2007 Fall Preview Top 20 picks: 16-13

Today's double pairings have very little in common – we have an Argentinean film that has had a delayed released, we have the only film sequel worth mentioning this year, we have a Clooney film from a newbie director and have a quirky comedy from a regular favorite filmmaker of ours.

16. Crónica de una fuga
Release date: November 28th Limited Release

Screenwriters: Israel Adrián Caetano, Esteban Student and Julian Loyola
Director: Israel Adrián Caetano
Distributor: IFC Films
Fests: Preemed in Argentina before making it to Cannes and then Toronto in 2006.
Producers: Oscar Kramer (Carandiru) and Hugo Sigman

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The Gist: Buenos Aires, 1977. A “task group” working for the fascist Argentine military govermment kidnaps Claudio Tamburrini, goalkeeper of a B-league soccer team, and takes him to a clandestine detention center known as Sere Mansion: a forbidding old mansion in the suburban neighbourhood of Moron. Claudio enters a living hell of interrogations, beatings, humiliations, betrayals. A nightmare world of lunatic arbitrary rules and relentless violence, mental and physical. Alongside other young detainees, he battles to survive while awaiting his fate to be decided. After four months of imprisonment, with execution seeming certain, Claudio and three other prisoners make their desperate move. Forcing open a window in the middle of a thunderstorm, completely naked, they jump into the void. Their flight into the future begins.

Fact: Argentina's entry for 2007 Golden Globes Awards for the category of Best Foreign Language Film.

Odds against or odds in favor?: The chances that the masses see this film or the chance at profitability are extremely slim. 

See It: Was one of Argentina’s most highly awarded films for 2006.

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15. Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Release date: October 12th Wide Release

Screenwriters: Original screenplay from Michael Hirst & William Nicholson
Director: Shekhar Kapur  
Distributor: Universal Pictures  
Fests: Toronto Film Festival and RomaCinemaFest
Producers: Tim Bevan (Smokin' Aces), Jonathan Cavendish (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Eric Fellner (Frost/Nixon)

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The Gist: Blanchett will reprise her Oscar-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth I. The first movie focused on the transformation of the young woman into a steely monarch in the 16th century. Rush will return as Sir Francis Walsingham, who in the first film was the architect of the queen's ruthless campaign to solidify her power and stabilize rule in England. The follow-up will focus on the relationship between Elizabeth I and Walter Raleigh, a dashing seafarer and newfound temptation for Elizabeth to be played by Owen.

Fact: Kapur's Elizabeth (1998) was nominated for 7 Academy awards and won for Best Makeup.

Odds against or odds in favor?: I doubt that this will bring in droves of moviegoers.  

See It: Cate is in supremely good in this role.

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14. The Darjeeling Limited
Release date: September 29th Limited Release

Screenwriters: Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola and Wes Anderson 
Director: Wes Anderson
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fests: In comp at Venice and opening the NYFF 2007.
Producers: Anderson, Roman Coppola, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Scott Rudin

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The Gist: Scripted by Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, this is an emotional comedy about three brothers re-forging family bonds. The eldest, played by Wilson, hopes to reconnect with his two younger siblings by taking them on a train trip across the vibrant and sensual landscape of India.

Fact: top of many

Odds against or odds in favor?: Fans will flock to this film as they have done with Anderson's others.  

See It: Normally this would be on the top of many folks fall must-see lists –  we've placed it at the number 14 spot only because a Wes Anderson  film remains a Wes Anderson film: we know what to expect, it is usually good and worth rewatching away.

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13. Michael Clayton
Release date: October 5th Wide Release

Screenwriters: Gilroy
Director: Tony Gilroy
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Fests: Venice Film Festival and Toronto
Producers: Jennifer Fox (Syriana), Kerry Orent (The Yards), Sydney Pollack (Breaking and Entering), Steve Samuels (In the Valley of Elah)

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The Gist: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. A former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's dirtiest work at the behest of the firm's co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack). Though burned out and hardly content with his job as a fixer, his divorce, a failed business venture and mounting debt have left Clayton inextricably tied to the firm. At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class action suit that Clayton's firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. But when Kenner Bach's brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) sabotages the U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.

Fact: Gilroy has written the screenplay for the entire Bourne series.

Odds against or odds in favor?: This one will won't get lost in the shuffle.

See It: We love George Clooney in these type of roles. Love the poster image.