Top films to see Fall/December 2015

So the fall season has begun and as usual, there are a lot of movies i wanna see. In hopes of having a shorter list than last year, I only included films I was positive were being released in 2015. Turns out the list was even longer. Oh well. Enjoy.

41. Captive

Based on a true story, Captive stars David Oyelowo (Selma) as Brian Nichols, a man who escapes from a courthouse while on trial for rape. He kills several people and holds a reformed former drug addict (Kate Mara) hostage which causes them both to reflect on mistakes and search for redemption. I was a bit hesitant over the film's portrayal of Brian Nichols since he was a real person who actually killed people, but I saw an interview with David Oyelowo where he acknowledged that he didn't want his portrayal to excuse the deaths Nichols was responsible for and disrespect the victims' families. But the best part, Michael K. Williams (Omar from The Wire, Chalky from Boardwalk Empire) co-stars as a detective and it's a well known fact that everything Omar touches turns to gold.

40. Trash

Stephen Daldry's Trash tells the story of three boys who find themselves on the run from a brutal police force after finding a leather bag while looking through the trash. It co-stars Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen.

39. I Saw The Light

Tom Hiddleston (Thor) plays country singer Hank Williams while Elizabeth Olsen plays Hank's manager, wife and duet partner.

38. The Walk

Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrays Philippe Petit, the Frenchman famous for his high-wire walk between the twin towers in New York City. Directed by Robert Zemeckis.

37. Everest

Everest is based on the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster. It stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and Jake Gyllenhaal as climbers fighting for survival. The rest of the cast includes John Hawkes (Winter's bone, The Sessions), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Robin Wright and Michael Kelly (Game of Thrones), Keira Knightley and Emily Watson.

36. Life

Life is directed by Anton Corbijn (Control) and stars Robert Pattinson and Dane DeHaan (Chronicle), portraying the friendship between Life photographer Dennis Stock and Hollywood actor James Dean.

35. The Night Before

Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50), The Night Before stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie having a final night out on Christmas Eve together before ending their annual tradition.

34. Secret in Their Eyes

A remake of the critically acclaimed Argentinian film, Secret in Their Eyes tells the story of a team of FBI investigators who must deal with the daughter of one of their own (Julia Roberts) being murdered and the lengthy efforts to bring her killer to justice. Also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman.

33. By the Sea

10 years after their infamous appearance in Mr. and Mrs. Smith together, Angelina and Brad Pitt finally reunite onscreen telling the story of...a struggling couple who travel to France.  Angelina Jolie (now credited as Angelina Jolie Pitt) also wrote and directed the film.

32. Freeheld

Freeheld stars Julianne Moore as a lesbian police officer dying of lung cancer who fights to get her benefits passed on to her domestic partner (Ellen Page). Steve Carell and Michael Shannon co-star.

31. The Good Dinosaur

For the first time, Pixar is releasing two movies in one year. The Good Dinosaur is set in an alternate timeline where dinosaurs never went extinct and co-exist with humans.

30. Crimson Peak

The newest Guillermo Del Toro film stars Mia Wasikowska as a woman who moves into a mansion with her new husband (Tom Hiddleston) and discovers that he may not be what he appears to be. Jessica Chastain co-stars. I enjoy Del Toro's blockbuster action films but I'm really excited to see him make an old fashioned R-rated horror film again.

29. The Peanuts Movie

This better not suck.

28. Suffragette

I posted about this last year when I thought the movie was actually going to come up. Well, it's coming out this year. I'll just copy and paste what I posted last year. "It's kinda surprising that there aren't more movies about this. I mean there's Iron Jawed Angels and that's basically it. Suffragette is about the women's suffrage movement in Great Britain. It stars Meryl Streep, Helena Bonham Carter, Carey Mulligan, and Brendan Gleeson. The historical topic is the type that the Academy Awards are usually attracted to, so if the film ends up successful, it's likely that Oscar buzz could be headed this way."

27. The Danish Girl

Fresh off of his Oscar win for The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne portrays one of the first people to ever get a gender reassignment surgery. Alicia Vikander co-stars as Redmayne's wife. Directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Miserables).

26. Our Brand is Crisis

Our Brand is Crisis stars Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thorton as American campaigners on opposing ends of a Presidential election in Bolivia. It's a dramatization of a critically acclaimed documentary of the same name.

25. Joy

Joy is the latest film from David O. Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle). He reunites with Jennifer Lawrence who plays Joy Mangano, a single mother who builds her business empire after inventing the Miracle Mop. Fellow O. Russell recurring collaborators Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper co-star.

24. Burnt

Burnt is Bradley Cooper's latest drama that he probably hopes to add on to his Academy award nomination streak of three years and counting. Cooper plays a chef attempting try to rebuild his life after losing his restaurant due to drug use. Directed by John Wells (August: Osage County), the film also stars Sienna Miller (American Sniper), Omar Sy (The Intouchables), Daniel Brühl (Rush) and Matthew Rhys (The Americans).

23. Pawn Sacrifice

Pawn Sacrifice is the newest film from the underrated Edward Zwick (Glory, Last Samurai, Blood Diamond). It stars Tobey Maguire as chess prodigy Bobby Fischer and Liev Schrieber as fellow prodigy Boris Spassky.

22. Macbeth

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in this latest adaptation of Macbeth as the title characters.

21. Trumbo

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) makes his first major transition to a leading man in film in Trumbo. He plays Dalton Trumbo, a controversial Communist Hollywood screenwriter who is blacklisted.

20. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

It's the final Hunger Games movie. All I have to say is I'm pretty excited.

