Movies in October 2007 Look Promising: October Movie Preview

I've recently written a few preview articles on upcoming released films; such as, The Simpsons Movie, and The Bourne Ultimatum. This is a list of more new films you should look for or watch out for. Find out all you need to about these films, and see what I have to say.

Michael Clayton

Directed by Tony Gilroy
Written by Tony Gilroy
Release date: October 5, 2007

George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, a "fixer" for one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. He's deeply in debt. He's divorced. He's starting to lose any passion for his job. That doesn't matter. The firm has Michael where they want him. By the looks of Michael Clayton, I'm not sure if I want to see it or not. It looks more coherent than Syriana (the movie Clooney won best supporting actor for), but the trailers haven't really been showing enough to grab my attention either. Anymore, it's tough deciding whether or not to see a Geoge Clooney movie. I'm a fan of this year's Ocean's Thirteen. It was not only a step up from Ocean's Twelve, but there were parts of the movie that were actually better than parts of the original. George has been doing a fine job throughout the series. I don't care for Clooney's outspoken - perhaps (as was said in South Park) smug approach to the business.

More of the principal cast

Sean Cullen plays Gene Clayton
Tom Wilkinson plays Arthur Edens
Tilda Swinton plays Karen Crowder
Sydney Pollack plays Marty Bach

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising

Directed by David L. Cunningham
Written by John Hodge
Release date: October 5, 2007

After the Lord of the Rings trilogy, many have tried to cash in on the success of such fantasy films based on acclaimed novels. You've got Harry Potter, you've got the Chronicles of Narnia and the more recent, Eragon. The Seeker doesn't seem to be much of an exception. The movie is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Susan Cooper. It basically tells the story of Luke Skywalker (Will Stanton more precisely), played this time by Alexander Ludwig versus the Dark Side if Luke Skywalker were living on modern day Earth and could leap back and forth through time.

More of the principal cast

Christopher Eccleston plays The Rider
Ian McShane plays Merriman Lyon
Jonathon Jackson plays The Walker
Amelia Warner plays Maggie Barnes

Sleuth

Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written by Harold Pinter
Release date: November 9, 2007

As remakes go, expect to see characters played previously by brilliant actors portrayed by a few perhaps unqualified but perhaps equally brilliant actors. The first film was released back 1972, and starred Sir Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine. Both of these movies are based on a play by Anthony Shaffer. It's really about two men fighting for the love of one woman. One, Andrew Wyke is a weathy writer who delights in playing games. The other is Milo Tindle, the owner of a chain of hairdressing salons who is having an affair with Wyke's wife. This time I believe Michael Caine is back, but he is playing the older gentleman, Wyke while Jude Law is playing the younger man, Tindle.

30 Days of Night

Directed by David Slade
Written by Stuart Beattle and Brian Nelson
Release date: October 19, 2007

The film looks like The Thing with vampires. You've got people surviving in the freezing arctic areas of Barrow, Alaska who happen to stumble upon some strange things. These things turn out to be vampires. Since this area won't be getting about a month, these creatures can roam freely for approximately 30 days. I'm not going to be seeing this movie with high expectations I can assure you of that. The only thing interesting will be to see Josh Hartnett back on the big screen again. He's playing Eben Olemaun.

More of the principal cast

Melissa George plays Stella Olemaun
Ben Foster plays The Stranger
Danny Huston plays Marlow
Craig Hall plays Wilson Bulosan

More October releases to look for

We Own the Night

Directed by James Gray
Written by James Gray

Starring Joaquin Phoenix as Bobby Green, Mark Wahlberg as Joseph Grusinsky, Robert Duvall as Burt Grusinsky, Eva Mendes as Amada Juarez

Gone Baby Gone

Directed by Ben Affleck
Written by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard

Starring Morgan Freeman as Jack Doyle, Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie, Michelle Monaghan as Angela "Angie" Gennaro, Ed Harris as Detective Remy Broussard, and Robert Wahlberg as Detective O'Malley

Other 2007 releases

Good Luck Chuck

Directed by Mark Helfrich
Written by Josh Stolberg
Release date: August 24, 2007

Given what they've shown in the trailers, this little comedy about a man who is quite literally a lucky charm for ladies who want to find their true love looks like an absolute hilarious movie and ingenious concept. Actor Dane Cook (Waiting, Mr. Brooks) plays Chuck or Charlie. When he refuses "Goth Girl" a kiss, she places a curse on him. Chuck must go from girl to girl, and watch them all find their soulmates and maybe even get married soon after. Then Chuck finds himself falling head over heels - so to speak - in love with a gorgeous young woman, Cam Wexler played by the sexy Jessica Alba (The Fantastic Four, TV's Dark Angel). Obviously, this proves to be a problem considering the curse.

Resident Evil: Extinction

Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Written by Paul W. S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer, Bernd Eichinger, and Samuel Hadida
Release date: September 21, 2007

Based on the Capcom video game, the Resident Evil film adaptations have enjoyed mild success, and made star Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, The Messenger) a big star. As many fans of the game would tell you, the movies are leaning farther and farther away from the successful game series. But, is that bad or good? I've always thought of the games as being a little stalk in story. How many times can we blast away countless zombies in the same settings before it gets old? In my opinion, film can give this story a much broader turf in which to tread. They seem to be running with their imaginations by putting the lead character, a superhuman young woman named, Alice (Jovovich) in a post-apocalyptic / Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome setting and adding just a few zombies for good measure. It looks like a lot of fun with a lot of bloody action and imagination. Of course, I've secretly been a fan of the films since the first Resident Evil (2002).

Across The Universe

Directed by Julie Taymor
Written by Julie Taymor, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais
Release date: September 28, 2007

If you've seen the previews to this film you'll understand when I say, Across The Universe looks bizarre. The images we see resembles something we might see if we just took LSD or some other kind of hallucinogen. It's a musical set against the free-spirit of the late '60s incorporated with the great tunes of The Beatles. Young and beautiful Evan Rachel Wood stars as Lucy, and young Jim Sturgess plays Jude. These two youngsters fall in love during a turbulent time where many fought against war, and fought to preserve peace. I personally love the spirit of the period and the music of the era, so you can be sure that I'll be there on opening day. It seems to me, the film is going to capture some of the wild, crazy, peace-loving ideals of the people, and holding true to its musical format.

The Invasion

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Written by Dave Kajganich
Release date: August 17, 2007

Starring Nicole Kidman (The Hours, The Others, Moulin Rouge) as Carol Bennell and Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Munich, Road to Perdition) as Ben Driscoll, The Invasion is sort of a remake to Invasion of The Body Snatchers. There's a few changes in story and character, but basically we're still dealing with pods, alien imitations, and thick suspicions. It all starts off when a NASA space shuttle mysteriously crashes on Earth, and unleashes it's extraterrestrial cargo. This introduction to the inevitable invasion sounds a lot more plausible than drifting space dust interacting with the atmosphere, and spreading the alien infection through rain as we've seen in the past. But I'm not too keen on the same structure, and lack of originality by the filmmakers. After seeing glimpses of the story, some of the mother and son survivalist story feels too much like James Cameron's Aliens. I'll still be there to see if they've completely bastardized the story or made something that stands on its own merit like the previous Invasion of The Body Snatchers did in 1978.