Fall film lineup jam packed with high hopes and star-studded casts (Photos)

Ask any girl what movie she's looking forward to seeing this fall and you may get the response, "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (go team Edward!)."

Before you get the chance to see it on film, you probably already know what’s going to happen.

Don’t we all?

Still, the popular vampire film can't fill up every theater (thank goodness). At least we get a few other options to watch when heading out to pay too much for a soda and popcorn.

Science Fiction/Fantasy:

• "Resident Evil: Retribution" (Not yet rated) - due out September 14. Oh good. Milla Jovovich returns (again) as Alice. This time, she fights the undead (sound familiar... like every other single Resident Evil movie ever made?). It's likely people don't come to watch these movies for their Academy Award performances; more like they come to watch for a girl whose clothes keep getting torn from her body.
• "Dredd" (R) - due out September 21. Judge Dredd? Sylvester Stallone? Nope. This time, the 1995 remake will star Karl-Heinz (can we say, ketchup?) Urban. This next remake (is there a "Scary Movie" remake in the future?) is set in the future where the police officers now preside as all - judge, jury and executioner (scary).
• "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (Not yet rated) – due out December 14. As if the four Lord of the Rings movies wasn’t enough. Here we go again. This time, they replay a story this writer read as a child. Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, with much of the cast from The Lord of the Rings, travels to Lonely Mountain to take back the treasure the dwarves lost when it was stolen by the dragon, Smaug.

Out of the three – definitely looking forward to seeing The Hobbit movie. It’s possible this might be one of the best ever filmed.

Action:

• "The Man with the Iron Fists" (R) – due out November 2. This is a Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained) presentation. Russell Crowe (Les Misérables) plays in this movie. Russell Crowe… he’s still around? Well, howdy doo. Lucy Liu co-stars. Let’s see how Ally McBeal’s former nemesis does.
• "Skyfall" (Not yet rated) – due out November 9. Daniel Craig returns for another Bond movie. Mmm… nice. Not sure about the details. Chances are, though, it will involve a song with sexy women, a Bond girl, alcohol and guns.
• "Red Dawn" (PG-13) – due out November 21. Chris Hemsworth stars in this remake of the 1984 film about teenagers looking to save their town from North Korean soldiers. Many may remember the movie, but will it live up to this cultural favorite?
• "Zero Dark Thirty" (Not yet rated) – due out December 19. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this is a chronicle of the 10-year hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist, Osama bin Laden, followed by his death at the hands of some skilled Navy Seals.

Bond movies are always this writer’s favorite. Let’s see how they play out this next chapter in the life of James Bond.

Family:

• "Finding Nemo 3D" (G) - due out September 14. One of the best films ever made by Pixar, Marlin, Dory, Nemo and the rest of the gang return, but this time in 3D. Feel like you're right in the water with these comical and memorable fish as you witness one of the best classical cartoon movies ever made.
• "Hotel Transylvania" (PG) - due out September 28. Adam Sandler plays the voice of Dracula. "Dracula runs this beautiful resort like palace for various dark creatures. The antagonist of the story is the love between his daughter (Selena Gomez) and a human being. This is as realistic as it gets, folks. Zombies, Adam Sandler and love.
• "Frankenweenie" (PG) – due out October 5. Tim Burton does it again with another animated movie. This time a little boy named Charlie, who is a mad-scientist-wanna-be brings his dead dog back to life. Christopher Lee plays the voice of Dracula. That’s gotta be neat considering he was the mean guy with a stick in “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.”
• "Rise of the Guardians" (Not yet rated) – due out November 21. This is not about talking owls. Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables), Alec Baldwin and Jude Law are just a few actors working as immortal guardians to help protect the innocence of children all over the world. Santa Claus with tattoos? It is the 21st Century, after all.

Hotel Transylvania looks to be something of laughter and good times with the family. Rise of the Guardians doesn’t fall too far off the “we should see this in the theaters” list, either.

