By Anne Baker
Summer, with its influx of big-budget blockbusters, is usually the season for films that leave viewers entertained but unmoved.
But for those looking for more, fall is back with inventive filmmaking that promises to woo viewers to the big screen with a slew of Oscar-worthy films.
Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline continues its usual repertoire of independent screenings this fall. According to its website, the art-deco style theatre was founded in 1933 and is committed to its motto, “Enlightenment through entertainment.” Look forward to films in the vein of “Two Days in Paris,” which stars Julie Delpy and is screening today (see www.coolidge.org for show times). The theatre will also continue its summer Big Screen Classics series until Sept. 17, with showings of “Citizen Kane” Sept. 10 and “Chinatown” Sept. 17, both at 7 p.m.
Students looking for a fresh experience can head to one of Boston’s many upcoming film festivals. The Independent Film Channel wraps up its Free Film Fest tonight with a showing of “Napolean Dynamite” at sunset in Copley Square. The 23rd annual Boston Film Festival will be held at the AMC Loews Boston Common from Sept. 14 to 21. (See www.bostonfilmfestival.org for show schedules and pricing information.) Those looking for cultural themed festivals need not look farther than the Museum of Fine Arts, which sponsors both the Boston Jewish Film Festival and the Boston Festival of Films from Iran in November.
Free of box office competition that marks summer movie releases, Hollywood filmmakers exhibit a creative streak with this fall’s offerings. Wes Anderson’s new flick, “Darjeeling Limited,” follows three bothers (played by Owen Wilson, Adrienne Brody and Jason Schwartzman) on a train ride across India as they search for their mother and, inevitably, themselves. It opens Sept. 29.
The Coen Brothers, of “Big Lebowski” fame, present “No Country for Old Men,” an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel. After a hunter, portrayed by Josh Brolin, discovers several dead bodies, heroin and almost $2 million, he takes the cash, setting off a violent chain of events. Opening Nov. 9, the movie channels the darker side of the Coens,
“Across the Universe,” starring Evan Rachel Wood and newcomer Jim Sturgess, is a musical chronicling the lives of young lovers Lucy and Jude as they live through the turbulent times of the 1960s. Featuring cast renditions of music from The Beatles and pyschedelic imagery, the film has received major buzz, including a spot in Entertainment Weekly’s poll of the 25 films its staff is most looking forward to. It’s in wide release Sept. 21.
Like summer, fall also presents a slew of movies starring big names. “The Brave One,” starring Jodi Foster, is out Sept. 14 and takes a new spin on the tired revenge flick. Long awaited, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” stars Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck and will be in wide release Sept. 21. Vince Vaughn pulls out all comedic stops as Santa Claus’ little brother in “Fred Claus,” out Nov. 9.
