Hollywood aims to help you escape from all that lousy economic news in the real world this fall, with a lineup heavy on fun and fantasy.
But Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas won’t let audiences completely off the hook. They’re putting Gordon Gekko, poster boy for greed a generation ago, back into theatres to remind fans about the sharks that got us into this mess.
Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps — a followup to the 1987 hit that won Douglas the best-actor Academy Award — picks up with ex-con Gekko broke, barred from the stock market, alienated from his family and trying to find a place for himself in 2008 as the global economy races toward chaos.
Gekko still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
The Wall Street sequel is among September and October releases arriving as a prelude to the big holiday season, whose heavy-hitters include the latest in the Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and Meet the Parents franchises.
Here’s a look at highlights among films debuting in early fall:
Family stuff
Zack Snyder (300) directs the animated adventure Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, based on Kathryn Lasky’s children’s books about owls on a mythic quest against evil.
The animated comedy Alpha and Omega features the voices of Justin Long and Hayden Panettiere in a tale of two wolves on a journey home after park rangers move them halfway across country.
Funny stuff
Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver star in You Again, a comedy about a woman and her mother coping with their old high school rivals at a family wedding.
Other comic tales include: It’s Kind of a Funny Story, about a stressed teen (Keir Gilchrist) who finds a mentor (Zach Galifianakis) at a mental clinic; Easy A, a comic twist on The Scarlet Letter, with Emma Stone as a teen turning a rumour about losing her virginity to her own advantage
Serious stuff
The sober British drama Never Let Me Go reunites Keira Knightley with close pal Carey Mulligan, who got her start with a small part in Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice.
Never Let Me Go features Mulligan, Knightley and Andrew Garfield (recently cast in the title role of the next Spider-Man movie) as three boarding school friends raised for a stark destiny in an alternate-reality Britain.
Among other dramatic offerings: David Fincher’s The Social Network, featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake in a drama about the founders of Facebook; Hilary Swank in Conviction, the story of a woman who embarks on an 18-year crusade to clear her brother (Sam Rockwell) of murder; and Woody Allen’s latest mix of comedy and drama, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, with Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto as Londoners struggling with old and new relationships.
Matt Damon and director Clint Eastwood, who collaborated on last year’s Invictus, reunite for Hereafter, a drama about a Frenchwoman, a British boy and an American man with unusual connections to death whose lives gradually intersect.
Scary stuff
Three horror franchises return: Paranormal Activity 2, a followup to last year’s supernatural sensation; Saw 3D, with survivors of diabolical killer Jigsaw finding new terror as they seek solace from a self-help guru; and Resident Evil: Afterlife, with Milla Jovovich back on the job killing zombies.
Hollywood’s love affair with vampires continues with Let Me In, adapted from the best-seller Let the Right One In, about the friendship between a bullied boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and a young bloodsucker (Chloe Moretz).
Money stuff
Ben Affleck performs in a couple of money-related dramas. In The Company Men, Affleck stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Kevin Costner in a story of executives coping with hard times after their downsizing company lets them go.
Affleck directs and stars in The Town, playing a bank robber who falls for a branch manager (Rebecca Hall) his gang took hostage on their last job.
Affleck pal Damon narrates Charles Ferguson’s documentary Inside Job, a sweeping chronicle of the 2008 economic crisis.
Amid that crisis, Stone and Douglas unleash Gekko for their Wall Street sequel. Estranged from his daughter (Mulligan), Gekko ingratiates himself with her fiance (Shia LaBeouf), a young investment whiz who falls under his future father-in-law’s spell.
Here are some highlights of the fall film slate (release dates are subject to change, and some films will play in limited release):
September:
The American: George Clooney plays a hitman who finds romance and tranquility in the Italian countryside as he prepares for one last assignment.
Buried: An American driver (Ryan Reynolds) in Iraq wakes up buried in a coffin with only a dying cellphone and a lighter.
Devil: Supernatural terror besets a group of people trapped in an elevator.
Easy A: A modern twist on The Scarlet Letter has a teen (Emma Stone) turning a rumour about losing her virginity to her own advantage.
Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole: Zack Snyder directs an animated adventure about owls on a quest against evil forces.
Lovely, Still: A lonely old man (Martin Landau) gets a fresh taste of romance with a mystery woman (Ellen Burstyn).
Machete: An ex-Mexican policeman (Danny Trejo) seeks vengeance against the organization that betrayed him. With Robert De Niro and Jessica Alba.
Never Let Me Go: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield star in an alternate-reality melodrama about boarding school friends raised for a grim fate.
Resident Evil: Afterlife: Milla Jovovich returns as a warrior battling a plague of undead zombies.
The Town: Ben Affleck directs and stars as a bank robber who falls for a woman (Rebecca Hall) his gang took hostage on their last job.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone resurrect financial shark Gordon Gekko amid the 2008 meltdown. With Shia LaBeouf.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger: Woody Allen’s latest stars Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin and Antonio Banderas in a tale of messy relationships.
October:
The company Men: A sales executive (Ben Affleck) copes with hard times after his company downsizes. With Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner.
Conviction: Hilary Swank stars as a woman on an 18-year crusade to clear her brother (Sam Rockwell) on a murder conviction.
