Top Ten Movies to Look Out For In October

10 – ABCs of Death (October 31)

Director: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado, Alejandro Brugues, Bill Plympton, Chris Nash, Dennison Ramalho, Erik Matti, Evan Katz, Hajime Ohata, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, Jerome Sable, Jim Hosking, Juan Martinez Moreno, Julian Barratt, Julian Gilbey, Julien Bustillo, Alexandre Maury, Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper, Lancelot Imasuen, Larry Fassenden, Marvin Kren, Robert Boocheck, Robert Morgan, Rodney Ascher, Soichi Umezawa, Steven Kostanski, Todd Rohal, Vincenzo Natali

Writer: Robert Boocheck, Alejandro Brugues, Jeff Buhler, David Chirchirillo, Julian Gilbey, Toby Harvard, Jim Hosking, Juan Martinez Moreno, Nicolas Musurca, Chris Nash, Jerome Sable, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, Ant Timpson, Marc Walkow, Alex de la Iglesia

Actors: Various

Genre: Horror

Rated: Unrated

It’s no secret that I hated the first ABCs of Death. There are some things that you just never get over watching.

When I watched The ABCs of Death it was torture. I don’t think I can ever get my brain quite as clean as it was before that day.

So why would I suggest the second one?

The answer comes from the base idea behind the movies. The ABCs of Death, as well as the sequel, comes from 26 different directors making short horror films based around one letter of the alphabet. Despite my overall opinion of the first anthology, I do believe the idea is pretty cool.

In ABCs of Death 2 there are all new directors, all new ideas and, well, it’s the same letters because it’s set to the English alphabet. None-the-less, there’s enough different that I think it’s worth a shot.

9 – Laggies (October 24)

Director: Lynn Shelton

Writer: Andrea Seigel

Actors: Keira Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell, Mark Webber, Ellie Kemper, Jeff Garlin, Gretchen Mol, Kaitlyn Dever, Sara Coates

Genre: Comedy

Rated: R

Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick Ass, If I Stay, Carrie) is getting a ton of work. Granted, I think she’s a great actress and it’s totally deserved, but her face is becoming just super recognizable. If she keeps this pace up, she’s going to be a household name before she turns 20.

Hell, in some households she already is.

Laggies looks like it’s going to be hilarious. Between Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride & Prejudice, Begin Again) and Moretz, I expect some awesome banter and timing. I’m also really interesting in seeing Sam Rockwell (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Iron Man 2) in something that doesn’t portray him as a villain. He may have played the hero before, but I’ve only seen him in his villain roles; dancing in his villain roles.

I wonder if he’ll dance as a protagonist, too.

8 – St. Vincent (October 10)

Director: Theodore Melfi

Writer: Theodore Melfi

Actors: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher

Genre: Comedy

Rated: PG-13

Bill Murray (Ghostbusters, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Zombieland) is the man. The first movie I ever saw him in was Ghostbusters and now I simply associate him with awesome. I could take or leave the rest of the cast.

Not taking into account the actors involved, this movie looks like a grumpy, fantastic comedy. What the trailer shows is some basic grandfather-ish bonding between an old man and a young boy. It’s almost painfully obvious what road the movie will take, but I still can’t help wanting to sit through the story anyway.

7 – Dracula Untold (October 10)

Director: Gary Shore

Writer: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Bram Stoker

Actors: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Diarmaid Murtagh, Dominic Cooper, Samantha Barks

Genre: Action & Adventure

Rated: PG-13

Yes, it’s another Dracula movie.

I think Dracula Untold will be decent because of the stance the writers took.

Regardless of anything else, this movie seems to be meant as an origin film. A lot of movies touch on who Dracula is, how he was turned or how he was eventually defeated. What Dracula Untold seems to do differently is take an alternate stance on why he became a vampire. The twist is decent enough that it seems a lot more original than most Dracula-based films.

6 – The Judge (October 10)

Director: David Dobkin

Writer: Nick Schenk, Bill Dubuque, David Dobkin

Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shephard, Billy Bob Thornton, Ken Howard, Emma Tremblay, Balthazar Getty, David Krumholtz, Sarah Lancaster, Grace Zabriskie, Denis O’Hare, Leighton Meester

Genre: Drama

Rated: R

Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 3, The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) is a good enough reason to want to see any movie. The story involved in The Judge, however, is even more of a reason.

