25 Movies Not to Miss This Fall

After seeing this charmer at this year's Sundance Film Festival, I was sure that the movie would find its audience and now it's finally being released. Former Saturday Night Live cast members Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig play siblings who meet again after a suicide attempt. The film has its dark moments but it's essentially a funny and touching gem about being there for your family.

Directing her most mainstream film to date, the mumble -core filmmaker Lynn Shelton is back with a new romantic comedy that features an impressive cast that includes Kiera Knightley and Sam Rockwell.

Even if the visuals of his film overpower the substance and the character development throughout the story, Terry Gilliam is a creative filmmaker who always creates visually stunning feature films that never feel empty. His latest film is complex and flawed but as a big screen experience it's very memorable.

David Fincher is one of the most imaginative directors in the world and his latest feature looks like it won't disappoint. Adapting a Gillian Flynn novel, the movie stars Ben Afleck with an electronic score from Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor.

Dealing with a fascinating storyline that involves the assassination of Kim Jong Un, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg are back with a new comedy that's sure to be controversial. Rogan stars with his good friend James Franco in this buddy comedy that will surely deliver many laughs considering how hilarious last year's This is the End was.

Winner of the grand jury prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash is the latest film from the gifted young director Damian Chazelle, who's movie Madaline and Guy on a Park Bench was a refreshing and exhilarating musical. His follow-up also deals with music, telling the story of a drummer played by Miles Teller who becomes tormented by his drum teacher played by J.K. Simmons.

The Spanish director Alejandro González Iñárritu has built his career on super serious, depressing dramas about miserable people such as 21 Grams and Babel. However his latest film looks like a drastic change of pace for him. Fusing humor, dreamlike imagery, and a colorful cast of characters including Edward Norton in a speedo, Birdman looks very interesting and was even chosen as the opening night film at this year's Venice Film Festival.

When I saw this film at this year's Sundance Film Festival, I was stunned by the level of intelligent humor existing within the film's structure and I compared it to the early groundbreaking films of director Spike Lee. I still believe that Dear White People is a flawed film however it's a rare, clever piece of filmmaking that embodies the spirit of Sundance films, to be creative and edgy without limits.

Christopher Nolan is a smart, skillful filmmaker who's finally back with his much-anticipated follow-up to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. Using many sci-fi elements and a strong cast that includes Matthew McConaughty in the lead role, my curiosity couldn't be bigger for this film.

You might not think that Steve Carrell can play a murderer however based on the reviews out of this year's Cannes Film Festival, he's quite impressive. Bennett Miller, who's directed several captivating biopics including Capote and Moneyball, has received many awards already for Foxcatcher including the Best Director prize at Cannes.

I felt mixed on J.C. Chandor's first directing effort Margin Call, however his sophomore feature All is Lost was unique and exciting. His latest film chronicles the year of 1981 which had the most crimes ever in New York City. Featuring an excellent ensemble cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chaistain, and Albert Brooks, my expectations are very high for this one.

Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the greatest directors in the world, is following up his masterpiece The Master with a Thomas Pycpton novel adaptation starring Joaquin Phoenix and Resse Witherspoon. With a score by Johnny Greenwood, the guitarist for Radiohead, I'm very excited for this one.

Mike Leigh is one of the greatest directors in British cinema history and his latest film is a biopic on the painter J.M.W. Turner played by Timothy Spall who won the best actor prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Ava DuVernay caught my attention with her emotional and personal films such as I Will Follow and Middle of Nowhere which were both expertly directed features. She seems to be the perfect choice to direct Selma which tells the true story of the 1965 voting rights marches. Given the impact of her previous films, she'll bring something powerful and memorable to this inspiring story.

Here's one movie that looks like pure Oscar bait just based on the trailer and who's involved in the project. Angelina Jolie directs this true war hero story with beautiful cinematography from the great Roger Deakins.