If after seeing the lackluster The Other Boleyn Girl you are still jonesing to see a period piece somewhat based on actual events, then The Duchess may be of interest to you. Based (loosely, one must assume) on the life of the Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, The Duchess stars Keira Knightley as Georgiana, a woman forced into marriage with the Duke of Devonshire, a man who barely acknowledges his wife’s existence. When the Duke lashes out at her for not producing a male heir and then begins an affair with another woman, Georgiana acts out and attracts the attention and affection of every man in England. And while the Duke may not see fit to pay his wife any attention, it certainly doesn’t go over well when she seeks it elsewhere.

As I’ve stated before, I’m a sucker for movies featuring funny wigs and ruffled shirts, and The Duchess looks like it’ll be filled with plenty of good old-fashioned bodice-ripping passion. Knightley has certainly proved that she shines best in period pieces, and it’ll be interesting to see her hold her own against Ralph Fiennes (playing the Duke), so I’ll definitely RENT IT.

The Duchess is rated PG-13 and opens in limited release September 19. (Official site)

The trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is very careful not to give away any major plot points. But when the premise of your movie is the story of a man who ages backwards, I guess you don’t need to reveal too much to get people interested.

Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin, and Cate Blanchett is the woman he knew as a child, when he was an old man, who he falls in love with as an adult, when he’s a young man. Confusing, yes, but after seeing the bizarre old-man child in the trailer, I am indeed curious to see how Benjamin looks as a young-child old man. I’ll eventually RENT IT.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not yet rated and opens December 19. (Official site)

The Coen brothers are back with a new movie that’s not meant to scare the living crap out of you. There’s probably not much I need to say to convince you to go SEE IT, so here’s just a few key elements for you to consider:

• Coen brothers
• Frances McDormand
• Comedy-Drama
• Brad Pitt
• Crime caper
• George Clooney

Convinced yet? OK, John Malkovich is in it, too. I’ll see you at the theater.

Burn After Reading is rated R and opens September 12. (Official site)

Why is it that so many people get so upset over old movies getting remade? Sure, most of the remakes kind of suck, but nobody made you watch them, and the remake doesn’t diminish the quality of the original movie we all know and love so well. Hell, Cruel Intentions was actually a great remake of Dangerous Liaisons. But The Women, a remake of a 1939 classic by the same name, is the latest remake that has classic movie lovers in an uproar.

Which is too bad, because it actually looks like a decent movie. The plot has certainly withstood the test of time: a group of socialite women discover that the husband of one of their own is cheating on her, so she leaves the cheater and joins her female friends at a ritzy resort. Cue the female bonding, plenty of cattiness and gossip, and lots of twisted relationships. With a cast that features Annette Bening, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, and Meg Ryan (coming out from under the rock she’s been living beneath), this could be another great 2008 movie for female audiences (the other being some small movie about four women getting laid in a city of some kind). I’ll definitely RENT IT when it comes out on DVD.

The Women is rated PG-13 and opens September 12. (Official site)