Film Feature: The 10 Most Anticipated Films of Fall 2011

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5. “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Release Date: December 21, 2011
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skargsard, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer, Joely Richardson, Embeth Davidtz, and Joel Kinnaman
Written by: Steven Zaillian
Directed by: David Fincher
Why We’re Excited: Because Fincher made two of the best movies of the last decade. And a few others great ones over the span of his remarkable career. Where will “Dragon Tattoo” rank on the Fincher top ten? Honestly, as blasphemous as this may be to say, there’s plenty of room for improvement over the international smash-hit first adaptation of the hit novel. As great as Noomi Rapace was in that film, it was just an average thriller and it’s yet unclear if that’s a flaw of the source material or the production. Was that as strong a film as could be made from this story? If there’s any director that we’d like to take that challenge, it’s the one who made the movie that should have won Best Picture last year. With a great cast, amazing technical team, and one of the best living directors, “Dragon Tattoo” has to be on this list. But it better improve markedly on the last version or risk being a rare misstep for arguably the best filmmaker working today.

4. “J. Edgar”
Release Date: November 9, 2011
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Josh Lucas, Naomi Watts, Ed Westwick, Lea Thompson, Dermot Mulroney, Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Root, and Dame Judi Dench
Written by: Dustin Lance Black
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Why We’re Excited: Because this seems like a great fit for actor/writer/director and subject matter. The last time a screenplay written by Dustin Lance Black made it to the big screen, it won the talented young man an Oscar. What if his analysis of the life of one of the last century’s most polarizing figures is as remarkable as what he brought to one of 2008’s best films, “Milk”? Doesn’t it feel like this could be a true home run for everyone involved? Could it finally be the role that wins Leo an Oscar? Last time Dustin sat down to type out a screenplay, he wrote a role that won an Oscar for Sean Penn. The biggest concern has to be which Eastwood will show up. When he tackled a monumental figure in “Invictus,” it resulted in one of the worst films of his career. He typically works better with fictional characters, but he refuses to be continuously inconsistent enough that we can write him off (“Hereafter” is the most underrated film of his career). Could this be another Oscar for Clint? Clearly, it could be. The potential for greatness based on the pedigree of who was involved in the production here is arguably greater than any film this year. Sadly, there’s no preview available yet. Given Clint’s ridiculous turnaround time with production, he probably hasn’t even started filming yet.

3. “The Muppets”
Release Date: November 23, 2011
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and The Muppets
Written by: Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller
Directed by: James Bobin
Why We’re Excited: Because Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and Gonzo inspired our entire generation. As my friend John said after seeing the first teaser trailer, “Please be good. Please be good.” It will be devastating if this sucks like “Muppets From Space.” We need more than a good Muppet movie. We need a great one. We need to inspire a new generation of creative voices. We need Animal. We need Gonzo. We need Beaker. We need Dr. Teeth. We need The Muppets to rule now more than ever. And we have hope. Segel has been telling people for years about his desire to make this movie. At times, it has felt like he became famous just so a Muppet-holic could make his dream come true. Now he better make ours come true too.

2. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Release Date: December 9, 2011
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ciaran Hinds
Written by: Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Why We’re Excited: Because there hasn’t been a stellar spy thriller in way too long. And every sign points to this being one, including early buzz out of Venice. Some have already started the lifetime achievement campaign for Oldman to finally win a long-overdue Oscar and, we know we sound like a broken record, but have you read that supporting cast above? It includes last year’s Oscar winner (Firth) and a young man who should be on the short list of most interesting rising actors (Hardy). If you don’t know the name Tomas Alfredson, he announced himself with one of the best vampire flicks of all time in the brilliant “Let the Right One In.” The thought of him bringing the cool sheen he brought to that film to an intricate spy thriller — if that doesn’t interest you, we simply don’t understand. This one seems likely to be the critical-commercial crossover of 2011: This season’s “True Grit.”

1. “The Descendants”
Release Date: November 23, 2011
Starring: George Clooney, Judy Greer, Shailene Woodley, Matthew Lillard, Beau Bridges, and Robert Forster
Written by: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Why We’re Excited: Because of everything. Cast. Director. Writer, Anticipation. Source Material. Great Preview. Almost everything we’ve mentioned as a “because” in previous entries in this feature could be applied here. It’s been seven years since “Sideways” and there’s every reason to believe that this project could live up to its predecessor in every way. Hollywood proves again and again that filmmaking is not the sum of its parts. You can’t merely take a good cast, good writer, good director, and good technical team and expect a good film. And yet, this far in advance, it’s really all we have to go on. That’s what anticipation is all about. Until proven otherwise, this is our most anticipated film left to open in 2011.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com