Fall film guide -- a novel approach
How fitting that the oldest extant piece of Western literature, "Beowulf," will be coming this fall to a theater near us.
It's now a movie from Chicago's own Robert Zemeckis. It stars Angelina Jolie, wearing not much more than body oil. "Beowulf" was never like this in English lit.
I mention "Beowulf" because it's indicative of an unusual fall movie season that has descended upon us. Take a look at the films coming out during the next nine weeks. Notice anything unusual?
Hollywood has come up with a novel approach to the fall films. I count at least a dozen movies based on books or other literary sources such as plays ("Sleuth"), diaries ("Into the Wild"), magazine articles ("Trade"), graphic novels ("30 Days of Night"), and, of course, one ancient epic poem.
Hollywood's novel approach this season doesn't stop there. On the schedule I see just three sequels, not 60 kazillion sequels as we normally get from nervous Hollywood executives trying to cut risks by greenlighting movies based on earlier movies, video games and theme park rides.
For the record, at least two movies are based on video games ("Hitman" and "Resident Evil: Extinction"). Three films are remakes. So it's not a 100 percent novel season. Close enough.
This handful of supposedly safer, proven movies will square off with loftier, literary-inspired works such as "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford," "The Jane Austen Book Club" and "Gone Baby Gone." No matter how the box office goes, we the public will win at the theaters this fall.
So, here are the fall movies of 2007, all the way through Nov. 16. Remember that release dates can change faster than Superman in a telephone booth (if he could find one left in Metropolis).
So save this guide to the fall movies, put it on the refrigerator or in some other prominent place for safe keeping, then check each Friday's Time out! movie section.
Make this a novel approach to watching movies.