Not Really a Lot to Post

Been a slow week here at the ranch, and on top of that I got sick. So even slower. But hey, what'll ya do. In place of actual content, I will remind you again that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the best show on television (and yes, I do watch LOST and have seen a few episodes of 24), and if you missed it, you're just cutting yourself off from that much more brilliance. I also saw Heroes, which I like most for the promise that it's (possibly inadvertantly) making us of a serialized weekly series that builds to something truly groundbreaking. At least that's what I've taken from it.

In place of more content, here's the movies that you should be watching for this fall. I have around 40 on the docket between now and year's end, but this is the stuff I'm looking forward to the most. Writing this, I feel like I may have already done one of these. But whatever. It's my blog, dammit! Links will take you to trailers.

THE DEPARTED (Oct. 6) - Martin Scorsese returns to the streets, and the streets of Boston no less. If the trailer doesn't grab you, the cast should. Leo DiCaprio's gone from being my most hated actor to being one of my favorites, Matt Damon may just be the best actor of his generation, and Jack Nicholson...yeah.

MARIE ANTOINETTE (Oct. 20) - Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst. I'm sold. Throw into that a very non-traditional take on the biopic. The trailer looks fantastic, and if that's a preview of the mood for the movie, I can't wait. Hell, I can't wait anyway.

THE PRESTIGE (Oct. 20) - First, yeah...I'm gonna have to catch this and the above flick opening night. What'll you do. Christian Bale is, in my opinion, the most magnetic, engaging screen actor working today, and Hugh Jackman's on a rise this year from action hero to full-fledged star. Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, Memento) directs, and it could be his best to date.

TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (Nov. 17) - If the trailer's any indication, this will not be everybody's comedy the way Anchorman or Old School or School of Rock were. It's just gonna be sheer insanity. But one hundred percent D.

THE FOUNTAIN (Nov. 22) - If you haven't heard about this, you probably haven't asked me what'll be worth watching this fall. Just when I was about ready to count out any truly original thought happening in big-budget science fiction, I hear that this can easily be compared to 2001: A Space Oddysey. But with emotions. This is the one that just might make Hugh Jackman if it succeeds, and could establish Darren Aronofsky (PI, Requiem for a Dream).

APOCALYPTO (Dec. 8) - This is really just here because I've heard it's astoundingly great and I'm afraid people will pass it up because of what People Magazine tells them.

WE ARE MARSHALL (Dec. 22) - I'm don't inherently like football movies, but this, about the true story of rebuilding a college football squad after the team died in a plane crash, looks about as promising a movie as you can ask for. Plus, it looks like the only damn feel-good movie coming out around Christmas that'll actually be good.

CHILDREN OF MEN (Dec. 25) - Remember when I said I'd just about counted out any truly original thought happening in big-budget sci-fi? What're the odds that could have the chance to be proven wrong twice in the same year? The best part may just be the simplicity of the concept, but something tells me that's just the start.

PAN'S LABYRINTH (Dec. 29) - Here's the big one. The ad budget for this is tiny (finally saw a theatrical trailer before The Science of Sleep), but every single review I've seen has been overwhelmingly positive, which is more than can be said for any other movie on this list. It's supposed to be a hell of a lot scarier than the trailer has it, so be warned, but it's also supposed to be masterpiece.