44 Interesting Movies Coming Out This Year

September is looming, which means that the time of the year in which all the quality films (read: Oscar bait) really start to come out regularly.

Though I'm sure there are some I'm going to miss (feel free to tell me), here's a list of the movies -- in no particular order -- that caught my eye as being (potentially) worth seeing:

September:

SHOOT 'EM UP. Clive Owen tries to protect a baby (again?) from bad guy Paul Giamatti and his thugs. Looks entertaining though.

RENDITION. Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep and Jake Gillenhaal, in a drama about a woman who discovers that her Egyptian husband is being held by the U.S. government. Directed by Gavin Hood, who directed TSOTSI.

THE KINGDOM. FBI operatives investigate a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Evan Rachel Wood, who may become a star someday, in a trippy musical featuring lots of Beatles songs.

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell in the first of a few westerns this fall.

3:10 TO YUMA. Another Western, this one a remake with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Directed by James Mangold.

LUST, CAUTION. Director Ang Lee makes his first Chinese-language movie in 6 years. Starring Joan Chen and Tony Leung.

INTO THE WILD. Emile Hirsch stars in the based-on-a-true-story tale (and the book by Jon Krakauer) about a young man disappearing into the Alaskan wilderness. Vince Vaughn, William Hurt, Catherine Keener and Jena Malone show up along the way. Written and directed by sean Penn.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH. Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon and Jason Patrick, in a movie directed and co-written by Paul Haggis.

THE HUNTING PARTY. Richard Gere and Terence Howard, in what is described as a "fun film about war crimes".

EASTERN PROMISES. Just because it's directed by David Cronenberg, and stars Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen. Apparently it's a gangster tale.

October:

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE. Cate Blanchette reprises her role. Because art house period dramas should get sequels too.

RESERVATION ROAD. Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino, in a drama directed by Terry George.

MICHAEL CLAYTON. George Clooney in a legal thriller, written and directed by Tony Gilroy.

GRACE IS GONE. John Cusack in a serious role, that is getting good buzz.

DAN IN REAL LIFE. Peter Hedges co-wrote and directed this tale, starring Steve Carell, Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche.

THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Wes Anderson directs Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman as brothers on a train in India.

WE OWN THE NIGHT. Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall in another gangster movie, written and directed by James Grey.

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE. Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro and David Dochovny, in a script by Allan Loeb that was one of those must-read scripts (though I never did).

SLEUTH. A remake of the 1972 film, with Michael Caine shifting to the older role and Jude Law taking over the younger. Directed by Kenneth Branagh.

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. Ryan Gosling stars as a guy who falls in love with a blow-up doll.

GONE BABY GONE. Yeah, Ben Affleck directs it and co-writes it, but he's got a good cast in Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT. Josh Hartnett stars in a horror-thriller about vampires in an isolated Alaskan outpost, during thne time of year when the sun doesn't come up.

THE HEARTBREAK KID. I can't remember the last Ben Stiller movie I actually went and saw, but at least this one is the Farrelly Brothers' return to R-rated movies.

November:

AMERICAN GANGSTER. Danzel Washington and Russell Crowe, as well as Cuba Gooding Jr, who will hopefully reign it in for once. Written by Steve Zaillian; directed by Ridley Scott.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA. Javier Bardem stars in the adaptation of the classic novel, written by Ronald Harwood and directed by Mike Newell.

CROSSING OVER. A Traffic-like multiple storyline tale about immigration, with a strong cast -- Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd.

LIONS FOR LAMBS. Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and that Tom Cruise guy. Directed by Redford.

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING. Nicole Kidman, trying to salvage her flagging career. On this list because I like the work of writer-directed Noah Baumbach.

MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM. Because I love Natalie Portman.

BEE MOVIE. Because it looks funny, and it's going to be huge.

FRED CLAUS. Santa's slacker younger brother moves back in, which could be dumb, but it has Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti in those two roles, along with Kevin Spacey, Rachel Weisz and Kathy Bates.

BEOWULF. Though the motion-capture stuff looks a little weird (like director Robert Zemeckis' previous Polar Express), this could be good. Written by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman.

ENCHANTED. Though this looks light, the hook of a princess from a cartoon world finding herself in real-life Times Square could be fun, and I like Amy Adams.

STEPHEN KING'S THE MIST. Because writer/director Frank Darabont has done a good job with King adaptations before (SHawshank, The Green Mile). Starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden in Chris Owen.

December:

I AM LEGEND. Will Smith as apparently the last man alive, roaming around Manhattan until he is attacked by stuff. I'm in.

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Written by Aaron Sorkin; directed by Mike Nichols. What else do you need to know?

THE BUCKET LIST. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as dying guys hitting the road, trying to do a lot of stuff before they kick the bucket. Directed by Rob Reiner.

THE GREAT DEBATERS. Okay, it's a period drama about debating. But Denzel Washington directs and stars, and Forest Whitaker is in it too.

LEATHERHEADS. George Clooney, Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski, in a period football comedy directed by Clooney.

SWEENEY TODD. Tim Burton directs this musical, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Somehow, this seems like it might work.

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH. Francis Ford Coppola's first movie in a decade; he's trying to go back to low budget indie stuff. Tim Roth and Bruno Ganz star.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson moves away from his quirky stuff in favor of a harsh period drama, based on a Sinclair Lewis novel, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano.

WALK HARD. A comedy with John C. Reilly, who stars as a musician who changes as the times do from the 1950s on. I saw the trailer the other day, and it looks really funny. Judd Apatow co-wrote and produced it; Jake Kasdan directs.