October's Most Anticipated Films
by Brian Eggert
The handful of Halloweentime horror movies due in theaters this October look mildly entertaining, but it’s offbeat projects like The Skin I Live In and Anonymous that leave me scratching my chin with curiosity. The below list of films includes this site’s most anticipated releases of October. The choices—based on the quality of actors, director, story, and trailers—are pure guesswork and have no bearing on the inevitable review. For a complete list of upcoming releases and their respective movie trailers, visit the Calendar.
October 4:
The Ides of March
George Clooney’s latest directorial effort, The Ides of March, stars the director himself, not to mention Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marisa Tomei. If those names aren’t enough to draw your attention, there’s just no talking to you. Gosling continues his year of top-drawer projects after Crazy Stupid Love and Drive, playing the idealistic staff member of a presidential hopeful (Clooney) who learns the hard way about dirty politics. And Giamatti and Hoffman are two of the best supporting actors working today, so there’s that. Clooney’s campaign-set political drama should have plenty of relevant, juicy, modern day parallels, as he’s no stranger to sweeping media critiques (see Good Night, and Good Luck). Clooney is building an increasingly impressive roster of films from his director’s chair, and I have no doubt this will be a worthy inclusion. Click here for the trailer.
Real Steel
It should come as no surprise that Dreamworks picked boring company man director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) to direct a veritable “Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots: The Movie”. For whatever reason, the movie’s producers opted not to associate themselves with the popular toy from decades past for Real Steel. Instead, they’re attempting a “gritty” family film (an oxymoron) about a future where boxers are replaced by fighting robots, which are trained by humans. Hugh Jackman plays such a human. Jackman’s character has an 11-year-old son who finds a sparring bot and together they train the underdog fighter to the robo-championship. I’m sure they learn some important lessons about family along the way. The escapist sci-fi elements and popular star should help draw more viewers than Warrior, the recent MMA boxing movie that came-and-went in the theaters all too quickly. Click here for the trailer.
October 14:
The Skin I Live In
Along with next year’s Haywire, Antonio Banderas makes another important step toward regaining some credibility in Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In. Before you read further, go watch the eerie trailer HERE… Are you back? Now tell me you’re not intrigued. After seeing the trailer, I promised myself I wouldn’t read more than the blurb synopsis, as the material looks just too weird and too intense to be spoiled. From what I gather, Banderas plays a plastic surgeon who goes off the deep end after conducting some radical experiments on an unfortunate victim (Elena Anaya) to help cure his wife of some nasty burns. Beyond that, there’s plenty more going on, but it’s all very cryptic and unsettling, so here’s hoping it lives up to the suggestive preview. Click here for the trailer.
The Thing
It’s hard not to have major reservations about Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic The Thing. This origin story, also (quite annoyingly so) called The Thing, takes place at the Antarctic Norwegian research base where scientists cut a frozen alien from the ice and became lunch. Van Heijningen went to great lengths to synch up the events in this film with the bloody aftermath discovered by the Americans at the Norwegian camp in Carpenter’s film, but don’t expect too much consideration in terms of makeup effects. The original boasted the best practical makeup effects you’ll ever see in a horror film, whereas this one has some unfortunate CGI on display in the trailer. And what are English-language actors Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton doing in here anyway, besides providing the USA-A-OK heroes in a “Norge” story? At any rate, I’m going in optimistic and even hopeful, but I won’t be surprised if I walk away frustrated and annoyed. Click here for the trailer.
October 21:
Paranormal Activity 3
Paranormal Activity 3 isn’t a recommendation, per se, but it’s Halloweentime, and chances are, audiences will be in the mood for scary. The previous two entries in this needlessly growing franchise provided some nice jolts but also never need to be revisited, as by definition the “found footage” genre and its dramatically abrupt endings make repeated viewings utterly pointless. This one delves into Hollywood’s fascination with ambiguous prequel-sequel territory, detailing the 1980s incident that occurred when the victims from parts 1 and 2 were children. If anything, the last scene won’t end with the girls dying, since they died twenty years or so later. In the meantime, plan on this one-per-year sequel nonsense to continue (just like Saw did) until you either stop going or complain about a lack of story enough to convince the filmmakers to give it up already. Click here for the trailer.
The Three Musketeers 3D
Normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead recommending a new release from Event Horizon helmer and all-around hack Paul W.S. Anderson, much less a movie in 3D. But Anderson’s Resident Evil: After Life remains the best implementation of 3D I’ve seen yet, even if its surrounding storyline was disastrously stupid. If Anderson brings the same concentration on creating a defined depth of field with his 3D device, then at least from a visual standpoint The Three Musketeers should prove diverting. Certainly the cast (parts anyway) has potential. The Musketeers Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans) team with youngster D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman, not Spider-Man) to save Anderson’s wife Milla Jovovich from evildoers Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, and Mads Mikkelsen. Expect a major cheese fest. Click here for the trailer.
October 28:
Anonymous
The director of Independence Day and 2012 wants to prove to you that he isn’t as bad a filmmaker as you might suspect. Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous takes a creditable, non-blockbuster approach to historical subject matter, devising a costume drama around the idea that William Shakespeare was not the author of his celebrated plays. Scholarly conspiracy theories range from one anonymous author to many, but Emmerich’s film posits that the Earl of Oxford, Edward De Vere (Rhys Ifans), was the culprit. Vanessa Redgrave and David Thewlis add thespian credibility to the film, in which no one is trying to destroy the planet. I can see this rather daring studio project being wholly embraced by mainstream audiences, or completely ignored. Either way, it’s bound to be interesting. Click here for the trailer.
In Time
In a clever metaphor about our society’s obsession with youth, Gattaca and Lord of War director Andrew Niccol adopts a Logan’s Run-esque story for In Time, involving a world where people only live until 25 and, earning the currency of “time”, can extend their youth to near immortality. Nicol chose Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried to headline the film, which is an ironic decision given the former’s status as a youth icon. Timberlake plays a lowly worker who goes to criminal measures to extend his life and steal “time” to usurp the super-rich (who remain forever youthful as the poor die off). 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy plays the villain. In the basic scenario alone, class critiques of Hollywood and pop-culture mentalities emerge, as well as a greater metaphor about our capitalist, youth-obsessed culture. Whether or not the film lives up to its potentially confronting subject matter remains to be seen. Click here for the trailer.
The Rum Diary
Johnny Depp returns to Gonzo territory in the long-delayed adaptation of an under-read Hunter S. Thompson novel about a journalist who loses himself in Puerto Rico during the 1950s. Depp signed to The Rum Diary more than a decade ago after completing work on Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But after signing to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, scheduling conflicts prevented the picture from being completed. Though it finally finished filming 2 years ago, the release was delayed further after Thompson’s untimely and unexpected suicide. But it’s finally here, the first film from Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Withnail and I) after over a decade, and another (probably) great performance by Depp as Thompson. Click here for the trailer.
One Film You Shouldn't See
October 14:
Footloose
The remake of Footloose is an attempt to cash-in on popular “dance” movies like Step-Up and TV shows like Glee. Craig Brewer, noted Hustle & Flow helmer, will have to work out some kind of miracle to make the plot believable in a contemporary setting. In a small town, dancing has been banned by the backwards populace, and its youthful citizens take dancing to the underground. Newcomer Kenny Wormald replaces Kevin Bacon’s original role and Dennis Quaid replaces John Lithgow’s domineering preacher. And though I’ll probably end up seeing how they screw this up, I recommend renting the original, which at least can hide behind its 1980s cheese factor to explain away the sheer oddity of the plot. This film, on the other hand, has no reason to exist except to take your money. Click here for the trailer.