Hatchet II: A sequel to the 2006 low-budget horror romp pits a team of hunters against a crazed killer in the Louisiana swamps.
Hereafter: Matt Damon stars in Clint Eastwood’s drama about an American, Frenchwoman and London boy whose lives cross after they’re touched by death.
Inside Job: Matt Damon narrates director Charles Ferguson’s documentary examining the global economic crisis of 2008.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story: A stressed teen (Keir Gilchrist) checks himself into a mental clinic. With Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts.
Let Me In: A troubled boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) finds friendship with a young vampire (Chloe Moretz).
Life As We Know It: A quarrelsome pair (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) must set aside their differences to care for their orphaned goddaughter.
My Soul to Take: Wes Craven’s latest fright flick tells the tale of a serial killer who may have returned from the dead to continue his rampage.
Nowhere Boy: Young John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) suffers through mother issues in the formative years of the Beatles. With Kristin Scott Thomas.
Paranormal Activity 2: The low-budget surprise horror smash spawns a followup with a new chapter in the ghost story.
Red: Former agents (Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich) are caught in a deadly pursuit as they seek to uncover a CIA conspiracy.
Secretariat: Diane Lane stars as the housewife who oversees the legendary horse to a Triple Crown victory in 1973. With John Malkovich.
Stone: A prison inmate (Edward Norton) uses his wife (Milla Jovovich) to manipulate a parole officer (Robert De Niro).
Today’s Special: A sous chef at a grand Manhattan restaurant is forced to take over his family’s failing Tandoori joint.
Wild Target: An assassin (Bill Nighy) picks up an apprentice (Rupert Grint) and falls for an intended victim (Emily Blunt) in this British crime comedy.
November:
Burlesque: A waitress (Christina Aguilera) aspires to take the stage at the flashy lounge where she works. With Cher, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough.
Due Date: Robert Downey Jr. plays a man whose race home for his child’s birth sets him on a bumpy road trip with an aspiring actor (Zach Galifianakis).
Fair Game: Naomi Watts and Sean Penn star in a drama about CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose cover was blown by a Bush administration leak.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1: The teen wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) hits the highway en route for his final showdown with Voldemort.
Love and Other Drugs: A slick Viagra salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal) falls for a free-spirited woman (Anne Hathaway).
Megamind: Brad Pitt, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey provide voices for an animated comedy about a supervillain whose life is empty after defeating his superhero nemesis.
Morning Glory: A tough newsman (Harrison Ford) and an ex-beauty queen (Diane Keaton) clash after a TV producer (Rachel McAdams) pairs them as morning news hosts.
The Next Three Days: A man (Russell Crowe) plots to break his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of prison after she’s convicted in a murder she claims she didn’t commit.
Skyline: An extraterrestrial menace threatens to extinguish humanity. With Donald Faison, Eric Balfour.
Tangled: Mandy Moore provides the voice of Rapunzel in an animated musical about the fairy-tale teen with really long hair.
Unstoppable: Denzel Washington and Chris Pine try to hit the brakes on a runaway train loaded with deadly toxins. Tony Scott directs.
December:
Another Year: Mike Leigh directs an ensemble tale of friends and relations struggling for love and connections. With Jim Broadbent.
Black Swan: A ballet dancer (Natalie Portman) finds her dark side emerging in competition with a rival (Mila Kunis) for the lead in “Swan Lake.”
The Chronciles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader: C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series continues aboard a magical sea voyage. With Tilda Swinton.
Country Strong: Gwyneth Paltrow plays a fallen country star aiming to revive her career on a tour with a rising songwriter (Garrett Hedlund). With Tim McGraw.
The Debt: Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington star in a thriller about a Mossad agent taking care of unfinished business involving a Nazi butcher.
Gulliver’s Travels: Jack Black is Jonathan Swift’s wandering hero in a modern take on Gulliver’s visit to the tiny people of Lilliput. With Emily Blunt.
How Do You Know: Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson star in a comedy about a woman torn between her ballplayer boyfriend and a new man.
The Illusionist: A stage magician forges on with his old-fashioned act as rock ’n’ roll sweeps Britain in this animated tale.
Miral: A Palestinian girl struggles through her youth in war-torn East Jerusalem. With Freida Pinto, Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave.
Somewhere: Director Sofia Coppola spins the story of a party-boy actor (Stephen Dorff) reassessing his life when his daughter (Elle Fanning) comes to visit.
The Tempest: In a gender switch, Helen Mirren stars as sorcerer Prospera in director Julie Taymor’s take on Shakespeare’s island fantasy.
The Tourist: Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie star in a thriller about a brokenhearted man swept up in danger on a visit to Italy.
Tron: Legacy: Jeff Bridges reprises his role from 1982’s “Tron” as a video-game genius whose son (Garrett Hedlund) ventures into a cyber realm.
True Grit: Jeff Bridges is boozy lawman Rooster Cogburn in Joel and Ethan Coen’s remake of the John Wayne Western. With Matt Damon.
The Warrrior’s Way: An Asian assassin is forced to hide out in the American West. With Kate Bosworth and Geoffrey Rush.