Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The mystique of Frank and Jesse James was tailor-made for Hollywood. Charismatic, dashing and dangerous, the gun-slinging bank robbers of the late 19th century have come to personify our undying romance with the wild, wild west. Plenty of ‘art’ has already been made, of course—decades of songs, TV shows (Remember that episode of Little House on the Prairie? Or when Bobby Brady learned a lesson thanks to the James brothers on The Brady Bunch?), not to mention countless films. In Andrew Dominik’s Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Brad Pitt is the latest in a long string of actors—Tyrone Power, Robert Wagner, Robert Duvall, Rob Lowe, Colin Farrell—to don the spurs of the iconoclastic antihero. And who better to play a man that is described in the opening voice-over of this melancholy drama with the line, “Rooms seemed hotter when he was in them … rain fell straighter … clocks slowed”? Finally, Brad Pitt has found a way to translate that blinding movie-star thing of his to the big screen. Even with no Angelina Jolie or George Clooney to make hot sparks with, Mr. Pitt is at his most believable best playing a man who’s larger-than-life (a trick that worked well for him before, in Fight Club). His soft pretty-boy face has weathered and aged into something truly handsome, and when his light-eyed charisma mercurially changes into something darker and dangerous, you believe. But there’s another surprise in this movie—Casey Affleck. Mr. Affleck, who has previously been doomed to the Johnny Drama celebrity-brother syndrome, holds his own as Robert Ford, Jesse James’ complicated hero-worshiping killer. The movie is a little long at 160 minutes, and has some unexplained mysteries. … Like, why on earth would Mary-Louise Parker sign up for this meager handful of lines? Ditto Sam Shepard. (And note to Hollywood, more Sam Shepard please! Much more!) But the supporting cast, which includes Sam Rockwell and Paul Schneider, is stellar, and the cinematography a golden-hued delight. (Warner Bros., September 21)

The Brave One

We’ve been told time and time again that New York is one of the safest big cities in the world, which is why Neil Jordan’s The Brave One will scare the stuffing out of New Yorkers in particular, chilling the spines of those of us who still get nervous on late-night subway rides and spooky walks through too-quiet streets. Jodie Foster stars as Erica Bain, talk-radio host of “Street Walk,” a celebration of New York City. She and her fiancé (Lost’s Naveen Andrews) are living the dream—the cute and quirky walk-up near the Central Park, the German shepherd, the endless discussion over wedding invitations (Cream! Eggshell! Ecru! etc.)—when a random violent attack leaves Bain severely beaten (a brutal scene that will unnerve even the most steely viewer) and her fiancé dead. Mr. Jordan’s New York is a moody and downright scary place where violence seems to lurk around every corner (Giuliani be damned). “I never understood how people lived with fear,” Foster’s Bain says, post-attack, when she realizes she’s turned into a stranger even to herself. Victim morphs into vigilante, and there’s a classic cat-and-mouse dynamic courtesy of a silky-voiced Terrence Howard, the cop assigned to the case. Ms. Foster is flinty and heartbreaking, and the forgotten shadowy corners of the city shows a New York we rarely see on the big screen. Released a mere three days after the anniversary of 9/11, it’s a reminder of how fragile life here can be. (Warner Bros., September 14)

In The Shadow of the Moon

Hey, remember when people used to get excited about space? In the midst of the heady tumult and disillusionment of the late 60’s, the world slowed down on July 21, 1969, as earthlings watched Neil Armstrong take a giant leap for mankind on the lunar surface. David Sington’s beautiful and moving documentary In The Shadow of the Moon (a favorite at Sundance, and sure to clean up come Oscar time) takes a look at the space program between 1968 and 1972 and the men who once walked on the moon. Ten of the surviving astronauts (each one a delightfully entertaining character) offer first-person accountants of their experience (though, glaringly, Neil Armstrong is missing), with stunning never-before-seen NASA footage. The filmmakers make the hazards of space travel clear, as well as the extraordinary times—Vietnam, race with the Russians—serving as the backdrop. No one has been to the moon since 1972, and after watching this deeply moving film you’ll feel rather sad about that fact, and nostalgic for a time that seems more like centuries rather than decades ago. Ron Howard presents, and the one thing we can’t figure out is how Tom Hanks stayed out of this one. (ThinkFilm, September 7)

