October is going to be a busy month for new movies and TV series. A variety of genres and a star-studded cast will not leave any viewer indifferent. From thrillers and dramas to comedies and sci-fi, everyone will find a movie to their liking. This month, both sequels to favorite franchises and completely new stories that promise to surprise will be released.

Movies

Joker: Folie à Deux

Arthur Fleck is imprisoned in Arkham Hospital, where he is awaiting trial for the crimes he committed as the Joker. Torn between two personalities, Arthur will not only discover true love, but also find the music that has always been playing inside him.

The Joker in 2019 presented us with a very strong story about social inequality (a kind of mix of Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Hugo’s Les Misérables in a modern way), wrapped in the wrapper of a comic book adaptation, although it has almost nothing to do with the image of the original gangster clown Arthur Fleck. The film grossed a billion dollars and received 11 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture), which is a sensation for a comic book. So it was expected that such a successful project would continue, even though the original was a completely self-contained movie.

The authors of the first part are talented people and decided to experiment again. That’s why the sequel, titled “Madness for Two,” is a musical, which can definitely scare off viewers who don’t like this genre. I’m not a fan of musicals either, but I respect Todd Phillips for deciding to make Follies for Two in this format, because such projects are very rare, except for Disney films, which essentially monopolized it. The original Joker is also a very specific movie, but it gives a lot of emotions and makes you think, and I hope the sequel will only pleasantly surprise us in this regard.

I think that choosing Lady Gaga to play Harley Quinn is an absolutely brilliant decision. She has already demonstrated many times that she has no less acting talent than singing. “A Star Is Born” and “The House of Gucci” showed this in full, so she and Joaquin Phoenix should make a great acting duo. And now to the main intrigue. Will Joaquin Phoenix win a second Oscar for the same role? We will see very soon!

The movie is already available in theaters, it started on October 3.

The Substance

Elizabeth Sparkle is a real superstar and Oscar winner who hosts an incredibly popular fitness show, until the producer decides it’s time for a premature “retirement”. And then the Substance appears in Elizabeth’s life – a mysterious cell replication drug that temporarily creates a younger, better version of a person.

A satirical body horror starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. Judging by the 13-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and the critics’ words that this is “Demi Moore’s Best Actress,” expectations are quite high. The movie can be really shocking, so if you’re scared of the creepy transformations of the human body, it’s better to avoid the project. It was a good decision of the authors to choose two sex symbols of their time to evoke as many emotions as possible in the audience at the end.

The premiere will take place on October 10.

We Live in Time

Promising chef Almut accidentally hits Tobias with her car. This accident dramatically changes the lives of the two young people, and becomes the beginning of an incredible romance that proves once again that love sometimes unites people who are completely different from each other.

A melodrama that tells the story of one couple’s relationship over a decade. The main roles are played by wonderful actors Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. It’s best to watch this project with your loved one, and in this case, Time to Live will definitely not leave you indifferent.

The premiere will take place on October 17.

The Wild Robot

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot named Roz finds herself stranded on a desert island. To survive in the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and takes care of an orphaned gosling.

A new animated film from the director of such cult projects as Lilo and Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods, Chris Sanders. Judging by the high critical acclaim, the author keeps the bar high. They write that the film is heartwarming and has excellent animation, which is partly hand-painted, reminiscent of the best works of Disney and Hayao Miyazaki.

Unfortunately, this is the last masterpiece from Dreamworks that it has created entirely on its own, and further projects will now be produced with third-party suppliers. I advise everyone to free up their schedules and watch this cartoon, because despite the financial problems, the studio still delights us with wonderful works and deserves our support. “Wild Robot” is a great opportunity to go to the cinema with the whole family, so that everyone will be satisfied.

The premiere will take place on October 17.

Venom: The Last Dance

Investigative journalist Eddie Brock has unwittingly become the only host of an alien life form on Earth. He is home to Venom, a symbiote that needs a human host. The symbiotes have long been looking for a planet where they can take over the bodies of its inhabitants and eventually absorb them. Eddie and Venom find common ground and make compromises to coexist. The time comes when Eddie becomes an outsider to humans and Venom to his race. Together they will run away from everyone who wants to find them.

Probably one of the best representatives of the “next superhero movie of the month” in the last few years. The Venom films have never been masterpieces, but they had their own advantages that made them fun to watch. In the previous installments, there was good action on the screen and in general, these projects looked quite cheerful, although the plot was hollow and illogical (especially in the first part, which was cut to get a lower age rating). I think in the future, this trilogy will be remembered with some warmth, just as the Fantastic Four are remembered now. of the 2000s, although the films were not very good at the time.

Venom is definitely more interesting to watch than most Marvel and DC projects in recent years, so if you liked the previous installments, this is definitely a project worth your attention.

The premiere of the symbiote trilogy finale will take place on October 24.

Puffin Rock and the New Friends

Una is a little puffin, a seabird who lives on the island with her friends. Together they help the adults protect the only egg laid on the island this year. But one day, it mysteriously disappears, and a storm is approaching the island. Now the friends must find the egg before the storm hits.

A full-length cartoon from the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon. In fact, this is one of the last ambassadors of classic 2D animation, known for its masterpieces such as The Secret of Kells Abbey, The Wolf Watch, The Breadwinner, and the incredible Song of the Sea, which impresses to the core. Cartoon Saloon creates cartoons in a very simple but effective style, which, unfortunately, does not attract the mass audience, so the company is always facing financial difficulties. If you miss two-dimensional animation, this project is definitely for you!

