30 ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (Oct. 16)
Focus Features
Has it really been over 30 years since Emma Thompson and Ang Lee gave us that near-perfect screen adaptation of Jane Austen’s debut novel? How time flies when you’re left swooning over Hugh Grant’s dashing Edward Farrars. We were certainly overdue for a new version, and given the deft touch that Georgia Oakley displayed in her 2022 anti-bigotry drama Blue Jean, we have high hopes for her take on this literary warhorse. Daisy Edgar-Jones is Elinor Dashwood, the lovelorn young woman pining for Farrars, now played by George McKay (1917, The Beast). Fiona Shaw, Outlander‘s Catríona Balfe, and Frank Dillane round things out. Expect a display of some serious Austen powers here.
29 ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ (Oct. 23)
Amazon MGM Studios
Never mind the Borat — Sacha Baron Cohen brings back his original faux-journalist character, a B-boy named Ali G who had a habit of asking important people ridiculous questions. This new joint seems to be following the gonzo format of dropping a cosplaying Cohen into real situations and seeing what chaos ensues; the trailer suggests the usual shenanigans, updated for the TikTok era. Speaking of which: A lot has definitely changed since the last time Ali G graced the small screen in 2014. But to everyone who’s now screaming that the caricature is offensive and are suddenly demanding boycotts, we can only ask: Where exactly haz you been for the last few decades?
28 ‘Clayface’ (Oct. 23)
Warner Bros.
If someone forced us to pick a legacy Batman villain that would be ripe for getting his or her own solo flick, Clayface probably would have been the second-to-last name we’d have chosen. (The last pick is naturally Hugo Strange and we will not be taking questions at this time.) But Mike Flanagan — the writer-director behind Doctor Sleep, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House adaptation, and the upcoming Carrie TV series — pitched DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran a horror-centric tale involving an actor who can turn his body into shape-shifting clay, and now look who’s fronting the DCEU’s big fall movie! Because of scheduling conflicts, however, James Watkins (Speak No Evil) will be calling the shots on a script partially credited to Flanagan. Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries plays the title character; Naomi Ackie is the scientist who helps transform him; Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan show up to lend support.
27 ‘Klara and the Sun’ (Oct. 23)
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Taika Waititi takes a stab at Kazuo Ishigoro’s 2021 novel about the not-so-distant future, in which androids act as “artificial friends.” One such older model, Klara (Jenna Ortega), prays to her deity, a.k.a. the sun (see title) that she’ll be picked to be part of the perfect home. Hope arrives in the form of a girl named Josie (Mia Thara), who purchases the bot and begins to teach her about life. Josie’s mother (Amy Adams) has a secondary agenda in mind regarding the latest addition to the family, however. Steve Buscemi, Natasha Lyonne, Rachel House, and Simon Baker round out the cast.
26 ‘Possible Love’ (Oct. 23)
Netflix
It’s been eight years since writer-director Lee Chang-dong gave us Burning, and the latest from the Korean filmmaking legend sounds like an equally intense psychological minefield. A worker (Sul Kyung-gu) and his wife (Jeon Do-yeon) are left reeling when a labor-rights strike turns into a public tragedy. They encounter another married couple, a businessman (Zo In-sung) and a filmmaker (Parasite‘s Cho Yeo-jeong); the latter wants to make them the subject of her new documentary. Soon, notions collide of ethics around journalism, who gets to tell whose story, and what happens when the lives of those behind the camera and those in front of it get way, way too entangled. We can’t wait to see this.
25 ‘A Talent for Murder’ (Oct. 23)
Bleecker/LD Entertainment
Patricia Highsmith (Helen Mirren) wrote five books about Tom Ripley, the charismatic, class-conscious con man who would end up being her greatest creation. Her publishers, however, would very much like a sixth one, so they send a young, up-and-coming editor (Alden Ehrenreich) to Zurich in order to make the case in person. Let’s just say that the author’s penchant for psychological mind games isn’t strictly relegated to the page, at least in this fictionalized literary thriller. Olivia Cooke co-stars as a stranger on a train who becomes entangled with the visitor; Anton Corbijn (Control, A Most Wanted Man) directs.
24 ‘Wildwood’ (Oct. 23)
Laika
They brought you Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings — now stop-motion animation house Laika gives you this adaptation of Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy’s novel about two classmates who must travel into an enchanted forest. The reason for their journey: One of the girl’s family members, her brother, has been kidnapped by crows. You say you want all-star voice talent when it comes to watching first-rate artisanal ’toons? OK, how’s about Carey Mulligan, Angela Bassett, Mahershala Ali, Jemaine Clement, Tom Waits, Awkwafina, Richard E. Grant, Amandla Stenberg, Charlie Day, Jake Johnson, Maya Erskine, and Jacob Tremblay. Is that good enough for you?
23 ‘Club Kid’ (Nov. 6)
A24
Writer, director, and actor Jordan Firstman — he plays the publicist on I Love LA — went to Cannes as just another American with a movie to premiere. He left the festival as the next-big-thing triple threat with a major deal from A24 and a deafening buzz around his feature debut. Now see what all that fuss was about. An NYC club promoter (Firstman) ends up in a threesome during a drug-fueled late night, as one does. A decade or so later, a young man (Reggie Absolom) is deposited at his door — it’s the promoter’s hitherto unknown son from that hook-up. Suddenly, Mr. Party ‘Til the Break of Dawn Every Night has to figure out how to be a dad. It sounds corny, right? Trust us, it’s better than you can possibly imagine, thanks to Firstman’s unique comic sensibility. Believe the hype.
22 ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ (Nov. 6)
GKIDS
Remember when 2023’s Godzilla Minus One took everybody by surprise, and turned out to be the best Godzilla movie in a generation or two? Japanese writer-director Takashi Yamazaki returns with a sequel to that massive monster-movie hit, in which the big green guy once again wreaks havoc, and the former pilot (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and his family from the first movie continue to deal with the fallout. Bring on the fire-breathing kaiju-gone-berserk mayhem!
21 ‘I Play Rocky’ (Nov. 6)
Elevation Pictures
It’s a tale of two underdogs — one a Philly pugilist trying to prove he can go the distance, the other a struggling actor determined to play the lead part in a script he just wrote. The fictional boxer is named Rocky Balboa. The real-life performer is Sylvester Stallone. You know what happens next. Peter Farrelly (Green Book) directs this origin story about the Italian Stallion fighting to get the first Rocky movie made. Anthony Ippolito stars as the young and hungry Sly, determined to do whatever it takes to make his dream a reality. [Cue theme music.]
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