JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Movie theaters have been overrun all summer by dinosaurs, dragons, aliens, Formula One racers and superheroes. In other words, it's blockbuster season. But as the weather cools, Hollywood's vibe will change, says critic Bob Mondello. He's here with his fall movie preview.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: Four months left in 2025 and not a superhero in sight. What on earth will the film industry do?
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TRON: ARES")
EVAN PETERS: (As Julian Dillinger) I would like you to meet Ares, the ultimate soldier.
MONDELLO: The same thing college students do with their term papers - turn to AI.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TRON: ARES")
PETERS: (As Julian Dillinger) He's biblically strong, lightning fast, supremely intelligent. And if he is struck down on the battlefield, I will simply make you another.
MONDELLO: What could possibly go wrong? "Tron: Ares" flips the script from the previous "Tron" films by bringing virtual beings into our world rather than plugging people into a computer grid.
Other dark visions of the future include two from Stephen King - "The Running Man," about a TV reality show...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE RUNNING MAN")
JOSH BROLIN: (As Dan Killian) The rules are simple. Survive 30 days with the entire nation hunting you down.
MONDELLO: ...And "The Long Walk," King's very first novel written when he was 19, with a contest that's eerily similar.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE LONG WALK")
MARK HAMILL: (As The Major) I'm not going to go through the whole rule book, but it boils down to this.
MONDELLO: Walk or die.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE LONG WALK")
HAMILL: (As The Major) There's one winner and no finish line.
MONDELLO: Happily, most fall films are based in the real world. In fact, more than a few are biopics.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BLUE MOON")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) Blue moon.
MONDELLO: Richard Linklater's made two, one about Broadway's Lorenz heart, the lyric-writing half of Rodgers and Hart.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BLUE MOON")
ETHAN HAWKE: (As Lorenz Hart) Wise guy.
MONDELLO: Alas, "Blue Moon" finds Hart nursing his sorrows at the opening night party for "Oklahoma," the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
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HAWKE: (As Lorenz Hart) We write together for a quarter a century. And the first show he writes with someone else is going to be the biggest hit he ever had. Am I bitter?
BOBBY CANNAVALE: (As Eddie) Larry...
HAWKE: (As Lorenz Hart) Yes.
MONDELLO: Linklater's other biopic is "Nouvelle Vague," about French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NOUVELLE VAGUE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: "Nouvelle Vague" - (speaking French).
MONDELLO: Also about filmmaking, the comedy "Waltzing With Brando."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WALTZING WITH BRANDO")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Salvatore Corsitto as Amerigo Bonasera) For justice, we must go to Don Corleone.
MONDELLO: Starring Billy Zane as a troublemaking Marlon Brando.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WALTZING WITH BRANDO")
BILLY ZANE: (As Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone) Why did you go to the police? Why didn't you come to me first?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) Cut.
MONDELLO: Elsewhere, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as the popular martial arts fighter known as The Smashing Machine.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SMASHING MACHINE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Please welcome in his Octagon debut, Mark Kerr.
MONDELLO: In "Nuremberg," Russell Crowe plays Hitler confidant Hermann Goering...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NUREMBERG")
RUSSELL CROWE: (As Hermann Goering) I will have, as you say, my day in court.
MONDELLO: ...Opposite Rami Malek...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NUREMBERG")
RAMI MALEK: (As Douglas Kelley) I know more about this man than anyone else on the planet.
MONDELLO: ...Who plays an American Army psychiatrist trying to assess whether Goering's fit to stand trial.
And in the season's big music biopic, "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE")
JEREMY ALLEN WHITE: (As Bruce Springsteen, singing) Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run.
MONDELLO: ..."The Bear's" Jeremy Allen White plays The Boss and does his own singing.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE")
WHITE: (As Bruce Springsteen, singing) Baby, we were born to run.
MONDELLO: Along with those dramatic recreations, there are documentaries - "Riefenstahl," about Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, "Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost," which is Ben Stiller's homage to his comedy team parents, and "Orwell: 2+2=5," about British author George Orwell, who wrote "Animal Farm" and "1984."
