It鈥檚 back-to-school time but that doesn鈥檛 mean you have to leave your inner child at home when you head out to the movies. This fall Hollywood serves up Martians, pirates, spies, mountaineers and zombies with wild abandon. If those don鈥檛 pique your childhood curiosity, don鈥檛 worry 鈥� suffragettes, Steve Jobs and repressive governmental policies are also on the menu. You decide how grown-up to be. Here鈥檚 a sampling:
听
听The Visit (Sept. 11)
鈥淭hey鈥檙e weird during the day and weirder at night.鈥� A visit to Nana and Grandpa鈥檚 is more terrifying than usual for two unsuspecting kids. M. Night Shyamalan directs.
听
Sleeping With Other People (Sept. 18)
Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie play former bedmates who meet years later and ponder whether two committed serial cheaters can forge a serious relationship.
Everest (Sept. 18 exclusively in Imax 3D; Sept. 25 wide)
Two expeditions climbing the world鈥檚 highest peak battle a truly epic snowstorm and must fight for survival. Starring Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright, John Hawkes, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal.
About Ray (Sept. 18)
A topical film about Ray (Elle Fanning) who is committed to transitioning from female to male, to the consternation of family (Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon).
Black Mass (Sept. 18)
Star-studded film features Johnny Depp in the title role as Irish thug James 鈥淲hitey鈥� Bulger, recruited in the 鈥�70s by the FBI to bring down a bigger threat: the Italian mob.
听
The Intern (Sept. 25)
Up-and-coming fashion mogul Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) hires a 鈥渟enior鈥� intern, 70-something Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro).
Sicario (Sept. 25)
Emily Blunt plays an FBI agent trying to take down a Mexican drug lord with the help of mercenary Benicio del Toro. Josh Brolin co-stars, Denis Villeneuve directs.
Grandma (Sept. 25)
Ellie Reid (Lily Tomlin) has just broken up with her girlfriend; the last thing she needs is the sudden arrival of her granddaughter (Julia Garner), announcing that she needs $600 before the day鈥檚 over. Grandmother and granddaughter spend the day trying to round up the money, facing friends and foes along the way.
听
Coming Home (Oct. 2)
Feng Wanyu (Gong Li) and Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming) are a loving couple separated when Lu is sentenced to hard labour in a prison camp during the Cultural Revolution. He returns home to a wife who is suffering from amnesia, and doesn鈥檛 know him. A crowd favourite at Cannes and Toronto this year.
听
The Martian (Oct. 2)
Ridley Scott directs this tale of an astronaut (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars who must fight for survival while crew back on Earth figure out a way to try and save him. Based on Andy Weir鈥檚 novel; co-starring Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels.
听
Legend (Oct. 2)
True crime thriller about the infamous Kray brothers (played double-duty by Tom Hardy) and the havoc the gangsters wrought on 1960s London.
听
Freeheld (Oct. 2)
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Laurel (Julianne Moore), a New Jersey cop, fights for both her life and the right to leave her pension benefits to her domestic partner Stacie (Ellen Page).
听
Steve Jobs (Oct. 9)
Michael Fassbender plays Jobs in this biopic set in the period leading up to the launch of the iMac in 1998. Seth Rogen plays apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; Kate Winslet plays former marketing chief at Macintosh. Danny Boyle directs.
Pan (Oct. 9)
The Peter Pan story reimagined, with a 12-year-old orphan (Levi Miller) whisked off to Neverland to face off against Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) with the help of a young Hook (Garrett Hedlund).
听
Bridge of Spies (Oct. 16)
Starring Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch and Alan Alda. Directed by Steven Spielberg. A cold-war thriller about Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan (Hanks), tasked with negotiating the capture of a captured U-2 pilot.
听
Crimson Peak (Oct. 16)
With Guillermo del Toro at the helm, you know this love story will have a demented ending: a young woman (Mia Wasikowska) falls in love (with Tom Hiddleston) and is whisked away to a gothic manse built on blood-red clay, where the groom lives with his controlling sister (Jessica Chastain). Happily-ever-after highly unlikely.听
听
Jem and the Holograms (Oct. 23)
The price of fame, as an all-girl musical group goes from unknown to global sensation. Based on the 1980s TV show and starring Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis in supporting roles.
听
Burnt (Oct. 23)
Bradley Cooper plays a chef trying to rebuild his name in London after drug use cost almost him his career. Also features Sienna Miller, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, Daniel Bruhl, Lily James, Matthew Rhys and Jamie Dornan.
听
Suffragette (Oct. 23)
An impressive lineup (Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep) backs this historical drama about British women鈥檚 right-to-vote struggles in the early 20th century.
Everything Will Be Fine (Oct. 23)
Wim Wenders directs Charlotte Gainsburg, James Franco, Rachel McAdams and Marie-Josee Croze in this tale of lives ruined by tragedy, and the 12-year odyssey of one man to understand it.
听
Our Brand Is Crisis (Oct. 30)
鈥淐alamity鈥� Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) comes out of retirement in part to help boost the PR value of a Bolivian presidential candidate, but mostly for the chance to beat her rival, the unscrupulous Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton).
听
Scout鈥檚 Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (Oct. 30)
Bet there鈥檚 a badge for that: boy scouts face off against zombies in this comedy-horror, perfectly timed for a Halloween release date.
