It's become pretty apparent that when the temperature rises and the kids get out of school the studios really don't care much about original stories or engaging characters anymore, just mind-numbing effects and how many they can pummel us with inside a four-month window.
However, now that the leaves are rustling and classes have resumed, the clouds are slowly starting to clear and a slew of character-centric, award-friendly films can once again be seen on the horizon.
Nearly 90 films will compete for your attention from now through Christmas. Below are five that look the most promising (in order of release):
Captain Phillips: Tom Hanks stars as the real-life cargo-ship captain who risked his life to protect his crew from Somali pirates in 2009. Hanks makes a long-overdue return to the everyman-in-peril character that made him a star(think Apollo 13 and Saving Private Ryan). Throw in director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) and you've got the makings for a smart, edgy thriller that may just have an impact come Oscar time. (Oct. 11)
The Wolf of Wall Street: Martin Scorsese reteams with Leonardo DiCaprio. Do you really need to know more? (Nov. 15)
Nebraska: Alexander Payne's follow-up to The Descendants centers on a elderly man (Bruce Dern) and his middle-aged son (Will Forte) who set off on a picaresque road trip in order to claim a sweepstakes prize. This is the first film Payne has directed that he didn't write himself. But having grown up in Omaha, you know he's going make this one uniquely his own: chaotic yet poignant. The fact that Dern won Best Actor at Cannes doesn't hurt either. (Nov. 22)
American Hustle: Like Alexander Payne, David O. Russell films are always required viewing ( well, maybe not I Heart Huckabees). On the heels of Silver Linings Playbook, Russell reteams with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence for a tale of '70s political corruption. Sprinkle in Jeremy Renner and fellow Russell vets Christian Bale and Amy Adams and this one's the front-runner for ensemble picture of the year. (Dec. 13)
The Monuments Men: Speaking of ensembles, this true World War II-set adventure features George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and Jean Dujardin as an unlikely group of scholars tasked with retrieving stolen masterpieces from the Nazis. While the book it's based on was a rather dry, overly technical read, this cast could turn a physics textbook into something worth seeing. (Dec. 18)
Five more that look intriguing: Gravity (Oct. 4); 12 Years A Slave (Oct. 18); The Counselor (Oct. 25); Out of the Furnace (Dec. 6) and Saving Mr. Banks (Dec. 13)
