By The Fall/Winter movie season is probably the best of the year. We get horror with October and then roll on into big blockbusters, holiday greatness and awards season. It’s the best time to watch movies, even though it can be overwhelming at times. To correct this we’ve got a list below of the films you should definitely check out. Why? Because we think they’re going to be awesome.
This winter is proving to be especially awesome. We get a Bond movie, a Star Wars movie, a Hunger Games movie and a Tarantino film all in the span of a few weeks. Movie lovers can’t as for much more. There’s a bit more, though, that you might not have thought about. Read on to check all the greatness out.
Crimson Peak
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Release Date: October 16, 2015
Trailer
While Pacific Rim 2 may be on hold indefinitely (or it may not be stalled), fans of Guillermo del Toro at least have Crimson Peak to look forward to. Starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, and Jessica Chastain, the trailers and stills from the film make it look like an extremely stylish bit of Gothic horror; the sort of lush period piece we rarely see in the horror genre these days. Thankfully this is not a period found footage movie. (Though someone should consider making a short with this conceit, like a haunted Lumiere brothers movie or something.)
Stephen King reportedly saw an early screening of Crimson Peak and said it was “gorgeous and just f**king terrifying.” I understand this King fellow knows a bit about horror. Crimson Peak is rated R rather than PG-13, which means that so long as Del Toro keeps some of his indulgences in check, he might be delivering some of the most beautiful and mature scares of career. — Hubert Vigilla
Goosebumps
Director: Rob Letterman
Release Date: October 16th, 2015
Trailer
Halloween is almost upon us—time for spookems and hobgoblins to start roaming the streets and causing some mischief while skeletons and witches dance around in the moonlight. Oooooh, spooky-scary! Okay so you’re probably a little “mature” for that version of Halloween now. In fact, you’re probably more interested in the kind of Halloween where co-ed tummies are sliced open with rusty hooks and gritty zombie survivalists roam the Earth. But we mustn’t lose touch with our childlike wonder with Halloween, and the upcoming Goosebumps film wants to remind us what Halloween used to be all about.
Taking the popularized meta approach to an old franchise, Goosebumps takes a fictionalized R. L. Stine (Jack Black) and a bunch of kids and pits them against every baddy from the kids’ books as they run amok in the real world. Werewolves, giant bugs, gnomes, vampires, and yes, even Slappy, the ventriloquist dummy, all escape from Stine’s books which were made to serve as a prison to keep the terrors housed up for good. This family friendly comedy-horror is definitely set to reintroduce both new children and nostalgic millennials to Goosebumps, but still looks like it could be a fun Kid’s Halloween Adventure romp in the vein of something like The Monster Squad that just about anyone could enjoy. — John-Charles Holmes
Beasts of No Nation
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Release Date: October 16, 2015
Trailer
Beasts of No Nation might be the most important Netflix streaming release to date; a real potential game changer in terms of film production and distribution. In this adaptation of the Uzodinma Iweala novel of the same name, Idris Elba plays a charismatic mercenary leader in an unnamed African country who leads child soldiers into a brutal civil war. The film is directed by True Detective‘s Cary Fukunaga, and early reviews from the Venice Film Festival have been quite positive. (Even though I thought True Detective season 1 was good but extremely overrated, it was undeniably well-directed and atmospheric.) To secure a spot in awards season, Beasts of No Nation will have a limited theatrical run while simultaneously debuting on Netflix. Big theaters chains are angry about all this. They might be a little worried too. — Hubert Vigilla
Spectre
Director: Sam Mendes
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Trailer
Despite the fact that Sam Smith’s Bond song suck a big fat one, I am still irrationally excited for Spectre. With the conclusion of Skyfall the franchise promised to return to its roots now that we’ve established how Bond became Bond and boy is it ever. Blofeld is coming back, the advertising has been full of subtle throwbacks to Bonds of old and of course there’s a giant evil organization trying to dominate the world from an over blow base (or really large table).
