If you're already stressed about catching up on the 2012 films you haven't yet seen, scrambling to find an art house theater that's still projecting Moonrise Kingdom and Oslo, August 31st, prepare to hit the panic button. Fall movie season is upon us, and come September, the annual flood of see-them-or-be-left-out titles will pummel your poor movie-buff planning like a surging tsunami. But, hey, look at the bright side: the months of September, October, November, and December almost always feature better fare than any other stretch of the year, and 2012, like clockwork, seems primed to do the same. Unable to keep our preview list to the customary total of 15, we bumped the roster to 20, and there's still a handful we're curious about. Can Sam Mendes bring anything more than a fresh martini to the Bond brand with Skyfall? Is Cloud Atlas every bit the fabulous mess it looks to be in its trailer? Is RZA's martial arts actioner The Man with the Iron Fists in fact the C.R.E.A.M. of the season's genre crop? We're not sure, but we feel pretty confident that your fall filmgoing won't be complete without the following 20 selections. And nobody needs any more holes to fill.

Keep the Lights On (Dir. Ira Sachs, September 7). Reaching enamored audiences well beyond the gay community, Ira Sachs's Keep the Lights On, a somewhat chilly, yet genuinely poignant, semi-autobiographical tale, charts a romance through its buoyant and wrenching stages, offering moments too painfully real to forget. In the lead role, Danish actor Thure Lindhart gives one of 2012's best male performances.

Keep the Lights On (Dir. Ira Sachs, September 7). Reaching enamored audiences well beyond the gay community, Ira Sachs's Keep the Lights On, a somewhat chilly, yet genuinely poignant, semi-autobiographical tale, charts a romance through its buoyant and wrenching stages, offering moments too painfully real to forget. In the lead role, Danish actor Thure Lindhart gives one of 2012's best male performances.