Appaloosa
Opening September 17, 2008
When popular actors direct a film, they surround themselves with big name talent. Ed Harris has not stepped behind the camera since killing with 2000's biopic Pollock. Here, he returns with a six-shooter, a drawl, and Viggo Mortensen. The premise is familiar: Jackson and Aragorn show up in a lawless town to battle the resident psychopath (Jeremy Irons) and return order. Renee Zellweger plays the girl and Mortensen's facial hair plays the machismo. Look for whiskey shots, sun-drenched vistas, dust, and bloodshed.



Ghost Town
Opening September 19, 2008
During a colonoscopy, a jerk dentist dies for just under seven minutes. When he is revived he can see dead people; comedy ensues. Though the Heart and Souls meets The Sixth Sense premise is an ominous mélange, with Ricky Gervais as the medium - ala Robert Downey Jr./Haley Joel Osment - affability alone could buoy the material. David Koepp directed and co-scripted and his resumé has relied heavily on effects and cast rather than words (see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spiderman, and Jurassic Park); the same formula might work here. Coming off of the glorious Extras and the Office Gervais was due for a starring vehicle and this will, at the very least, get his name a little more across-the-pond recognition. Greg Kinnear - wasn't he once nominated for an Oscar? - and Téa Leoni also star. -S.T.



Blindness
Opening September 19, 2008
There is an inherent irony to taking sight away from players in a visual medium and it is heightened by the fact that actors can not see you anyway. The conceit is intellectually intriguing. However, making it cinematically interesting can prove problematic. Blindness has a fantastic pedigree: José Saramago wrote the book, the fantastic Don McKellar (if you have not seen Last Night, stop reading and go rent it) scripted, and it stars the divine Julianne Moore, the charismatic Mark Ruffalo (see You Can Count on Me), and the prettier-than-thou Gael García Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries). Following a sudden and unexplained outbreak of blindness in an urban centre, Moore is the only one left sighted and must navigate the impending atrocities and Lord of the Flys-style societal breakdown that engulfs her. Despite the tantalizing creative team, the film took a critical bashing after debuting at Cannes. Regardless of its slightness, any film by Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) will have a visual panache, even if it is ironic. -S.T.



Miracle at St. Anna
Opening September 26, 2008
Marquee directors like going to war (at least cinematically). Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, and Terrence Malick have all made forays into the fray, and Quentin Tarantino is getting set to ship out. War flicks go in and out of vogue, but inevitably return. With inherent pathos, action, death, and other genre tropes, major conflicts are dramatic treasure chests (ask Shakespeare). Spike Lee has lensed his first war epic. Miracle at St. Anna follows a cabal of Second World War soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. The story is anchored by a 1983 storyline about a shocking murder. Thanks to Inside Man Lee is again getting the backing he needs to tell big budget stories. Lead by the always fantastic Derek Luke, who broke out with a powerful performance in Antwone Fisher but has had to endure second-rate films and characters for too long (see Definitely Maybe and Lions for Lambs), the cast is stellar. Joseph Gordon Levitt (Mysterious Skin, Brick) continues to diversify his reel as a reporter in search of the proverbial truth and this should get him some much deserved. Furthermore, John Turturro, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, and John Leguizamo also star. -S.T.