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Fall flicks and familiar plots

This season, cineplexes turn to adaptations to fill theater seats

by Alex Gabriel | Pulse Reporter

PUBLISHED ON 9/22/08 IN Pulse

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Media Credit: Courtesy

It's that time of year again: School is back in session, your tan is fading, the sky is turning gray, the leaves are turning brown. Yes, it's finally fall, and we all know what that means: It's time to figure out just what the hell we're supposed to do when there is no football on TV. Luckily, Hollywood has supplied the season with a bevy of intriguing flicks, ranging from crude sexual humor to gangster undergrounds to post-apocalyptic cannibalism. Here are a few samples of what we all have to look forward to in the coming months.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People: Oct. 3
Based on the memoirs of British writer Toby Young, this comedy tells the fictionalized account of Young's career as a celebrity journalist in the upscale media of New York City. Simon Pegg of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" fame leads an all-star cast that features Kirsten Dunst, The Dude himself Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson and the obscenely gorgeous Megan Fox.

Body of Lies: Oct. 10
Keeping with the tradition of the love affair between Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe, "Body of Lies" finds Crowe opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the theatrical adaptation of David Ignatius' novel about a CIA operative who goes to Jordan to track down a high-ranking terrorist. There's no question that Scott can deliver the intensity, and Crowe and DiCaprio have proven there are no roles they cannot completely slay.

Quarantine: Oct. 10
A remake of the Spanish horror film of the same name, "Quarantine" tackles the shaky handheld camera technique á la "Blair Witch Project" and, more recently, "Cloverfield." Jennifer Carpenter stars as a television reporter who is assigned to a story that leads her and a cameraman to an apartment complex where the residents have become infected by something unknown. The Center for Disease Control quarantines the building before they have a chance to escape an unknown killer. There were no details, no
witnesses, no evidence - until now.

W.: Oct. 29
Josh Brolin takes on the role of the president everybody loves to hate in the story of George Walker Bush. The film spans the president's life, including his years as a young man and his efforts to step out of his father's large shadow, and it concludes with the invasion of Iraq. Elizabeth Banks plays a sexy Laura Bush and Richard Dreyfuss will make for a great Dick Cheney. This film has the makings to be excellent, but unfortunately it was directed by Oliver Stone, so it probably won't be.

RocknRolla: Oct. 31
Finally, British gangster extraordinaire Guy Ritchie manages to pry himself away from his wife to bring us another view into London's criminal underworld. When a Russian mobster sets up a real estate scam that generates millions of British pounds, the local mob looks to take in its share. I'm guessing someone will get pistol whipped - hopefully it'll be Jeremy Piven.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Oct. 31
What do you do when you're not funny anymore? Recruit someone to be funny for you! And that's exactly what Kevin Smith did when he got current comedy superstar Seth Rogen to lead in his latest film. Smith has always straddled the line of the obscene with his "Jay and Silent Bob" films, but "Zack and Miri" is being held under the scrutiny of the dreaded NC-17 rating - something that, you know, might be expected when you have "porno" in the title. Recommended for anyone who likes fake breasts and F-bombs.
agabriel@dailyemerald.com

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