Fall Movie Preview: Dec. 2009

What's coming out in Fall 2009? Which blockbusters are headed your way, what movies will people be buzzing about, and which films are likely to make the Oscar cut? From Avatar to New Moon, Invictus to Nine, here's your guide to all the movies you'll need to see from now through the holidays…

By: Fandango Editorial Staff

Brothers

Release - 12/04 | More Info.
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal

Directed by Oscar winner Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father, In America), this drama, based on the 2004 Danish movie Brodre, is about a love triangle between two brothers played by Maguire and Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman, who plays Maguire’s spouse. Maguire is a Marine who goes missing in Afghanistan while his wife is comforted by his younger brother back home. When Maguire returns home alive, all hell breaks loose.

Everybody's Fine

Release - 12/04 | More Info.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell

'Tis the season for holly, jolly, family dramedies, and this one comes power-packed with an A-list ensemble and a familiar story that could hit home with fathers, daughters, sons and siblings. DeNiro stars as a family patriarch who tries to reconnect with his grown kids on a road trip taken after his wife's death.

Invictus

Release - 12/11 | More Info.
Starring: Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela in a film directed by Clint Eastwood - just give him the Oscar now! Matt Damon co-stars in the inspiring true story of how Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team (Damon) to help unite the country after apartheid.

The Lovely Bones

Release - 12/11 | More Info.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Saoirse Ronan

Peter Jackson returns to his more intimate filmmaking roots with this adaptation of the bestseller about a murdered girl who watches over her family - and her murderer - from the afterlife. The previews look amazing - a combination of the eerie atmospherics from Heavenly Creatures and the otherworldly visuals from the Lord of the Rings.

Avatar

Release - 12/18 | More Info.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver

This small indie film with no budget or stars…oh wait, that’s not this one…ok, this is James Cameron's return to the director’s chair 12 years after Titanic (the biggest movie in b.o. history). Avatar is a sci-fi adventure story about a planet, Pandora, and its indigenous race of humanoids known as the Na’vi, and what happens to them when the humans arrive. The big screen 3D epic is supposed to change the world of cinema. On December 18, we'll get to see if it does just that.

Did You Hear About the Mogans?

Release - 12/18 | More Info.
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant

Who exactly are the Morgans? A successful New York couple, Paul (Hugh Grant) and Meryl (Sarah Jessica Parker) Morgan seem perfect on paper, but their life together is slowly disintegrating. What can save their wedding vows? How about witnessing a brutal crime? Relocated under a witness protection plan, the couple now has plenty of time to focus…and focus…on their marital problems.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Release - 12/25 | More Info.
Starring: Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney

The Chipmunks are back in this all new CG family movie. Now in the care of Dave Seville's nephew, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore decide to go back to school, and take a break from their pop star life. From there, they encounter a trio of girls known as The Chipettes. Love is in the air in this holiday "squeakquel."

It's Complicated

Release - 12/25 | More Info.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, Lake Bell, John Krasinski

It’s Complicated crosses How Stella Got Her Groove Back with Something's Gotta Give. Caught in a ridiculously exhilarating love triangle, Jane (Meryl Streep) becomes the other woman when she hooks up with her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin). To top things off, Jane's flirting around with her recently hired architect (Steve Martin), who is dealing with his own divorce. Should Jane and Jake move on with their lives? Or is love truly lovelier the second time around? Ya know, it’s…complicated.

Sherlock Holmes

Release - 12/25 | More Info.
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Can't wait for Iron Man 2 to see more RDJ heroics? Elementary, dear Downey fans. Sherlock Holmes is here to knock your socks off. Unlike the stuffy Holmes characters of old, this Sherlock is equally fast with a quip and a roundhouse kick to your midsection. He's action hero, Holmes, and we imagine audiences everywhere will eat up the souped-up version of the super-sleuth just fine.

The Tree of Life

Release - 12/25 | More Info.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn

Details are sketchy for this "mystical epic," but we felt compelled to include it for a couple of reasons. It stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, so if it does open at Christmas, you'll be hearing plenty about it soon enough. And the project's directed by the reclusive Terrence Malick. While there are plenty of movie fans who can't stand Malick’s New World and The Thin Red Line, there are also plenty - including movie buffs in prominent studio positions - who clamor to see anything he touches. Either way, keep an eye out for it.

Fall Movie Preview: Sept. 2009