Put on your tweed jacket and Gregory Peck glasses, because it's October and we're getting serious! The drama is non-stop, on screens both big and small. Sometimes it's hard to decide between reading a good book and watching a thought-provoking movie or TV show. But with so many incredible books on screen to choose from this month, it's a win-win situation.
In theaters is the highly anticipated and reimagined Romeo & Juliet. Teen sensation Hailee Steinfeld and the gorgeous Douglas Booth star as the eponymous lovers, who are still as star-crossed as ever --- even though the setting for their doomed love gets a 21st-century update. It doesn't hurt that the screenplay was adapted by the very capable Julian Fellowes of "Downton Abbey" fame.
If you're not looking for love this month, check out Tom Hanks in the tense thriller Captain Phillips, based on the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. Also this month --- and just in time for Halloween --- is a remake of the Stephen King gore-fest, CARRIE. America's favorite troubled teen is back, this time played by Chloe Grace Moretz, with Julianne Moore as her religious, over-bearing mother. Revenge may not be sweet, but it's certainly blood-splattered in this horror classic.
If you're saving your money for Oktoberfest, there are plenty of books on screen to watch for free in the comfort of your own home. Vampires are hot this season (as with all seasons, post-Twilight), and you have your choice of the brooding CW kind or the brooding NBC kind. On the CW, "The Vampire Diaries" returns for its fifth season, and Stefan, Damon and Elena are all still fang-deep in old drama and new. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays a more grown-up vampire over on NBC, starring as Dracula on the show of the same title, which premieres on October 25th. This Dracula is posing as an American entrepreneur hell-bent on bringing modern technology --- specifically, electricity --- to Victorian London. If the promos and early trailers are any indication, the show promises to be dark and sexy --- perfect for fall-watching!
Between all the romance, horror and remakes galore, there's something for everyone on screen this October. Get out there and enjoy!
--- Written and compiled by Emily Hoenig
In Theaters:
Captain Phillips
Cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max Martini, Chris Mulkey, Yul Vazquez, David Warshofsky
Director: Paul Greengrass
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: October 11th (wide)
Based on: A CAPTAIN'S DUTY: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty
Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is --- through director Paul Greengrass’s distinctive lens --- simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips, and the Somali pirate captain, Muse, who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips’ unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.
Romeo & Juliet
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Ed Westwick, Damian Lewis, Paul Giamatti, Stellan Skarsgård, Lesley Manville, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Director: Carlo Carlei
Distributor: Relativity Media
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: October 11th (limited)
Based on: ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare
In the fair city of Verona, Romeo and Juliet, children of the feuding Montague and Capulet families, meet at a feast and fall deeply in love. Despite the sworn contempt their families hold for each another, they steal away and are secretly wed. It is not long, however, before a chain of fateful events changes the lives of both families forever.
12 Years a Slave: The Extraordinary True Story of Solomon Northup
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodward
Director: Steve McQueen
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: October 18th (limited)
Based on: TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE by Solomon Northup
Twelve Years a Slave is based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the 12th year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
Carrie
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort, Julianne Moore
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Distributor: Sony Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: October 18th (wide)
Based On: CARRIE by Stephen King
Carrie is a reimaging of a classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.
On TV:
“The White Queen”
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Max Irons, Janet McTeer, James Frain, Amanda Hale, Faye Marsay, Aneurin Barnard, David Oakes, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ben Lamb, Tom McKay
Network: STARZ
Series Finale: Saturday, October 19th at 9 PM ET/PT
Based On: The Cousins' War series by Philippa Gregory
“The White Queen” is a riveting portrayal of one of the most dramatic and turbulent times in English history. A story of love and lust, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder, it is uniquely told through the perspective of three different, yet equally relentless women --- Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville. In their quest for power, they will scheme, manipulate and seduce their way onto the English throne.
The year is 1464, before the Tudor dynasty ruled the country, and war has been ravaging throughout England over who is the rightful King. It is a bitter dispute between two sides of the same family, The House of York and The House of Lancaster.
