Wondering what is showing at the movies during October? Wonder no more! Movie fundi Spling has the low-down on the top movies (and DVDs) for the month.

RUSH
4 October

Rush is a biographical action film about the 1976 Formula One season, starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl and the beautiful Olivia Wilde. Ron Howard demonstrates yet again that he’s one of the most versatile directors in Hollywood. ‘Thormula’ One jokes aside, this one’s all about the intense rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt and will definitely rev your engine, even if you’re not a fan of chequered flag sports.

PRISONERS
11 October

Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano and Melissa Leo… If this critically-acclaimed cast doesn’t sell this crime thriller to you, you’ll have to see it for the gripping, intense and emotional story at the core of Prisoners. A father takes matters into his own hands after his daughter and her friend go missing. Move over Liam Neeson, Hugh Jackman’s got this one and it’s not for the faint-hearted.

THIS IS THE END
11 October

We saw what happened when a party got disrupted in Cloverfield, but what if those people were James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen and friends… and what if instead of a sea monster, they were facing the apocalypse? Stoner comedy meets the rapture as celebrity actors play fictional versions of themselves. This is the End is a recipe for repulsive and hilarious disaster.

GRAVITY
18 October

For many of us, being lost in space with Sandra Bullock or George Clooney would be quite doable. However, after seeing Gravity you may think twice before booking a return ticket on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. Gravity zooms in on a medical engineer and an astronaut as they try to survive an accident in deep space. According to James Cameron, this breathtakingly mesmerising 3D sci-fi drama is the “best space film ever done”.

RIDDICK
25 October

When Vin Diesel isn’t Dom Toretto, he’s Riddick… another guy who likes to feel ‘wanted’. The A-list action man owes a lot to the Riddick franchise, which helped launch his career. This time he reteamed with Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick writer-director, David Twohy, to reprise his role as the anti-hero fugitive. After being betrayed and left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and bounty hunters. This gritty, old school sci-fi actioner gets back-to basics with Pitch Black appeal and more ‘Riddick-ulous’ action. It had to be said.

NEW ON DVD

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

Hailed as Steven Spielberg’s successor, now entrusted with two of Hollywood’s biggest franchises (Star Trek and Star Wars), J. J. Abrams has successfully landed a sequel every bit as enthralling as the series reboot. Star Trek Into Darkness packs a punch with a scene-stealing Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, a smart allegory for the War on Terror and a budding bromance between Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock. This one’s a must-see.

MAN OF STEEL

Henry Cavill is the picture perfect Superman, an actor destined to don the iconic red cape. Man of Steel is a spectacular sci-if actioner that every fan boy can appreciate for its epic interplanetary story, vivid special effects, solid cast and city-levelling soundtrack. Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan’s vision may not have the same charm as the Superman played by Christopher Reeve, but it rewrites Superman Returns, and kicks ass with Michael Shannon as General Zod. 

Article first appeared in TechSmart 121, October 2013. Download it here.