It's been twelve years since Robert Zemeckis made Cast Away, and the director has opted to spend the last decade avoiding live action and experimenting with motion capture technology in films like The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol along with producing the biggest flop in Disney history, the 3D disaster Mars Needs Moms. But with his newest film, Flight, Zemeckis proves that he still has a great eye for character, drama, and action, and even after stepping away from the arena for so long, this old dog still has a few tricks left for us.

Flight
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Kelly Reilly

With Pixar dominating the animated film world over the past few years, it's a common mistake to assume they're the only studio putting out anything worthwhile using that medium. So one might assume that when Disney puts out a new animated movie centered around video game characters (a genre that has been notoriously hard to crack in Hollywood), the result could be less than spectacular. But through a perfect synthesis of story, voice casting, and wonderful animation, Wreck-It Ralph is not only one of the best movies about video games ever created, it's also one of my favorite movies of the year.

Wreck-It Ralph
Director: Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch

"Bizarre" doesn't even begin to describe Holy Motors, the first film in twelve years from French director Leos Carax. But if you're willing to endure what are sure to be some of the strangest sequences you'll see on film, you'll be rewarded with a refreshingly unique story and a lead performance that rivals (and possibly eclipses) Joaquin Phoenix's work in The Master as the best of 2012.

Holy Motors

Sleep Walk Base Jumping with Alan Trehern

The Trehern tower is currently COVERED with VHSs!  And they're all horror movies for the Shocktoberfest here at NJNM.  Lots to watch so far, but now I get the chance to write down my thoughts.  Now, imagine yourself falling asleep, relaxed and dreaming; now, look down at your stomach and see good ole Freddy Krueger trying to rip himself out of your intestines!  Yeah!!  Bitchin' right?!?!

If I had to guess a single adjective that will appear in the most reviews of Cloud Atlas, it would be "ambitious." But that truly is the perfect word for the latest directorial effort by the Wachowskis, who teamed with Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer to bring David Mitchell's 2004 book - which many deemed "unfilmable" - to the big screen. A crisscrossing tale of six connected stories that span hundreds of years, this is a hard sell even with its A-list cast. But the result is a powerful and emotional piece of pop entertainment that, like most of the Wachowski's best work, is equally adept at combining thrilling action and philosophical explorations into one cohesive whole.

Cloud Atlas
Writers/Directors: Tom Tykwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Doona Bae, Jim Broadbent

After receiving rave reviews from the festival circuit earlier this year, Sinister heads into theaters a week before what's sure to be a box office juggernaut in Paranormal Activity 4, and since the two films share producers, they're hoping to have a very good October. While there two share a similar haunted house vibe, Sinister has a bit more going on underneath the surface to go with the scares, making it a must-see for horror fans this month.

Sinister
Co-writer/Director: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Michael Hall D'Addario

Following up a great directorial debut like the cult classic In Bruges would be a tough challenge for any filmmaker, but writer/director Martin McDonagh is back with a more lighthearted movie that still carries his hallmarks of great dialogue and tons of violence. With memorable performances, a wacky plot, and a nice mixture of humor and bloodshed, Seven Psychopaths is one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in a theater this year.

Seven Psychopaths
Writer/Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken

Did you know that Eon Productions, the company responsible for producing the James Bond films, takes its name from the phrase "everything or nothing"? This is one of many interesting tidbits planted in Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, a new documentary premiering today on EPIX that chronicles the creation of the iconic British super spy character by writer Ian Fleming and charts Bond's roller coaster history to the big screen, as well as his adventures on it.

Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007
Writer/Director: Stevan Reilly
Starring: Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Daniel Craig

It's telling that Taken 2 director Olivier Megaton started as a graffiti artist before he became a filmmaker, because you often stumble out of his movies in a daze feeling lightheaded and dizzy, as if you just spent the past 90 minutes huffing fumes. After the disastrous Transporter 3 and the critically reviled Columbiana, it's shocking that Megaton was given another chance to direct an action picture, and Taken 2 is just as good as that resume would indicate. Which means, of course, that it's terrible.

Taken 2
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Rade Serbedzija

Returning to Crystal Lake Way Too Often with Alan Trehern

If you come to NotJustNewMovies for good movie reviews, you may wanna go ahead and avoid this installment in the Spooktacular Shocktoberfest Big Horror Movie Scare-A-Thon.  If you enjoy slashers, gashers and bloody thrashers, then the Friday the 13th series is for you!  Zip up your janitor jumpsuit, tighten that horrifically mauled hockey mask and machete your way to adventure with NJNM's COMPLETE JASON MOVIE OMNIBUS REVIEW !!!!