The House of York's young and handsome Edward IV is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator, Lord Warwick "The Kingmaker." But when Edward falls in love with a beautiful Lancastrian commoner, Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick's plan to control the throne comes crashing down.
A violent, high-stakes struggle ensues between Elizabeth, her most fierce adversary, Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort, and Anne Neville, the pawn in her father's power game --- each woman vying for the crown.
"Dracula"
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jessica De Gouw, Thomas Kretschmann, Katie McGrath, Nonso Anozie, Victoria Smurfit
Network: NBC
Series Premiere: Friday, October 25th at 10pm ET
Based On: DRACULA by Bram Stoker
Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") stars in this provocative new drama as one of the world's most iconic characters. It's the late 19th century, and the mysterious Dracula has arrived in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. He's especially interested in the new technology of electricity, which promises to brighten the night --- useful for someone who avoids the sun. But he has another reason for his travels: He hopes to take revenge on those who cursed him with immortality centuries earlier. Everything seems to be going according to plan...until he becomes infatuated with a woman who appears to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.
"The Vampire Diaries"
Cast: Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Candice Accola
Network: The CW
Season 5 Premiere: Thursday, October 3rd at 8pm ET
Based On: The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith
In the tumultuous fourth season of "The Vampire Diaries," the world of Mystic Falls was turned upside down when the beautiful and compassionate Elena Gilbert came face-to-face with her worst nightmare --- life as a vampire. While Elena struggled to control her new powers and the overwhelming thirst for blood, the astonishing news that a cure for vampirism may actually exist reached Damon and Stefan Salvatore, the two vampire brothers who love her. Their search for the cure leads the brothers, along with Elena’s brother Jeremy and her best friends Bonnie and Carol, to a horrifying confrontation with the ancient and all-powerful immortal, Silas, who has been entombed with the cure for more than 2,000 years. But Elena isn’t the only vampire who longs to return to life as a human, and the question of who will take the cure is resolved in the heart-stopping season finale, along with moments of unexpected joy, unspeakable sorrow, and a confession of true love.
The series heads into its fifth season with some characters headed off to college, a newly cured vampire trying to survive as a human, and a shocking Salvatore secret.
On DVD:
Midnight’s Children
Cast: Shriya Saran, Satya Bhabha, Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Ronit Roy, Siddharth Narayan, Shahana Goswami, Samrat Chakrabarti, Rahul Bose, Seema Biswas, Darsheel Safary
Director: Deepa Mehta
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: October 8th
Based On: MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
Midnight's Children is an epic film from Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the Booker Prize winning novel by Salman Rushdie. At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, as India proclaims independence from Great Britain, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. Saleem Sinai, the illegitimate son of a poor woman, and Shiva, the offspring of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destiny meant for each other. Their lives become mysteriously intertwined and are inextricably linked to India's whirlwind journey of triumphs and disasters.
From the unlikely romance of Saleem's grandparents to the birth of his own son, Midnight's Children is a journey at once sweeping in scope and yet intimate in tone. Hopeful, comic and magical --- the film conjures images and characters as rich and unforgettable as India herself.
Much Ado About Nothing
Cast: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Jillian Morgese
Director: Joss Whedon
Distributor: Lionsgate
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: October 8th
Based On: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare
Leonato, the governor of Messina, is visited by his friend Don Pedro, who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John. Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers: Benedick and Claudio. While in Messina, Claudio falls for Leonato's daughter Hero, while Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice, the governor's niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange with Leonato for a marriage.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, Don Pedro, with the help of Leonato, Claudio and Hero, attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John, with the help of his allies Conrade and Borachio, plots against the happy couple, using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins.
A series of comic and tragic events may continue to keep the two couples from truly finding happiness, but then again perhaps love may prevail.
As Cool As I Am
Cast: Claire Danes, James Marsden, Sarah Bolger
Director: Max Mayer
Distributor: Radiant Films International
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: October 22nd
Based On: AS COOL AS I AM by Pete Fromm
Lucy is dreaming of a bigger life while dealing with her parents' disintegrating marriage. Struggling with her own relationships, Lucy not only confides in her best friend Kenny, but relies on him for emotional and physical support as she moves toward her own hopes and dreams.
