2006 Fall Preview: 10 – 1

Here is the top 20 with a recap from picks 20 to 11. Enjoy!

20. All The Kings Men
19. Tideland
18. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

17. The Prestige

16. Marie-Antoinette

15. Fur

14. Flags of Our Fathers

13. This Film is Not Yet Rated

12. Fast Food Nation

11. Volver

Release date: Oct.06 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Based on the trilogy of Chinese-language gangster movies of the same name (“Wu jian dao” a.k.a Infernal Affairs), this is set in the midst of the battle between Hong Kong police and the triads.

Fact: This is a 3rd straight reunion for Marty Scorsese and Leonardo.

See It: Don’t see it for Matt Damon or Leo DiCaprio but instead for Nicholon and Vera Farmiga.

Release date: Oct.20 Limited Release
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: This is an adaptation of Augusten Burroughs‘ novel, this is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist Ryan Murphy

Fact: Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy wrote the script and will make his feature directing debut.

See It: Two words: Annette Bening.

Release date: Sept.15 Wide Release
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: This is an adaptation of James Ellroy‘s classic noir novel which is a fictional account of the notorious murder in 1947 of an actress in Los Angeles and the investigation into the case.

Fact: Brian De Palma offered the role of Madeleine Sprague to Eva Green but she turned down it because she didn’t want to be typecast as a “femme fatale” and the role went to Hilary Swank.

See It: De Palma + Film Noir + Swank as femme fatale = fun.

Release date: Oct.6 Wide Release
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Based on the novel, “Children” is described as matching the family dysfunction of American Beauty with the comedy of Perrotta’s “Election”.

Fact: Tom Perrotta wrote the book (then turned into a film) called Election.

See It: Director Todd Field is amazing.

Release date: Nov.17 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Independent Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Co-written by Guest and Levy, this revolves around three actors shooting a small indie film, titled “Home for Purim,” whose lives are turned upside down when buzz starts that their performances are awards-worthy.

Fact: Fred Willard rocks!

See It: A Mighty Wind fell short of expectations. Christopher Guest will rally the troops with a more contemporary storyline.

Release date: Nov.3 Wide Release
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Ioncinema Preview: View here

The Gist: Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen brings his Kazakhstani journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time.

Fact: This film was once to be directed by Todd Philips who left the project after Borat’s mangling of the U.S. national anthem at a rodeo in Virginia made headlines for its off-key tone, and for inciting the rodeo crowd by making inflammatory remarks about the war in Iraq.

See It: Forget the Ali G character – this is way more enjoyable.

Release date: Nov.10 Wide Release
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Written by Zach Helm, Will Ferrell stars as a obsessive/compulsive IRS auditor who begins to hear a voice that turns out to be an author who is writing a novel in which Ferrell is the ill-fated protagonist.

Fact: The screenplay was written well before Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

See It: This will become Marc Forster’s crowning achievement – and not the over-hyped Monster’s Ball.

Release date: Nov.22 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: This is the journey of one man (Jackman) in a quest for immortality – via a ”tree of life” found in Central America.

Fact: Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were originally going to star in this film until the project fell apart.

See It: Darren Aronofsky’s smaller than previously announced budget should provide better results.

Release date: Sept.22 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Independent Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Unable to bear the prospect of a waking world without Stephanie’s love, and with no satisfying solutions coming out of his dream world, Stephane faces a dilemma he may not be able to depend on the science of sleep to help him solve.

Fact: This is Gondry’s writing debut.

See It: “The Science of Sleep is a film that addresses the notion of an unhealthy crush – a fixture which will surely not be the case for Gondry-fans.”

Release date: Nov.10 Release
Distributor: Paramount Vantage
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Written by Guillermo Arriaga, this is about chance encounters by complete strangers with sometimes harsh consequences.

Fact: This is the third part in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s trilogy (Amores Perros and 21 Grams) of the same theme / timeline story-structure

See It: This was the overwhelming ioncinema.com favorite.