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OK, so it’s almost fall and time to watch maudlin, introspective dramas about feelings shared in rain-soaked reconciliations, right? Yeah, not so much. With gangsters, assassinations and revolution, the farer of the seasons is shaping up to be a tumultuous ride at the multiplex. Here are five flicks to add a little drama to your next two months at the movies.

SEPT. 15 • THE BLACK DAHLIA

Brian DePalma’s shady retelling of Los Angeles’ greatest murder mystery—starlet Elizabeth Short’s murderer was only recently ID’d—is based on the James Ellroy novel noir of the same name. If Josh Hartnett can carry the load, it could rival another Ellroy adaptation, the knockout L.A. Confidential. Think The Great Depression. Think fedoras, flatfoots, cigarettes and dames. Also starring Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank and Mia Kirshner.

SEPT. 22 • ALL THE KING’S MEN

Sean Penn brings author Robert Penn Warren’s caricature of Louisiana’s most infamous political figure—that’s saying a heap of a lot—Huey Long to glorious ranting, raving, conniving life. From the Louisiana Public Service Commission to the U.S. Senate to his assassination at the state capitol, director Steven Zaillian’s ambitious adaptation has it all and the able-bodied cast to pull it off. Also starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo and Patricia Clarkson.

OCT. 6 • THE DEPARTED

Two reasons to see this film are Jack Nicholson’s return to serious drama, after his semi-successful but completely beneath his potential flirtation with comedy (see Anger Management and Something’s Got To Give, or you know, don’t) and director Martin Scorcese’s source material, that being superb Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs. Throw in Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio as warring undercover agents/moles in the Boston Police Department and the Irish mafia, respectively, and this just might be Scorcese’s best since Goodfellas.

OCT. 20 • FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

It’s an iconic image of World War II. Six American soldiers raising the stars and stripes on a hill on Iwo Jima. Clint Eastwood’s action drama follows the interwoven stories of these six soldiers and the battle that brought them together. Also look for Red Sun, Black Sand, a separate film Eastwood shot simultaneously showing the same battle from the perspective of the Japanese. Starring Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper and Jamie Bell.

OCT. 20 • MARIE ANTOINETTE

True, the glitzy trailer set to New Order’s “Age of Consent” raised some eyebrows and peaked the interest of those who wouldn’t be caught dead seeing a stuffy costume period piece. But then a large contingent at the Cannes Festival booed poor Marie. Whether writer/director Sofia Coppola can marry her obsession with the infamous French monarch to her weakness for ‘80s indie pop and produce a film that rises anywhere above an indulgent spectacle remains to be seen. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman and Rip Torn.