Fall’s Most Anticipated Films: Oct.
By: Garrett Coffman
With Fall movie season here it’s time to ease your anticipation with reviews on some of the most talked about Hollywood hits to come. In the last month we have already gotten Oscar hopefuls in films such as “The Master”, high-concept science fiction thrillers, such as “Looper” and yet another unnecessary 3D conversion of a film we’ve already seen, as with “Finding Nemo”. Yet that was only the beginning. There are many quality films on the horizon for the upcoming season and even though we won’t start seeing the heavy hitters such as “James Bond: Skyfall” or “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2″ until November rolls around, there is plenty to be excited about this October. Here are a few to come this month.
“Frankenweenie” due out Oct. 5. Trailer: Frankenweenie
Writer/director Tim Burton tells the story of a young boy who resurrects his cherished pet dog and as the title may suggest, things take a turn for the disastrous. This stop-motion animation with a 3D full-length feature film derives from his 1984 short film. Burton may have disappointed this summer with the mildly-received “Dark Shadows” adaption but this film looks to be a return to form with this long-awaited animated comedy that has turned up just in time for Halloween.
“Pitch Perfect” due out Oct. 5. Trailer: Pitch Perfect
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a movie about an a capella singing group with dreams of winning a singing contest (Regionals! State finals! Nationals!). Yes the premise is stale but with promising young star Anna Kendrick (“Up in the Air”, “50/50″) and Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids”) lighting up the scene. This “Glee”-meets-”Mean Girls”-by way of “Bring It On”-musical-comedy might be one to look out for.
“Taken 2″ due out Oct. 5. Trailer: Taken 2
“I don’t know who you are…but I will find you, and I will kill you,” pronounced a steely Liam Neeson (“Star Wars,” “Batman Begins”) three years ago in the suspenseful hit “Taken”, in which he kicked ass around France to save his kidnapped daughter. Neeson left a pretty large body count behind in his wake and now the family of those murdered kidnappers want revenge and (spoiler alert) someone will get Taken…again.
“Argo” due out Oct. 12. Trailer: Argo
The newest film from actor/writer/director Ben Affleck (“Daredevil”) who previously caught fire with his award-winning crime drama, “The Town.” Based on true events, “Argo, “which teams Affleck with Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) and John Goodman (“Monster’s Inc.”, “The Artist”), tells the story of a CIA planned rescue mission during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 by staging a fake sci-fi film entitled: “Argo.” This is the first of many of this fall’s surefire bets for Oscar nominations and various other accolades come awards season, and one you should definitely be on the lookout for.
“Seven Psychopaths” due out Oct. 12. Trailer: Seven Psychopaths
Martin McDonagh, the little known playwright-turned-director of the cult hit, “In Bruges,” reunites with star Colin Farrell (“Fright Night”) in this dark crime comedy. The premise: Farrell as a down-on-his luck writer who winds up in a dog stealing scheme gone terribly wrong. Ferrel’s friends played by Sam Rockwell (“Frost/Nixon,” “Iron Man 2″) and Christopher Walken (“Sleepy Hallow,” “Pulp Fiction”) steal the Shih Tzu of a LA crime boss played by Woody Harrelson (“Zombieland,” “The Game Change”) and that makes it sounds completely ridiculous and I already love it.
“Paranormal Activity 4″ due out Oct. 19. Trailer: Paranormal Activity 4
Another year, another Activity. This year’s installment is set after the events of the first and second films. You know the deal; family moves into home, notices freaky going-ons, makes bad decisions, so on and so forth.
”Cloud Atlas” due out Oct. 26. Trailer: Cloud Atlas
Cloud Atlas is possibly the most controversial and ambitious film on this fall’s plate and, if the early reports are to believed, one of the most complex and challenging films as well. This incredibly involving science fiction drama, marks the first film since 2008 for “The Matrix” directing duo Andy and Lana Wachowski and puts them side-by-side with German director Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”). “Cloud Atlas” is an adaptation of the 2004 David Mitchell novel that tells six intertwined stories that cross the plane of time and investigates how our lives affect one another. This all-encompassing tale of connected features a star-studded ensemble which includes Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” “Catch Me if you Can”), Halle Berry (“X-Men,” “Monster’s Ball”), Hugo Weaving (“The Matrix,” “V for Vendetta”) and Susan Surandon (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Thelma and Louise”) all play multiple roles in this sure to be epic hit.