Drama:

• "End of Watch" (Not yet rated) - due out September 21. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena play police officers who end up confiscating money and weapons that belong to a drug cartel during a routine traffic stop.
• "Trouble with the Curve" (PG-13) - due out September 21. Clint Eastwood finds himself in front of the camera again as he plays a baseball scout who is beginning to truly show his age. Amy Adams plays his daughter who goes with him on his last recruiting trip. Oh, and Justin Timberlake acts again, playing an aging baseball scout who takes his daughter (Amy Adams) on one last recruiting trip. Justin Timberlake (Remember that guy? He dated Brittney Spears and performed in films like "Love Actually."). John Goodman (Argo, Flight) is also in there. So, the guy who can play Dirty Harry and then play in Flight) is good, but Clint Eastwood rather has me a little interested in going to see this movie. Always been a Dirty Harry fan.
• "Won't Back Down" (PG) - due out September 28. Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal are two mothers who work hard to improve the inner-city school their children attend. This sounds like a wonderful drama with an "inner" meaning.
• "Argo" (R) – due out October 12. Ben Affleck is both director and actor. He plays in this declassified true story about six American Foreign Service members who were rescued in 1979 Iran after convincing the leaders of Iran they are merely part of the film crew. John Goodman (Trouble with the Curve, Flight) plays in this movie, too. Holy cow. Let’s see how it pans out.
• "Chasing Mavericks" (PG) – due out October 26. Jonny Weston plays Jay Moriarity, who is a real-life surfer who wants to ride the Mavericks break. In order to do so, he asks Frosty Hesson, played by Gerard Butler (Playing for Keeps), for some help. Elisabeth Shue (House at the End of the Street) plays Christy Moriarity in the movie. This is based on a true story and has Gerard Butler.
• "Cloud Atlas" (R) – due out October 26. This movie stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant. It is about how the actions of individual lives have a true impact on another’s past, present and future, shaping a killer into a hero, for instance and eventually inspires a revolution.
• "Flight" (Not yet rated)” – due out November 2. Denzel Washington plays an airline pilot who makes an impossible crash landing, saving everyone on board. But, woopsie, he has a slight drinking problem. John Goodman (Argo, Trouble with the Curve) co-stars in this movie (busy boy).
• "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2" (Not yet rated) – due out November 16. Eddie and Bella return to raise their baby, some name not yet capable of pronouncing. The Volturi guys come back. They can’t seem to find the right amount of Visine for their eyes. But, be sure to stay out of the light so they aren’t “bedazzled.”
• "Life of Pi" (Not yet rated) – due out November 21. Directed by Ang Lee in this Yann Martel's novel, Suraj Sharma plays Pi, a zookeeper’s son who ends up adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a zebra, hyena, orangutan and a Bengal tiger. Sounds like The Jungle Book and The Love Boat in one. Might be a good movie to see.
• "Les Misérables" (Not yet rated) – due out December 14. This Victor Hugo novel finally comes to the big screen with a star-studded cast, including Hugh Jackman (Rise of the Guardians), Russell Crowe (The Man with the Iron Fists) and Anne Hathaway.
• "Jack Reacher" (PG-13) – due out December 21. Another Tom Cruise crime drama. Cruise plays a former military investigator who investigates a sniper shooting. This story is based on a character from the novels of Lee Child. The character, however, in the books, is over six feet tall. Platform shoes, maybe?
• "Django Unchained" (Not yet rated) – due out Christmas Day: Another Quentin Tarantino (The Man with the Iron Fists) film. So, this slave-turned-bounty hunter tries to rescue his wife from savage plantation owner, Leonardo DiCaprio. Isn’t that the guy who thought he could fly?

Always been an Eastwood fan and recently a Twilight fan. Though, on the open date, this writer may opt to see Twilight first and watch Trouble with the Curve in the comfort of her own home.

Horror:

• "House at the End of the Street" (PG-13) - due out September 21. Elisabeth Shue and Jennifer Lawrence portray a mother and daughter team who just moved next to a home where a little girl previously killed her parents. The girl then disappeared. Just a slight stretch from sliding down the Crain Communication Building.
• "Sinister" (R) – due out October 5. Lotsa awards winner and nominee, Ethan Hawke returns to the big screen as a true-crime novelist. He finds some footage and learns how the previous owners of his new home were murdered. And we thought the economy was affecting new home purchases. Turns out it’s all these horror “I-just-moved-into-a-new-home-which-is-an-old-death-trap” movies.
• "Paranormal Activity 4" (Not yet rated) – due out October 19. Seriously? Another one? This one, however, is a sequel to Paranormal Activity 2, not the third movie. So, confusion definitely is coming into play. How many girls can get possessed before someone does something?
• "Silent Hill: Revolution" (Not yet rated) – due out October 26. Is this really based on a video game? The first movie wasn’t much to write home about. This time, Adelaide Clemens is a young woman who discovers her father’s disappearance. She finds herself in some weird alternate reality that relates to childhood nightmares. Hmm… sounds familiar – rather like, oh yeah… Silent Hill, the first movie.

