Dateworthy! Fall 2017 Movie Preview, Part 1

This weekend marks the first time in more than 20 years that Hollywood has completely thrown in the towel and not bothered to release a major movie over Labor Day weekend.

So instead, I’m looking ahead to some of the most intriguing movies coming out during the next three months. We’ll see whether they hold up to being Dateworthy! over the coming weeks.

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“It” (Sept. 8)

One of horror master Stephen King’s most popular novels — about a group of bullied kids in small-town Maine who team up to take on an evil clown named Pennywise, who’s been doing away with children for centuries — finally hits the big screen more than 30 years after it was published. Early word is that this is an absolutely terrifying adaptation, though the book’s 1,138-page length means that viewers will have to wait a couple of years to see the actual conclusion, since the filmmakers have split the story into two films.

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“Mother!” (Sept. 15)

Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play a happily married couple who find that their tranquil life is turned upside down by the arrival of a creepy, uninvited couple played by Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. All four leads have been Oscar winners or nominees, a remarkable casting coup that could make this the acting showdown of the year under the creative hand of writer-director Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”).

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“The Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (Sept. 22)

Director Matthew Vaughn brought daringly funny new life to the British spy genre with “The Kingsman: The Secret Service,” and this time he has nerd-turned-super-agent Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) teaming up with an American secret society against an even greater world threat. Adding Jeff Bridges and Channing Tatum to the mix seems a recipe for an even tastier mix of action and comedy.

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“Battle of the Sexes” (Sept. 22)

Emma Stone follows her Oscar-winning turn in “La La Land” by playing tennis legend Billie Jean King in the true-life story of King’s 1973 on-court showdown with former champ and perpetual hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell). Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton worked wonders with the Best Picture-nominated dramedy “Little Miss Sunshine,” leaving high hopes that this comical take on history will score an ace.

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“American Made” (Sept. 29)

Tom Cruise finally appears to be stretching his talents again after five “Mission: Impossible” movies, the wretched reboot of “The Mummy” and a string of middling sci-fi films. Here he takes on the role of real-life former airline pilot Barry Seal, who became a drug smuggler for the Medellin Cartel in the 1980s before becoming a DEA informant to avoid jail time while nearly bringing down the Reagan White House.

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Part 2 follows tomorrow!