Fall previews. NYT, LAT, etc. September.

The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have run their fall preview packages, meaning it's time to revisit the season's release schedule, do a little reshuffling and have ourselves a linkfest. Here we go:

September 12

• Dave Kehr kicks the NYT calendar off with style: "Forever. "What a cast: Marcel Proust, Jean-Auguste Ingres, Frédéric Chopin, Jim Morrison and Maria Callas headline Heddy Honigmann's documentary about Paris's fabled Père-Lachaise cemetery."

• Helvetica. Earlier: JR Jones (Chicago Reader) and Emily King (frieze). See the site for trailers and clips.

• Wool 100%. Kehr: "Mai Tominaga writes and directs this Japanese ghost story."

September 14:

• Across the Universe. Sylviane Gold asks Julie Taymor what she's up to here. Also in the NYT, Karen Durbin profiles the "unmistakably Beatlesesque" Jim Sturgess; and a bit of online viewing: "I Am the Walrus," featuring Bono, who doesn't have to stretch much, it turns out, to make for a rather convincing hippie. Earlier: Entertainment Weekly. Trailer. Toronto.

• Angels in the Dust, "a story of hope and healing in the face of a staggering crisis," reads the text at the site. Marion Cloete's built "Botshabelo, an extraordinary village and school that provides shelter, food, and education to more than 550 South African children."

• The Brave One. Manohla Dargis (NYT): "The usual take on Jodie Foster is that she doesn't like to talk about herself, but all you have to do is watch her movies to see she's been talking to us all along." Looking back on an encounter for Interview: "Absurd, funny, sly and freakishly on target, Warhol seized on her appeal instantly, pinpointing everything that defined and has continued to define her screen presence: her beauty, talent, androgyny and ambition... but also a willingness to exploit her body and a taste, or perhaps instinct, for provocation." Also, an audio slide show. Earlier: "The Brave One." Trailer's at the site.

• Darkon. Earlier: Nick Schager (Slant); my own take. Trailer's at the site.

• December Boys. Susan King (LAT) meets Daniel Radcliffe. Earlier: Bilge Ebiri (Bookforum) and Helen Pidd's talk with Radcliffe (Guardian). EW. Trailer.

• Dragon Wars. Trailer. Update, 9/10: Brooks Barnes reports on producer Hyung Rae Shim's aim "prompt South Korean pop culture to wash over the United States, as it has done in much of Southeast Asia and China in recent years."

• Eastern Promises. "Ultraviolent, gruesome and riveting, David Cronenberg's trangressive crime drama, Eastern Promises, may be one of the director's best recent films," writes Sura Wood (Hollywood Reporter). James Rocchi talks with Cronenberg (Cinematical). Trailer.

• Great World of Sound. Reviews from Sundance. Trailer.

• Ira & Abby. Trailer.

• In the Valley of Elah. Reviews from Venice and Toronto. Trailer.

• King of California. Sam Adams profiles Michael Douglas. (LAT.) Earlier: Variety's John Anderson caught this at Sundance. Trailer.

• Mr Woodcock. With Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott and Susan Sarandon. Trailer.

• Moving McAllister. With Ben Gourley, Mila Kunis, Jon Heder and... Rutger Hauer?

• The Rape of Europa. Earlier: David D'Arcy. Trailers and clips at the site.

• Silk. Earlier: EW. Trailer's at the site.

• Toots. "A stick-to-the-ribs, meat-and-potatoes tribute to larger-than-life restaurateur Bernard 'Toots' Shor and his eponymous Manhattan eatery that defined the city's halcyon years in the 1940s and 1950s, Toots is a nostalgic, meticulously researched full course meal from granddaughter Kristi Jacobson that will whet appetites of fest, specialty and tube diners," writes Eddie Cockrell in Variety. Trailer's at the site.

September 19:

• The Last Winter. "As in Wendigo, The Last Winter eventually, unwisely opts to outright depict the paranormalities that have previously remained hidden from sight," writes Nick Schager (Slant). "Any such momentary obviousness, however, is wholly eclipsed by a stunningly poignant, unexpected climactic flashback that silently encapsulates the omnipresent idea of 'home,' as well as by a cheesy yet haunting final note that spreads around blame for our current environmental crises with nihilistic fury." A collection of more reviews of Larry Fessenden's latest has already piled up at the IMDb. Trailers at the site.

