Forget the start of the calendar year. For film buffs, the real season of new beginnings is fall, when, typically, the year’s best, most worthwhile movies are unleashed.
Which releases are film critics and ardent moviegoers most anticipating over the next four months?
Here, in order of the month of initial release, are 30 movies that fit into the must-see category; several are likely bound for year-end critics lists and/or the Oscars and Golden Globes.
SEPTEMBER—————
“The Master” – Great American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”; “Magnolia”) returns with a ’50s-set drama frontloaded with more than a whiff of controversy. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as a charismatic cult leader, Amy Adams plays his wife, and Joaquin Phoenix portrays an alcoholic, spiritually suffering WWII veteran who comes under the couple’s sway. Really, it’s not about Scientology. Nudge-nudge. Wink-wink.
“Looper” — The sci-fi thriller, directed by Rian Johnson (“The Brothers Bloom,” “Brick”), has Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a contract killer who travels through time to ice an older version of himself (Bruce Willis). Also featuring Emily Blunt and the makeup magic of Kazuhiro Tsuji, who remakes Gordon-Levitt’s face to resemble a younger Willis.
“Arbitrage” — Richard Gere is an uber-wealthy financier tripped up by his own fraudulent practices in a film said to echo the Bernie Madoff scandal. The cast also includes Tim Roth, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, and filmmaker William Friedkin. Nicholas Jarecki, taking on his first feature, wrote and directed.
“The Words” — What happens when an out-of-luck author (Bradley Cooper) passes off an unpublished long-lost book manuscript as his own, and he gains superstardom in the literary world? Jeremy Irons co-stars as the wronged author, in a film also starring Zoe Soldana and Ben Barnes, as the younger version of Irons’ character. The drama was co-directed by Cooper’s pals, newcomers Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal.
“Trouble With the Curve” — Clint Eastwood, who rarely acts in films directed by others, is a longtime baseball scout, and Amy Adams is his daughter in the feature directorial debut of Robert Lorenz, a producer and/or assistant director on many Eastwood movies.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” — Emma Watson, all grown up and done with all things Hermione, co-stars with Logan Lerman (“The Three Musketeers”) in this adaptation of the million-selling 1999 young adult book about a group of high-school friends. Stephen Chbosky directed from a screenplay based on his novel.
“End of Watch” — Jake Gylenhaal and Michael Pena are LAPD officers who take on Mexican gangsters in a drama directed and written by David Ayer, who penned the screenplay for “Training Day.”
OCTOBER—————
“Argo” — Ben Affleck, flexing directing chops so impressively wielded in “The Town,” stars with Alan Arkin, John Goodman, and Bryan Cranston in the truth-based tale of a team assigned to rescue six Americans trapped in the Canadian ambassador’s home in Tehran, during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Affleck’s film looks to be the fall’s thriller to beat. 
“Not Fade Away” — Celebrated television director-writer David Chase (“The Sopranos,” “Northern Exposure”) tries his hand at the big screen with the story of a Rolling Stones-inspired trio of New Jersey teens who pursue their rock ‘n’ roll dreams in the mid-’60s. “Sopranos” star James Gandolfini, as the father of one of the boys, is the only well-known cast member.
“Frankenweenie” — It’s stop-motion. It’s 3-D. It’s directed by Tim Burton, inspired by his own 1984 live-action short. It’s in black and white. It’s a horror comedy, about a kid who gives life to his dead dog. Features the voices of Charlie Tahan, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder.
“The Paperboy” — A tramped-out, over-the-top Nicole Kidman enlists a reporter (Matthew McConaughey) and his brother (Zac Efron) in a campaign to get her pen pal (John Cusack) off death row. The offbeat Southern Gothic drama, which generated angry discussions at Cannes, is the first film from Lee Daniels since his acclaimed “Precious.”
“The Sessions” — Journalist and poet Mark O’Brien, a real-life character played by John Hawkes, at 38 plans to lose his virginity with the assistance of a therapeutic sex surrogate (Helen Hunt), in a Sundance favorite directed by Ben Lewin.
“Cloud Atlas” — Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Jim Broadbent, among others, play multiple roles separated by centuries in a production directed by three filmmakers — the Wachowski siblings (“The Matrix” trilogy) and Tom Tykwer (“The International,” “Run Lola Run”). Drawn from six interrelated stories in a sprawling 2004 novel by David Mitchell, the film should be intriguing for its novelty value, if nothing else.
“Killing Them Softly” — Brad Pitt is a clean-up killer assigned to follow dimwitted Mafia ruffians played by Ben Mendelsohn (“Animal Kingdom”) and Scott McNairy. The talky crime movie, with a cast including James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard, was helmed by Andrew Dominik, who also directed Pitt in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”
“Seven Psychopaths” — Assorted weirdos, freaks and tough guys cross paths in Los Angeles in a loopy crime film that has star Colin Farrell reuniting with his In Bruges director, Martin McDonagh. The colorful cast also includes Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, and Tom Waits.