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "ORWELL: 2+2=5")
DAMIAN LEWIS: (As George Orwell) The very concept of objective truth is fading out of this world. This prospect frightens me much more than bombs.
MONDELLO: Too much reality? Well, some heavyweight directors have crafted entertainments that sound like potential Oscar bait.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JAY KELLY")
GEORGE CLOONEY: (As Jay Kelly) Jay Kelly.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character) And action.
MONDELLO: Noah Baumbach's coming-of-middle-age dramedy stars George Clooney as a movie star.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #7: (As character) Jay Kelly is a hero of cinema.
MONDELLO: He is in his 60s. He's suave, relaxed, always seems to be playing himself.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JAY KELLY")
CLOONEY: (As Jay Kelly) You know how difficult it is to be yourself? You try it.
MONDELLO: He is, in short, a lot like George Clooney.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JAY KELLY")
ADAM SANDLER: (As Ron) We love him.
LAURA DERN: (As Liz) You love him. I work for him.
MONDELLO: "There Will Be Blood" director Paul Thomas Anderson is working in IMAX for the first time with his comedy "One Battle After Another."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #8: (As character) It's World War III out there.
LEONARDO DI CAPRIO: (As Bob Ferguson) Viva la revolution.
MONDELLO: "Call Me By Your Name" director Luca Guadagnino tackles a #MeToo story in "After The Hunt."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "AFTER THE HUNT")
AYO EDEBIRI: (As Maggie Price) Hank walked me home. He asked for a nightcap, which, you know, it's fine. He's Hank. Everybody loves Hank.
JULIA ROBERTS: (As Alma Olsson) What are you saying happened?
MONDELLO: Grad student Ayo Edebiri accuses college professor Andrew Garfield, and Julia Roberts gets caught in the middle.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "AFTER THE HUNT")
EDEBIRI: (As Maggie Price) I don't feel comfortable having this conversation with you anymore.
ROBERTS: (As Alma Olsson) Not everything is supposed to make you comfortable.
MONDELLO: "Dreamgirls" director Bill Condon's latest is "Kiss Of The Spider Woman" with Jennifer Lopez as the title character.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN")
JENNIFER LOPEZ: (As Ingrid Luna, singing) Spider woman in her velvet cape.
MONDELLO: While Kathryn Bigelow, who won Oscars diffusing bombs in "The Hurt Locker," upgrades to stopping a missile launch in "A House Of Dynamite." Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro is tackling "Frankenstein."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FRANKENSTEIN")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #9: (As character) What manner of creature is that?
MONDELLO: And in "Bugonia," Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with his "Poor Things" star Emma Stone for a story of two kidnappers who think a business exec is otherworldly.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BUGONIA")
AIDAN DELBIS: (As Don) How can you tell she's an alien?
JESSE PLEMONS: (As Teddy) Well, the signs are obvious.
MONDELLO: First-time directors include Scarlett Johansson, who's made "Eleanor The Great" with June Squibb...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ELEANOR THE GREAT")
JUNE SQUIBB: (As Eleanor Morgenstein) I'm 94 years old. And I'm moving to Manhattan for the first time today.
MONDELLO: ...And Ronan Day-Lewis, who's coaxed his father Daniel Day-Lewis out of retirement for the Irish drama "Anemone."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANEMONE")
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS: (As Ray Stoker) What do you want from me, brother? What do you want?
MONDELLO: As for the football horror flick "Him," the director is perhaps less important to audiences than the producer, Jordan Peele.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HIM")
TYRIQ WITHERS: (As Cameron Cade) Now we playing some football.
(LAUGHTER)
MONDELLO: Fall is also a time for romance. The aching gay love story "The History Of Sound" makes soulmates of music students Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE HISTORY OF SOUND")
JOSH O'CONNOR: (As David) If I had what you had, I'd leave. I'd go far away, flee.
MONDELLO: While comic love stories include "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" that starts in the real world, then gives reality a tweak.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #10: (As GPS device) Remain on Interstate for 249 miles. David? David?
