October 2013 Overview

October is a typically uneventful month for movies, and is sort of a parallel to March-April, coming up after a very dead September month, and preceding the big blockbuster surge of the Holiday Season.  Like march, October is sometimes used as a potential franchise testing ground, although to a lesser extent.  It also sees the first trickling ins of the awards seasons contenders, especially the studio-based ones, as opposed to the Oscar-baits that tend to hold out until December.
This October is a particularly interesting one though, with several very interesting moderately-budgeted releases, some of them flexing some very serious muscle with intensely serious material, and after the September drought and a disappointing summer, October 2013 looks mighty refreshing.
MUST-SEES for OCTOBER 2013:

• GRAVITY
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• CARRIE 

October 4
GRAVITY  (Sci-Fi/Thriller)  
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language.
A routine spacewalk turns into a nightmare for two astronauts, a rookie (Sandra Bullock) and a veteran (George Clooney), when high-speed space debris from a satellite collides with their space shuttle, destroying it, and leaving the two stranded in the vast emptiness of space with naught but their spacesuits and limited oxygen, and no communication with Earth.

The original film which proved to be a far longer production than planned for writer/director Alfonso Cuaron, due to the necessary development of special effects technologies, has already become one of the most raved about films this year after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the previews alone are some of the most ball-bustingly intense scenes playing in theaters.  For science-fiction cynics, the film also depicts space accurately without outside sound, and for movie-lovers, the kind of challenges that this film presents for the involved talent are the type where the best can soar.  GRAVITY is a must-see.
Update: GRAVITY is currently standing at a stellar 96% of positive reviews from critics on RottenTomatoes.com.

RUNNER RUNNER  (Crime Thriller)
Directed by Brad Furman
Starring Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton
R for language and some sexual content.
The story is a bit goofy, about a Princeton student (Justin Timberlake) who gets cheated out of his tuition by playing online poker and confronts the site's corrupt owner (Ben Affleck) only to become his protege, but director Brad Furman did direct a similar sort of crime thriller, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, with reportedly positive results (haven't seen it yet myself).  Either way, it doesn't look terrible, and Affleck is unhinged in the trailer, possibly in a good way.
Update:  Word-of-mouth currently negative; 23% out of 30 reviews on RottenTomatoes.com.

October 11
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS  (Thriller/Biopic)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi
PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use.
The 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates and the hostage-taking of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is the subject of this true-life thriller from Paul Greengrass, who directed THE BOURNE SUPREMACY and THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, and the slightly similar material of UNITED 93.  As he did in the latter, Greengrass is showing refreshing sensitivity in his treatment of the Somali pirates (Islamic terrorists in UNITED 93) in the story, without mitigating the threat to or heroism of his protagonists.  The advertising suggests a return to a more intense performance for Hanks, whose work has been a lot lighter recently, and newcomer Barkhad Abdi, who plays the leader of the pirates, looks fierce and poignantly sympathetic.


MACHETE KILLS  (Action)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Mel Gibson, Sofia Vergara, Lady Gaga, Alexa Vega, Amber Heard, Vanessa Hudgens
R for strong bloody violence throughout, language and some sexual content.
Tongue-in-cheek schlockmeister Robert Rodriguez introduced the character of ex-Federale Machete (Danny Trejo) in a "fake" trailer in GRINDHOUSE, his double-feature collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, and made a feature-length MACHETE film in 2010.  Now the sequel, another "exploitation"/action spectacular, finds Machete recruited by the President of the United States (Charlie Sheen, credited by his birth name, "Carlos Estevez") to take down an arms-dealing terrorist kingpin (Mel Gibson).  When it's an intentional grindhouse feature made for wide release by Rodriguez, it's not exactly pure "exploitation", but it's a fun homage to the shoestring-budgeted X-rated schlock of the 70s, with a cast filled out with B-list stars and veteran has-beens, ridiculous over-the-top action and ham-fisted political commentary, such as the shameless pro-immigration stance of the first film.  It's riotously fun, but be sure you're in on the joke.
On a fun side note, while it isn't official, MACHETE KILLS hints at connections to Rodriguez's goofy family film franchise, SPY KIDS, in which the main characters' uncle, Machete Cortez (the exact same name), is played by Trejo, and MACHETE KILLS includes a cameo by Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez, the dad and Machete's brother in SPY KIDS.  Alexa Vega, who played young Carmen Cortez in SPY KIDS, plays a very different part in MACHETE KILLS though, as the sexed-up femme fatale, KillJoy.

