There's filler, thrillers, and a few populist romps – but for once, this season offers plenty of crackers. DONALD CLARKEtakes a look at what's in store...
OVER THE past decade or so, the final third of the year has, in cinematic terms, settled into a wearyingly familiar pattern. First we get drab filler – stuff that works neither as summer blockbuster fare nor Christmas comfort food – then, when the holly goes up, the studios launch their big family films and the worthy pieces constructed to attract Oscar voters.
This year, the latter half of the season does fit the template. Supposed awards magnets such as Moneyballand We Bought a Zoojostle for position with populist romps such as Tintinand Puss in Boots. But there is, for once, plenty to enjoy in autumn. Don't miss the fiery Drive, the luscious Melancholiaand the brain-jarring We Need to Talk About Kevin. Yes, there's plenty to savour before those bloody chipmunks recommence their reign of terror.
SEPTEMBER 23
CRAZY, STUPID, LOVEOffbeat romcom from the folk who brought you I Love You Phillip Morris. Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Maris Tomei are all on board.
DRIVESplendid existential thriller from the innovative Nicholas Winding Refn. Ryan Gosling is behind the wheel. Received both a standing ovation and the best director prize at Cannes.
PAGE ONE: A YEAR INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMESHighly praised documentary on the perils facing the magnificent, irreplaceable medium that is print journalism. The internet cackles in the corner.
MADEMOISELLE CHAMBONStéphane Brizé's drama concerning a teacher who falls for one her charge's parents promises inappropriate clinches.
SOUL SURFERDrama about a young surfer who continued to ride the waves after losing her arm in a shark attack. Skeletor plays . . . Sorry, that's not right. Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid play the girl's parents.
WARRIORBuzzed-about drama following burly Tom Hardy's efforts to triumph in the bloody world of mixed martial arts. Not aimed at the Merchant Ivory demographic.
SEPTEMBER 28
ABDUCTIONTaylor Lautner sets out to uncover mysteries when – to his great surprise – he finds his own baby photograph on a missing person's website.
SEPTEMBER 30
CANE TOADS: THE CONQUEST 3DRemember that cool Australian short about the titular amphibians? Well, Bufo marinus now gets to star in its own horror feature. And it's in 3D.
THE DEBTJohn Madden directs a thriller concerning the Mossad's efforts to track down a notorious Nazi war criminal. Helen Mirren gets to brandish the Uzi.
MELANCHOLIAArch provocateur Lars Von Trier returns with a family drama that takes place as the world faces apocalypse. Ironically, despite that notorious Cannes press conference, this beautiful film is among his least confrontational.
RED STATEDespite a recent string of turkeys, Kevin Smith remains a hero to many filmgoers. Perhaps they can make sense of his broad attack – framed as a horror film – on America's Christian right.
WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?Who doesn't love Anna Farris? Idiots, that's who. The amusing actor's latest comedy finds her tracking down a series of ex-boyfriends. Zachary Quinto is among the throng. Illogical!
OCTOBER 7TH
DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARKThe words "Guillermo Del Toro presents" are usually worth heeding. The latest horror from that source stars Katie Holmes as somebody trapped in a terrifying domestic situation. No jokes, please.
JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORNYes, the 2003 spy spoof was popular enough to spawn a sequel. Rowan Atkinson is back as an incompetent version of James Bond. Unlikely to be easily confused with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
THE LION KING 3D We didn’t order this. Whether you like the idea or not, Disney has applied 3D to one of their 1990s classics. Oh well. Hakuna matata.
MIDNIGHT IN PARISThe latest Woody Allen film, in which Owen Wilson is transported back to Paris of the lost generation, is his best reviewed and most financially successful in years.
PERFECT SENSEThe second film from David MacKenzie to be released this season stars Ewan McGregor as a scientist who falls in love while an epidemic ravages the world.
TYRANNOSAURA big hit at Sundance, Paddy Considine's directorial debut follows a woman as she tries to escape an abusive relationship.
OCTOBER 12
THE THREE MUSKETEERS 3DWhat more needs to be said? Orlando Bloom and Christoph Waltz are among the cast. It's in stupid 3D. Paul Anderson (the Resident Evilman, not the Magnoliabloke) directs.
OCTOBER 14
ALBATROSSJessica Brown-Findlay — her out of Downton Abbey— stars in a drama about a girl who falls in love while working at a seaside hotel. Felicity Jones is among the supporting players.
DOLPHIN TALESounds unimaginably harmless. It's an old-school family film about a kid who takes care of an injured dolphin. Dr Morgan Freeman is on hand to fashion the aquatic mammal a new tale. Aww!
FOOTLOOSEFootloose! Kick off my Sunday shoes! Yes, it's a remake of that Kevin Bacon romp from the 1980s. This time, something called Kenny Wormald is shaking up the puritans.
