“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

When I think of this famous quote by the late great Maya Angelou. I think of movies.  Why? Because movies are magical. There is no greater experience to me, than sitting in a dark movie theater with my popcorn and soda, waiting in anticipation of a good movie to start.

 A well done movie grants the viewer full access to into artistry and storytelling that is unparalleled to any other art form. Going to the movies is my happy place. I love the feeling of getting lost into another world for a few hours, allowing my mind to escape all of my fears, doubts and concerns.

I recall the days when I was a struggling college student, living in Washington DC, away from family, and working three jobs to finance my education. There were times I sat in class, frustrated because I was tired, not alert and unable to comprehend the lecture.  Consequently at those times, I would leave early. This annoyed a few of my professors. Then finally, one day, my International Finance professor stopped me in front of the entire class and yelled,

“Where are you going Dawkins?

I replied, loud and proud, “I AM GOING TO THE MOVIES!!!!”

 He replied back,

“Judging from the grades on your last two exams Dawkins, I think maybe you should sit this one out and stay in class.”

I left anyway, because going to the movies is always worth it.  🙂

In honor of my happy place, I have complied a list of movies that are coming to the theaters or playing on Netflix this fall that I cannot wait to see.

Stephanie Dawkins, Editor In Chief

These are my top 15 picks:

IT Chapter Two (September 6)

In Stephen King’s lore, Pennywise the Clown emerges from the gutters every 27 years. But in the real world, it only took two years for him to crawl out once again onto the big screen: Bill Skarsgård will return to don face paint and terrorize the Losers’ Club, your favorite group of misfit friends in Derry, ME. The action takes place 27 years after It — so the once-kiddos are played by Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader and James McAvoy, among others.

The Goldfinch (September 13)

Donna Tartt’s novel was a bestseller and a flashpoint in a heated cultural divideafter it came out in 2013. Director John Crowley took on the demanding task of condensing this beloved 800-page novel into two-plus hours. Ansel Elgort stars as Theo, whose mother was killed by a bomb at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson and Finn Wolfhard (of Stranger Things) play significant roles.

Hustlers (Sept. 13)

In 2015, New York Magazine published a sorta-kinda Robin Hood storyseemingly made for the 21st-century big screen: the tale of a group of strippers who banded together to rob Wall Street millionaires of their gobs of money. Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez star in this adaptation, which also features Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B — a former stripper herself.

Downton Abbey (Sept. 20)

The Crawleys are back, and they’re getting ready for some special guests. This film sequel to the cherished TV series will take place in 1927, a couple years after the show’s finale, and hinges on a royal visit from King George V and Queen Mary. Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery are all set to return to their lacy ruffles with more cutting witticisms.

Judy (Sept. 27)

Most biopics focus on a subject’s initial rise to fame. But Judy starts three decades after Judy Garland’s star turn in The Wizard of Oz — when she is a four-time divorcee with a raspy voice struggling with substance addiction and trying to raise her two young children. Renée Zellweger, who won an Oscar 15 years ago for Cold Mountain, plays the title role.

Joker (Oct. 4)

The Joker carousel continues: In the past 11 years, the role has been played by Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, Zach Galifianakis and Cameron Monaghan. Now Joaquin Phoenix steps in, anchoring a movie that co-star Marc Maron has described as a “character study of a mentally ill person.” In this timeline, Batman is still a young Bruce Wayne and Phoenix’s character is an aspiring comedian. Robert De Niro makes an appearance as a talk show host — bringing him full circle from 1982’s The King of Comedy, in which he played a mentally ill stand-up obsessed with a talk show host.

Pain and Glory (Oct. 4)

Pain and Glory tells of a series of reencounters experienced by Salvador Mallo, a film director in his physical decline. Some of them in the flesh, others remembered: his childhood in the 60s, when he emigrated with his parents to a village in Valencia in search of prosperity, the first desire, his first adult love in the Madrid of the 80s, the pain of the breakup of that love while it was still alive and intense, writing as the only therapy to forget the unforgettable, the early discovery of cinema, and the void, the infinite void that creates the incapacity to keep on making films. Pain and Glory talks about creation, about the difficulty of separating it from one’s own life and about the passions that give it meaning and hope. In recovering his past, Salvador finds the urgent need to recount it, and in that need he also finds his salvation.

Harriet (Nov. 1)

Cynthia Erivo is an Oscar away from an EGOT — and she will get a legitimate chance to compete for an award thanks to this drama, in which she plays Harriet Tubman during her quest to free slaves through the Underground Railroad. “I want to make sure that people get to see this woman as a woman, as a human. She was a superhero, but she was heart first,” Erivo told the New York Times last year. Though the film is not a musical, she is joined by a bevy of musical co-stars: Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe and Jennifer Nettles.

Terminator: Dark Fate (Nov. 1)

The Terminator franchise has proved just as durable as its eponymous robot: this is the sixth installment in the 35-year series. Of course, there’s a new terminator (Gabriel Luna) and a new damsel in distress (Natalia Reyes), and Halt and Catch Fire star Mackenzie Davis is added to the mix. But two very familiar faces — those of the original terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) also return to join in on the fun.

Frozen 2 (Nov. 22)

Disney has 1.2 billion reasons to make a sequel to their 2013 animated film: That’s how much, in dollars, the film made worldwide. In this installment, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven travel north from their home to search for the source of Elsa’s magic. At Comic Con, Kristen Bell, who voices Anna, saidthat the characters have grown up, adding, “I think the original fans of Frozen, who were little girls and now might not think it’s for them, will be pleasantly surprised.”

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Nov. 22)

Last year saw an outpouring of goodwill surrounding Fred Rogers, the beatific children’s show host, between the 50th anniversary of his show’s premiere and the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor, which became the highest-grossing biographical doc ever. In this new drama inspired by a 1998 Esquire profile, Tom Hanks takes over the host’s the red sweater and genial charm.

21 Bridges (Nov. 22)

Chadwick Boseman trades in the Black Panther suit for an NYPD badge in this action thriller; he plays a detective who demands a total lockdown of Manhattan during a manhunt for a pair of terrifyingly resourceful cop killers.

Queen & Slim (Nov. 27)

Lena Waithe wrote this modern-day Bonnie & Clyde story, which stars Daniel Kaluuya (far removed from the Sunken Place) and Jodie Turner-Smith. They play the eponymous characters, whose first date turns disastrous when a traffic stop leads the death of an aggressive white cop. The pair takes off across the country, becoming wanted enemies to some and folk heroes to others.

Knives Out (Nov. 27)

Director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) comes back to earth with this whodunnit murder mystery, which unfolds like an Agatha Christie plot. A wealthy crime novelist (Christopher Plummer) is found dead during his 85th birthday party, with his extensive dysfunctional family all present. A detective (Daniel Craig) is brought in to sort through their alibis and potential motives in a beautiful, creaky mansion. The stacked cast includes Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon and Lakeith Stanfield.

Dolemite is My Name! (Nextflix TBD)

Eddie Murphy in ‘Dolemite Is My Name!’

François Duhamel—François Duhamel/NETFLIX

Eddie Murphy, once one of the nation’s loudest voices, has been awfully quiet recently, appearing in just one film in the last six years. He returns to star in this biopic of Rudy Ray Moore — a comedian and blaxploitation legend whose work influenced rap music.