The 30 most exciting fall films to keep your eye on

Don’t book your autumn without making room for these promising fall films—the best of Hollywood, the art house and beyond.

By David Fear, Joshua Rothkopf and Keith Uhlich Mon Sep 17 2012

Fall films: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2
Fall films: Life of Pi
Fall films: Red Dawn
Fall films: Rise of the Guardians
Fall films: Beware of Mr. Baker

Fall films: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2

Who knows how the final chapter of the megapopular YA series will play onscreen or off, post-trampire scandal. What’s certain from the book itself is that a bloodsucking Bella goes pretty wild. Let’s pray for plenty of red-eyed psychodrama. (Nov 16)

LOP-1 - Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) and a fierce Bengal tiger named Richard Parker must rely on each other to survive an epic journey.

Life of Pi

Based on the bits and pieces we’ve seen, Ang Lee’s lavish 3-D adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel—about an Indian boy set adrift with a Bengal tiger and other animals after a shipwreck—looks like a roaring-good fantasy. (Nov 21)

Red Dawn

Since shooting this remake of the 1984 America-invasion thriller, leading-man Chris Hemsworth has become a hammer-wielding star via Thor and The Avengers. We hear the three-year delay was mainly financial, but the villain has been changed from China to North Korea. Gotta protect those ancillary markets, right? (Nov 21)

Rise of the Guardians

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny—they’re all pretty fierce, right? Prepare for a rethink of warm and fuzzy with DreamWorks’ comic animated adventure, blessed with a terrific voice cast: Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman and an evil Jude Law. (Nov 21)

Beware of Mr. Baker

That’d be Ginger Baker, former member of Cream and Blind Faith, a pioneering drummer and holy terror of rock & roll. Jay Bulger’s award-winning documentary on the hell-raising skin-pounder apparently proves that the title’s warning is not to be taken lightly. (Nov 28)