It’s back to school time (at least in theory), and all you want as a parent is for your kids to break away from the pack and distinguish themselves a little. At this time of year it’s what movie studios want, too. Fall is the unofficial start of the Oscar race, when films clamour for recognition and start sucking up to Academy voters in the hopes of a stellar recommendation. Maybe an apple would help?
Here are some of the hopefuls releasing in September and October. You decide who’ll make the grade.
The Skeleton Twins
Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader get serious (mostly) as estranged twins who find themselves under the same roof and having to get to know each other all over again. Won the screenwriting prize at Sundance.
Kill the Messenger
True-life tale of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) who made the link between the growing crack epidemic in the U.S., the funneling of money to armed rebels in Nicaragua and the CIA’s complicity, at great risk to his family and himself. “Some stories are just too true to tell.” Co-starring Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia, Barry Pepper, Oliver Platt and Michael K. Williams.
The Equalizer
McCall (Denzel Washington) has put his life behind him and is just looking for a little peace. But when he meets a young woman (Chloe Grace Moretz) being abused by Russian mobsters, McCall can’t help but settle the score.
Men, Women and Children
Director Jason Reitman looks at how adolescence has changed thanks to the Internet, and how parents and teens navigate the complex new world of dating, sex and peer relationships on- and off-line. Stars Jennifer Garner, Kaitlyn Dever, Adam Sandler, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ansel Elgot, Judy Greer and Dean Norris.
Tusk
Justin Long plays a podcast journalist who heads to Canada in search of weird stories. He finds more than he bargained for in this strange and gruesome tale from Kevin Smith. Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez and Michael Parks add to the weirdness.
The Maze Runner
A long-shot to take home any prizes but poised to make a mint is The Maze Runner, yet another teen pic set in a cruel dystopian future. Based on James Dashner’s best-selling book about a teen who wakes up to find himself with a group of kids in the centre of a maze full of monstrous mechanical creatures. If the Fox film is a success, there are two other books waiting to serve as sequels.
Gone Girl
David Fincher directs Gillian Flynn’s twisty novel about a seemingly perfect marriage unraveling at the seams. When Nick Dunne’s (Ben Affleck) wife of five years (Rosamund Pike) goes missing, he’s the prime suspect. But which lies are actually truths?
This Is Where I Leave You
Siblings brought together by the death of their father are forced to live under the same roof and work out their issues. Let’s hope it’s as funny as its cast — Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Adam Driver and Corey Stoll — suggests.
Fury
Second World War period drama starring Brad Pitt as a battle-weary sergeant nicknamed Wardaddy who commands five men in a Sherman tank dubbed “Fury.” Outmanned and outgunned, Fury’s crew push through Nazi front lines and find themselves fighting against some 300 enemy fighters. Featuring Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs and Scott Eastwood.
Judge
A hotshot lawyer (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to his small-town roots following a death in the family, only to discover that his father (Robert Duvall) — a longtime county judge — is the suspect in a murder trial. Billy Bob Thornton also stars.
St. Vincent
If gambling and prostitution are among your criteria for a babysitter, Bill Murray is your man. Murray plays a war vet seriously in debt who becomes the after-school caregiver to 12-year-old Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) against the good sense of mom Maggie (Melissa McCarthy).
Imitation Game
The Weinstein Company is hoping that this Second World War biopic about famous code-breaker Alan Turning will follow in the footsteps of The Artist and The King’s Speech and win Best Picture. Benedict Cumberbatch is Turing, who cracked the Nazi codes at a crucial juncture in the war; Keira Knightly is a fellow codebreaker who becomes more.
The Best of Me
Yet another funeral reunites two high school sweethearts 20 years after the fact in this Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden play Amanda and Dawson, who get a dangerous second chance at first true love.
Laggies
Megan (Keira Knightly) is a 28-year-old who never really grew up after high school. A proposal from her boyfriend throws Megan into an introspective tizzy: she hides out in the home of her 16-year-old friend (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her bewildered dad, played by Sam Rockwell.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Colin Firth as a super-secret agent? Yes, please! Firth stars as a ruthless taskmaster to a street tough (Taron Egerton) who is recruited into the top-secret fold. Based on the comic books and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass), the film also stars Samuel L. Jackson.
Birdman
Another film billed as an Oscar contender is Birdman, written and directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu and starring Michael Keaton (in an inspired bit of casting) as an actor best known for playing a superhero. That was decades ago, and now he’s mounting his own Broadway play in the slim hopes of a comeback. As opening night approaches, he has visions (can he levitate for real?), battles with his daughter (Emma Stone), his girlfriend and co-star (Andrea Riseborough) and tussles with agents and shady promoters (Zach Galifianakis and Edward Norton).
