This month on the big screen is all about the action movies (with a little bit of singing thrown in). So while you’re trying to escape the colder days, or preparing for the swarm of children on Halloween this year, make sure you squeeze in some time for these books on screen adaptations.

 

In The Paperboy, drama is stirred up by a woman, who sets out to prove that her fiancée, a death row inmate, is innocent. She enlists the help of two brothers to prove his innocence, but they realize more lies and betrayals await them than they could have imagined. Is all this trouble really worth it in the end?

 

In Alex Cross, James Patterson’s novels come to life with the help of Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox. Homicide detective and psychologist Alex Cross (Perry) meets his match in a serial killer (Fox), who endure a long game of cat and mouse. Can Alex Cross hold his own when the killer suddenly gets personal?

 

Next up is Cloud Atlas, a narration of six interwoven stories all leading up to a post-apocalyptic dystopian version of a Pacific Island nation, and how the first five all lead to the events in the last. Filled with action, romance and mystery, Cloud Atlas is sure to be a breathtaking representation of the novel written by David Mitchell.

 

Then, from the maker of the Broadway sensation Avenue Q, comes Pitch Perfect --- the story of what happens when one freshman flips an all-girl a cappella group upside down. She introduces them to new arrangements, the world of mash-ups, and insists that they ditch their good-girl, old-fashioned image for one that is more “this decade.”

 

Also, be sure to check out Andrea Arnold's take on the Brontë classic, Wuthering Heights to see a fresh twist on an old favorite.

 

Last but not least, is Fat Boy Rules the World a cinematographic adaptation of K.L. Going's award winning Young Adult novel about Troy Billings a fat boy looking to end it all, but is instead swept into Seatle's hip music scene by a young punk-rock musician. 

 

In between all the big screen movies, though, don’t neglect your favorites on the small screen! Check out the season premiere of “The Walking Dead” on October 14th on AMC, and continue to watch “Once Upon a Time” on ABC, “Dexter” on Showtime,  “Elementary,” the brand new adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes mysteries on CBS and don't miss "The Girl" a movie that looks into the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedron on HBO. 

 

Finally, for those of you who couldn't get enough of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter , you can look forward to the DVD release on October 23rd --- just in time to have it to watch after all the trick-or-treaters have gone home.

 

In Theaters:

 

The Paperboy

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack

Director: Lee Daniels

Distributor: Millennium Entertainment

MPAA Rating: TBD

Release Date: October 5th (wide)

Based On: THE PAPERBOY by Pete Dexter

 

Based on Pete Dexter’s critically acclaimed novel, THE PAPERBOY is the enthralling story of two brothers (Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron) investigating a case involving a death row inmate (John Cusack).  Convinced by a mysterious woman (Nicole Kidman) that the inmate is innocent, the brothers embark on a journey that is filled with betrayal.  THE PAPERBOY also costars David Oyelowo (RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, THE HELP), Macy Gray (FOR COLORED GIRLS) and Scott Glenn (BOURNE LEGACY).

 

Pitch Perfect

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Elizabeth Banks, Rebel Wilson

Director: Jason Moore

Distributor: Universal Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Release Date: October 5th (wide)

Based On: PITCH PERFECT: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin

 

Beca (Anna Kendrick) is that girl who'd rather listen to what's coming out of her headphones than what's coming out of you. Arriving at her new college, she finds herself not right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she never would have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they sing together, in the new out-loud comedy Pitch Perfect.

When Beca takes this acoustic singing group out of their world of traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of the cutthroat world of college a cappella. This could wind up either the coolest thing they'll ever do or the most insane, and it will probably be a little of both.

Loaded with new takes on old favorites to hits of right now that are seamlessly mixed together, mashed-up and arranged like you've never heard before, Pitch Perfect is directed by Jason Moore, who opened our eyes to the very misbehaved life of puppets in the surprise Broadway sensation Avenue Q.

 

Wuthering Heights

Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley, Oliver Milburn

Director: Andrea Arnold

Distributor: Oscilloscope Labratories

MPAA Rating: Not Yet Rated

Release Date: October 5th (limited, check website for details)

Based On: WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë

 

 A new take on the classic love story between Heathcliff, a boy taken in my a kind father and Cathy, the farmer's young daughter. This film adaptation promises to be beautiful and evocative and bring a somewhat more modern take on an old favorite.

 

Fat Kid Rules the World

Cast: Jacob Wysocki, Matt O'Leary, Billy Campbell, Lili Simmons

Director: Matthew Lillard

Distributor: Whitewater Films & Whippany Park Productions

MPAA Rating: R

Release Date: October 5th (limited, check the website for details)

Based On:  FAT KID RULES THE WORLD by K.L. Going

 

Troy Billings is fat. On top of that, he really hates his life. Just when he is about to jump in front of a bus to end it all, Marcus Macrae tackles him out of the way and saves his life. The two then dive head first into Seattle's fascinating music scene. Based on K.L. Going's novel which was named one of the ALA Best Books for Young Adults, and 2004 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age.

 

Alex Cross

Cast: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns, Rachel Nichols

Director: Rob Cohen

Distributor: Summit Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Release Date: October 19th (wide)

Based On:  Alex Cross series by James Patterson

 

Alex Cross follows the young homicide detective/psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide best-selling novels by James Patterson, as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller.

 

Cloud Atlas

Cast: Tom Hanks, Jim Sturgess, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant

Director: Andy Washowski, Lana Washowski and Tom Tykwer

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

MPAA Rating: R

Release Date: October 26th (wide)

Based On: CLOUD ATLAS by David Mitchell

 

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.

 

On TV:

“The Walking Dead”

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jon Bernthal, Norman Reedus

Network: AMC

Air Dates: Sundays at 9:00 pm ET/PT

Season 3 Premiere: Sunday, October 14th at 9:00 pm ET/PT

Based on: THE WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman

 

Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers, Strike Back), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead.

 

“Once Upon A Time”

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Lana Parrilla, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle

Network: ABC

Air Dates: Sundays at 8pm ET

Based On: Various classic fairy tales

 

Emma Swan’s life has been anything but a fairytale. A 28-year-old bail bondsperson, she’s been taking care of herself since she was abandoned as a baby. But when Henry --- the son she gave up 10 years ago --- finds her, everything changes. Henry is desperate for his mom’s help and thinks that Emma is actually the long, lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Yes, the actual Snow White and Prince Charming. Even stranger, Henry believes that Storybrooke, the sleepy New England town he calls home, is really part of a curse cast by the Evil Queen, freezing fairytale characters in the modern world with no memory of their former selves.

 

“Dexter”

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas

Network: Showtime

Air Date: Sundays at 9pm ET

Based On: Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay

 

He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.

 

“Elementary”

Cast: Lucy Liu, Jonny Lee Miller

Network: CBS

Air Dates: Thursdays at 10pm ET

Based On: The Sherlock Holmes Mysteriesby Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

In a modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective is taking on New York. Just out of rehab, he's been assigned to live with his worst nightmare-sober coach, Dr. Joan Watson. Holmes's unsurpassed skills of deduction and Watson's medical expertise come together to create a dream team for solving the NYPD's most impossible cases.

 

"The Girl"

Cast:  Toby Jones, Sienna Miller

Network: HBO

Air Date: October 20 9pm/8 c

Based On: Alfred Hitchcock

 

Tippi Hedron once said that Alfred Hitchcock ruined her career because she had to fight out of her contract with him and due to this lost roles. This is a dramatized look at what their relationship may have looked like. This HBO movie portrays Hitchcock's (Jones) obsession with Hedron (Miller) and just how desperate he was to get her attention.

 

On DVD: