Fall Preview Critics’ Picks | Yet more Film events this fall

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper

1. Looper
Area theaters
In Brick director Rian Johnson’s presumably mind-warping latest, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is assigned to assassinate a future version of himself (Bruce Willis) who’s been sent back in time. He does this only after sulking over his impending hair loss. Sept 28

2. Flight
Area theaters
After pilot Denzel Washington saves a plane from crashing, troubling questions are raised. There’s strong buzz on Robert Zemeckis’s return to live-action filmmaking following a decade of motion-capture work. Nov 2

3. Silver Linings Playbook
Area theaters
Just out of an institution, Bradley Cooper attempts to get his life back on track; Jennifer Lawrence helps him out. Three Kings director David O. Russell adapted the script himself (from Matthew Quick’s novel), so expect more edge than we got in his gun-for-hire project The Fighter. Nov 21

4. Holy Motors
Music Box
If you enjoy sewer monsters, impromptu musical numbers, talking limos and star Denis Lavant assuming a different guise in virtually every scene, don’t miss this Cannes sensation from French filmmaker Leos Carax. The supporting cast includes Kylie Minogue, Eva Mendes and Edith Scob. Nov 9

5. The Loneliest Planet
Music Box
Like Holy Motors, a movie we’re eager to see again, Julia Loktev’s film is best watched with as little foreknowledge as possible. Nothing happens, then something happens—and then radically recontextualized nothingness ensues. Nov 2