Fall Movie Preview: Must-See Films

Just as we count on summer to bring us movies with thrilling action sequences and eye-popping effects, we expect our fall films to be considerably less ... loud. But while Oscar season may be upon us, this fall's lineup is an eclectic lot, and it's certainly not all Oscar bait and biopics.

We get another dose of 'Transformers' star Megan Fox (in the horror flick 'Jennifer's Body'), a comedy ensemble reuniting Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau ('Couples Retreat'), a vampire romance sequel you may have heard of ('New Moon') ... even a Roland Emmerich disaster movie ('2012').

And of course, it wouldn't be fall without Oscar bait (Rob Marshall's musical '9') and biopics (the Hilary Swank starrer 'Amelia'). As autumn approaches, we look ahead at 35 of the season's most buzzworthy films.

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SEPTEMBER

'Extract'
Release Date: Sept. 4
Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck
The Scoop: In this comedy written and directed by cult fave Mike Judge ('Office Space'), Bateman plays a miserable manufacturing-plant owner who manages a staff of idiots, whose wife may be cheating, and who may be about to lose the whole operation with a lawsuit that could lead to bankruptcy. So, yes, it's like the opposite of 'Office Space' -- this time we'll side with the company brass, and we'll like it.
| Watch the trailer |

'Jennifer's Body'
Release Date: Sept. 18
Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody
The Scoop: Megan Fox mania has hit borderline-ridiculous heights, and now comes the sex symbol's steamiest role yet: as an impossibly seductive high school cheerleader who eats up the guys in her school. Literally. 'Transformers' fanboys can thank 'Juno' scribe Diablo Cody, who dreamed up this bloody romp, for all ensuing fantasies.
| Watch the trailer |

'The Informant!'
Release Date: Sept. 18
Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale
The Scoop: Damon and his 'Ocean's' director Steven Soderbergh reunite for the absurdly hilarious true tale of Mark Whitacre, an Archer Midland Daniels exec who, while helping the FBI expose a price-fixing scheme at the agribusiness giant, came to believe he was a superspy AND swindled the company out of millions (classic!). Damon grew a sweet 'stache and packed on 30 pounds for the part, so bring on the Oscar buzz.

'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'
Release Date: Sept. 18
Starring: The voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Mr. T
The Scoop: Flint Lockwood's (Hader) inventions all go bad -- except the one that makes food fall from the sky, saving folks from the fate of an all-sardine diet. Of course, his creation does go awry, and Flint's gotta save the city from being crushed by chow. Inspired by a popular kids' book, the 3-D 'Cloudy' looks to be flavorful family fare.
| Watch the trailer |

'The Burning Plain'
Release Date: Sept. 18
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger
The Scoop: Writer/director Guillermo Arriaga ('21 Grams,' 'Babel') brings another of his trademark dramas -- lots of pain, suffering and damaged characters, intersecting and overlapping plotlines -- to the screen with this affecting film that leaves viewers with a (gasp!) redemptive, hopeful aftertaste. Oscar voters will take note.
| Watch the trailer |

'Surrogates'
Release Date: Sept. 25
Starring: Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Rosamund Pike
The Scoop: Imagine a future where people live their lives through robotic surrogates -- no crime, no consequences, endless possibilities. Until the surrogates start killing their humans, that is. This is one of those futuristic thrillers that makes you happy that robot technology hasn't become available to the masses quite yet.
| Watch the trailer |

'Fame'
Release Date: Sept. 25
Starring: Naturi Naughton, Debbie Allen
The Scoop: Looks like those kids really ARE gonna live forever. Alan Parker's 1980 classic gets a facelift (read: a younger, perkier cast; different characters) in this sort-of remake, geared toward a generation weaned on 'Step Up' and 'So You Think You Can Dance' -- in fact, one of its relatively unknown stars is 'SYTYCD' contestant Kherington Payne. Remember their names!
| Watch the trailer |

'Coco Before Chanel'
Release Date: 9/25
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde
The Scoop: Before she was Chanel, she was simply Coco. Based on a biography by Edmonde Charles-Roux, the film depicts the extraordinary life of the fashion icon, here played by Audrey Tautou. The biopic finds the 'Amelie' star in decidedly less adorable -- but just as stylish -- territory as the hat-maker and seamstress who overcomes odds to create a fashion movement that personifies the modern woman.
| Watch the trailer |

Also in September
Sandra Bullock is the world's cutest stalker in 'All About Steve,' with Bradley Cooper as her object of affection ... Action movies and videogames finally mate in the Gerard Butler starrer 'Gamer' ... Elijah Wood voices the title character in the trippy animated '9' ... Kate Beckinsale fights frigid temperatures (oh, and a sadistic killer) in 'Whiteout' ... Tyler Perry's back at it with 'Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All Myself,' written and directed by Tyler Perry ... Somebody knows what Rumer Willis and sisters did last semester in the horror flick 'Sorority Row' ... Jane Campion details the tortured love of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) in 'Bright Star' ... 'Love Happens' for widowed self-help guru Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston ... The documentary 'No Impact Man' actually follows a no-impact family living green ... Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster are lost in space in 'Pandorum' ... Liam Neeson is a grieving widower in 'The Other Man' ... John Krasinski makes his directorial debut conducting 'Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.'