2013 Preview: October

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films that are set to come out during 2013. This is Part 10 of 12 and today we’ll be looking at the lineup of films that will be released during the month of October. Thankfully, this month is a little easier than previous months because there is not a single week this month where more than two movies hit theaters during the same weekend. This, of course, comes after months of seeing weekends where at least four new movies come out in one single weekend.

OCTOBER 4- September’s ‘Metallica: Through the Never’ expands nationwide after its initial release in IMAX. Meanwhile, a pair of new movies will hit theaters this weekend.

*Alfonso Cuaron’s (‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, ‘Children of Men’) newest film, ‘Gravity’, will hit theaters after making its North American debut at TIFF last month. Sandra Bullock stars as medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone, who is on her first Space Shuttle mission with retiring vet astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). Things start to go haywire when their shuttle is hit by debris, leaving the two stranded in space.

*Ben Affleck recently made headlines when Warner Bros announced that he would be taking over the role of Batman for the 2015 Man of Steel sequel. While we’re still two years away from that film, Affleck takes on his first villain role with ‘Runner, Runner’, directed by Brad Furman (2011’s surprise critical hit ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’). Justin Timberlake stars as a Princeton student who travels to a remote island when he loses his tuition money through online poker to confront the owner of the poker site (Affleck), but he ends up becoming his protégé in the process. While this is going on, an FBI agent tries to use him in order to take his new boss down. Gemma Arterton and Anthony Mackie co-star.

OCTOBER 11- Another pair of films will be released; the latest films from the director of ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ and the director of ‘Machete’.

*’Captain Phillips’, directed by Paul Greengrass (‘The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum’, ‘United 93’) is the true story of the Maersk Alabama hijacking which happened in April 2009, when Somali pirates seized control of a cargo ship near the coast of Somalia and took the ship’s crew hostage. Tom Hanks stars as the ship’s captain, Richard Phillips.

*The second film in director Robert Rodriguez’s planned ‘Machete’ trilogy, Machete Kills, will hit theaters, originally set for a release last month but is now pushed back to this month. Danny Trejo reprises his role as Machete, an ex-Federale who is recruited by the President (played by Charlie Sheen, credited here as Carlos Estevez) to take down an arms dealer (Mel Gibson). Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez reprise their roles from the previous film, joined by Sofia Vergara, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

OCTOBER 18- A remake of a classic Stephen King story and a team-up between two of the 80’s most famous action stars.

*Following Brian De Palma’s 1976 horror classic and a 2002 made for TV film, both of the same name, the third film adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’ will be released. According to distributors MGM and Screen Gems, the film will be closer to King’s original novel. Chloe Grace Moretz stars as Carrie White, a young, shy outcast who develops telekinesis powers, which she soon unleashes on her peers when she is pushed too far. The film also stars Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mom and Judy Greer as Carrie’s sympathetic gym teacher, Miss Desjardin. The film is directed by Kimberly Pierce (‘Boys Don’t Cry’).

*Two of Hollywood’s most famous action stars, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up again (following the first two ‘Expendables’ films (not counting the third currently in production) for ‘Escape Plan’ (previously titled ‘The Tomb’). Stallone plays a structural engineer who is wrongly convicted for a crime and sentenced to a maximum security prison. Schwarzenegger co-stars as a fellow inmate who helps Stallone’s character in his attempt to escape the prison (one that he designed himself). The film also stars Jim Caviziel as the prison warden and 50 Cent as the assistant of Stallone’s character.

OCTOBER 25- Ridley Scott’s latest film and a ‘Jackass’ spinoff will close out the month.

*Ridley Scott’s latest film, ‘The Counselor’ is based on a script written by Cormac McCarthy (author of ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘The Road’). The film follows a lawyer (played by Michael Fassbender) who ventures into the world of drug trafficking. The film also stars Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, and Brad Pitt.

*The final release of the month is a spinoff of the popular ‘Jackass’ franchise, ‘Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa’, based around the character of Irving Zisman, played by Johnny Knoxville, an 86-year old man who travels the country with his grandson as hijinks ensue.