• My Name is Alan and I Paint Pictures. Trailer's at the site.

September 21:

• Antonia. Brazilian rappers. Lots of extras at the site.

• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Mark Olsen profiles Casey Affleck. (LAT). Reviews from Venice and Telluride. Trailer's at the site.

• Beauty Remains. An "unappealing, stiff melodrama," writes Robert Koehler (Variety.)

• The Jane Austen Book Club. "The film's characters are lively, the women all look terrific (the guys do too, for that matter), and its many romantic story threads weave into artfully told tales of love lost and found," writes Kirk Honeycutt (Hollywood Reporter). Irene Lacher profiles Emily Blunt. (LAT.) Trailer.

• The Man of My Life. "L'homme de sa vie offers plenty of joys for those willing to go along with its gentle flow," writes Boyd van Hoeij (european-films.net). Earlier: James van Maanen. Bande annonce's at the site.

• Good Luck Chuck. Earlier: Vanessa Juarez talks with Jessica Alba (EW). Trailer's at the site.

• Honor de Cavalleria. Dave Kehr (NYT): "Albert Serra's minimalist-materialist retelling of Don Quixote has been earning comparisons to Bresson and Ozu on the festival circuit."

• Into the Wild. John Horn has a backgrounder in the LAT: "Penn's diplomatic patience ultimately prevailed." Fresh review: James Rocchi (Cinematical). Earlier: Chris Nashawaty (EW). See also the bottom of this Telluride entry. Trailer.

• Resident Evil 3: Extinction. Click it for the trailer.

• Sydney White. Trailer.

• Trade. "With all of the earmarks of being a serious and thoughtful drama written by talented screenwriter and playwright Jose Rivera and based on New York Times Magazine reporter Peter Landesman's investigative work on the international sex slave trade network, it comes as something of a shock to discover that the final film is little more than a slipshod, trashy, sometimes exploitative thriller," writes Robert Koehler (Variety). Earlier: Director Marco Kreuzpaintner talks with EW. Trailer's at the site.

September 26:

• Banished. A "a trite, incoherent tale about a professional assassin, Charlie Vespa (Nariman Norouz), who lives in a gilded nouveau riche mansion, presumably in the vicinity of Beverly Hills," writes Kevin Thomas (LAT). Trailer.

• Charlie. Trailer's at the site and at New York's Pioneer Theater.

• The Price of Sugar. "An admiring portrait of a Spanish priest dedicated to improving the lot of Haitian workers in the Dominican Republic, The Price of Sugar is a solid and affecting piece of work that, unfortunately, isn't likely to reach beyond the core aud for such earnest and enlightening nonfiction fare," writes Joe Leydon (Variety). Trailer.

• Funny Games. Michael Haneke's remake of his own film, this time with Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Michael Pitt. Choire Sicha (LAT): "Pitt plays the cheeriest, cleanest, shiniest sadist ever." He notes, too, that this will be "a shot-for-shot, nearly line-for-line American remake."

September 28:

• The Game Plan. Earlier: EW. Trailer.

• Feast of Love. Allison Burnett adapts Charles Baxter's novel; Robert Benton directs; with Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Alexa Davalos. Earlier: EW. Trailer.

• Freshman Orientation. "[Y]ou've seen this campus of clichés before," warns Regent (DVD Talk). Trailer's at the site.

• Goal 2: Living the Dream. "This sequel to Goal recounts the further adventures of Santiago (Kuno Becker), the twinkle-toed ghetto kid who is now signed up by Real Madrid, for which this film is one long, product-placing, non-speaking-cameo-packed infomercial," writes Peter Bradshaw (Guardian).

• The Kingdom. John Horn on how Peter Berg and Michael Mann "formed one of the more unusual director-producer pairings around." (LAT.) Earlier: Christine Spines talks with Berg (EW) and Andrew Dignan appreciates Berg (House Next Door). Trailer.

• Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna). See James van Maanen's endorsement. Trailer.

• Lust, Caution. Winner of the Golden Lion. Karen Durbin spotlights Tang Wei. (NYT). Reviews from Venice and Toronto.

September 29:

• The Darjeeling Limited. Michael Cieply looks into whether or not the "Fox Searchlight formula" will work with this one (NYT). Reviews from Venice. And now it's headed to the NYFF and London. Trailer.

See also: October, November and December.

Posted by dwhudson at September 9, 2007 4:23 PM