Fall movie previews

By Brendan Nagle & Ray Freedman

“Roma”

Streaming Dec. 14

Prolific filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón is back with a deeply personal film which follows a middle-class family and their housekeeper (played by Yalitza Aparicio) in 1970’s Mexico City. Winning the top prize at Venice Film Festival, the film seems to combine the cinematic wonder of “Gravity,” with the grounded soul of “Y Tu Mamá También.” “Roma” has been selected as Mexico’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, and will be distributed by Netflix.

“If Beale Street Could Talk”

In theaters Nov. 30

Based off James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, writer-director Barry Jenkins adapts the story of Fonny (Stephen James) and Tish (Kiki Layne) — a couple who must prove Fonny’s innocence from a crime he didn’t commit in 1970’s Harlem. Right off the success of “Moonlight,” Jenkins has assembled a fresh but familiar supporting cast that includes Regina King, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Colman Domingo.

“Burning”

In Theaters Nov. 9

A Haruki Murakami short story serves as the inspiration for this Cannes Film Festival hit. South Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s first film since 2010’s award-winning “Poetry,” “Burning” is a slow, mysterious look at generational rage. The film’s cast includes South Korean natives Yoo Ah-in and Jeon Jong-seo as well as “Walking Dead” star Steven Yeun.

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”

Streaming Nov. 16

The newest film from the Coen Brothers was initially announced as a six-part limited series for Netflix before being condensed into a feature-length anthology film just in time to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August. The six western-themed stories each feature a different cast of actors, including Liam Neeson, Tom Waits, James Franco, Tim Blake Nelson, Brendan Gleeson, David Krumholtz and Zoe Kazan. The film is to be released on Netflix, following a limited theatrical run.

“Shoplifters”

In theaters Nov. 23

Another emotional family drama from acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (“Still Walking,” Like Father Like Son”), “Shoplifters” has already netted the Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival’s highest prize. The film focuses on an impoverished Tokyo family as they rely on shoplifting to survive amid the Japanese Recession.

“High Life”

U.S. theatrical release TBA

French master Claire Denis follows up her breezy, Juliette Binoche-led “Let The Sunshine In” with perhaps her most ambitious project yet: an erotic sci-fi mind-bender following a crew of space travelers in search of a black hole. Binoche stars again, alongside Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, and André Benjamin (of Outkast fame). The movie’s polarizing festival reaction generated enough buzz that it got picked up for U.S. distribution by A24, ensuring a wide-release for this must-see film.

“The Sisters Brothers”

In theaters Sept. 21

Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly star as notorious outlaw brothers on the hunt for a chemist with a lucrative secret formula. Earning standing ovations at the festival circuit, the film has been noted for its balance of dark comedy and emotional undercurrents.  Jacques Audiard is one of the world’s most versatile and moving directors, here making his first English language film with a cast that also boasts Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed.

“Widows”

In theaters Nov. 16

Steve Mcqueen, acclaimed director of “12 Years a Slave” and “Shame,” teams up with “Gone Girl” writer Gillian Flynn for a pulpy thriller. After their husbands are killed on a botched heist job, four widows take it upon themselves to finish the job. I don’t have nearly enough characters to list the incredible cast headed by Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo. Plus, the film has a score by Hans Zimmer.