More interesting will be whether or not they actually go old school and completely detach this film from the previous ones. Before Casino Royale Bond had very little continuity, but the last three have all been loosly connected (though Skyfall was all about erasing that connection). We’ll get our answer early; Daniel Craig has yet to have a full blown gun barrell walk across the screen to open a film. If the screen opens with him strutting across in a tux we’ll know Bond is back (again). – Matthew Razak
Spectre
Director: Sam Mendes
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Trailer
Yeah, that’s right. Spectre. Again. One of the first things you learn as a new hire at Flixist is that our esteemed EiC has first dibs on any and everything Bond-related. So when I said, “I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT SPECTRE” for the preview, I was laughed at. But here I am, writing it after Matt, because if it’s worth mentioning, it’s worth mentioning twice. Of all the films releasing this year, Spectre is by far my most anticipated. In a year that brought up the genuinely enjoyable Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation and the at-times-fairly-interesting Man from U.N.C.L.E., it all seems to just be build-up to the real super-spy thriller. Skyfall was gosh damn amazing, and I expect Spectre to be on that level at least, and that means it’ll easily be one of the best films of the year. I don’t know enough about Bond history to really be so excited that Blofeld is back, but I certainly like the idea of a true arch enemy, and Christoph Waltz looks suitably creepy in that teaser. In general, the footage that’s been released looks fantastic, both technically any conceptually. I’m probably not as excited about this as Matt is, but I’m pretty flipping close. – Alec Kubas-Meyer
The Peanuts Movie
Director: Steve Martino
Release Date: November 6th, 2015
Trailer
With all the news of cartoons being mined for nostalgia money lately, I originally wrote off The Peanuts Movie as one of the many failures to come. The project sounded like it was doomed to fail: development from Blue Sky Studios (Rio), Paul Feig was a producer, and the fact that the old Peanuts films still work to this day. But after getting a glimpse at the actual project? I can’t believe it exists. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the cast is full of not well known children, and it’s been approved by the Schultz estate. I’m not sure if I should let myself be as excited as I am, but if this can capture any of the magic the holiday specials have I might be a kid again. The biggest kid in theater, sure, but a kid all the same — Nick Valdez
By The Sea
Director: Angelina Jolie
Release Date: November 13, 2015
Trailer
So of all the more art house movies coming out during awards season I choose By the Seas? A movie that’s getting most of it’s hype from the fact that Brangelina are starring in it together. Yes. For a few reasons. One is that Jolie is seems to have learned some lessons from Unbroken, where her desperation to be taken seriously as a director seemed to overwhelm the film. This time it looks like she’s going for a far more subtle approach that reflects a more French art-house style. The film should also be stunning to look at thanks to its French setting. This one just feels like it should have been Jolie’s directorial debut and that is kind of exciting. Also, Brad and Angelina on screen again! — Matthew Razak
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Director: Francis Lawrence
Release Date: November 20, 2015
Trailer
I was surprised by how much I liked the first Hunger Games film. I was less surprised by how much I liked the second one. By the third one, I was just glad that they seemed to be keeping the quality up. I’ve heard that the first proper trailer for this one looks… not so hot, but that doesn’t necessarily bode poorly for the film. It could just mark the end of the career of that particular editor. I’m not going to see it, though. I never saw any of the trailers before going into the films. I never read the books either, for that matter; I’ve gone in blind every time, just looking for an enjoyable story and maybe some cool action. I’m less looking for awkward teen romance, but that’s what I get for following a YA adaptation. Can’t really fault it for that. Either way, I have no idea what this film is about or what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see this saga to the end. – Alec Kubas-Meyer
The Good Dinosaur
Director: Peter Sohn
Release Date: November 25th, 2015
Trailer
For the first time ever, it turns out we’re getting two Pixar films in a single year. The first was this summer’s amazing Inside Out and the second will be The Good Dinosaur, releasing in theaters this Thanksgiving. The movie poses the radical question of what would’ve happened if the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs actually missed planet Earth and humans and dinosaurs ended up co-existing. We follow an Apatosaurus named Arlo who gets separated from him family and must travel back to find them with the help of a human child named Spot, whom he keeps around like a puppy.