Into the Wild

Most of us have met some version of Christopher McCandless, a.k.a. Alex Supertramp. He’s that smart, good-looking guy with the piles of Thoreau who probably talks a bit more than most about the evils of society, and expresses a longing to tough it out in some rough wilderness or fishing boat. Of course, not many have actually gone to the extremes that McCandless did, liquidating savings and burning cash before setting off on a two-year adventure of wandering the country. The final leg of his journey included a trek out to an isolated area of Alaska with only a minimum of supplies, where he eventually starved to death. An article about McCandless written by Jon Krakauer for Outside magazine and expanded into the hit book Into the Wild is the basis for this Sean Penn-written and -directed movie. Emile Hirsch (looking amazingly Leonardo DiCaprio-esque) delivers on his earlier promise in films like the The Girl Next Door and Lords of Dogtown to carry the (heavy) weight of the movie—gloriously shot with sweeping panoramic scenery (the influence of Terrence Malick, who directed Mr. Penn in The Thin Red Line, is all over this film) and set to a Eddie Vedder-composed score. It’s apparent that Mr. Penn, a man who has long had an uneasy relationship with Hollywood’s glitz and glamour, strongly identifies with the movie’s themes of alienation and idealization. McCandless, for better or for worse, was a man of conviction, and the movie honors it even while showing the pain Supertramp’s decisions caused for his friends and family along the way. Brilliant too-brief cameos are turned in by William Hurt, Hal Holbrook and Catherine Keener, but the film might be a rough ride for audiences; clocking in at two hours and 20 minutes, Into the Wild is at times a difficult journey for viewers who know their hero isn’t going home. (Paramount Vantage, September 21)

Eastern Promises

David Cronenberg’s 2005 A History of Violence was one of those movies that audiences and critics bemoaned being overlooked when Oscar season rolled around (it was nominated only for screenplay and for William Hurt’s supporting acting achievement). For his follow-up, Eastern Promises, Mr. Cronenberg has reteamed with Viggo Mortensen—one of the more subtle actors working today—for a thriller that picks up the main theme from Violence: the exploration of man’s true complex and animal nature. The increasingly lovely Naomi Watts plays a London midwife who gets mixed up with the Russian mob—in which Mr. Mortensen’s character is a Russian-born driver slowly rising through the ranks of the family. As with many of Mr. Cronenberg’s previous films (The Fly, Dead Ringers, Crash), no one is who he appears to be, and twists come fast and furiously along with unrelenting, graphic violence. (If you thought there was a lot of blood in The History of Violence, just you wait. On a brighter note, Viggo fights in the nude!) Audiences will no doubt squirm, but there’s a push to make this Cronenberg film a mainstream hit that earns the Hollywood seal of approval. (Focus Features, September 14)

Lust, Caution

Director Ang Lee wisely leaves the cowboys and can’t-quit-you jokes behind him and follows up the success of Brokeback Mountain with an espionage thriller set in World War II Shanghai. Based on a 1950s semiautobiographical short story by acclaimed Chinese author Eileen Chang, Lust, Caution focuses on the Japanese occupation of the city and a radical Chinese youth resistance group. Much buzzing over this film has already taken place, thanks to its getting slapped with an NC-17 rating due to some explicit sex and excessive nudity (Ang, meet Viggo!), which Mr. Lee recently admitted taxed him mentally. The movie earned mixed reviews at last week’s Venice Film Festival, but we’re betting all the chatter will help fill seats, as will the distinguished actors in the film, including Joan Chen and hottie Tony Leung, who Americans finally got to know in Infernal Affairs (a.k.a. the original The Departed). (Focus Features, September 28)

The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson has the honor of having the opening film at this year’s New York Film Festival with his latest, The Darjeeling Limited. Mr. Anderson has long won the precious hearts of sensitive, lanky lads in long-sleeved tees with his quirky characters, sharp dialogue and brilliant soundtracks, and sans a brief hiccup (ahem, raise your hand if you really liked The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou), it looks like he’ll continue to dominate the emo-boy smart market with this one. The regular Anderson players are all here: Jason Schwartzman (as a strangely if plausibly cast sex symbol), Owen Wilson and a terrific Adrien Brody star as three brothers who set off on a voyage to India to find themselves and do some good old-fashioned bonding. Expect a lot of talk about poor Owen Wilson’s troubles—he’s bandaged in the film after, yes, cheating death. (And don’t worry, Bill Murray—thank heavens—turns up, too.) (Fox Searchlight, September 28)