PARKEDWinner of the best first feature at the Galway Film Fleadh, Darragh Byrne's touching film stars Colm Meaney as a lonely man who, after moving back to Dublin, is forced to live in his car.
REAL STEELThis shameless, hi-tech mash-up of The Champand Rockyfinds Hugh Jackman involved in the world of robot boxing. Advance word is surprisingly positive.
SLEEPING BEAUTYBizarre Australian drama concerning a young fool (koala-eyed Emily Browning) caught up in a high-end prostitution racket. Greeted with guffaws at Cannes.
THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLDAfter the distinctly ropy Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, Morgan Spurlock needs to claw back respectability. His latest high- concept doc focuses on product placement.
OCTOBER 21ST
CONTAGIONEverybody still yearns to work with Steven Soderbergh. The erratic auteur's new film features Cotillard, Damon, Winslet, Law, Fishburne and Paltrow in the season's second killer epidemic movie.
JUDY MOODY AND THE BUMMER SUMMERIf the film lives up to its title, then to its title it will live up. Young advisers tell us that Megan McDonald's Judy Moodybooks are quite the thing at little-league reading groups.
MONTE CARLOHalf-term already? Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy star as three young things transported to the Monacan capitol for a period of monkeying about in long dresses.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3Boo! The first film was a lot of fun, but it was something of a one-joke affair. At any rate, Paramount is serving up further chills for Halloween.
RESTLESSFollowing Milk, Gus Van Sant moves even further away from his avant- garde roots with a romance concerning an indie kid who falls for a girl with a terminal illness. The ubiquitous Mia Wasikowska coughs prettily.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVINVividly heightened adaptation of Lionel Shriver's controversial novel concerning the lead-up to a high school massacre. Tilda Swinton is the unfortunate mother in Lynne Ramsay's singular drama.
OCTOBER 26
ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: SECRET OF THE UNICORNThe Christmas blockbuster season comes earlier and earlier. It will be interesting to see if the cub reporter – brought to stop- motion life by Steven Spielberg – has purchase with young folk.
THE HELPThe surprise box-office smash of the summer in the US, Tate Taylor's adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel examines race relations during the Civil Rights era.
OCTOBER 28
ANONYMOUSOh how we laughed when we heard that Roland Emmerich was planning a film about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. In a nice bit of casting, Vanessa Redgrave plays the older Queen Elizabeth and her daughter, Joely Richardson, essays the monarch in earlier years.
THE IDES OF MARCHOscar season is properly upon us. Based loosely on the adventures of Democratic hopeful Howard Dean, George Clooney's drama deals with a fraught presidential campaign.
NOVEMBER 1
IN TIMEAndrew Niccol, director of Gattaca, returns to sci-fi with a movie set in a world where nobody ages after 25. Given that it includes Justin Timberlake, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried and Alex Pettyfer, this is, presumably, also a world without ugly people.
NOVEMBER 4
SENSATIONTom Hall, the gifted co-creator of Bachelor's Walk, directs an impressively grubby drama about sexual goings on in the Irish midlands. Domhnall Gleeson stars.
THE FUTUREMany people liked Miranda July's You, Me and Everyone We Know. Many others thought it was insufferable, twee, self-regarding twaddle. Her new picture promises more indie larks.
JACK GOES BOATINGRecognise the Nouvelle Vague reference in the title? Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut stars the man himself as a limousine driver adrift in New York. Amy Ryan also takes an oar.
MACHINE GUN PREACHERIf we have to watch Gerard Butler, then we want to watch him in films with titles like Machine Gun Preacher. It's an adaptation of a Henry James novella. Not really.
JUNKHEARTSThe gifted short-film director Tinge Krishnan moves into features with a promising drama starring Eddie Marsan as an ex- soldier who links up with a troubled teenager.
THE RUM DIARYHopes are high for Bruce Robinson's first feature in nearly 20 years. The Withnail & Iman directs Johnny Depp in a tale of Puerto Rican debauchery. The Hunter S Thompson adaptation has, however, been lurking in the vault for more than a year.
STRAW DOGSOh, come on! Do we really need a remake of Sam Peckinpah's most controversial movie? James Marsden and Kate Bosworth are the couple troubled by gap-toothed locals in a secluded (American, this time) village. Watch out for the mantrap.
TOWER HEISTAssisted by Eddie Murphy, the hard-working employees of a tower block attempt to rob nasty Alan Alda's penthouse. The dread Brett Ratner directs.
NOVEMBER 11
ARTHUR CHRISTMASThe good people at Aardman Animation offer us a seasonal comedy concerning Santa's son and his efforts to live up to daunting familial expectation. Sadly, this is not one of Aardman's claymation projects.