The movie looks equally adorable and awe-inspiring from the trailers we’ve so far with tons of sprawling mountain vistas as the backdrop for the film. The Good Dinosaur will no doubt be Disney’s final smash hit for the year, but hopefully the film that stand up to the massive success of the critically acclaimed Inside Out from earlier this year, despite going through numerous production changes and delays over the past few years since announcement. — John-Charles Holmes
The Night Before
Director: Jonathan Levine
Release Date: November 25th
Trailer
Have we had a truly good bromance in a while? I don’t think so. The genre has become so flooded with films after Apatow turned it into a thing that it’s just become a cliche of itself. The last one that really worked for me was off the top of my head was 50/50. Well, The Night Before has Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt back together with Anthony Mackie thrown in for good measure. And guess what it’s directed by 50/50 director Jonathan Levine. From the trailer it looks like it’s just the right amount of comedy mixed with bromance and drama. It’s a hard balance to nail, but something tells me Levine is going to do it again with this one and we may have a new adult Christmas classic on our hands. — Matthew Razak
Creed
Director: Ryan Coogler
Release Date: November 25th, 2015
Trailer
You know how I got my start on this site three years ago? I once wrote a treatise on the montage in Rocky and decided to publish it here on a whim. It was something in the works for school, so I was hoping the folks on Flixist would enjoy it. And they did! It got put on the main page, and ever since then, I got hooked to writing about film and started me on the path I’m on now. That’s just one of the many special memories the Rocky saga has provided me. It’s my father’s favorite series, he passed on his love of it to me, and although Rocky Balboa provided the best ending I could’ve hoped for, just seeing Stallone embody the persona again was enough to make me emotional. It may be a spin-off, it may not be directed by Stallone himself (but it’s got his approval), but it already feels like a logical step forward. This is the biggest film of the year for me and I’m ready for it. — Nick Valdez
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Director: J.J. Abrams
Release Date: December 18, 2015
Trailer
I know I may be setting myself up for disappointment, but I’m actually excited for the new Star Wars movies. It’s been long enough since the prequels. In fact, with the more diverse cast and a sense of forward momentum, this feels like some truly 21st pop-sci-fi whereas the prequels felt like treading water or a step backwards. To put it another way, it seems like Star Wars is in way better hands now that producer Kathleen Kennedy is overseeing the series rather than George Lucas.
Kennedy promised these new films would embrace practical effects rather than rely almost exclusively on CG, and there’s something both nostalgic and novel about revisiting this universe. J.J. Abrams may be a divisive director in some parts, but I want to believe this will all work out well and he’s going to be more than capable. Of all the movies on this preview, The Force Awakens is the one I will definitely be seeing in theaters opening night. — Hubert Vigilla
The Revenant
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Trailer
I really liked Birdman. And having read some negative criticism from others, it occurs to me that the reasons I think it is so fascinating are fairly different from the reasons that pretty much anyone else does. Nonetheless, as a team, Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezski are capable of some technically brilliant work, and I expect as much from The Revenant. The first film shot on the Alexa 65 and done entirely in natural light, this movie will look unique and undoubtedly gorgeous. Oh, there’s a movie in there too. I dunno what it’s about, but it has Leonardo DiCaprio, and he’s a pretty great actor. (I watched the trailer, but I just remember snow and horses and guns and Leonardo DiCaprio. Maybe that’s all there is to it. I dunno. But it was pretty.) It was also shot in hellish conditions that I expect will serve to make the film visceral in a really interesting way. So I’m excited for this film, whatever it ends up being. Maybe it’ll be a mess, but I’m along for the ride anyway. – Alec Kubas-Meyer
The Hateful Eight
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Trailer
Quentin Tarantino’s playing with the western genre again, and he’s one hell of a cast along for the ride, including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth (aww, I’ve really missed him in Tarantino movies), Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern. The set up seems simple–seven cowboys and one bounty (Leigh) take shelter during a blizzard, a bunch of genre tropes and savvy monologues ensue–but there’s likely to be a lot of intrigue, betrayal, and violence once everyone gets locked in the same place. Tarantino shot The Hateful Eight in 70mm, and is making sure that the select theaters showing the film during its initial release are outfitted with the proper projectors for the film. — Hubert Vigilla
