knew Murray would be perfect for the role. ''I needed his sense of mischief and charm to forgive some of the things that FDR does.'' That mischief continued off camera, Linney recalls. ''He'd take me on joyrides in the antique car between setups,'' she says, ''which I think made everyone a little nervous.'' —Jeff Labrecque

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Dec. 14)

Everything about Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy is huge — with the obvious exception of the hobbit himself and the 13 dwarves who accompany him on a quest to reclaim a dragon's treasure. The months of shooting in New Zealand, the expectations of millions of moviegoers, the technology required to bring the story to life — all of it is on a scale that's hard to comprehend. Even Jackson can feel daunted. ''On the first day, it's like you're standing looking up at the summit of a mountain, thinking, 'How the hell are we ever going to get up there?''' While fans have deep faith in Jackson given his success with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, there's uncertainty about how he'll translate Tolkien's fable — which the director is beefing up with material from later appendices by Tolkien — into a reported $500 million-plus trilogy. Co-producer and co-writer Philippa Boyens says they need not fret. ''There is no one way to tell these stories — there are multiple ways,'' she says. ''People have said, 'Are you worried about what the fans are going to think?' And I go, 'Well, we are fans!''' Huge ones, in fact. —Josh Rottenberg

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Zero Dark Thirty (Dec. 19)

Kathryn Bigelow's chronicle of the decade-long hunt for 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden may be the year's most controversial film, already generating partisan critiques. In his first interview about the secrecy-shrouded project, screenwriter Mark Boal (a veteran war correspondent) insisted, ''There's no political agenda in the film. Full stop. Period.'' Though Boal refuses to disclose any of the sources for his screenplay (or whether he used any fictionalized composites), the Oscar winner clearly did his research. ''There are over 100 speaking roles,'' notes director Kathryn Bigelow; the cast includes Joel Edgerton as a SEAL and Jessica Chastain, Kyle Chandler, and Brotherhood's Jason Clarke as CIA operatives. ''It's an ensemble of covert-ops teams — ground branch [field agents], case officers, spies, analysts, and operators,'' says Boal. ''I'm fascinated by people who dedicate themselves to really difficult and dangerous things for the greater good.'' —Anthony Breznican

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Amour (Dec. 19)

Michael Haneke (Funny Games) is known for difficult, cerebral films. But the Austrian director's latest — which earned him the Palme d'Or at Cannes in May — is a tender look at an octogenarian couple (Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva) whose cozy life changes when the wife's health deteriorates. Rarely has aging been treated with such straightforwardness on screen. ''I don't know why that is,'' says Trintignant, 81, the star of classic films like The Conformist. ''You watch Westerns or gangster movies and you probably won't end up as a cowboy or a gangster. But most people are going to get old.'' —Keith Staskiewicz

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Jack Reacher (Dec. 21)

Release date: Dec. 21 Stars: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Jai Courtney, Richard Jenkins What it's about: The eponymous ex-military cop (Cruise) investigates a sniper-killings case — Karen Ballard

Based on Lee Child's 2005 thriller One Shot, this highly anticipated adaptation introduces the titular loner — an ex-military cop who drifts around the U.S. with only a toothbrush and a thirst for bare-knuckle justice — as he investigates a sniper-killings case. Fans can expect the usual commitment to onscreen daredevilry from star Tom Cruise. ''A lot of actors say they do their own stunts, but Tom really does,'' says Rosamund Pike, who plays an attorney who teams up with Reacher. ''I would go on set at 3 a.m. just to watch him crash his car and do things that would surely kill someone.'' The guy does have a way of emerging unscathed. —Chris Nashawaty

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On the Road (Dec. 21)

After decades of stops and starts, Jack Kerouac's autobiographical, generation-defining 1957 novel — originally typewritten on a single 120-foot-long ''scroll'' — is finally hitting the big screen. Kerouac's alter ego Sal (Control's Sam Riley) tags along with the magnetic but narcissistic Dean (Garrett Hedlund) as he crisscrosses the country on a constant quest for drugs, sex, and kicks. A slew of big names round out the cast, including Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, and Viggo Mortensen, but the most attention has been afforded to the frequently nude Kristen Stewart as Dean's insatiable wife, Marylou. But Stewart shrugs off the attention. ''People are fairly predictable and conservative,'' she says. ''People love and hate this [film], and that's the best reaction.'' It's a reaction the Twilight star is probably used to by now. —Stephan Lee

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This Is 40 (Dec. 21)