“V/H/S” — The horror-show anthology, concerning scary videotapes striking terror in the hearts of viewers, features contributions from directors Ti West, Adam Wingard and Joe Swanberg.
NOVEMBER—————
“Lincoln” — The historical drama has prestige written all over it, with Stephen Spielberg directing, the always watchable Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, a cast that also includes David Strathairn, Sally Field, John Hawkes, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and a Tony Kushner screenplay based on presidential historian Doris Kearn Goodwin’s celebrated book Team of Rivals. The story centers on the last few months of the 16th U.S. president’s life. Oscar bait, anyone?
“Life of Pi” — Ang Lee’s version of the bestselling 2001 adventure novel stars new face Suraj Sharma as the boy who inadvertently notches alone time with a ravenous Bengal — just a boy and his CGI tiger (and, initially, a few other animals), alone in a lifeboat on the Pacific Ocean. The visuals for the journey story, shot in 3-D, ought to be astounding.
“Skyfall” — Bond, James Bond, is back, with Daniel Craig still on board as 007 and director Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) new to the franchise. Judi Dench returns as M, Javier Bardem is a bad guy, Naomie Harris (“28 Days Later”) plays a new MI6 agent, and Berenice Marlohe supplies the love interest.
“Silver Linings Playbook” — David O. Russell (“The Fighter, “Three Kings”) directed the quirky drama concerning an off-kilter high school teacher (Bradley Cooper). Fresh off a stint at a mental institution, Cooper’s character moves back in with his parents (Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver), and forms a friendship with a pretty widow (Jennifer Lawrence)
“Flight” — Back to live action after a dozen years in the trenches of motion capture, Robert Zemeckis directs a drama concerning the triumphs and tribulations of a celebrated pilot (Denzel Washington) who safely lands and out-of-control airplane. Also in the top-shelf cast: John Goodman, Don Cheadle, and Melissa Leo.
“The Man With the Iron Fists” — Rapper RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan cut his teeth as a director with this ambitious martial-arts saga. Lucy Liu runs a brothel, and Russell Crowe is a mercenary in a tale about a war over a misplaced load of gold that turns up in a 19th-century Chinese village.
“Anna Karenina” — Keira Knightley and Jude Law co-star in the latest adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s 1877 novel, a purportedly unconventional retelling directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement,” “Pride & Prejudice”).
“Beware of Mr. Baker” — The enormously gifted drummer Ginger Baker, creative skins man for Cream and Blind Faith, as well as jazz-leaning projects, gets the rock-doc treatment. Newcomer Jay Bulger directed, wrote, and produced.
December—————
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” — Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings”) has transformed J.R.R. Tolkien’s much-loved fantasy story about the adventures of accidental hobbit hero Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) into a trilogy with a reported budget of more than $500 million. Can it possibly live up to the enormously heightened expectations of fantasy fans? Also stars Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and Andy Serkis.
“Django Unchained” — A Quentin Tarantino film is typically offbeat, violent and controversial, and his latest promises to be no exception to that rule. Jamie Foxx stars as a slave up for revenge in the antebellum South, with Kerry Washington as his wife and Leonardo DiCaprio as a ruthless plantation owner.
“Les Miserables” — The enormously popular Broadway musical, based on the Victor Hugo classic, finally moves to the big screen. Tom Hooper, who won an Oscar for “The King’s Speech,” directed a cast led by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried.
“Zero Dark Thirty” — The search for 9/11 mass murderer Osama bin Laden comes to life courtesy of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, the Oscar-winning directing and screenwriting team behind 2009’s “The Hurt Locker.” The film, with dozens of speaking roles, stars Joel Edgerton as a Navy SEAL and Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke as CIA agents.
“On the Road” – Jack Kerouac fans long hoping for a big-screen version of his Beat Generation novel may or may not find satisfaction in the adaptation by Walter Salles. Sam Riley (“Control”), which stirred up attention at Cannes. Sam Riley (“Control”) is Sal, Garrett Hedlund is Dean, Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”) is Dean’s wife Marylou, and the cast also includes Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, and, in a tiny role, Steve Buscemi.
“Hyde Park on Hudson” – Bill Murray finally retakes center stage, portraying Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a story based on the true tale of FDR’s weekend meeting with King George VI (Samuel West) in 1939, just prior to the outbreak of World War II. Laura Linney plays FDR’s cousin and friend Margaret “Daisy” Stuckley, who provides the POV for the film. Roger Michell (“Venus,” “Notting Hill”) directed.