Staff Writer
Many
films are now arriving in theaters as the fall movie season begins. A few
highly anticipated and critically acclaimed films arrived in theaters this
month along with a few sequels to crowd favorites.
Currently
at the top of the box office is Cloudy with
a Chance of Meatballs 2, the follow up to the 2009 family hit. The film
raked in $34 million in its debut, grossing more than its three competitors
combined. This installment follows protagonist Flint Lockwood after he
discovers his machine that turns water into food is still out there creating
havoc, discovering the vast world it has created.
Two
films that have garnered much attention from critics are Prisoners and Rush, two
thrillers that take the two and three spot in the box office respectively. Prisoners centers around the search for
a man’s kidnapped daughter and the lengths a father will go to for his
children, and stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Rush chronicles the real life story of the intense rivalry between
Formula One drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1970s. It stars Chris
Hemsworth as James Hunt and is directed by Ron Howard. Both movies are rated R.
Another
movie that has opened in the last week is Don
Jon, a film directed and written by Joseph Gordon-Levitt who also stars in
the lead role. This romantic comedy also stars Scarlett Johansson and Julianne
Moore. The movie has received mostly positive reviews overall, but has been
noted as being either loved or hated with few in between.
There
are also several movies that are coming soon to theatres that will be worth a
look.
Gravity, an upcoming film
which received universal acclaim from critics, opens October 4. The film
currently holds an average grade of 96/100 on Metacritic, a website that
aggregates critic reviews. Some critics have even hailed it as one of the
greatest space movies of all time over classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Apollo
13. The film stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock and is directed by
Alfonso Cuaron.
October
also marks the release of Captain
Phillips, a biopic about the true story of the attack on the MV Maersk
Alabama, a U.S. freight ship, by Somali pirates directed by Paul Greengrass and
starring Tom Hanks in the title role. Also coming out that day are Machete Kills, the sequel to Robert
Rodriguez’s B-movie extravaganza, and an updated version of Romeo and Juliet. These three movies
will arrive in theaters October 11.
