Hollywood's pushing three topics to explore during cocktail hour this season: your government (political thrillers like Rendition and Lions for Lambs explore dubious policies both foreign and domestic), your sense of reality (mind-bending fantasy comes courtesy of The Golden Compass and The Seeker), and your funeral arrangements (an inordinate number of films focus on the recently widowed). And if none of those stir your shaker, fall back on the season's conversation-starter standby: the Oscar race. This is, after all, the time of year when the "serious" films start showing up.

Premiere provides a crib sheet with everything you need to know about autumn at the movies.

American Gangster's Washington and Crowe >>

View Gallery of 50+ Fall Films >>