All you Books on Screen devotees who were hoping for a 3D Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing an iffy French accent, well, you fished your wish this month! Congratulations! And those of you who were holding out for Tom Hardy doing Russian, see: Child 44.

This month gives us almost as many transformations as an “America’s Next Top Model” makeover episode. Almost! Johnny Depp is nearly unrecognizable as notorious Irish mobster Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. Based on the book of the same name, the movie follows the uneasy alliance between Bulger and the FBI; Depp seems to have recovered from the curse of the black pearl and brings a thrilling, volatile intensity to the role --- it’s a level of commitment we haven’t really seen from him since 2001’s Blow.

Everest is out this month and looks great --- if you don’t mind heights. The movie, with an all-star cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal and Keira Knightley, brings the harrowing events that led to the 1996 Everest tragedy to the big screen. It looks like a high point [claps] in 3D filmmaking; the trailer alone made me feel like I was out on the mountain with the intrepid climbers. And if one vertigo-inducing movie isn’t enough, the aforementioned JGL makes the titular walk as Philippe Petit, the stuntman who illegally crossed a wire between towers of the World Trade Center. The Walk doesn't come out until later this month, but it’s moving and rather breathtaking to see the pre-9/11 towers looming so large again. And if you’re looking for something a little more, well, grounded, check out A Walk in the Woods based on the bestselling Bill Bryson book, which --- among other things --- is an alliteration lover's dream.

TV fans will be happy to hear that “Longmire” is back this month. The modern-day Western was dropped by A&E in 2014, but Netflix, patron saint of beloved-if-underappreciated television, is reviving it faster than fans can say “Wyatt Earp.” Spielberg’s 2002 sci-fi hit Minority Report is also getting a small screen reboot: The show picks up a decade after the movie left off and about nine years after the Pre-Crime Unit featured in the film was dismantled, although there are still some Precogs roaming the dystopian streets of Washington, D.C. If gritty crime dramas aren’t for you (no judgment), check out Cinderella and Pitch Perfect 2 on DVD.

Don’t be fooled by this extended summer heat; fall is right around the corner and with it comes Colbert on network television and the best and brightest of our Books on Screen! Tie a jacket around your waist and enjoy!
 

---Written and compiled by Emily Hoenig

In Theaters:

A Walk in the Woods
Cast: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson
Director: Ken Kwapis
Distributor: Broad Green Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: September 2nd
Based On: A WALK IN THE WOODS: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

In this new comedy adventure, celebrated travel writer, Bill Bryson --- instead of retiring to enjoy his loving and beautiful wife, and large and happy family --- challenges himself to hike the Appalachian Trail: 2,200 miles of America's most unspoiled, spectacular and rugged countryside from Georgia to Maine. The peace and tranquility he hopes to find, though, is anything but, once he agrees to being accompanied by the only person he can find willing to join him on the trek --- his long lost and former friend Katz, a down-on-his-luck serial philanderer who, after a lifetime of relying on his charm and wits to keep one step ahead of the law, sees the trip as a way to sneak out of paying some debts and sneak into one last adventure before it’s too late. The trouble is, the two have a completely different definition of the word, "adventure." Now they're about to find out that when you push yourself to the edge, the real fun begins.

Wolf Totem
Cast: Shaofeng Feng, Shawn Dou, Ankhnyam Ragchaa
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Distributor: China Film Group
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 11th
Based on: WOLF TOTEM by Jiang Rong

In 1967, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies --- the marauding wolves --- to the north, humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.

90 Minutes in Heaven
Cast: Kate Bosworth, Hayden Christensen, Hudson Meek, Bobby Batson, Elizabeth Hunter 
Director: Michael Polish
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 11th
Based On: 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey

Don Piper died January 18, 1989, when a semi-tractor truck crushed his car. Declared dead by the first rescue workers to arrive on the scene, Don's body lay under a tarp for the next 90 minutes. Don's soul, meanwhile, was experiencing love, joy and life like he'd never known before. Don was in Heaven. When another pastor's prayers helped bring Don back to life, he became a living miracle! Yet this is one miracle Don wished never happened. Heaven's bliss was replaced by excruciating pain and emotional turmoil. With the support and prayers of his beloved Eva, their three kids and friends near and far, Don clings to his faith in God and fights to regain a semblance of his previous life. 

Black Mass
Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Jesse Plemons, Sienna Miller, Dakota Johnson
Director: Scott Cooper
Distributor: Warner Bros Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: September 18th
Based on: BLACK MASS: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill

In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly persuades Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger to collaborate with the FBI and eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. BLACK MASS tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement, consolidate power, and become one of the most ruthless and powerful gangsters in Boston history.

Captive
Cast: Kate Mara, David Oyelowo, Michael K. Williams
Director: Jerry Jameson
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 18th|
Based on: AN UNLIKELY ANGEL by Ashley Smith

Captive, based on a miraculous true story that drew the attention of the entire nation, is the dramatic, thrilling, and spiritual journey of Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols. After being taken hostage by Brian in her own apartment, Ashley turns to Rick Warren's inspirational book, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE, for guidance.

Everest
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Elizabeth Debicki, Keira Knightley, Robin Wright
Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Distributor: Universal Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 18th (IMAX), September 25th (everywhere)
Based on: INTO THIN AIR by Jon Krakauer, AFTER THE WIND by Lou Kasischke, and LEFT FOR DEAD by Beck Weathers

Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Everest documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Aidan Gillen, Giancarlo Esposito, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee
Director: Wes Ball
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 18th
Based on: THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner

In this next chapter of the epic Maze Runner saga, Thomas and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD's vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.

Prophet’s Prey
Cast: Jon Krakauer, Nick Cave, Ross Chatwin, Jannetta Jessop
Director: Amy J. Berg
Distributor: Independent
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Release Date: September 18th
Based On: PROPHET’S PREY: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints by Sam Brower

The Walk
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale
Network: Sony Pictures
Air Dates: September 30th
Based on: TO REACH THE CLOUDS: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers, by Philippe Petit

The Walk is the true story of a young dreamer, Philippe Petit, and a band of unlikely recruits who together achieve the impossible: an illegal wire walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. With little more than nerve and blind ambition, Petit and his ragtag crew overcome daunting physical obstacles, betrayals, countless close calls and overwhelming odds to beat the system and execute their mad plan.
 

On TV:

“Minority Report”
Cast: Meagan Good, Stark Sands, Laura Regan, Wilmer Valderrama
Network: Fox
Air Dates: Premieres September 21st; Mondays at 9pm ET
Based On: THE MINORITY REPORT by Philip K. Dick

Ten years after the end of Precrime in Washington D.C., one of the three PreCogs attempts to lead on a normal life while still suffering from visions of the future. Will they be able to hold it together or mentally breakdown and give up?

Hello, It's Me
Cast: Kellie Martin, Kavan Smith, Erin Pitt, Jack Fulton, Chad Connell
Network: Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Air Dates: Premieres Sunday, September 27th at 9pm ET/PT; re-airs Monday, September 28th at 5pm ET/PT. Click here to view all the showtimes.
Based On: HELLO, IT'S ME by Wendy Corsi Staub (written as Wendy Markham)

Two years after her husband Andre’s death, Annie and her children, Ella and Milo, struggle to cope with his loss. Annie can’t imagine falling in love after losing Andre, until she meets James, a wealthy bachelor who is drawn to her free spirit. Annie is afraid to love again and longs for guidance when she catches herself starting to fall for James. Her concerns are answered when she starts receiving communications from her late husband that encourage her to follow her heart.
 

“Longmire”
Cast: Robert Taylor, Katee Sackhoff, Bailey Chase, Lou Diamond Phillips, Cassidy Freeman, Adam Bartley
Network: Netflix
Air Dates: Thursday, September 10th
Based On: The Walt Longmire Mysteries series by Craig Johnson

Walt Longmire is the dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Widowed only a year, he is a man in psychic repair but buries his pain behind his brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit.
 

“Rizzoli & Isles”
Cast: Angie Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Lorraine Bracco, Bruce McGill
Network: TNT
Air Dates: Tuesdays at 9pm ET
Based On: The Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen

"Rizzoli & Isles" follows Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, complete opposites and good friends who solve crimes and bust some of Boston's most notorious criminals.

"Under the Dome"
Cast: Mike Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre, Dean Norris, Natalie Martinez, Britt Robertson, Alexander Koch, Colin Ford, Nicholas Strong, Jolene Purdy, Aisha Hinds
Network: CBS
Air Dates: Thursdays at 9pm ET
Based On: UNDER THE DOME by Stephen King

“Under The Dome,” based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, tells the story of a small town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. It’s been two weeks since the dome descended upon the sleepy town of Chester’s Mill, whose inhabitants are still struggling to survive with resources running low as their search for answers to what the barrier is and where it came from continues. The post-apocalyptic conditions intensify while the residents must decide who to rally behind as new faces emerge and Big Jim continues to battle for the town’s trust and allegiance. With survival hanging in the balance, can the residents of Chester’s Mill work together to protect their uncertain future?

“Zoo”
Cast: James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Billy Burke, Nora Arnezeder and Nonso Anozie
Network: CBS
Air Dates: Tuesdays at 9pm ET
Based On: ZOO by James Patterson

“Zoo” is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet. James Wolk will play Jackson Oz, a young, renegade American zoologist who spends his days running safaris in the wilds of Africa when he begins noticing the strange behavior of the animals. As the assaults become more cunning, coordinated and ferocious, he is thrust into the race to unlock the mystery of the pandemic before there’s no place left for people to hide.
 

On DVD:

Cinderella
Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG
Release Date: September 15th
Based On: “Cinderella” by Charles Perrault

A live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale about a servant stepdaughter who wins the heart of a prince. After her father unexpectedly dies, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, who reduce her to scullery maid. Despite her circumstances, she refuses to despair. An invitation to a palace ball gives Ella hope that she might reunite with the dashing stranger she met in the woods, but her stepmother prevents her from going. Help arrives in the form of a kindly beggar woman who has a magic touch for ordinary things.

Pitch Perfect 2
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Elizabeth Banks, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Distributor: Universal Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 22nd
Based On: PITCH PERFECT: The Quest For Collegiate A Capella Story by Mickey Rapkin

After a humiliating command performance at Lincoln Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has never won in order to regain their status and right to perform.