Fall season offers films by top directors

By Erica Yuenger

After summer blockbusters such as “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, and the Oscar buzz surrounding the late Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”, it may seem like there will be nothing to look forward to at the box office for the remainder of the year. But Hollywood may still have a few hits waiting in the wings, or at least some movies worth seeing to break up the school routine this semester.

The Coen brothers’ latest film, “Burn After Reading,” will be released Sept. 12. This follows other successful films by the duo, such as “O, Brother, Where Art Thou?” and the three-time Academy Award winning “No Country for Old Men”.

Sagan Leasure, a junior in ACES, said the reputation of the Coen brothers alone should attract audiences for “Burn After Reading”.

“Absolutely, I would see it,” Leasure said. “‘O Brother Where Art Thou?’ is one of my favorite movies. If it is anything similar to that, I would definitely go see it.”

“Burn After Reading” stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand, and is being described by movie blog Firstshowing.net as a dark comedy about a CIA agent whose memoirs fall into the wrong hands.

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And for those looking for something a little darker than dark comedy, the latest installment of the “Saw” series will be released on Oct. 24, 2008.

“Saw V” will feature the same twisted mind games and horrific gore that drew viewers to the first four movies.

Whitney Gervelis, junior in AHS, said she thinks “Saw V” may not draw as many crowds as the previous four.

“I saw the first four in theatres, but I do not think I will go see this one,” Gervelis said. “The last few have gotten more gruesome. I might rent it though.”

Fans of the comic book-inspired hits “300” and “Sin City” can see the newest Frank Miller screen adaptation, “The Spirit,” on Dec. 25.

“Frank Miller is an excellent graphic novel creator, and after seeing his work in “300” I have very high hopes for ‘The Spirit’,” said Ryan Koehn, junior in AHS.

The Lionsgate film synopsis said “The Spirit” is a cop returned from the dead to protect Central City from crime. His run-ins with leading ladies Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson prove to be almost as dangerous as his encounters with his enemy, Octopus, played by Samuel L. Jackson. “The Spirit” was originally a newspaper comic created in 1940 by Will Eisner.

One movie that had been highly anticipated for this upcoming fall was “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”.

It was due to be released on Nov. 21, but Warner Bros. announced earlier this month that the release would be delayed to July 17, 2009.

The delay has left millions of fans disappointed.

One disappointed fan is Hilary Levitin, junior in ACES.

“I am very upset because I really thought it was coming out,” Levitin said.

“People wait for so long for these movies to come out.”