No, the Oscars doesn’t just dominate the fall, there’s also some fun stuff that will be released as well:
MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE
The Good: Diary of a Wimpy Kid was ok, but there hasn’t been a great middle school movie in a long time.
The Bad: Multiple writers and the Paul Blart: Mall Cop director aren’t exactly inspiring.
Prediction:
The title is too long, and this story will be ruined by paper thin characters.
THE ACCOUNTANT
The Good: Strong cast and a serviceable director.
The Bad: The writer is untested.
Prediction:
The cast should make the movie watchable, regardless of the writing.
JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK
The Good: Tom Cruise is always captivating, and Edward Zwick is a decent action director.
The Bad: The Jack Reacher character is not as interesting as anything Liam Neeson does; also Cruise is severely miscast.
Prediction:
If you like Tom Cruise, this will be fun, otherwise, it’s probably forgettable.
OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL
The Good: A very strong pedigree of horror character actors, and the writer/director of a really good movie about a KILLER MIRROR!! Do you know how hard that is?
The Bad: The franchise started with a really crappy teenage slasher and boo! film.
Prediction:
If they can reboot the Purge, then there’s no reason the Ouija movies cannot be, plus a creepy little girl always helps.
BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN
The Good: The Madea movies are kinda funny, and I like when a character from one franchise shows up in another genre.
The Bad: Because the change of genre livens the character, the writing could veer into lazy territory.
Prediction:
There will be some laughs, but the trailer won’t give you any hope for something gut-busting.
INFERNO
The Good: Everyone’s back, especially Tom Hanks.
The Bad: Everyone involved uses these Dan Brown novels like Sandler does with his paid vacations.
Prediction:
A serviceable blockbuster that will be immediately forgotten.
RINGS
The Good: A respected property that was very scary.
The Bad: Every sequel has sucked, and the behind the scenes writers/directors are either unproven or awful.
Prediction:
I smell hot Halloween audience garbage.
DOCTOR STRANGE
The Good: Marvel rarely misses, the cast is very strong, and the visuals look stunning.
The Bad: The main writer/director is from another genre.
Prediction:
Until the Marvel machine let’s us down, I ride with them. Plus any movie that reminds me of Inception is in a good boat.
TROLLS
The Good: The soundtrack will be amazing, thanks to the song of the summer.
The Bad: Dreamworks non-dragon properties are great for kids, boring for parents.
Prediction:
A great way for parents to distract their kids, and enjoy some quality pop music.
BLEED FOR THIS
The Good: Terrific cast further cementing Miles Teller as one of the better actors of his generation.
The Bad: Untested writer and director in a genre that is hard to find new inroads into.
Prediction:
If you like boxing movies, this one should be solid, but not memorable. Needs Rocky Balboa.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
The Good: The Potter creative trust is back, magic is awesome, and the cast is top notch.
The Bad: This movie will launch a franchise, if that doesn’t float your boat.
Prediction:
Magic is built for the big screen, and relaunching a franchise around magicians is fine by me.
MOANA
The Good: Disney Animation is riding a high previously achieved by Pixar. Plus Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the songs.
The Bad: I guess too many writers?
Prediction:
Adding a little diversity to the creative renaissance at Disney Animation? Sign me up.
BAD SANTA 2
The Good: Billy Bob was born to play this disgusting pervert.
The Bad: The director of Vampire Academy and writer of Entourage? It will be lazily written and directed.
Prediction:
Watered down stupider version of the first film, just forget it and move on.
OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY
The Good: Relatable situation that hasn’t really been covered yet in movie form, plus a cast of really funny people.
The Bad: The trailer is trying too hard, and I worry about the overreliance on pratfalls from overrated writers/directors.
Prediction:
This movie wants you to like it, and it will be fun but overall kinda meh.
BYE BYE MAN
The Good: Nice twist on the monster urban tale.
The Bad: Unkown talent everywhere.
Prediction:
I have a low bar with this one; December horror movies aren’t exactly stupendous.
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
The Good: A nice fun side story in Star Wars lore, plus a talented cast with a solid director.
The Bad: Possibly there are too many creative forces behind the scenes.
Prediction:
A Star Wars heist movie? Where we get to see Darth Vader again???? Yep, it’s gonna be stellar.
SING
The Good: Potentially a family friendly film that combines a singing competition with multiple underdog stories.
The Bad: Unproven director and studio that’s not great with non-Minion stories.
Prediction:
It has strong potential, but feels like it will settle happily into an “Awww” Christmas film.
ASSASSIN’S CREED
The Good: If you’re gonna make a video game adaptation, get Michael Fassbender and an impressive supporting cast.
The Bad: It’s still a movie based on a video game. Not a good track record there.
Prediction:
I like the premise, and this feels like it could buck the video game trend to be something really interesting.
WHY HIM?
The Good: The cast is pretty strong, and the creative force for the movie has done some great stuff like I Love You, Man.
The Bad: That guy also did all the Fockers movies and some other crap, and the premise is pretty awful.
Prediction:
Reeks of paycheck related fare for all involved.