Fall Preview: 20 of the season's most anticipated films and documentaries

James Bond, Katniss Everdeen, Rocky Balboa, Han Solo.

Sound familiar?

Although the fall and holiday film lineup - 60-plus pictures by year's end - boasts any number of new and indie titles, edgy docs and, dramas, untested projects with unknown stars, the season is anchored by some very old icons. (OK, District 12's rabble-rouser hasn't been around that long, but it sure feels like an eternity.)

In addition to the return of 007,"The Hunger Games" (the swan song), Sly Stallone on the streets of Philadelphia, and Harrison Ford in a galaxy far far away, the fall is big on features based on real people, real events, real stuff that happened in real life. Along with the 20 pics highlighted below, look out for the Steve Jobs biopic starring Michael Fassbender, the Dalton Trumbo biopic starring Bryan Cranston, the Lili Elbe transgender biopic starring Eddie Redmayne, and the Philippe Petit and Edward Snowden biopics, both starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

You want remakes? Try "Point Break."

You want sequels? Try "Hotel Transylvania 2," "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension," and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip."

You want something to blow your mind, like last year's Academy Award-winning Best Picture, "Birdman"? Well, its director, Alejandro G. Inarritu, is back, running Leonardo DiCaprio through some Dakota Territory fur-trapping madness in"The Revenant." Can lightning strike twice?

"Black Mass"
Sept. 18
Johnny Depp angles for an Oscar in Scott Cooper's dark, violent, true-crime tale, based on the murderous exploits of South Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. Kevin Bacon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, and Dakota Johnson top an impressive, Southie-accented cast. R - S.R.

"Pawn Sacrifice"
Sept. 25
The line between genius and madness is always a popular one to walk during Oscar season. This year it's Tobey Maguire's turn, playing American chess wizard Bobby Fischer, the brilliant but unbalanced Brooklyn prodigy who found himself at the center of the Cold War in the 1970s when he took on the top Soviet players, including world champion Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber). Directed by Ed Zwick. PG-13 - G.T.

"Freeheld"
Oct. 2
Julianne Moore stars as Laurel Hester, the Ocean County police officer whose battle for pension benefits for her domestic partner, Stacie Andree (Ellen Page), gained national attention back in late 2005, early 2006. A documentary short about Hester's legal battle, also called "Freeheld," won the Academy Award in 2007. PG-13 - S.R.

"Peace Officer"
Oct. 2
Timely documentary about the militarization of American police departments, told through the eyes of Utah lawman Dub Lawrence, who decades ago was among the first to adopt special weapons and tactics. However, when SWAT teams killed his own son-in-law, he embarked on a comprehensive reevaluation of accepted police procedures, one that calls many current departmental tactics into serious question. - G.T.

"The Martian"
Oct. 2
Ridley Scott directs Matt Damon in this sci-fi adventure (based on the Andy Weir bestseller) about an astronaut mistakenly left for dead on Mars, where he must first signal Earth that he's still alive, then find a way to survive until his colleagues (Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, and Chiwetel Ejiofor), millions of miles away, can mount a rescue. - G.T.

"Legend"
Oct. 9
When Brian Helgeland was looking for an actor to play opposite Tom Hardy in his biography of the twin-brother gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, he could do no better than Tom Hardy. So the versatile Hardy played both roles, which made for a tougher shoot, but gave Hardy a chance to play the introverted Reginald, who was straight, and the extroverted Ron, who was gay. R - G.T.

"Bridge of Spies"
Oct. 16
Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller is based on the efforts to gain the release of U.S. "spy pilot" Francis Gary Powers, shot down over the Soviet Union. Tom Hanks is the Brooklyn lawyer who brings Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) to trial, with the plan to trade him for Powers. Suspense and intrigue on both sides of the Iron Curtain. PG-13 - S.R.

"Beasts of No Nation"
Oct. 16
Cary Fukunaga ("Jane Eyre," "Sin Nombre") directs Idris Elba in this Netflix-produced story of a vicious West African militant leader whose conscripts include child soldiers. Based on the award-winning novel by Nigerian American novelist Uzodinma Iweala, it's told from the standpoint of a traumatized, orphaned young fighter, who experiences war with a mix of horror and fascination. - G.T.

"Burnt"
Oct. 23
Bradley Cooper wields frying pan and spatula in a comeback drama about a superstar chef who falls victim to drugs and ego, and tries to resurrect his career by taking over a London restaurant, sights set on three Michelin stars. Lily James, Sienna Miller, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Vikander are the women in his life. Toque no prisoners! - S.R.

