Righteous Kill
Together for the first time since Heat, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino could both use a good movie right about now. Though director Jon Avnet’s track record is shaky (Up Close & Personal, 88 Minutes), his strong work on the former NBC show Boomtown has us intrigued about this. Sept 12.

Choke
A con artist pulls choking scams for insurance payouts and picks up women at sex-addiction support groups. This film’s secret weapon, and reason for our hope, is star Sam Rockwell, whose work is consistently intriguing. Sept 26.

Miracle at St. Anna
On the heels of a spat with Clint Eastwood over the historical accuracy of Flags of Our Fathers, Spike Lee tackles a World War II drama, with four black soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Italy. Sept 26.

Blindness
As in the José Saramago novel, everybody in an unnamed city mysteriously goes blind. With talent like Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, director Fernando Meirelles certainly has the cast to make it work. Oct 3.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
The gooey premise—a guy asks a stranger to pretend to be his girlfriend so he can act cool in front of his ex, and romantic sparks fly—might put you off, but what if we mention the guy is everyone’s favorite nerd-crush Michael Cera? Oct 3.

W.
How can you resist an Oliver Stone biopic about the rise of George W. Bush? The right will call it liberal propaganda deliberately injected into the campaign season (damn right); the left will nervously try to distance itself. What’s not to love? Oct 17.

The Brothers Bloom
The plot—two con-artist brothers try to hustle a rich woman—sounds like another take on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but we’re psyched largely because this is written and directed by Rian Johnson, the man behind the 2005 sleeper Brick. Oh, and the leads—Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo—ain’t too shabby, either. Oct 24.

Changeling
Clint Eastwood is back with another grim drama. In a plot loosely inspired by a true story, Angelina Jolie plays a woman whose son disappears. Months later, the cops bring her a child and declare the case closed. When she protests that it’s not her kid, the powers that be get her committed to an insane asylum. Buzz from Cannes was strong for the performances, as well as for Eastwood’s typically clean, economical direction. Oct 24.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
If the meet-cute concept of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist seems too sweet, how about this: Old friends Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks make porn for the cash, and their friendship turns romantic. Director Kevin Smith recently won a highly publicized battle with the MPAA over the film’s rating, getting the R he wanted. Oct 31.

Australia
What in heaven’s name is Baz Luhrmann, the opera- and musical-loving mad genius behind Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, doing directing a historical drama that sounds like a Harlequin romance? Beats us, but with Nicole Kidman as a wealthy Englishwoman who inherits a ranch in the Australian outback and Hugh Jackman as the rough local she hires to help manage the place, we’re willing to indulge Luhrmann. Nov 14.

Read more in our 2008 Fall Preview.

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