More than likely my most-anticipated film of the year, “Knight of Cups,” was pushed back to 2016 by its production company Film Nation Entertainment. The film has been in post-production for nearly three years now (not a rare occurrence for director Terrence Malick, who doesn’t get a clear picture of what his films are going to look like until after filming when he’s in the editing room).

“Knight of Cups” screened at the Berlin Film Festival in February, but for whatever reason the powers that be want to hold it another year. So I was forced to reconfigure my list. Here are the four movies I’m looking forward to most going into fall festival and Oscar season.

Inarritu’s follow up to Oscar-winner “Birdman” should be something truly special. He teamed with cinematorgrapher Emmanuel Lubezki again to shoot the entire film using natural light in Alberta, Canada. And without getting too film-nerdy on you, they’re one of the first to use an ALEXA 65, a new game-changing digital camera (picture the release of the first iPhone). The picture they’re going to be able to achieve will be awe-inspiring. Beyond that, the film features an insane Leonardo DiCaprio, so we all win.

Ron Howard’s last film, “Rush,” was one of the best of 2013. Now he’s back to tackle Moby Dick. My fear for the film is that it will show too much whale and become an action flick. But most indications from the trailers point to a human psychology film, one of madness and misery in the face of nearly certain death. And that has me licking my chops. If we get another film in the same vein as 2012’s “The Grey,” in which a man must find the will to live again, we could be looking at one of the yea’s best.

“Black Mass” tells the story of notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. This film is terribly exciting for two reasons. First is Johnny Depp’s return to dramatic relevance. It doesn’t seem like he gives every role his all, but when he does he’s still a great actor. Second is director Scott Cooper. His first two films coaxed career-best performances out of Jeff Bridges and Christian Bale. He could do the same for Depp.

Is there any other director working today that can deliver a bona fide classic every time he or she gets behing the camera like Quentin Tarantino can? He just seems to pump out great films every few years like clockwork. When news of the film first broke, hysteria ensued. But after giving the script to only “six (expletive) people,” his script was leaked. However, much to the glory of his fans, he decided to mount the “Hateful Eight” horse once again. Look for a late-year release a la “Django Unchained.”