Never been a big Ethan Hawke fan. But, “Sinister” looks good enough to pick first in this line of horror films.

Comedy:

• "Butter" (R) – due out October 5. Did someone really name a movie after one of the best things to go on sliced bread? Jennifer Garner plays a girl who discovers a talent for carving butter (ooh, la la). There’s even competition again Yara Shahidi who is… yes, 12 years old. Good luck, Garner.
• "Pitch Perfect" (PG-13) – due out October 5. Anna Kendrick (End of Watch) comes onto screen as a freshman in college who ends up joining an all-female singing group. They end up taking on a group of boy singers in a competition. This sounds a little like the Spice Girls against the Backstreet Boys.
• "Here Comes the Boom" (Not yet rated) – due out October 12. Kevin James and Salma Hayek return after starring in “Grown Ups” to play in a movie where budget cuts put a school’s extra-curricular activities in danger. James plays a teacher and ends up trying to learn mixed-martial arts to raise money and save the day. Sounds familiar… martial artist, comedy, save the day…Chris Farley, maybe?
• "The Big Wedding" (Not yet rated) – due out October 26. Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton are divorced, but must pretend to be married for their son’s wedding. Robin Williams and Katherine Heigl are also in here. This kind of sounds a little like “27 Dresses” and “The Birdcage.”
• "Fun Size" (Not rated) – due out October 26. Victoria Justice and Johnny Knoxville…really? Victoria plays a girl who wants to attend a Halloween party. First, though, she has to find her little brother who has wandered off.
• "Wreck-It Ralph" (Not yet rated) – due out November 2. This is an animated movie about a video game character who wants nothing more than to be a hero. Rental?
• "Playing for Keeps" (PG-13) – due out December 7. Gerard Butler (Chasing Mavericks) is a former professional soccer player who, in an attempt to set his life straight, coaches his son's soccer team. Is Butler attempting to become a good father figure? He did an interesting job in “300.”
• "This Is 40" (R) – due out December 21. A “sequel” to "Knocked Up," Pete and Debbie (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) continue their marriage five years after the first film. This might be one worth watching in theaters.
• "The Guilt Trip" (Not yet rated) – due out Christmas Day. Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen play a mother and son (hmm) travel so Rogan can sell his latest invention. Sounds about as exciting as … well, movies so unexciting that we can’t even remember their names.
• "Parental Guidance" (Not yet rated) – due out Christmas Day. Billy Crystal plays a grandfather who is stuck caring for his grandchildren using 21st Century methods with a 20th Century mind. Bette Midler plays his wife. No comment.

Kevin James always brings good laughs. So, “Here Comes the Boom” is a definite must see in the long line of comedies.

Thriller:

• "Looper" (Not yet rated) - due out September 28. Another futuristic movie (how original). This time, future mobsters send people they don't like back to the past to kill them. Bruce Willis plays Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an employee for the mob (probably not getting a 1099 for that position) who recognizes one of the victims... it's him! Is it too early to say maybe Bruce doesn't seem like as tough of a guy as... anyone else. Maybe it's that sly smile of his.
• "Taken 2" (PG-13) – due out October 5. As if the first movie is now keeping parents from letting any child travel overseas, Liam Neeson returns. Except, this time, it’s he and his wife who are taken and by the father of one of the kidnappers he killed in Taken… One? Maybe this time, his daughter is the one who gives directions and get her parents back.
• "Alex Cross" (PG-13) – due out October 19. Tyler Perry is now in a thriller who is a detective whose loses a family member after they are murdered. Cross sets out to find his family member’s killer. How interesting… Perry had nothing to do with writing this movie or directing it… and at no time is he in drag.
• "Killing Them Softly" (R) – due out October 19. Brad Pitt plays an enforcer who looks into a heist at a mob-protected poker game. Oh, and a few “bad” guys are also in it: Ray Liotta (did you know he was in a Miley Cyrus movie?), Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini and Ben Mendelsohn. Sounds like an interesting movie.

Although Willis doesn’t seem to age as well as some other male Hollywood actors, “Looper” sounds like it might be a good movie to watch on the big screen.

Biography:

• "Lincoln" (Not yet rated) – due out November 9. Steven Spielberg directs a movie with Daniel Day-Lewis (good choice) as America’s 16th president. Let’s see, Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg together. That’s a success sandwich.

Always been a fan of honest Abe. “Lincoln” sounds better than that Lincoln was a vampire killer movie. Plus, Lewis has always portrayed strong, excellent actors.