Fabulous films forecasted for fall

J.J. Abram's mystery project ""Super 8,"" while a solid flick, with its watered-down classic-Spielberg aesthetics, was nowhere close to being the summer-defining original blockbuster it purported itself to be. 

""Deathly Hallows Part II"" was thankfully a reasonably worthy capstone to what has now become the single-most successful movie franchise in history—that's right, the box office from the eighth and final film vaulted the franchise's total revenue above that of the combination of all 23 James Bond movies—but let's be realistic, even if the film had been less enticing than a common room filled with Dungbombs it still would have been the highest grossing film of the summer. 

How else can you explain the success of ""Transformers: Dark of the Moon?"" Despite being the follow up to ""Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,"" one of the most widely derided films of 2009 and being loathed almost equally by critics this year, ""Dark of the Moon"" took second place at the box office this summer. 

The producers of 2009's unexpected smash-hit ""The Hangover,"" after building up a wealth of public support, delivered a stagnant, putrid rehash of a sequel with ""The Hangover Part II."" 

Even Pixar, always the summer kingmaker, couldn't bring the magic this year. Instead, they released their worst received film ever—""Cars 2,"" once again, a sequel. Sensing a trend here yet? And I haven't even brought up the new ""Pirates of the Caribbean"" and ""Conan The Barbarian"" movies.

Thankfully cinematic salvation has been delivered to us at last. This weekend my hopes for the movie-going year finally hit a screeching turning point and pulled a U-turn back in the right direction. 

From the 80s-throwback opening credits to the deftly crafted closing shot, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn had me utterly enthralled with his art house neo-noir flick ""Drive.""

It may seem like an abstract qualifier of a great movie, but the reality is that over the course of ""Drive""'s 100-minute runtime, I did not once remove my iPhone from my pocket—not to check the time, not to read a text, nothing. This is quite a rarity for me. In fact, I think the last time this occurred was just about a year ago, the first time I saw David Fincher's ""The Social Network"" in the very same theater. 

""Drive,"" Refn's first U.S. production, already won him the Best Director Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and definitely places him in the league of Oscar contenders. And the even better news is that a myriad of high-caliber films like ""Drive"" are just around the bend.

Every year late September commences the Oscar season—the window in which films with awards aspirations usually plan their release in order to be fresh in the minds of voters. While the flow of fantastic flicks won't become a deluge until later this year, there are already a few promising, non-sequel prospects scheduled to be released before the month is over. If you only see one movie this month, make it ""Drive."" But if you see a few more, I suggest you consider the following:

""50/50"" (9/30): A semi-autobiographical story about screenwriter Will Reiser's struggle with cancer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick, ""50/50"" may sound like a recipe for disastrous, unwarranted levity regarding a seriously depressing subject. 

However, after reading a draft of the script from last year and seeing the early reviews posted by critics, I can promise you that Rogen and company make it work. Some critics have even suggested it could sneak its way into the Best Picture or Best Original Screenplay categories come Oscar time.

""Moneyball"" (9/23): Staring the unlikely dramatic pairing of Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, ""Moneyball"" has so far been lauded on two main counts: for a mainstream movie, produced by a major studio for a wide audience, it's refreshingly abstract and intelligent. 

What's more, it has the ability to make even the most disinterested sports fans care about baseball. And I suppose having a script co-written by Aaron Sorkin, winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for last year's ""The Social Network"" can't hurt either.

""Take Shelter"" (9/30): The buzz I've heard surrounding Michael Shannon's (""Boardwalk Empire"") performance in ""Take Shelter"" goes all the way back to Sundance 2011, in January of this year, where I heard first-hand from other festival goers about his riveting performance. 

He portrays a working-class father who becomes obsessed with his dreams and visions of apocalyptic storms and begins building a storm shelter in his family's backyard. This creepy psychological thriller from writer-director Jeff Nichols has already earned Shannon buzz among critics as a possible dark horse for Best Actor. 

It's one of the films I regret missing most this year at Sundance, but luckily it will begin showing in select theaters at the end of this month, expanding to more throughout October.