The end of summer gives film-lovers a peek at the serious film fare headed our way. Our picks combine old friends and newcomers ready to rumble. As always, it's fascinating to see how LGBTQ films figure in the ongoing cultural mix.
"The Hummingbird Project" Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard set out to succeed in the cut-throat world of high-frequency trading, establishing a fiber optic cable linking New Jersey and Kansas. They're thwarted by their old boss (Salma Hayak).
"A Rainy Day in New York" In Woody Allen's 48th film as writer-director, a couple visiting Manhattan finds bad weather and unexpected adventures. A stellar cast includes Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall, Jude Law, Liev Schreiber and Diego Luna.
"The Old Man & the Gun" Robert Redford, who recently announced his retirement from acting, appears in a shaggy dog story about a charming old hold-up artist so nice about his heists that his victims feel sorry about bringing him in. This "mostly true" tale co-stars Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, and Tom Waits.
"Dead in a Week or Your Money Back" Writer-director Tom Edmunds' dark piece about a young man who, having failed nine times to kill himself, outsources the job to a professional killer.
"7500" Joseph Gordon-Leavitt stars as a pilot whose plane is hijacked by terrorists.
"Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grinelwald" The second installment in author J.K. Rowling's post-Potter series stars Eddie Redmayne.
"Shirley" An acclaimed writer of horror fiction is inspired to write when she and her hubby offer shelter to a young couple. Stars Elizabeth Moss, Michael Stuhlbarg and Logan Lerman.
"Gore" A young man's summer in Italy is enlivened by a chance encounter with his idol, gay author Gore Vidal. Michael Hoffman directs Kevin Spacey, Michael Stuhlbarg and Douglas Booth.
"The Dirt" Jeff Tremaine directs this musical bio-pic about rock band Motley Crue.
"Backseat" Political fable about right-wing former V.P. Dick Cheney, father of a lesbian daughter. High-powered cast: Christian Bale (Cheney), Amy Adams (Lynne Cheney), Steve Carell (Donald Rumsfeld), Bill Pullman (Nelson Rockefeller), Sam Rockwell (Pres. G.W. Bush), Alison Pill (Mary Cheney), Lily Rabe (Liz Cheney), Tyler Perry (Gen. Colin Powell), and Justin Kirk (Scooter Libby).
"The Pretenders" James Franco helms this romantic feature, a triangle between a photographer, a director and an actress (Brian Cox, Juno Temple, Franco).
"The Garden Left Behind" Tina, a young transwoman, and Eliana, her grandmother, navigate Tina's transition and try to build a space for themselves as undocumented immigrants in Trump's America. With newcomer Carie Guevara, Hollywood institution Edward Asner, Michael Madsen and Danny Flaherty.
"Beautiful Boy" Based on twin father/son memoirs, the painful journey taken by a son (Timothee Chalamet) and a dad (Steve Carell) as they battle over Nick's possibly terminal drug habit.
"If Beale Street Could Talk" "Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins adapts gay African-American author James Baldwin's novel. Features actors Kiki Layne and Stephen James.
"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" When writer Lee Israel fell out of favor, she turned to the craft of deception. Melissa McCarthy, Richard T. Grant and Dolly Wells star in Marielle Heller's confessional, screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Witty.