Fall movie preview: The good, the bad and the really intriguing

Nearly 70 films are headed for a cinema near you through Dec. 25. Here are the fall movies through October.

(All release dates are subject to change. “Limited” means limited markets for that date — wider release dates also included where known.)

SEPT. 4

“All About Steve” (Fox): Sandra Bullock and Thomas Haden Church star as an “eccentric crosswords puzzle player” and the CNN cameraman she becomes comically obsessed with in this romance from the screenwriter of “License to Wed.”

“Extract” (Miramax): Jason Bateman stars as the owner of a flower-extract plant coping with a cheating wife (Kristen Wiig) and assorted other issues. Ben Affleck and Mila Kunis also star in this Mike Judge comedy.

“Gamer” (Lionsgate): Gerard Butler stars in this sci-fi thriller about a guy who tracks down the man (Michael C. Hall) who pulls the strings in the popular “Slayer” game.

SEPT. 9

“9” (Focus): Rag-doll creatures struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world in this sci-fi animation, which features the voices of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly and Christopher Plummer.

SEPT. 11

“Daybreakers” (Lionsgate): Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe star in this sci-fi vampire movie about a virus that’s turned the Earth of 2017 into vampire central.

“The September Issue” (Roadside Attractions): This documentary follows that whirling dervish of fashion, Anna Wintour, as she prepares to set the fashion agenda with her annual September edition of Vogue.

“Sorority Row” (Summit): Briana Evigan and Rumer Willis are among the celebrity offspring starring in this horror thriller about sorority girls who try to cover up a death.

“This Side of the Truth” (Warner Bros.): This Ricky Gervais comedy is about a young American (Jonah Hill) who craves the approval of his reckless ex-pat dad, now living in Rome.

“Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (Lionsgate): Taraji P. Henson stars. Gladys Knight sings and Tyler Perry dons the Madea dress for his latest sermon with a silly edge.

“Whiteout” (Warner Bros.): Kate Beckinsale stars in this Antarctic murder mystery, based on the Greg Rucka graphic novel and directed by Dominic Sena.

SEPT. 18

“Armored” (Screen Gems): An armored truck heist is at the heart of this action film, which stars Columbus Short, Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishburne, Skeet Ulrich and Jean Reno.

“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (Columbia- Sony Animation): The voices of Anna Faris, Bill Hader, James Caan, Mr. T. and Tracy Morgan are featured in this comedy about world hunger being solved (sort of) when food begins falling from the sky.

“The Informant” (Warner Bros.): Matt Damon stars in this Steven Soderbergh farce about a real-life whistle blower who was almost as dirty as the folks he was blowing the whistle on.

“Jennifer’s Body” (Fox): Megan Fox is a cheerleader possessed, who kills off her male classmates in this horror-comedy from the writer of "Juno."

“Love Happens” (Universal): Aaron Eckhart is a self-help guru who has written of his wife’s death; Jennifer Aniston is the woman he meets at one of his seminars in this romantic weeper.

“Pandorum” (Overture): Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster are spacemen who wake up on their ship with no memory of who they are or what their mission might be.

SEPT. 25

“Fame” (Lakeshore Entertainment/MGM): Debbie Allen and a bunch of little-knowns and unknowns turn out for this update-remake of the 1980 film and 1982 TV series about ambitious dreamers at New York’s High School for the Performing Arts.

“The Invention of Lying” (Warner Bros.): Ricky Gervais plays a man who lives in a world free from lies, until this writer discovers the art of fibbing. With Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill and Jason Bateman.

“Surrogates” (Touchstone): Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell star in this sci-fi thriller as agents who track murders back to a company that makes humanlike robots designed to step in for their owners.

OCT. 2

“Capitalism: A Love Story” (Overture): Michael Moore’s take on the financial crisis and the people, high and low, who caused it.

“Toy Story 3D” (Disney/Pixar): Pixar re-issues a double-feature of the two films, “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” that started the computer animation craze, this time in 3-D.

LIMITED

“More than a Game” (Lionsgate): LeBron James and four high school teammates tell the story of their friendship and ensuing lives in this documentary about the roots of an NBA superstar. (Opens wider Oct. 16.)

OCT. 9

“Couples Retreat” (Universal): Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Jon Favreau and Justin Bateman are in this all-star comedy about couples trapped in a resort where they’re forced to fix their relationships.

“Zombieland” (Columbia): Woody Harrelson plays a meek chap who tries to find refuge in a world overrun by zombies. Jesse Eisenberg, pictured above, also stars in this comedy.

OCT. 16

“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” (Universal): Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek and, as a vampire, John C. Reilly, are prime attractions at a “freak show” circus that a young boy (Chris Massoglia) falls into.

“Law Abiding Citizen” (Overture): Gerard Butler stars in this thriller about a man whose family was murdered who then takes the law into his own hands when the justice system fails him.

“The Road” (Dimension): Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi dystopia about a man and his son struggling to survive on “the road” stars Viggo Mortensen and Oscar winners Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron.

“The Stepfather” (Screen Gems): This is a remake of the 1987 thriller about the man who tries to kill off a family he has married into that isn’t working out. Sela Ward and Amber Heard are among the stars.

“Where the Wild Things Are” (Warner Bros.): The Spike Jonze version of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s fantasy book stars Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo and Catherine O’Hara.

OCT. 23

“Amelia” (Fox Searchlight): Mira Nair’s biography of aviation legend Amelia Earhart stars Oscar winner Hilary Swank.

“Astro Boy” (Summit): Another animated Japanese TV series from the ’60s earns a big-screen outing, with the voices of Nicolas Cage, Eugene Levy and Freddie Highmore as the robot, Astro Boy.

“Ong Bak 2” (Magnolia): More Thai martial-arts action starring and directed by Tony Jaa, with this vengeance tale set in medieval Thailand.

“Saw VI” (Lionsgate): The slasher series that will never die until YOU people stop buying tickets makes its annual Halloween Eve return.

OCT. 30

“House of the Devil” (Magnolia): A baby sitter takes an unusual job and lives to regret it in this horror tale starring Jocelin Donahue.