Fall Into Fall

I will take fall movies over summer movies anyday. Don't get me wrong. Summer movies are enjoyable, funny, and at times, pointless. I didn't really get a chance to see too many of the movies released this summer except for The Devil Wears Prada and Pirates of the Caribbean, but then again, everyone, and I mean everyone, saw Johnny Depp this summer. When I was home, I rented Poseidon and Silent Hill from Drug Mart. I can see why Poseidon didn't float in the theaters and I hate horror movies with endings that don't make sense (American Haunting, which me and Adam still don't know what the hell happened at the end of that movie). Summer movies, with the rare exception of Pirates, can be completely forgettable.

Fall movies however, these are the movies the man always loves and pays attention to, the man being a little gold man named Oscar. This is the time when the best of the best in the business releases their newest projects. And two in particular are getting me already foaming at the mouth with excitement. I love movies that capture the 1940s and 50s on the big screen. It was such a beautiful glamorous time though every movie it seems love capturing the underbelly of such times in America. Recently, Capote showed the brutal murders in rural Kansas that shocked a nation with the seemingly pointless violence behind them and L.A. Confidential focuses on conspiracies, cover-ups and dirty cops.

Today, Hollywoodland opens in theaters, starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, and Ben Affleck, who after flops like Surviving Christmas and Gigli, decided that taking a break was a good thing and it was for I heard his performance in this film as tv Superman George Reeves is impeccable. Taking place in 1959, Adrien Brody is a private eye who becomes obsessed with solving the mystery behind the death of Reeves, who was said to have killed himself.

And then next Friday, we get The Black Dahlia, the tale of the infamous murder of Elizabeth Short in 1940s L.A., which still remains unsolved to this day. I don't tell too many people this because they find it disturbing but I am obsessed with crime. One of my favorite websites is http://www.crimelibrary.com/, which I visit weekly. I ask for crime books for Christmas every year and my mother is always afraid to buy me one because she never knows which ones I own. About a year and a half ago, I bought The Black Dahlia Avenger by Steve Hodel, a man who claims to have solved the decades old crime, stating that his father was responsible for the murder of the young actress. It was an enticing read and I finished it in a weekend. Whether or not I believe this case is solved is still up in the air. The new movie starring Josh Hartnett as a detective who becomes obsessed with the case is written based on the book by the same man, James Ellroy, who penned LA Confidential. This man is an expert in my opinion on detective noir films therefore I am anticipating this one more than any other movie this fall, even more than *gasp* Martin Scorsese's newest The Departed, though I know I'll see it. I've already recruited Bill to come and see Dahlia when he visits me at the end of September since he is a huge fan of 50s noir films and is in fact responsible for turning my interest onto such films.

If interested in seeing 10 films that critics are already claiming to be contenders for Best Picture of the year, here is a link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/oscar-watch.htm. This season is getting me excited with the release of these two new movies within a week of each other. Good thing I have a job because it looks like I'll be going to the theater a lot this season.