Fall 2010 Must-See Movies

Today's edition of the LA Times Calendar features up-coming fall movie releases. The following 6 up-coming releases fall into their "must-see" selections.

Never Let Me Go
The kids are not all right. And that's what makes "Never Let Me Go" so memorable. Read more...


The Town
Heist films can be distinguished by the original execution of any of the genre's essential staples: a riveting bank robbery, a pulse-quickening getaway, a gothic shootout. Ben Affleck's "The Town" has all that, but one sequence that sets it apart from many movies of its kind is something that unfolds far from the scene of a crime: an emotional jailhouse visit between Doug MacRay (Affleck, who directed himself in the starring role) and his incarcerated father, Mac ( Chris Cooper). Read more...


It's Kind of a Funny Story
Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden may have set their new movie, "It's Kind of a Funny Story," amid the depressed and clinically insane of a psychiatric institution, but don't let the setting fool you. The movie is pure John Hughes. Read more...


Let Me In
Even though he decided to tackle the English-language remake of "Let the Right One In" long before the Swedish vampire movie became a cult favorite in the U.S., Matt Reeves was aware of the hurdle facing him. "It suddenly got very big, and I thought, 'There's going to be a lot more focus.' It was terrifying." Read more...


Monsters
The title suggests something like "Alien," and the guerrilla filmmaking style will be inevitably compared to "Cloverfield" and "District 9." Writer-director-cinematographer Gareth Edwards' "Monsters" is simultaneously all of those movies and none of them, a hard-to-categorize hybrid. Read more...



Hereafter
As a director, Clint Eastwood leans far more toward austere storytelling than pure spectacle -- in films such as "Unforgiven," "Gran Torino" and "Mystic River," the most memorable visuals are the emotions that play across the faces of actors.

It's interesting, then, to see that with his 32nd feature film, "Hereafter," the ultimate old-school director presents a massive natural disaster that required the sort of computer-generated effects and elaborate stunt work that are usually associated with contemporary popcorn movies. Read more...

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The Tillman Story

"The Tillman Story": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

It's devastating to watch the layers get peeled away in director Amir Bar-Lev's documentary of Pat Tillman, his death from friendly fire and his family's battle to rip the truth from the U.S. Army. Read Turan's full review of "The Tillman Story" at the LA Times

The Tillman Story

Pat Tillman gave up his professional football career to join the Army Rangers in 2002—and became an instant symbol of patriotic fervor and unflinching duty. But the truth about Pat Tillman is far more complex, and ultimately more heroic, than the caricature created by the media. And when the government tried to turn his death into war propaganda, they took on the wrong family. From her home in the Santa Cruz mountains, Pat’s mother, “Dannie” Tillman, led the family’s crusade to reveal the truth beneath the mythology of their son’s life and death. Narrated by Josh Brolin and featuring candid and revelatory interviews with Pat’s fellow soldiers as well as his family, Amir Bar-Lev’s emotional and insightful film not only shines a light on the shady aftermath of Pat’s death and calls to task the entire chain of command but also examines themes as timeless as the notion of heroism itself.

Opened August 20, 2010 (Limited)
Runtime:1 hr. 34 min.
Cast: Josh Brolin, Dannie Tillman, Richard Tillman, Patrick Tillman, Sr., Marie Tillman
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Genres: History, Military & War, Social Issues, Iraq War, Pat Tillman


Movie times and tickets for "The Tillman Story" from Fandango

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The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Shareky:

Anyone worried about the fate of Bella, Edward, Jacob and the rest of the "Twilight" gang after the moody blues of movie No. 2 can breathe a sigh of relief. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" is back with all of the lethal and loving bite it was meant to have: The kiss of the vampire is cooler, the werewolf is hotter, the battles are bigger and the choices are, as everyone with a pulse knows by now, life-changing. Read Sharkey's full review of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" at the LA Times

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

Opened June 30, 2010

Runtime:2 hr. 4 min.
PG-13intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality.
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning
Director: David Slade
Genres: Teen Movie, Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy


Movie times and tickets for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" from Fandango

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The Girl Who Played with Fire

"The Girl Who Played with Fire": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Lisbeth Salander, the punked, pierced, dragon-tattooed heroine of Stieg Larsson's international bestselling Millennium trilogy, is back on the high wire in "The Girl Who Played With Fire," locked in an ever more treacherous game with villains more depraved, mysteries much murkier and family ties more dark keeping things twisted and taunt.
Read Sharkey's full review of "The Girl Who Played with Fire" at the LA Times

The Girl Who Played With Fire


Two journalists on the verge of exposing their story in Millennium about an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden are brutally murdered. Lisbeth Salander's prints are on the weapon.

