All the movies you should see in October
Your guide to the buzziest and most promising movies arriving in theaters this month, from The Martian to Crimson Peak
October 2
The Martian
What it is: When he's stranded on the surface of Mars, an astronaut (Matt Damon) draws on the full range of his skills to survive as NASA works to rescue him.
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Why you should care: In 2011, The Martian became one of the few out-of-the-park successes in e-literature when writer Andy Weir released the novel, one chapter at a time, for free on his personal website. On the strength of word-of-mouth and a 99-cent Kindle deal, the book eventually grew so popular that the print rights were acquired by Crown Publishing in a landmark six-figure deal. Now, The Martian's breakout success is expanding to the big screen in Ridley Scott's blockbuster adaptation, which stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a slew of other top talents. Widely praised for its blend of humor and thrills, as well as its scientific accuracy, The Martian seems poised to join Gravity and Interstellar in the pantheon of Hollywood's hits about survival in space.
What else is coming out: Legend, a British period drama starring Tom Hardy as real-life gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray; Hell & Back, a raunchy stop-motion animated comedy about an ill-fated trip to the underworld; Narcopolis, a futuristic thriller set in a city where all drugs have been made legal; Shanghai, a thriller set in the 1940s about an American expat (John Cusack) investigating a gangland murder in China, which was produced in 2008 but dumped on a shelf and forgotten until now.
October 9
Steve Jobs
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What it is: A warts-and-all biopic of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender), with a focus on his uncompromising drive for perfection and the painful ripple effect it had on the people closest to him.
Why you should care: Written by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin and helmed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle, Steve Jobs could hardly carry buzzier pedigree. The star-studded movie, which features Fassbender alongside actors like Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels, has long been pegged as a top awards show contender — but it's been a tough road to get here. Steve Jobs went through an unusually troubled production process, with numerous creative departures (including The Social Network director David Fincher, who was originally slated to direct, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale, who were each once poised to star). But like an Apple product launch itself, Steve Jobs appears to have emerged from its frantic production as a confident and fully formed product, with the rave reviews to match.
What else is coming out: Pan, a big-budget Peter Pan prequel that explains how Peter (Levi Miller) wound up in Neverland; Big Stone Gap, a rom-com about a 40-year-old woman (Ashley Judd) getting a new lease on life in her small Appalachian town; The Final Girls, a winking homage to the slasher movies of the 1980s, in which a bunch of modern teenagers get sucked into a cheesy old horror flick; Knock Knock, a sleazy thriller about a married man (Keanu Reeves) who consents to a threesome with a couple of young strangers — and discovers they have something a little less pleasurable in mind; Breaking Through, a ludicrously generic Step Up knockoff about a dancer turned YouTube star (Sophia Aguiar).
October 16
Crimson Peak
What it is: In a crumbling and remote mansion in the late 1800s, a bride (Mia Wasikowska) begins to realize her new husband (Tom Hiddleston) is hiding a mysterious and supernatural secret.
Why you should care: When was the last time Hollywood made an R-rated period gothic horror/romance? If your best guess is "never," you're not that far off. Crimson Peak is thrillingly unconventional, and a clear passion project for writer/director Guillermo del Toro, who has helmed several other terrific cross-pollinated horror movies, including Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, and Pan's Labyrinth. The film's visual design is uncommonly gorgeous, evoking everything from the classic stories of Edgar Allan Poe to the Hammer Horror films of the 1970s and 80s. Crimson Peak is definitely unconventional, but it's the kind of creativity that feels like it should be rewarded — and come on, are you going to let October pass without seeing a horror movie?
What else is coming out: Bridge of Spies, an Oscar hopeful that reunites director Steven Spielberg and Saving Private Ryan star Tom Hanks for a Cold War spy drama; Beasts of No Nation, a harrowing drama about a West African child soldier (Abraham Attah) that represents Netflix's first major foray into feature-length dramas; Freeheld, a drama based on the true story of lesbian couple Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree's fight to secure the same pension benefits afforded to heterosexual couples; Goosebumps, a family-friendly horror comedy based on R.L. Stine's popular YA book series; Woodlawn, a Christian-themed movie based on the true story of a black student (Caleb Castille) battling racism on the football field in 1970s Birmingham, Alabama; Experimenter, a dramatized version of the famed Milgram Experiment, which found that strangers would continue shocking a stranger if instructed to do so by an authority figure; Meadowland, a drama about a couple (Olivia Wilde and Luke Wilson) whose lives disintegrate in the wake of their son's disappearance.
October 23
Suffragette
What it is: In 1912, a group of British women band together to lay the foundation for the women's suffrage movement, which defiantly (and by 1928, successfully) campaigned for women's right to vote.
Why you should care: Brick Lane director Sarah Gavron's exploration of the suffragette movement tackles a fascinating period in history with an exceptionally qualified cast, including Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep. Steeped in the politics of the time — and digging into the deliberate, strategic, and often violent methods by which women advanced the suffragette movement — Suffragette promises an in-depth look at a tumultuous era that was much more recent than many modern viewers might realize.
What else is coming out: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the purportedly final chapter of the long-in-the-tooth horror franchise; The Last Witch Hunter, a goofy-looking supernatural riff on the buddy-cop genre movie following an immortal witch-hunter (Vin Diesel) who teams up with a witch (Rose Leslie); Rock the Kasbah, a dramedy about a down-on-his-luck music promoter (Bill Murray) who attempts to launch the career of an Afghan singer (Leem Lubanj) in her native country; Burnt, which doubles down on the ongoing cultural mythologizing of the bad-boy asshole chef by casting Bradley Cooper as a dude who cooks really well while swearing and using drugs and stuff; Jem and the Holograms, a modernized, live-action musical adaptation of the popular 1980s cartoon of the same name.
October 30
Our Brand is Crisis
What it is: In the midst of the hotly contested 2002 Bolivian presidential election, a pair of combative American campaign strategists (Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton) square off as they advise the two rival candidates.
Why you should care: Our Brand is Crisis, a fictionalized version of the real-life story chronicled in the 2005 documentary of the same name, makes one big change upfront: Sandra Bullock's character, "Calamity" Jane Bodine, was originally written for a male actor. When Bullock expressed interest, producer George Clooney swapped the gender, trading a little real-world accuracy in favor of a welcome corrective to the gender disparity that typically characterizes this kind of movie. Our Brand is Crisis has drawn mixed reviews, but Bullock's performance has earned widespread praise, and the true story is interesting enough to sustain this kind of dramatic treatment.
What else is coming out: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, a raunchy zom-com that already feels superfluous in a world that has Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland.
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.