THE FIFTH ESTATE
Directed by Bill Condon
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis
R for language and some violence.
Bill Condon, fresh off the two-part finale to THE TWILIGHT SAGA, returns to a more reality-grounded form of drama in this docudrama about the origins of the news-leak website, WikiLeaks, starring BBC's Sherlock star and actor-of-the-moment, Benedict Cumberbatch, as the WikiLeaks-founder, Julian Assange.  Coming after a resume that includes directorial and writing credits for GODS AND MONSTERS, KINSEY and DREAMGIRLS, writing credit for CHICAGO and directorial credit for BREAKING DAWN PT. 1 & 2, there a bad joke here that THE FIFTH ESTATE is openly-gay Condon's least-gay film yet, but unfortunately, the early reports are more mixed than his pre-TWILIGHT films, and it smacks of a generic techno-thriller led by an overqualified performance from the excellent Cumberbatch.

October 18
CARRIE  (Horror/Thriller)
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell
R for bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexual content.
When the Brian De Palma adaptation came out in 1976, major elements in the original Stephen King novel were removed due to budget constraints; now, with the benefit of more economic visual effects and a far-stronger brand name, the MGM remake intends to be more faithful to the source material, as evidenced in the chilling teaser trailer of a pig blood-drenched Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) standing in the midst of a fire-ravaged suburb.  CARRIE is only the third feature film directed by Kimberly Peirce in fourteen years, but her 1999 debut with BOYS DON'T CRY is spectacular, with similar elements of a social pariah, Christian fundamentalism taken to cruel levels and tragedy, and while her last, STOP-LOSS, in 2008, was a box office-failure, it was well-received by critics.  Moretz, one of the most talented teenage actresses today, best known as Hit-Girl from KICK-ASS, has also covered similar territory before with LET ME IN, in which she played a child vampire.  When looking for a good Halloween movie this year, I'll be checking out this one.

ESCAPE PLAN  (Action/Thriller)
Directed by Mikael Hafstrom
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan
R for violence and language throughout.
Sylvester Stallone stars as a structural engineer who designs the most secure prison ever built, and is then framed for a crime that results in his own incarceration in his own prison.  He teams up with his cellmate played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, facing off against brutal guards while scheming to escape.  Stallone has been trying awfully hard to revive the old school macho action movies of the 1980s when his career peaked, but outside of the surprisingly lukewarm THE EXPENDABLES, he hasn't had much luck.  While there is a nice nostalgia value to seeing Stallone and Schwarzenegger beat the hell out of other brutes while making cheesy quips, it may be time to move on, and ESCAPE PLAN, originally titled THE TOMB (a cooler name by far by my reckoning), looks as bland as almost anything else these two have done recently.

12 YEARS A SLAVE  (Biopic/Drama)
Directed by Steve McQueen
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Michael K. Williams, Quvenzhane Wallis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti
R for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality.
Based on the true-life story and autobiography of Solomon Northup, this pre-American Civil War drama tells Northup's story as a black Canadian man, born free, who was kidnapped while in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and forced into slavery on the plantations of Louisiana for twelve years before making a successful escape.  Directed by Steve McQueen (SHAME), the film has been creating enormous Oscar buzz and receiving immense critical acclaim at film festival screenings, and promises to be an authentic, emotional and brutal look at one of our nation's must shameful and all-too-often sugar-coated periods of history.  Chiwetel Ejiofor, the London-born actor who stars as Northup, is a highly-recognizable actor, if an unfamiliar (not to mention difficult to pronounce) name, who you may have seen in films such as SERENITY, CHILDREN OF MEN or INSIDE MAN, and is a very talented actor, perfectly suited to the role.  I am very excited for this one.

October 25
THE COUNSELOR  (Crime Drama)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz
R for graphic violence, some grisly images, strong sexual content and language.
Ridley Scott reunites with his PROMETHEUS star, Michael Fassbender, for this glitzy and ultra-brutal crime-thriller written by the author of No Country for Old Men, about a lawyer who gets in over his head when he begins dealing with drug traffickers.  The cast is top-notch, and they're clearly hoping to cash in on the Mad Men/Breaking Bad appeal (Breaking Bad's Dean Norris co-stars), and while Scott is sometimes a wild card, this looks like just about what you would expect, and not in a bad way.

JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA
Directed by Jeff Tremaine
Starring Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll
R  
In a truly unusual series of events, this comedy was suddenly announced in July, with a release on October 25, when Paramount pulled PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 5, which would have been the studio's fourth annual PARANORMAL ACTIVITY installment since 2010.  BAD GRANDPA is a loosely-plotted, BORAT-style real life-situation comedy based on Jackass troupe member Johnny Knoxville's "Grandpa" character from the television series.  Co-starring with his child co-star from last year's FUN SIZE (seriously, what the hell was up with that movie?), Knoxville stars as 86-year old Irving Zisman, traveling cross-country to dump his grandson Billy with his father, after the mother incarcerated.  In old age makeup, Knoxville gets into all kinds of socially-inappropriate hijinks around real-life, non-actor persons, a la Candid Camera, but R-rated.  This is the kind of the thing where you have a pretty good idea of what you're getting into, and so long as that's clear, it could be a very funny, and very stupid, way to waste an hour and a half.

Review: INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2
Two out of Four Stars
Directed by James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins, Steve Coulter
PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and violence, and for thematic elements.
Verdict: While the 2011 sleeper-hit original often came very close to losing its shaky footing, the sequel crumbles from the start, lacking in focus and frequently a mishmash of otherwise suitable elements.  It's not a total bust, and there are a few good scares, while the modest pleasures of the first render any disappointment relatively minor, but under the hand of James Wan, one of the strongest talents regularly working in the genre, it probably should have been better.  Furthermore, some of the plot twists may risk laughs rather than chills.

In 2011, INSIDIOUS became a surprise hit thanks to impressive box office longevity.  It wasn't a classic by any means, and few would argue that the film held up at its climax, but it is one of a few "scary movies" that are genuinely scary.  However you feel about his films, the director, James Wan, practically re-invented the horror genre for the post-9/11 world with his feature film-debut, SAW, in 2004 (he's only been minimally attached to the six sequels that followed).  After Wan's THE CONJURING opened at #1 in July, a true rarity for an R-rated horror film released during the busy summer season, INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 has now made him only the second director to ever have two films open to over $40 million in a single year (the Wachowskis did it with THE MATRIX RELOADED and THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS in 2003, opening to $91.7 million and $48.4 million, respectively, but with a combined production budget twelve times that of Wan's films).  Neither SAW nor INSIDIOUS had very secure foundations, and sometimes they risked their already secure footing for the sake of scoring more scares; sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't, but overall, they were decently frightening films, more so in the case of the latter.  INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 tries for the same, but in the inglorious tradition of horror movie sequels, it completely loses its footing and becomes a slogged-down shambles.
It's not dreadful though, and there are a few good scares, so for the most part, you get what you pay for.  Also, unless you have an unusually high opinion of the original, it's not like it's a major disappointment.
CHAPTER 2 picks up immediately following the events of the first film, after middle class father Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) "astral projected" into "The Further" (a hellish dream dimension inhabited by demons) to retrieve his and Renai Lambert's (Rose Byrne) boy, Dalton (Ty Simpkins, who appeared in IRON MAN 3 this summer), who had become trapped through his own unconscious projecting.  When Josh returned with Dalton, something else followed him, and Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), the veteran medium who assisted the Lamberts, has been strangled to death.  As the scene is being investigated by the police, the Lamberts move in with Josh's mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey), in his childhood home, where Josh was once tormented by demons that Elise had helped shut out.  Hauntings similar to those that accompanied Dalton's possession before have followed the Lamberts now into Lorraine's house, but this time, it's Josh being possessed by a malignant spirit and it threatens to shut him out from his own body.

There's a ghost outside that window.

The immediacy of the story following the first film makes prior viewing of the first film recommended, but even if you have seen it, CHAPTER 2 is tricky to follow, because there isn't much to follow.  The characters have vaguely-defined motivations and backgrounds, and sometimes it feels like the filmmakers are coming up with it as they go, which isn't too surprising considering that it's an obligatory follow-up to horror surprise hit.  As is the case with many films of the same genre, CHAPTER 2 runs into the most trouble when it plays with plot twists, and such devices are often a gamble, but these are prone to provoke unintended laughs.
If you aren't highly invested and are just out for a spooky frolic, INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 will probably suit you just fine, but it's solely a superficial exercise.