Mikael Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings which will implicate highly placed members of Swedish society, business and government. Knowing Salander to be fierce when fearful, he is desperate to get to her before she is cornered and alone but she is nowhere to be found. Digging deeper, Blomkvist also unearths some heart-wrenching facts about Salander's past life. Committed to psychiatric care at aged 12, declared legally incompetent at 18, she is the product of an unjust and corrupt system. Meanwhile, the elusive Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past.

Opened July 9, 2010 (Limited Only)

Runtime:2 hr. 9 min.
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Annika Hallin, Per Oscarsson, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Genres: Detective Film, Crime Thriller, Crime

Note: Brutal violence including a rape, some strong sexual content, nudity and language.

Movie times and tickets from Fandango

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Cairo Time

"Cairo Time": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

"Cairo Time" stars Patricia Clarkson in a lovely and languid flirtation with a foreign land, an exotic man and the possibility that, long after the future seems set in stone, it might not be quite so predictable after all. Canadian writer-director Ruba Nadda's new film feeds off the cool beauty of Clarkson and the dry heat of Alexander Siddig as strangers thrown together by circumstance. Also in play are the romantic notions that so often accompany travel, primarily those daydreams of chucking the life you have for the life you imagine you might have if only, if only, if only ... .


Read Sharkey's full review of 'Cairo Time' at the LA Times

Cairo Time


Juliette, a fashion magazine editor in her 50s, travels to Cairo to meet her husband, Mark, a UN official working in Gaza, for a three week vacation. When he is unavoidably delayed, he sends his friend Tareq, who had been his security officer for many years, to escort her throughout the beautiful and exotic city. The last thing anyone expects is that they will fall in love.

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Elena Anaya, Amina Annabi, Tom McCamus
Director: Ruba Nadda
Opened August 6, 2010 (Limited)

Runtime:1 hr. 26 min.
Genres: Romantic Drama, Marriage Drama, Drama


Movie times and tickets for 'Cairo Time' from Fandango

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Eat Pray Love

"Eat Pray Love": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

If there is one constant in "Eat Pray Love," the imperfect yet beautifully rendered adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir on a year of heartbreak and healing starring Julia Roberts — it is this: There will be tears.




Happy tears, sad tears, tears of relief, tears of regret, gut-wrenching sobs, really almost any variation imaginable — and that's just the guy in the next row who didn't think he'd need Kleenex in a movie, ever. So no need to blush if you find yourself getting teary, nearly everyone in the movie — Roberts, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, Viola Davis, Richard Jenkins — cries before it's over too.

Read Sharkey's full review of "Eat Pray Love" at the LA Times

Eat Pray Love


A woman who once made it her goal in life to marry and rear a family finds her priorities suddenly shifting in director Ryan Murphy's adaptation of author Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir. In the eyes of many, Gilbert was a woman who had it all -- a loving husband, a great apartment, and a weekend home -- but sometimes one realizes too little too late that they haven't gotten what they truly wanted from life. On the heels of a painful divorce, the woman who had previously looked forward to a contented life of domesticated bliss sets out to explore the world and seek out her true destiny. Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner produce a film starring Julia Roberts.

Cast: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins, Billy Crudup
Director: Ryan Murphy
Opened August 13, 2010

Runtime:2 hr. 13 min.
PG-13brief strong language, some sexual references and male rear nudity.
Genres: Romantic Drama, Psychological Drama, Drama

Movie times and tickets for Eat Pray Love from Fandango

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