Writer-director Judd Apatow was kicking around ideas for characters for his next comedy when he had a sudden aha moment. ''It hit me one day,'' he remembers. ''Oh, I already have those characters!'' — namely, Pete and Debbie, the stressed-out parents played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann in his 2007 hit Knocked Up. The film catches up with the couple the week they both turn 40, a milestone that leads to a string of crises and breakdowns. As always, Apatow drew partly from his own life. ''It's a little bit us, it's a little bit Rudd, it's a little bit all of our friends,'' says Mann, Apatow's wife (who recently turned 40 herself). ''It's observing everyone's relationships and putting it into a big soup.'' Already thinking ahead to his next movie, Apatow says, ''I've covered college, marriage, having a baby, turning 40, and fatal diseases — there's almost nothing left at this point. I'm going to have to switch to science fiction.'' This Is 2040, perhaps? —Josh Rottenberg

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The Impossible (Dec. 21)

''Disappointed to see The Impossible nearly shut out. The Academy tends to ignore excellent but difficult films ( Requiem For A Dream , Children of — JOSE HARO

A survival drama that's bound to remind some viewers of 127 Hours, The Impossible tells the true story of a family (led by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor) who nearly perished in Thailand during the 2004 tsunami. Director J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage), who shot much of the film in the actual hard-hit Thai region of Khao Lak, says he achieved 90 percent of his tidal-wave re-creation using water rather than digital effects. ''It's a real story, so we never accepted the idea of making the tsunami a CGI show,'' Bayona says. ''It was kind of crazy, but it was the only way to make it real.'' Scarily so. —Dave Karger

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Les Misérables (Dec. 25)

Despite their impressive résumés, all of Oscar winner Tom Hooper's cast (including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried) had to survive marathon. After landing their parts in the first-ever screen adaptation of the hit 1980s stage musical based on Victor Hugo's classic 19th-century novel, the journey was only beginning. On set in London, Hooper had his cast sing live for each take — a departure from the typical movie-musical practice of lip-synching to a prerecorded track. ''It utterly transforms the experience of what a musical is like on film,'' Hooper says. ''When it's live, the actors can actually think the songs.'' Crowe says the experience was equal parts rewarding and terrifying. ''I have never sung anything as challenging as the songs in Les Miz, never pushed my voice to that place. I'm still not sure if I can do it. I guess I'll know when the movie comes out.'' We will be storming the barricades right beside him. —Dave Karger

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Django Unchained (Dec. 25)

Quentin Tarantino's original script for Django had everyone in Hollywood talking, but the director only used it as a blueprint for the final film. ''At one point he reworked the entire ending,'' says Foxx, who plays a vengeful slave in the antebellum South in Tarantino's gonzo spaghetti Western. ''He went back to his house and came back hours later, and it was better than it was in the first place.'' Like Inglourious Basterds, Django doesn't strive for historical accuracy — the James Brown track in the trailer makes that funkily clear — but the film doesn't take the topic of slavery lightly, either. ''It's not truth per se, but there is truth in it,'' says Kerry Washington, who plays Foxx's wife, Broomhilda, the captive of an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Tarantino, she says, is ''making an homage to important moments in history and historical cinema, while also reinventing the wheel.'' —Keith Staskiewicz

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The Guilt Trip (Dec. 25)

Release date: Dec. 19 ? Stars: Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen ? What it about: Streisand and Rogen as a mother/son duo in cross-country comedy? The — Sam Emerson

It took director Anne Fletcher a full year to coax Barbra Streisand — who hasn't headlined a movie since 1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces — out of semiretirement for this bittersweet comedy about an inventor (Seth Rogen) on a cross-country road trip with his mom (Streisand). ''I kept saying to her, 'This movie is a dash of What's Up, Doc? with a dash of The Way We Were,' '' says Fletcher (The Proposal), who set up a script reading last fall to persuade both stars to sign on. ''After they were done with one scene, the room was silent. These two had the craziest amount of chemistry. They were even taken aback.'' Funny — we're not surprised at all. —Adam Markovitz

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Parental Guidance (Dec. 25)

Billy Crystal (in his first live-action film since 2002's Analyze That) and Bette Midler star as a couple asked to watch their daughter's three children for a week — but the worrywart mom (Marisa Tomei) just won't take off. ''She has a lot of trouble leaving because she doesn't trust us,'' says Crystal, who conceived the story (Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse wrote the script) after a hectic five days babysitting his grandkids. It seems his old-school child-rearing drew constant critiques. '' 'Don't look at them this way. Feed them this. Don't feed them that,' '' the actor recalls being told. ''It's just different than it was 30 years ago.'' Family dynamics, though, never change. —Grady Smith