After a long summer of superheroes, singing and sequels, the fall movie season is here. This fall marks the return of a once-heralded director, a long-awaited crime drama and a weekly dose of under-the-radar films. Fall brings in intrigue what summer brought in size.

Here are the five movies released this month that will be worth the price of a ticket.

“Sleeping With Other People”
Director: Leslye Headland
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Natasha Leyonne
Release Date: September 11
A comedic cast around their prime and a director on the rise has this rom-com in a position of high upside. Sudeikis is funny in every role (see “Horrible Bosses”, “We’re the Millers,”) and Brie looks to make a splash in the film world as her roles in “Mad Men” and “Community” arrive at their ends. This is Headland’s third feature film, after 2012’s funny “Bachelorette” and 2014’s “About Last Night.”

“The Visit”
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan
Release Date: September 11
Director M. Night Shyamalan’s last two films were 2013’s Will Smith-flop “After Earth” and the puzzlingly bad “The Last Airbender” in 2010. He returns to the suspense-thriller genre that was the shtick of his early career in an attempt to rid himself of the “has been” label. If this is as good as it seems scary then he has a chance to be known for more than just being “the guy who does the twists at the end.”

“Black Mass”
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson
Release Date: September 17
The infamous story of Whitey Bulger hits the big screen with Johnny Depp in the lead role. Bulger’s life as head of the mob in Boston and FBI informant was the basis of Martin Scorcese’s 2005 drama “The Departed,” but this Scott Cooper film is a direct telling of Bulger’s life. Whether you’re interested in true stories, crime dramas or how Benedict Cumberbatch talks with a Boston accent, “Black Mass” will be one to see.

“Pawn Sacrifice”
Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Lily Rabe, Tobey Maguire
Release Date: September 16
Without a doubt, this is the most highly anticipated, chess-player biopic ever. It doesn’t sound much like an action movie, but this true story rides on American chess legend Bobby Fischer’s (Tobey Maguire) strange place in Cold War history and his celebrity as the greatest chess player of all time. The early reviews are all positive and director Edward Zwick has a great track record (“The Last Samurai”, “Blood Diamond” and “Love and Other Drugs”).

“Everest”
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley
Release Date: September 25
Despite being the tallest mountain and the world’s most famous hike, there really is not a definitive Mt. Everest film. Baltasar Kromákur and Jake Gyllenhaal set out to right that later this month in a story about the 1996 disaster in which eight people died in an attempt to get to the summit. This seems to be this year’s “Gravity” in that it’s the fall thriller sure to surprise the box office and critics. This one is at the top of the must-see list.

Published on September 2, 2015 at 10:33 pm