Hail to Clint Eastwood for dressing up Leo DiCaprio as the revered and feared J. Edgar Hoover, which AFI Film Festers were fortunate enough to screen yesterday. The two stars of the biopic about the original G-man’s dirty little secrets? A script by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black (Milk) and Leo’s furrowed brow. Complete with an Armie (Hammer, that is), this is one showdown we can’t wait to witness.
It’s like: The Aviator without the aviators.
Take: A history buff.
Premieres: November 9

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Feeling down? Sink deeper into Lars von Trier’s hole of depression that won Kirsten Dunst the Best Actress award at Cannes. His penned tale about an invading planet threatening to put Earth out of its misery is told through two sisters: one hopeful with everything to live for, the other miserably longing for the end of time. Sure, you can rent it on demand, but its beauty deserves the silver screen.
It’s like: Antichrist meets Another Earth.
Take: Company.
Premieres: November 11

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It’s official: There’s Payne in paradise. And it consists of a sad comedy showcasing Hawaii’s gray days and one man’s deep-rooted family tree. Life’s not all hula-dancing rainbows for George Clooney’s Matt King, who loses his wife and gains a scandal. See it and enjoy it, because, like Uncle Frank, we may not hear from Alexander Payne again for another seven years.
It’s like: Grace Is Gone, so Away We Go.
Take: Your bros.
Premieres: November 16

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Nope. It’s not because Ed and Bella tie the knot. And especially not because they finally do the nasty. We’re piqued because Academy Award winner Bill Condon sheds light on the series as its new maker. Imagine a revamp with the look and sound of Dreamgirls and a wedding-night consummation so naughty Kinsey would blush. We’ll see.
It’s like: Raising the stakes.
Take: Suckers for the saga.
Premieres: November 18

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It’s sad (really sad), and it’s dark (really dark), but don’t let that stop you from seeing debut director Paddy Considine’s beast of a movie that triumphed at film festivals. Considine’s bruised characters, a violent drunk with a soft side and a holy woman with a beating husband, find solace in one another. And though it’s an almost-brutal hour and a half, the monstrous performances are worth the heartache.
It’s like: A Jurassic spark.
Take: Someone who needs a good cry.
Premieres: November 18

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He writes, acts, sings, plays guitar, and now directs a relatable Sundance indie oozing with charm. Quintuple threat Josh Leonard is Lonnie, an idealist-turned-daddy 9-to-5er whose new reality bites. Chained to the desk, he tells a lie to get out of work, then tells another that just becomes work. Which, to tell you the truth, ends up setting him free.
It’s like: Office Space with its pants on fire.
Take: An honest friend.
Premieres: November 18

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Before he becomes the topic of conversation in Kevin, see Ezra Miller (as Elliot) opposite Ellen Barkin in Sam Levinson’s Sundance screenwriting award winner. Mother to a prescription med addict (Miller) and straight-blade cutter, manic Lynn (Barkin) juggles gossipy sisters, an ill father, her ex’s new wife, and a loveless mother while preparing for her estranged son’s big day. The dark comedy (yes, it’s funny) opens in NYC, but vow to look for it to trickle down to an indie theater near you.
It’s like: Rachel Getting Married in The Ice Storm.
Take: A chill date.
Premieres: November 18

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Counting down the seconds to curtains up, NYFF-goers got an eyeful of Martin Scorsese when the fest unlocked the mystery of its secret screening. His latest is suitable for youngins, and it’s about time: a boy timekeeper, to be exact, and a filmmaker who hold the key to each other’s happiness. In 3-D — depth that matters for once — Scorsese shows us where film has been through the eyes of where it’s going. Brilliant.
It’s like: The Polar Express meets Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Take: Those little goodfellas.
Premieres: November 23

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Far from the creek, Michelle Williams drifts back in time to channel her inner pinup. NYFF’s Centerpiece about a man’s quickie affair with the fascinating icon is more subtle than sexy, but Williams gives a song and dance that might knock your knickers off. Take it for what it is: an easy watch (and possible easy Oscar nom for our former problem child).
It’s like: Going beneath the sheets of The Prince and the Showgirl.
Take: Your proximity infatuation.
Premieres: November 23

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We’ll take Michael Fassbender as just about anything, including psychotherapist Jung. And Viggo as Freud? Sure, no complex there. But it’s Keira Knightley’s spasmodic damsel in distress sandwiched between the two in a David Cronenberg session that’s the real thinker. You may wanna stretch out on the couch after this display of how modern thought was changed. That’s time. We’ll start again tomorrow.
It’s like: Kinsey meets In Treatment.
Take: Patients.
Premieres: November 23

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For a flick that doesn’t say much, it’s shouting for an Oscar. And what the production lacks in color, it makes up for in a splattering of film festival Audience Awards. The actors in Michel Hazanavicius’s funny silent movie about a silent-movie actor threatened by talkies channel Gene Kelly, Joan Crawford, and Lassie (you’ll see). Borrowing from Citizen Kane and Vertigo, Hazanavicius calls his masterpiece the work of a crook. We call it a work of art.
It’s like: Sidewalk Stories with Crazy Heart.
Take: Anyone with a pulse.
Premieres: November 25

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