COLIN FARRELL: (As David) Sorry, are we talking to each other now?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #10: (As GPS device) Do you want to go on a big, bold, beautiful journey?
FARRELL: (As David) Yes.
MONDELLO: His GPS then teams Colin Farrell with a skeptical Margot Robbie.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY")
MARGOT ROBBIE: (As Sarah) Your accent - is it real?
FARRELL: (As David) You think I'd fake an accent?
ROBBIE: (As Sarah, imitating David) The most beautiful places make you feel the most alone.
FARRELL: (As David) That's a pretty good me, actually. I'm flattered.
MONDELLO: And while they get to live their dream, in the choose-your-partner-for-the-afterlife comedy "Eternity," Elizabeth Olsen gets to die hers...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ETERNITY")
ELIZABETH OLSEN: (As Joan) It's not a competition.
MONDELLO: ...With both of her dead husbands.
MILES TELLER AND LARRY TURNER: (As Larry and Luke) Yes, it is.
DA'VINE JOY RANDOLPH: (As Anna) Sweetheart, it is 100% for sure a competition.
JOHN EARLY: (As character) It is, in fact, a competition.
RANDOLPH: (As Anna) That's literally what we're here for.
MONDELLO: Those are angels advising her.
And in the comedy "Good Fortune," another angel, Keanu Reeves, tries to even the score between unfortunate assistant Aziz Ansari and very fortunate boss Seth Rogen.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GOOD FORTUNE")
KEANU REEVES: (As Gabriel) I'm not really supposed to be doing this. I'm normally only in charge of saving people from texting and driving.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIRES SQUEALING)
AZIZ ANSARI: (As Arj) Wait. You're telling me I have a budget guardian angel?
REEVES: (As Gabriel) Kind of.
MONDELLO: Other comedies include the reunion tour of the greatest band that never was in "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #11: (As character) We're still short a drummer.
KERRY GODLIMAN: (As character) What happened to him?
MICHAEL MCKEAN: (As David St. Hubbins) He sneezed himself into oblivion.
CHRIS ADDISON: (As character) Is that medically possible?
MONDELLO: ..."Roofman," a caper comedy in which Channing Tatum's title character...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ROOFMAN")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #12: (As character) And still no leads on the whereabouts of the escaped convict known as the Roofman.
MONDELLO: ...Cannot share his back story with Kirsten Dunst. And then there's the magician heist flick sequel called "Now You See Me: Now You Don't.".
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON'T")
JESSE EISENBERG: (As J. Daniel Atlas) I'm talking about a trick that is bigger and better than anything you have ever seen.
MONDELLO: Jesse Eisenberg welcoming new illusionists.
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EISENBERG: (As J. Daniel Atlas) According to that card, for some reason, I need you.
JUSTICE SMITH: (As Charlie) What about the other horsemen?
EISENBERG: (As J. Daniel Atlas) The other horsemen are dead.
ARIANA GREENBLATT: (As June) Oh, my God. What?
EISENBERG: (As J. Daniel Atlas) No, no, no. They're, like, dead to me. Things got too real for them. They gave up. Stop interrupting.
MONDELLO: Other sure things include an apparent end to a bustling saga that seemed destined to go on forever - "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE")
HUGH BONNEVILLE: (As Lord Grantham) It's hard to accept, but it's time to go.
MONDELLO: And after the longest intermission in musical comedy history...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: FOR GOOD")
ARIANA GRANDE: (As Glinda) Elphaba Thropp, I know you're out here. Just come in before the monkeys spot you.
MONDELLO: ...The second act of "Wicked."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: FOR GOOD")
GRANDE: (As Glinda, singing) I've heard it said...
MONDELLO: Composer Stephen Schwartz wrote two new songs to make "Wicked: For Good" worth the wait, and it needs to be in a season this crowded.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: FOR GOOD")
JEFF GOLDBLUM: (As the Wonderful Wizard of Oz) Bring me the room of the Wicked Witch of the West.
MONDELLO: I'm Bob Mondello.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: FOR GOOD")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #13: (As character, singing) I have been changed for good. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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