"The Peanuts Movie"
Nov. 6
Computer-animated adaptation of Charles Schultz's beloved comic strip, featuring that nervous, self-doubting Everyboy, Charlie Brown, his faithful pooch Snoopy, and the rest of the gang, including Linus, Lucy, and Schroeder. The son and grandson of the late cartoonist hatched the plot. The family-centric feature commemorates Peanuts' 65th anniversary. G - S.R.

"Spectre"
Nov. 6
The last Daniel Craig Bond flick, "Skyfall," gave us insight into 007's heritage. In "Spectre," we see that Bond may also have mysterious ties to the criminal organization, Spectre, that has been his nemesis. Directed by Sam Mendes, featuring Christoph Waltz as head of Spectre and Lea Seydoux as Bond's love interest. - G.T.

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two"
Nov. 20
The final installment of the sci-fi franchise again features Jennifer Lawrence as the leader of an armed rebellion of the disenfranchised against a dictatorial regime in the near-future ruin of the U.S. Advance word is that the finale preserves much of the shockingly downbeat conclusion set down by Suzanne Collins in her dystopian Y.A. novels. PG-13 - G.T.

"Carol"
Nov. 20
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara star in a lesbian love story adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel "The Price of Salt" and directed by Todd ("Mildred Pierce," "Far From Heaven") Haynes. Nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, where Mara - playing the shopgirl who falls for the older, married Blanchett - won the Best Actress prize. R - S.R.

"Creed"
Nov. 25
"I've been fightin' my whole life - it's not a choice for me," says Michael B. Jordan, cast as the pugilist son of boxing champ Apollo Creed in director Ryan Coogler's Rocky spin-off. With shots of the Italian Market, the Frankford El, and rowhouses ringing the spires of Center City, Creed definitely has a sense of Philly deja vu about it. And when Sylvester Stallone, wearing that leather jacket and porkpie hat, enters the picture to train his rival's offspring as he goes into the ring, it's deja vu all over again. Get your soft pretzels here. - S.R.

"I Saw the Light"
Dec. 11
Tom Hiddleston has acquired the reputation of an actor who can do anything. We'll find out in this biopic about the meteoric career of country legend Hank Williams, who left a prodigious body of work before his alcohol-related death at 29. The veddy British Hiddleston will have to master country-music singing and Williams' Alabama twang. Early stills are encouraging: Hiddleston has an uncanny physical resemblance to the legendary singer-songwriter. - G.T.

"Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens"
Dec. 18
The elephant in the room - no, make that the Wookiee in the room - J.J. Abrams' reboot of George Lucas' franchise is the Movie Event of the Millennium. Speaking of which, Harrison Ford and Chewbacca climb back in the Millennium Falcon, joined by old confreres Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker, and newbies John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. May the Force be with you as you try to survive the asteroid storm of hype. PG-13 - S.R.

"The Hateful Eight"
Dec. 25
Quentin Tarantino's western, about a bunch of baddies holed up in a stagecoach station during a blizzard, is set in Wyoming just after the Civil War. The director told New York magazine that his film is "about the country being torn apart by it, and the racial aftermath. . . ." Tarantino standbys Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Kurt Russell are joined by Jennifer Jason Leigh, Demián Bichir, and Bruce Dern. This is the one that Tarantino almost didn't make when his screenplay was leaked and the Django Unchained director got all peevish and whiny about it. R - S.R.

"Daddy's Home"
Dec. 25
"The Other Guys" stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reunite for this comedy, featuring Ferrell as a milquetoast suburban stepdad whose role in the household is tested when his wife's bad-boy ex (Wahlberg) reenters the picture. Written and directed by "Horrible Bosses" and "Hot Tub Time Machine" scribes Sean Anders and John Morris. - G.T.

"Joy"
Dec. 25
From the man who brought us Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, and the actress who starred in them: David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence reteam for the true story of struggling-single-mom-turned-kazillionaire-entrepreneur Joy Mangano, inventor of Huggable Hangers and the Miracle Mop. Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper also star. - S.R.

"The Revenant"
Dec. 25
Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Inarritu directs this fact-based story of frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who in 1823 was nearly killed in a bear attack and tries to survive the frozen wilderness after he's abandoned by friends (Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson). Inarritu says the $100 million epic is the most difficult he has ever filmed, which is saying something, coming from the director of "Birdman." - G.T.

_______