I’m not a fan of drama in general, but the genre has its moments and I do get into a good courtroom or crime drama pretty easily. With this kind of cast, it’s easy to imagine the jaw-dropping line delivery that could take place.

My only concern is David Dobkin (The Change-Up, Fred Claus, Wedding Crashers). I don’t like him as a director. With any luck, The Judge will be the exception.

5 – Fury (October 17)

Director: David Ayer

Writer: David Ayer

Actors: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs, Scott Eastwood

Genre: Action & Adventure

Rated: R

I’ve always been fascinated by World War II. I’ve watched a great deal of the holocaust movies and I’ve read just about every book I can get my hands on. Fury is a movie I’ve known was coming out for a while and I’ve been looking forward to finally getting to see it.

The cast isn’t exactly shabby either. Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds, Fight Club, World War Z) and Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 3:10 to Yuma) are the two I’m really looking forward to seeing in this kind of film. Pitt is a given, but Lerman is an actor that’s slowly making one hell of a name for himself. Working with Pitt can only help that goal.

I’m certain that I won’t regret spending time on Fury.

4 – John Wick (October 24)

Director: Chad Stahelski, David Leitch

Writer: Derek Kolstad

Actors: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Dean Winters, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, John Leguizmo, Willem Dafoe

Genre: Action & Aventure

Rated: Unrated

John Wick is the obligatory old guy in an action film pick of the month.

Despite Keanu Reeves’ (47 Ronin, The Matrix, Devil’s Advocate) old-guy flair, this film looks freaking awesome. Filled with all the appropriate action themed fighting and explosion stuff, it also looks like Reeves jumped back into the genre with a vengeance (no pun intended).

I’m a little saddened that the trailer indicates that the dog dies, but hey… whatever moves the story line forward.

3 – Left Behind (October 2)

Director: Vic Armstrong

Writer: Paul Lalonde, John Patus, Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye

Actors: Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thomson, Nicky Whelan, Lea Thompson, Jordan Sparks, Quinton Aaron, Martin Klebba

Genre: Action & Adventure

Rated: PG-13

Another old guy in an action movie! Well, to be fair, Nicolas Cage (Kick Ass, Rage, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) is still in a lot of action movies.

This is not just any action movie, though, this is an apocalypse movie. Reading through The Random Review you’ll find that I adore apocalypse movies, even the bad ones. Especially bad ones, sometimes. I’m not sure what draws me to this subject, but I love movies, books and discussions based on it.

Left Behind does seem to be a little bit like the HBO series The Leftovers. However, a lot of films use the rapture as a base for their story. After all, This is the End was also based around the rapture and no one is going to argue similarity between it and Left Behind.

I believe this film deserves a chance. Let’s see what road they take.

2 – Stonehearst Asylum (October 24)

Director: Brad Anderson

Writer: Joe Gangemi, Edgar Allan Poe

Actors: Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis

Genre: Horror

Rated: PG-13

Stonehearst Asylum is based off a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, “The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether.” There is no better reason in this world that I could use to want to see this movie. Yes, the cast is amazing and the trailer looks incredible, but my main desire to see this film is based on Edgar Allan Poe.

His poetry was what inspired me to write in the first place. Even if the trailer looked horrible, Stonehearst Asylum might have made this list.

1 – Horns (October 31)

Director: Alexandre Aja

Writer: Keith Bunin, Joe Hill

Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Heather Graham, Sabrina Carpenter, Joe Anderson, Kelli Garner, Max Minghella, James Remar

Genre: Thriller

Rated: R

I haven’t had a real interest in seeing a movie with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Kill Your Darlings, The Woman in Black) in it since the Harry Potter films. It’s not because he’s a bad actor. In fact, I don’t actually understand why none of his movies have appealed to me on any real level.

However, Horns looks great. It seems like something unique and interesting. I believe it will be the kind of movie that actually shocks me. As it is, I can’t even guess, off the trailer, what direction the story is going to take.

Will Radcliffe’s character find redemption? Will he have actually committed the crime? Is he simply hallucinating his way through life? I’m excited to find out.

It seems to be one hell of a Halloween movie, too.