The Ukrainian premiere will take place on October 24.

Series

The Franchise

A comedy series about filmmakers creating a new superhero franchise. It’s very strange that such a project has appeared only now, because the idea is really interesting, and everyone has been bored with the genre for a long time. You could see a similar satire in the series The Boys, but it was somewhere in the background, and here the whole series is tied to it. Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 007: Skyfall Coordinates, and 1917) was one of the series’ creators, which is a certain guarantee of the quality of the future project.

Let’s find out how well the creators of the series succeeded in mocking the genre on October 6 on HBO Max.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Fans of the Tomb Raider series have a real holiday! Since there have been no new games and movies in this series for 6 years, watching the anime will be a great opportunity to return to the adventures of the legendary Lara Croft. Unfortunately, this is a continuation of the new trilogy (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider), not the old games. But these are my wishes as a fan of the old parts. Anyway, this series of relaunches is extremely successful and has a lot of fans, so it’s not surprising that they decided to continue it. The recent Terminator anime was great, and I hope that Lara’s adventures will be no less worthy.

If the project becomes successful, they may make a new game part, so I advise fans to take a closer look.

The premiere will take place on October 10 on Netflix.

Disclaimer

Cate Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, a successful and respected television documentary journalist whose work has been built on uncovering the hidden secrets of long-respected institutions. When an intriguing novel written by a widower, played by Kevin Kline, appears on her nightstand, she is horrified to realize that she is a key character in a story she had hoped was long buried in the past. A story that reveals her darkest secret. A secret she thought was hers alone.

The series was created by Alfonso Cuarón, a Mexican director whom you may remember from the third installment of Harry Potter and Gravity. The movie stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline and Sacha Baron Cohen. The cliffhanger sounds interesting, the series itself has received good reviews from critics, so we are looking forward to it! We are looking forward to 7 episodes.

The first two episodes will premiere on Apple TV+ on October 11.

Rivals

In the fictional English county of Rutshire, Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell) and Lord Tony Beddings (Tennant) are engaged in a rivalry that seeps into the world of the Corinium television station.

The eight-episode series, adapted from the famous novel by Jillian Cooper, tells the story of British elites in the 1980s, when the world of British media was turned upside down by the emergence of independent TV channels. The main roles are played by Alex Gussell and Aidan Turner, as well as David Tennant, who automatically makes the project more interesting just by being there. It looks like we’re in for a bold and interesting series full of intrigue and sex scenes (according to one of the actors, they even had to hire two coaches because of this), and it’s definitely one of the main premieres of the season.

The premiere will take place on October 18 on Disney+.

Territory

The world’s largest cattle station, Marianne Station, owned for generations by the Lawson family dynasty, becomes the bounty sought by rival cattle ranchers, various gangsters, Native elders, and mining magnates after the Lawsons enter a battle for ownership of the property.

It seems that Netfix is not satisfied with the popularity of Yellowstone, so they decided to create their own, with blackjack and kangaroos. The six-episode series will take place in Australia, and this is really something new, because usually we see this country in movies as a desolate land in Mad Max, although the local nature is suitable for many genres, including westerns.

However, there are questions whether our Australian colleagues will be able to write a script as talented as Taylor Sheridan’s. We will find out on October 24 on Netflix.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza

An adaptation of the cult game series by SEGA. The biggest problem for newcomers to get acquainted with these projects is their large number. These games are released frequently, they are quite long, and they have a high level of gameplay, ranging from a chic, crazy plot to fun mini-games that have become a hallmark of Yakuza. Singing karaoke, driving a go-kart, playing slot machines, and bowling turns out to be no less interesting than watching local gangs fight. This is not surprising, as the development team came up with these projects during numerous “team building” sessions in bars.

An interesting point about the title is that in Japan the series is called Like a Dragon, because the main character Kazuma Kiryu has a large tattoo of a dragon and is literally “like one.” In the West, Yakuza was chosen for better popularization because it better conveys the essence of the game. We decided to combine these names in the title of the series.

I’m really looking forward to this series because the original games had a very cool plot and incredibly interesting characters that evoked a variety of emotions. I hope the authors have transferred all this to the screens with dignity. I bet that Goro Majima will become the audience’s favorite character because of his strange behavior. The trailers look cheerful, the series is from Amazon, so we should expect a good picture and it will be great if this series popularizes Yakuza even more among the masses. This is definitely a universe worth exploring.

The film adaptation of the cult game series will premiere on October 24 on Amazon Prime Video.

Continuation of the series

Superman & Lois (4 сезон)

The era of superhero series from The CW is coming to an end, as the last series in this genre, Superman & Lois, will start its final season on October 7, so as not to compete with the upcoming Superman movie 2025.

Personally, I believe that the series of this channel became a failure somewhere after the 2nd season of Arrow and the 1st season of The Flash, but millions of people loved these projects and the situation in general can be compared to the finale of the Smallville Mysteries series, which also ended an era. Only time will tell whether these projects will be remembered and revisited in many years to come.

The Lincoln Lawyer (3 сезон)

The sequel to the story of lawyer Mickey Heller and his legendary Lincoln will be released on Netflix on October 10.

American Horror Stories (4 сезон)

I don’t know what genius came up with the idea of naming the spinoff so similar to the original (American Horror Story), because at first I thought it was a mistake. Fans will be able to watch the five-episode anthology on October 15 on Hulu.

Shrinking (2 сезон)

The sequel to the successful comedy-drama series Therapy starring Harrison Ford will be released on October 16 on Apple TV+.