19. Bridge of Spies

Bridge of Spies is the latest Steven Spielberg-Tom Hanks collaboration. The film tells the true story of a Brooklyn lawyer who is thrust into the Cold War when he has to negotiate the release of an American pilot whose plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Amy Ryan and Alan Alda co-star. Perhaps it could get Hanks a long-awaited 6th Oscar nomination following his surprising snub for Captain Phillips.

18. In the Heart of the Sea

Academy Award Winner Ron Howard reunites with Chris Hemsworth following Rush. Based on a true story that would later inspire Herman Mellville's classic, Moby Dick, the film is about a ship that is capsized by a large sperm whale and the crew's fight for survival. Cillian Murphy co-stars.

17. Creed

Director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) reunites with Michael B. Jordan for the boxing film Creed. That's all I'm saying. Just watch the trailer.

16. The Martian

Based on a critically acclaimed novel, The Martian stars Matt Damon as an astronaut abandoned on Mars and assumed to be dead after a space mission goes wrong. Directed by Ridley Scott, it's being called his best film in years after a series of critical flops. It co-stars Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, and Jeff Daniels.

15. Spectre

I'm a big fan of Daniel Craig's performance as James Bond and think Casino Royale is arguably the best Bond film of all time. I'm especially excited for Spectre because SPECTRE was the main antagonist organization in the Sean Connery films so seeing the modern day interpretation of SPECTRE has lots of potential. And Christoph Waltz as the villain? What more do you want?

14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I'm a big J.J. Abrams fan and I truly believe this could be Star Wars returning to form. It also has a great cast including John Boyega (who gave a great performance in Attack the Block), Lupita N'Yongo (12 Years a Slave), and one of the best actors of his generation, Oscar Issac (Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis, Show me a Hero). And let's not forget the cast from the original trilogy. I personally can't wait.

13. Beasts of No Nation

Directed by Cary Fukunaga (True Detective Season 1), Beasts of No Nation is about a young boy in a West African country who is forced to join a unit of mercenary fighters after a civil war breaks out. Idris Elba co-stars. In an unusual move, Beasts of No Nation is being distributed by Netflix so Netflix users will be able to watch it the day it gets released.

12. The Program

Ben Foster, one of the most underrated actors of his generation, plays Lance Armstrong as the film deals with scandal of using performance enhancing drugs. Chris O'Dowd portrays David Walsh, the journalist trying to expose him. Foster actually took performance enhancing drugs as a form of method acting. Jesse Plemons, Lee Pace, and Dustin Hoffman co-star. It does not yet have a U.S. release date.

11. Legend

I'm a huge fan of Tom Hardy and I'm also a fan of True Crime. This film is not only based on a true story, it features TWO Tom Hardys. Tom Hardy plays Ronnie and Reggie Kray, twin brothers and gangsters involved in organized crime in London. It's written and directed by Brian Helgeland who also wrote L.A. Confidential for which he won an Academy Award.

10. Brooklyn

Brooklyn tells the story of a young Irish immigrant (Saoirse Ronan) navigating her way through 1950s New York. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.

9. Youth

Michael Caine is one of only two actors (the other being Jack Nicholson) to be nominated at least once every decade since the 1960s to the 2000s. Perhaps he can get another nomination for the 2010s. The film tells the story of "A retired orchestra conductor (Caine) who is on holiday with his daughter and film director best friend (Harvey Keitel) in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday."

8. Concussion

Concussion looks like Will Smith's big return to dramatic acting. Based on a true story,  Smith plays a forensic neuropathologist who discovers Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in football players and must fight the NFL's attempts to cover it up.

7. Carol

The other, presumably higher quality "Older woman-younger woman" relationship movie after Freeheld, Carol stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara telling the story of the relationship a young woman (Mara) falling for an older woman (Blanchett) in 1950s New York. It received critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival with Rooney Mara winning Best Actress.

6. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs stars Michael Fassbender as the title character in a screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network) and directed by Danny Boyle. The film is said to only contain 3 scenes. It co-stars Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels. As a big fan of both the actors and Sorkin and Boyle, I think this'll be a huge improvement over the Ashton Kutcher version.

5. The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight is the newest film by Quentin Tarantino. Set in post civil-war Wyoming, the film follows eight people seeking refuge in a cabin during a blizzard. The eight in the title are played by Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern.

4. Spotlight

Directed by the very underrated Tom McCarthy, Spotlight is based on the true story of the Boston Globe journalists and their coverage of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McCadams, John Slattery, Liev Schrieber, and Stanley Tucci and has already received much Oscar buzz.

3. Sicario

Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy) directs this crime thriller starring Emily Blunt as an idealistic FBI Agent who's recruited to join a shadowy government task force, traveling back and forth across the U.S.-Mexican border. Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin co-star as members of the task force.

2. Black Mass

As mentioned before, I'm a big fan of True Crime and the Whitey Bulger story is one of my favorites so I'm really happy to see it get fully captured on the big screen. Johnny Depp stars as Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, who forms an alliance with FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) to take down the Patriarca Crime Family while allowing Bulger to get away with a variety of crimes. Benedict Cumberbatch co-stars as Bulger's politician brother. Much praise has been centered on Johnny Depp's performance who could be a major Oscar contender.

1. The Revenant

Alejandro González Iñárritu's much anticipated follow-up to Birdman stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who is attacked by a bear in the American wilderness where he's robbed by his friends and left to die. He survives and goes on a 200 mile trek to get revenge. The film is notable for being a pain to film and going $30 million over budget. Hopefully it'll be worth it.