IMMORTALSIn the unlikely event that you can't wait for Clash of the Titans 2, then this 3D tale of squabbling Greek Gods should tide you over. John Hurt is Zeus. Mickey Rourke is King Hyperion. Good grief.
A NIGHT IN THE WOODSWho doesn't enjoy a haunted forest flick? That appears to be the best way of describing this movie from first- time director Richard Parry.
SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FANWayne Wang's career has been spluttering for a few decades, but he hopes to get back on track with this adaptation of an admired novel by Lisa See. Gianna Jun and Li Bing Bing star in the Chinese epic.
TABLOIDWe will always clear a space at the table for Errol Morris. The peerless documentarian's latest tells the story of Joyce McKinney, who was accused of raping a Mormon missionary in 1977.
WUTHERING HEIGHTSAndrea Arnold, director of Fish Tank, takes a rough' n' tumble approach to Emily Bronte's untouchable novel. Kaya Scodelario from Skinsplays Cathy. James Howson, a black actor, is cast as Heathcliff. Interesting.
NOVEMBER 18
MY WEEK WITH MARILYNMichelle Williams stars as Marilyn Monroe in an investigation of the actor's experiences shooting The Prince and the Showgirlin London. Kenneth Branagh finally gets to play Laurence Olivier.
SEEKING JUSTICEYou can't beat a good vigilante thriller. Here Nicolas Cage is a middle-class guy who enlists hoodlums to help him avenge an assault upon his wife.
TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 1The Twilightpeople have, with utter cynicism, taken a cue from Harry Potter and split the final episode in two. Bill Condon, director of Gods and Monsters, grabs the megaphone.
NOVEMBER 21
47 RONINJeez. How many renegade samurai do you need? Somehow or other, Keanu Reeves has ended up in this take on a Japanese legend.
NOVEMBER 25
50/50Jonathan Levine, director of The Whackness, attempts to draw humour from the subject of cancer diagnosis. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan star.
THE DEEP BLUE SEAThe Terrence Rattigan centenary continues with a hugely promising project. Terrence Davies directs Rachel Weisz in a version of Rattigan's play about doomed love.
MONEYBALLBennett Miller's film stars Brad Pitt as the manager who strived to turn the Oakland As into a successful baseball team. Aaron Sorkin's name above the script invites comparisons with The Social Network.
OUTSIDE BETQuite a few old friends - Jenny Agutter, Bob Hoskins, Rita Tushingham -
turn up in this tale of financial excess during the 1980s.
WANDERLUSTIn what sounds like the perfect set-up for a sitcom, polished urbanites Jenifer Aniston and Paul Rudd accidentally end up in a hippie commune.
RESISTANCEIt's about time we had another film that wondered what would have happened if the Axis had won the second World War. This effort is set in Wales and stars Michael Sheen and Andrea Riseborough.
DECEMBER 2
ANOTHER EARTHSurprisingly, the title does not appear to be allegorical. This slippery science-fiction film imagines, yes, another Earth appearing over the horizon.
HAPPY FEET TWOSequel to the popular dancing penguin animation brings Robin Williams back to the microphone and George Miller back to the director's chair.
HUGOMartin Scorsese has never moved further from his transgressive beginnings. The maste's latest, filmed in 3D, is a family film set in a fantastic version of Paris.
THE THINGSee Footlooseand Straw Dogspreviously. The publicity information claims this is a prequel to John Carpenter's remake of the 1950s sci-fi shocker. However, the trailer looks awfully familiar.
WE HAVE A POPEIn different times, Nanni Moretti's satire on the papacy (the new pontiff gets cold feet) would have seemed pretty daring. Not so now.
DECEMBER 9
NEW YEAR'S EVERemember Valentine's Day? Well, this is the same movie, only set on December 31st. Gary Marshall has persuaded De Niro, Pfeiffer, Bon Jovi, Efron and many others to enact interweaving stories.
PUSS IN BOOTSIt could be argued that Antonio Banderas's Puss was the funniest thing in the last few Shrekmovies. Can he sustain a whole movie? We'll find out at Christmas.
DECEMBER 16
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKEDYou may well snort, but the first two Chipmunks movies made a staggering amount for 20th Century Fox.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWSGuy Ritchie redeemed himself with the first steampunk take on Conan Doyle's detective. The second features Jared Harris as Moriarty and (perfect) Stephen Fry as Mycroft, Holmes's even smarter brother.
DECEMBER 23
WE BOUGHT A ZOOWhere have you been, Cameron Crowe? Developing, it seems, a film about a family that pooled its savings to buy a zoo. Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson are among those foolishly appearing with both children and animals.
DECEMBER 26
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOODavid Fincher delivers the English-language version of Stieg Larsson's monumentally successful crime novel. Daniel Craig stars. Can it fail to take a fortune?
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOLShouldn't there be two colons in the title? Anyway, the fourth film in the series sees Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, making his live-action feature debut.
