Movies Update: What you need to see this fall

Plus, can a movie say something new about the border crisis?

View in browser|nytimes.com September 13, 2024 By Mekado Murphy Hey, movie fans! Are you ready for a deluge of exciting movies? You're in luck. This fall season is packed with bold, inventive, funny, Oscar-hopeful treats. A number of them have been rolling out at festivals like Venice, Telluride and Toronto, and some will soon be making it to screens both big and small near you. I was just at the Toronto International Film Festival and caught up with some of the entries (like "Anora" and "Babygirl") that have been winning prizes at other events. There were also world premieres that had people talking, especially new movies starring Riz Ahmed ("Relay"), Tom Hiddleston ("The Life of Chuck"), and Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield ("We Live in Time"). Our critic Manohla Dargis was there, and she was spellbound by new movies from Mati Diop ("Dahomey"), Mike Leigh ("Hard Truths") and Pedro Almodóvar ("The Room Next Door"). And there's more — like, Demi Moore. If you want to dig deeper into additional films coming this fall, we have stories on her new body-horror tale ("The Substance"), the "Gladiator" sequel with Paul Mescal and the "Lion King" prequel directed by Barry Jenkins. Enjoy the movies! Photo illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban; Clockwise from top left: Hollywood Pictures, via Everett Collection; Phil Bray/Hollywood Pictures; Allstar Picture Library Ltd., via Alamy; Columbia Pictures, via Everett Collection Fall Preview Demi Moore and the Subversive Politics of the Naked Body She has become known for baring all (or, at least, a lot). But her work, including her newest film, "The Substance," should be understood in a wider context. By Manohla Dargis Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures 'Speak No Evil' Review: He Seemed So Nice In this horror remake, James McAvoy plays an aggressively friendly British stranger who extends a dubious invitation to an American couple. Suckers! By Manohla Dargis Mubi Critic's Notebook At Toronto, Transcendent Movies Cut Through the Industry's Gloom Films by Mati Diop, Raoul Peck and Mike Leigh, among others, mesh the personal and political in engrossing, insistent ways. By Manohla Dargis Juan Hernández/AEC Documentary Lens Can a Film Find Something New to Say About the Border Crisis? "Borderland: The Line Within" takes a surprisingly multidisciplinary approach fueled by both personal history and government data. By Alissa Wilkinson CRITICS' PICKS Marni Grossman/Amazon Studios Critic's Pick 'My Old Ass' Review: If She Could Turn Back Time A buoyant comedy with a big heart follows a teen girl who meets her older self the summer before college. By Alissa Wilkinson MOVIE REVIEWS Brian Douglas/Netflix 'Uglies' Review: Beauty Is a Beast Joey King plays a teenager in a dystopian world where cosmetic surgery seems to be the cure for inequality. By Amy Nicholson Sean Gleason/Greenwich Entertainment 'The Critic' Review: Dangerous Liaisons Ian McKellen stars as a drama critic in 1930s London who has much higher standards for the theater than for his own professional ethics. By Ben Kenigsberg Vertical 'Winner' Review: Not Like Other Girls This dramedy starring Emilia Jones depicts the life and times of Reality Winner, a former National Security Agency contractor and whistle-blower. By Beatrice Loayza Csaba Aknay/Lionsgate 'The Killer's Game' Review: Catch Him if You Can An assassin (Dave Bautista) meets his match (Sofia Boutella), but a diagnosis sets off an absurd chain of events in this rom-com action movie. By Glenn Kenny Ralph Bavaro/Saban Films 'The 4:30 Movie' Review: Jersey Boys The writer-director Kevin Smith looks back fondly on his New Jersey childhood in this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy. By Calum Marsh Cinema Guild 'Matt and Mara' Review: Will They or Won't They? Two former college friends reconnect for a possible romance in this irritatingly vague and vapid drama. By Jeannette Catsoulis Film Forum 'Girls Will Be Girls' Review: Surviving High School The filmmaker Shuchi Talati's debut feature follows a model student and her stifled mother, who are both vying for the attention of a new crush. By Natalia Winkelman NEWS & FEATURES Paramount Pictures 'Gladiator II' Delivers Friends, Romans and Sharks How the Colosseum, filled with water and stocked with predators, becomes the scene of epic naval combat in Ridley Scott's sequel. By Christopher Kuo Ana Cuba for The New York Times Fall Preview Pedro Almodóvar, Master of Mystifying Films, Wrote a Book He Can't Classify In "The Last Dream," the Spanish director offers insights into his complicated relationship with creativity and mortality. By Nicholas Casey Sean Gleason/Greenwich Entertainment Ian McKellen Has Clapped Back at Critics. Now He's Playing One. In the new film "The Critic," he plays the titular acid-tongued reviewer in 1930s Britain, who is terrified of being outed as gay. By Elisabeth Vincentelli Erik Carter for The New York Times Fall Preview For Him, a 'Lion King' Prequel Is the 'Most Different Thing I Could Do' Barry Jenkins broke out as a filmmaker with the Oscar-winning indie film "Moonlight." He has surprised some of his fans by taking up a Disney franchise. By Robert Ito STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Netflix 5 Children's Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include documentaries for animal lovers and an animated fantasy from Ukraine. By Dina Gachman Pierce Derks/IFC Films Five Horror Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include a silent killer, a demonically possessed painting and a hellish queer romance. By Erik Piepenburg Fernando Leon/Getty Images 12 Great Films of James Earl Jones A look at standout movies featuring the actor, who died on Monday at the age of 93. By Noel Murray How are we doing? 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