Coming Soon in October

With September drawing to a close, we plunge deeper into the fall movie season with some incredible gems in October. Here's a preview of what's coming the next four weeks.

Friday, Oct. 7

Real Steel — This looks like a typical action/sports movie for the 21st Century. Boxing just isn't what it used to be, and the filmmakers here seem to recognize that and have gone a different way, adding a robot component. This really looks like a father-son bonding kind of story, and Hugh Jackman is a decent leading man. There has been a huge marketing push for this movie, but it's hard to tell if it will be good or merely passable.

Ides of March — The last time George Clooney directed a film, it ended up as a Best Picture nominee, and one of the best films of the last decade. That film was "Good Night and Good Luck." His newest directorial effort, "The Ides of March," boasts a great cast, including Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Giamatti. This looks like an incredible political thriller and could well be a serious contender for Best Picture this year. I have high hopes for this film.

Friday, October 14

The Thing — This is a re-make of the classic John Carpenter film. It's curious to me that people keep remaking his films, which worked, in a sense, thanks to their "B" movie quality. This looks like a "B" movie masquerading as something better. It also looks to be a good deal more violent than the original. Hard to say this is a good idea.

Footloose — Another remake of a 1980s film. This movie just doesn't look great. First off, the idea of the story in this movie feels dated when you watch the original and feels even more dated when you think about it being made in 2011. A town that outlaws dancing? That just doesn't seem realistic. Add to that the fact that, judging by the trailer, they are working overtime to be edgy, and this looks like (unintentional) comedy gold.

The Skin I Live In — Hard to know what to make of this. Pedro Almovodar has done some interesting films, but this one looks a little weird. Antonio Banderas hasn't done a big movie that wasn't a cartoon in a while, so this could be his semi-serious comeback.

Texas Killing Fields — A possibly interesting true crime story. Really, this is fascinating because it's yet another film in 2011 starring Jessica Chastain ("The Help," "Tree of Life," and "The Debt"). Big year for her. I am lukewarm on Sam Worthington — I just don't think he's as great as some do. But this has a decent cast — with Worthington, Chastain, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Chloe Grace Moretz.

The Big Year — Ugh, this doesn't look like a winner. It's an odd comedy with an odd story and an odd trailer. Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Jack Black team for this film, and I've gotta be honest, I'm not a big fan of any of those guys. This movie could either be a pleasant surprise or a disaster. I'm leaning toward disaster.

Trespass — Nicholas Cage, enough said. Really, it should be. In 2011, he's already given us "Drive Angry" and "Season of the Witch." Here he teams with Nicole Kidman and Cam Gigandet.... I smell Raspberry nominations.

Friday, October 21:

Paranormal Activity 3 — The first film wasn't great, but it was a novel approach to the genre. Now, with our second sequel and a world where movies of this type keep popping up — it has lost the novelty. The first one wasn't scary, the second one wasn't scary, and this one won't be either. I, honestly, don't know what people see in this film franchise. But it's cheap and it puts butts in the seats, so I guess we'll be seeing Paranormal Activity 13 in a decade....

The Three Musketeers — I don't think we needed this film to be remade... especially in 3D. But there we have it. Hard to imagine what this period piece classic will be like done by the guy that gave us "Resident Evil." Also, I still can't figure out why Milla Jovovich and her incredible gymnastic ability is featured prominently in the trailers. That being said, it's an awesome trailer. I am officially torn. This will probably be good popcorn entertainment.

Margin Call — Movies on the financial crisis are all the rage now. Clearly, this is one of the biggest stories that we've had in recent years, and there is plenty of fodder for discussion. I loved the book I read on it and I loved HBO's "Too Big To Fail," so I am moderately excited about this subject. Plus, it has Kevin Spacey.

Red State — I love Kevin Smith and his humor, but I'm not sold on this. It seems like kind of an angry, sarcastic project aimed at Republicans and Christians. Hard to feel good about that. I'm sure it's supposed to be satire, but this feels like it could be a huge miss.

Friday, October 28:

In Time — This looks like a very esoteric action film. Supposedly we'll never look at Justin Timberlake the same way. I love Timberlake as a comedian, but I'm not as sure in this movie. Not so much because of him, but because of the strange plot and construct. Andrew Nichol — the film's director — has done some weird stuff, so hard to say how this will turn out.

The Rum Diary — This is a passion project for Johnny Depp. Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson, Depp looks to be in great form with this film. Plus, it is fantastic to see him shed some of the weird characters he's played for Tim Burton and his Capt. Jack Sparrow persona and tackle something more real. I'm excited to see this off-beat comedy.

Anonymous — This movie projects the theory that William Shakespeare didn't write his own works, but rather borrowed it from another. Could be fascinating. The trailer looks really good and it looks like a more serious idea. Definitely the kind of movie you get as you're moving deeper into the fall.

Johnny English Reborn — Rowan Atkinson has a unique talent for this type of role. This movie will be silly, but it could be kind of fun. Not a lot of analysis needed here.