A new semester at any university poses its triumphs and challenges, but just as this academic period unfurls, so does a fresh slate of films to enjoy. Whether it is to celebrate or decompress, viewing cinema in any form provides a great respite for the complicated ebbs and flows of being a college student, and the robust set of movies this fall are sure to do the trick in that regard.
It is also worth noting that the UTM’s Flight Crew hosts for students many free showings of new releases at the local Cine Theatre, located at 163 University Plaza Dr., Martin, TN, 38237. Stay updated with your UTM portal for this amazing perk, and you can always check for regular showtimes for the majority of these films by calling (731) 587-9742 or visiting https://moviesinmartin.com/.
The following are the most notable entries in the fall film season:
Aug. 26
Samaritan
This subversive and gritty take on the superhero genre follows a 13-year-old boy who suspects his reclusive neighbor (Sylvester Stallone) is actually a former superhero in hiding named Samaritan, who was presumed dead 25 years before. (PG-13/Amazon Prime)
Sept. 2
Spider-Man: No Way Home- The More Fun Stuff Version
No, your eyes do not deceive you. To commemorate 60 years of Spider-Man, Marvel is gifting its fans an extended cut of last year’s smash success and rapturous crossover event, complete with even more web-slinging shenanigans and multiversal exploits. (PG-13/Theaters)
Sept. 8
Pinocchio
The beloved Disney animated classic receives a live action incarnation from the legendary director of Forrest Gump and Back to the Future. Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Keegan-Michael Key co-star in this enchanting tale of a wooden puppet who yearns to be a real boy.(PG/Disney+)
Sept. 9
Barbarian
After starring as the wicked clown Pennywise in the It films, Bill Skarsgård adds another blood-curdling entry to his horror film repertoire. A pressed young woman discovers that a mysterious man (Skarsgård) is already lodging in her Airbnb and decides to stay against her better judgment. Needless to say, she probably should have left. (R/Theaters)
Sept. 16
The Woman King
Oscar winner Viola Davis headlines this historical action epic as the fierce General Nanisca, who valiantly defended her powerful African kingdom of Dahomey from trespassers and invaders. John Boyega (the Star Wars sequel trilogy) and Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel, No Time to Die) co-star. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Sept. 23
Don’t Worry Darling
Actress-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde follows up her acclaimed 2019 feature debut Booksmart with this beguiling psychological thriller, which follows a housewife (Florence Pugh, Little Women and Black Widow) living with her husband (Harry Styles) in a 1950s suburbia simulation as her artificial reality begins to deteriorate. (R/Theaters)
Sept. 28
Blonde
A haunting rumination on the mythology of celebrity, Blonde distills a fictional, fanciful and raw account of Marilyn Monroe, played by Ana de Armas (Knives Out), and her fractured identity. This adaptation of the acclaimed Joyce Carol Oates novel is not biographical but a deeper symbolic and poetic labyrinth. (NC-17/Netflix)
Sept. 30
Bros
This riotous yet sweet film represents a pivotal moment for representation as the first gay romantic comedy released by a major studio. Led and co-written by comedian Billy Eichner, the movie is about two men with commitment issues who attempt a relationship. (R/Theaters)
Hocus Pocus 2
Just in time for spooky season, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as a trio of raucous witches intent to wreak havoc on modern-day Salem in this long-belated sequel to the 1993 classic. (PG/Disney+)
Smile
A spine-tingling horror story with a gonzo twist, Smile chronicles a doctor struggling to survive a supernatural threat that manifests in the unnervingly strained and forced grins of the victims it possesses. (R/Theaters)
Oct. 7
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
Adapted from the whimsical children’s book, this family-friendly musical features an eccentric singing crocodile named Lyle (voiced by vocal artist Shawn Mendes) who befriends a lonely boy in New York City. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Oct. 14
Halloween Ends
Following the calamitous events of 2021’s Halloween Kills, a rageful and grizzled Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) stages the ultimate standoff against slasher entity Michael Myers in this chilling finale of the legacy sequel trilogy to the 1978 original. (R/Theaters)
White Bird: A Wonder Story
Another poignant plea for kindness, this spinoff to the 2017 tear-jerker Wonder highlights that film’s bully Julian as his grandmother (Helen Mirren) recounts her harrowing childhood as a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France and the compassionate family that hid her. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Oct. 21
Black Adam
Before he appears in future Shazam! installments, Dwayne Johnson brings his mammoth star power to the super-powered origin story for one of DC Comics’ most formidable antagonists. After Egyptian deities bestowed upon the titular villain godlike powers and imprisoned him for 5,000 years, a freed Black Adam seeks to inflict his own form of twisted justice upon the modern world. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Ticket to Paradise
Julia Roberts and George Clooney lend their rugged movie star charisma to this modern screwball comedy, which follows a bickering divorced couple that travels to Bali to thwart the impetuous wedding of their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever), who they fear is repeating their blunder. (PG-13/Theaters)
Oct. 28
Till
This stirring biographical drama chronicles Mamie Till-Mobley’s (Danielle Deadwyler, The Harder They Fall) relentless pursuit of justice for the infamous 1955 lynching of her 14-year-old son Emmett Till. Whoopi Goldberg co-stars in a devastating story of grief and racial injustice. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Nov. 4
My Policeman
In 1950s Brighton, Tom (Harry Styles), a policeman in a passionate love affair with a man named Patrick but stifled by social constraints at the time, marries Marion (The Crown‘s Emma Corrin) out of conformity, and the three characters’ shared secret yields seismic repercussions on their lives. (R/Amazon Prime)
Amsterdam
Three friends (Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington) become embroiled in a murder conspiracy in the 1930s in this sprawlingly outrageous ensemble dramedy, which also features the dynamic talents of Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Meyers, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Nov. 11
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Affected by the untimely and tragic passing of star Chadwick Boseman, the sequel to the 2018 smash hit, cultural landmark and 30th chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall depicts the leaders of advanced African nation Wakanda as they reel from the death of their beloved King T’Challa (Boseman) and combat against infringing world powers, notably Namor and his underwater Atlantis-esque kingdom. This vital comic opera seeks to honor the legacy of both its predecessor and Boseman. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
Nov. 18
She Said
A clinical yet sensitivity told investigative drama, She Said recounts the New York Times reporters (Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) who exposed sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, spawning the #MeToo movement and exposing decades of silence around assault and harassment in the entertainment industry. (Rating TBD/Theaters)
The Menu
A tantalizingly dark comic thriller, The Menu skewers the upper class and highfalutin restaurant culture. A young couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a remote island to dine at the lavish eatery of a mysterious celebrity chef (Ralph Fiennes), but their experience with his conceptual art cuisine may be more sinister than they realize. (R/Theaters)
Pick up a copy of The Pacer later this year for the winter film release preview.
Photo Credit/Universal-Warner Brothers-Marvel Studios-Disney-Sony
