Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of Fall 2013: No. 10-6

Even though I'm mostly morally opposed to overly sweet "coffee" beverages containing some sort of faux-Italian moniker, I do admit that the Pumpkin Spice Latte has always been a chink in my otherwise coffee-snob armor.  Ever since I worked at Starbucks for 3 years during college, I've pretty much been a walking advertisement for the coffee giant, anyway.  My soul has been sold.

So, it's become a bit of a tradition of mine to grab one at the beginning of September (the earliest I can justify purchasing one) and sit down and write this column. Indeed, fall is my favorite time of year, and I get a little geeked-out at the thought of crisp fall air, football (both the real and fantasy variety), Colorado green chili, and...of course, good movies.  

In doing my research this year, I had a really hard time cutting my list down to 10.  I watched a lot of trailers, tried to read up on all the independent/foreign fare in addition to the studio offerings, and, as usual, read all the early Oscar prognostications.  I'm very happy with the way this list turned out, and can't wait to see them all.  Below are numbers 10-6, and I will release numbers 5-1 later this weekend.  Hope everyone enjoys, the way I am enjoying the pumpkin deliciousness right now.  Well, that actually might be too much enjoyment.

(10) "The Dallas Buyer’s Club"

You know, I was pretty tempted to throw Anchorman 2 in this slot, and I might have if this trailer hadn’t dropped early last week, promising one of McConaughey’s best performances to date (if not THE best).  I’m sure Google searches of the true story it is based on increased exponentially after the trailer hit: a Texas man who was diagnosed with HIV in the 1980’s begins illegally selling drugs produced in Mexico to patients in the U.S.   The trailer is full of energy which I hope is sustained throughout the film. 

(9) "Le Passé" (The Past)

Will you allow me one foreign film on my list? C’mon, just one, I promise! I swear I’m not trying to be a snob!

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi made one of my favorite films of 2011, A Separation (which won the Oscar for best foreign-language film) and he returns here with a similarly themed family drama about a divorced couple going through problems with their daughter. 

Alright, there’s my one foreign film.  Moving along…

(8) "All is Lost"

Robert Redford is already getting rave reviews out of the various film festivals this film has played so far.  A one-man show about a man lost at sea, this film is also virtually devoid of any dialogue, which makes it that much more intriguing from my standpoint.  I was a big fan of writer/director (and fellow Coloradan) J.C. Chandor’s rookie effort Margin Call, and it appears that he took a big swing here with his sophomore effort and hopefully it connects. 

(7) "Labor Day"

This is my bi-annual slot reserved in this column for whatever Jason Reitman film is coming out in that odd-numbered year.  His last two films, Young Adult (2011) and Up in the Air (2009) have each found their way inside of my year-end Top 10 list, although I was in the minority that felt that Young Adult was quite an improvement over Up in the Air.  I hope he can continue his streak of excellent films here, and with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin involved, I imagine I won’t be disappointed. 

(No trailer yet, unfortunately, so we'll have to go with this film still courtesy of Entertainment Weekly).

(6) "Her"

Director Spike Jonze teams up with Joaquin Phoenix in this hipster dramedy about a lonely writer who develops a relationship with his newly-purchased operating system that's designed to meet his every need.  It’s hard for me to believe that Phoenix could top his performance from last year’s The Master, but maybe the fact that he isn’t playing a brooding sociopath for the first time in a while will be a welcome change of pace at the very least.  I don’t know how this film will turn out, but it wouldn't surprise me if this one ends up being the best of the bunch as far as this list goes. 

Stay tuned for numbers 5-1 coming this weekend.