The Martian (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 2: Dir. Ridley Scott, Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain)
Plot Summary: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon)  is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
With a plot and cast eerily similar to Interstellar, it’s hard to tell if this one will be a hit or miss. Given Ridley Scott’s recent films, I’m leaning towards a miss.
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Pan (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 9: Dir. Joe Wright, Starring Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller)
Plot Summary: The story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny — to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.
Looks cheesy and unoriginal to me, but maybe it will surprise.
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Steve Jobs (Awards Contender – Oct. 9: Dir. Danny Boyle, Starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet)
Plot Summary: His passion and ingenuity have been the driving force behind the digital age. However his drive to revolutionize technology was sacrificial. Ultimately it affected his family life and possibly his health. In this revealing film we explore the trials and triumphs of a modern day genius, the late CEO of Apple inc. Steven Paul Jobs (Michael Fassbender).
This one will be all over the awards. With a true story tale about a controversial figure involved with technology written by Aaron Sorkin, it has many parallels to the highly-praised The Social Network. Expect this one to nab Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor for Fassbender, Best Supporting Actress for Winslet, and perhaps Best Director for Boyle.
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Bridge of Spies (Awards Contender – Oct. 16: Dir. Steven Spielberg, Starring Tom Hanks, Austin Stowell)
Plot Summary: An American lawyer (Tom Hanks) is recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to help rescue a pilot detained in the Soviet Union.
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are the perfect formula for a Best Picture nod at the Oscars, but will this film be good enough to be regarded among the actual best of the year or will it just be Hollywood glamor?
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Crimson Peak (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 16: Dir. Guillermo del Toro, Starring Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam)
Plot Summary: Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is running away from a childhood trauma. She is now torn between her childhood friend, Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), and a mysterious stranger, Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). She marries Thomas and comes to live with him and his sister, Lady Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain). However, Edith starts to find out that the Sharpe’s home bleeds, breathes, and remembers, and that it is filled with spirits.
This one looks to have a great story, great director, and fantastic cast, and I think it will be one of the best films of the fall but it may be a bit too off-kilter to contend for any awards.
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Goosebumps (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 16: Dir. Rob Letterman, Starring Jack Black, Halston Sage)
Plot Summary: A young kid teams up with the niece of young adult horror author R.L. Stine (Jack Black) after the writer’s imaginary demons are set free on the town of Greendale, Maryland.
This will be a nostalgic one for many but most likely will not be anything to write home about.
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Jem and the Holograms (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 23: Dir. Jon M. Chu, Starring Aubrey Peeples, Molly Ringwald)
Plot Summary: As a small-town girl (Aubrey Peeples) catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden.
This Pitch Perfect-esque glamor rock flick has a chance of raking in a lot of cash and being a pretty solid film as well.
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The Last Witch Hunter (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 23: Dir. Breck Eisner, Starring Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie)
Plot Summary: The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including KAULDER (Vin Diesel), a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful QUEEN WITCH, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the QUEEN curses KAULDER with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today KAULDER is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to KAULDER, the QUEEN WITCH is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer, causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.
If you read that entire plot summary, I applaud you. Now try to sit through two hours of Vin Diesel hunting witches. This one’s likely to suck.
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Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (Popcorn Flick – Oct. 23: Dir. Gregory Plotkin, Starring Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw)
Plot Summary: The Ghost Dimension, follows a new family, The Fleeges – father Ryan (Chris J. Murray), mother Emily (Brit Shaw) and their young daughter Leila (Ivy George) – who move into a house and discover a video camera and a box of tapes in the garage. When they look through the camera’s lens, they begin to see the paranormal activity happening around them – including the re-emergence of young Kristi and Katie
If you’ve watched all the previous Paranormal Activity installments, this 3D entry will be must-see, but otherwise you can most likely pass.