Here's a preview of the films opening this weekend, including the stylized action drama "Drive," starring Ryan Gosling; the psychological thriller "Straw Dogs," starring Alexander Skarsgard; and the dramedy "I Don't Know How She Does It," starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
In Theaters Now (September)
Who: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks; directed by Nicolas Winding RefnWhat: A Hollywood stunt performer (Gosling), who moonlights as a wheelman, discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist goes wrong.
Who: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard; directed by Rod LurieWhat: L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.
'I Don't Know How She Does It' (Sept. 16)
Who: Sarah Jessica Parker, Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Christina Hendricks; directed by Douglas McGrathWhat: A comedy centered on the life of Kate Reddy, a finance executive who is the breadwinner for her husband and two kids.
Who: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cottilard; directed by Steven SoderberghWhat: A thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.
Who: Tom Hardy, Jennifer Morrison, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton; directed by Gavin O'ConnorWhat: The youngest son (Hardy) of an alcoholic former boxer (Nolte) returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament — a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his older brother (Edgerton).
In documentary-style, decades-old footage is found from NASA's abandoned Apollo 18 mission. It shows how two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition — and reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon. [cue ominous music].
'Shark Night 3D' (Sept. 2)
Who: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee; directed by David R. EllisWhat: A weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for seven vacationers as they are subjected to fresh-water shark attacks.
Who: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthingon, Tom Wilkinson, Jessica Chastain; directed by John MaddenWhat: The espionage thriller spans time following Mossad agents from the time they track down a Nazi war criminal in 1966 to 1997, where the agents are being killed. The team's mission was accomplished-or was it?
