2012 End of Year Preview: Part 2: October

Welcome back to this 4-part look into the upcoming movies in the final quarter of 2012. This is Part 2 and today we'll be looking into the films coming out during the month of Halloween, October.

*Director Tim Burton's first film of the year, May's 'Dark Shadows', was neither a critical or commercial hit. But Burton isn't done yet this year, as his second film 'Frankenweenie' hits theaters on October 5^th. Like with many of his previous projects, this film is a remake but this remake just so happens to be based off one of Burton's old projects of the same name, a live-action 1984 short film which he made while working for Disney about a young boy who re-animates his dog Sparky back to life after he died. This new version is stop-motion and stars many actors who were in previous Burton films, including Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, and Martin Landau.

*2008's 'Taken' was one of the first to establish Liam Neeson as a premier action star. He returns to his role of ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills in 'Taken 2'. This new film follows Mills as he travels to Istanbul on vacation with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and wife Lenore (Famke Janssen). Mills soon runs into trouble again when he runs into a group of gangsters looking to enact revenge on Mills for their comrades who he killed in the first film. 'Taken 2' hits theaters on October 5^th.

*Ben Affleck proved that he is a all-star director with the acclaimed Boston thrillers 'Gone Baby Gone' and 'The Town'. For his third directorial effort, Affleck leaves Boston for Iran with 'Argo', which is based off of the true events of a rescue attempt by the U.S. government to save six U.S. diplomats during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. Affleck stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA agent who comes up with a plan to convince Iran that the diplomats are a part of a film crew who are scouting on location for a science fiction movie. The film also stars Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin and will hit theaters on the 12^th.

*For those looking for a comedy, 'Here Comes the Boom', the latest from Happy Madison, comes out the same weekend as Argo. Kevin James stars as a biology teacher who becomes an MMA fighter when budget cuts threaten his school.

*October 19^th sees the release of the latest entry in the highly successful Paranormal Activity franchise, 'Paranormal Activity 4'. While the last two entries in this series were prequels, this is the first true sequel to the original film from 2007. This film follows a young teen and her mother who start to experience strange events in their home when the series' main character Katie, now possessed by a demon, moves in next door with her sister's son Hunter, now called 'Robbie'. Paranormal Activity 3 directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost return to helm this new film.

*That same weekend sees the release of spy thriller 'Alex Cross'. It is the third adaptation of the hit book series of the same name by author James Patterson. The previous two films, 'Kiss the Girls' and 'Along Came a Spider' starred Morgan Freeman in the role of Cross. This film stars Tyler Perry as Cross, who fights a serial killer known as 'The Butcher', played by Matthew Fox.

*The final big-name release in October is the much talked about 'Cloud Atlas', an epic adventure film from the creators of 'The Matrix'. Set during multiple time periods, the ensemble cast includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, and Jim Broadbent. It is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by author David Mitchell and will be released on the 26^th.

Nothing really major in terms of limited releases this month, so that's it for October. Check back soon for Part 3 where we take a look into the month of November.