Congratulations, it’s October. You know what that means—goodbye leftover summer movies, hello Oscar-bait. This week sees the unveiling of Martin Scorsese’s latest gangster epic The Departed and the slow-but-steady release of Todd Field’s acclaimed Little Children. These are the quality picks this week, and then there are the rest of them.

Start adding extra coins into your piggy banks, folks—there are a lot of great releases coming this season that you won’t want to miss. For better or worse, let’s start with what’s coming out this weekend:



10/6 – 10/8

Limited Releases (Opening in fewer than 500 theaters.)
After receiving endless praise 5 years ago for In The Bedroom, director Todd Field is back in the game with his highly-anticipated film Little Children. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta (Election), the story follows a few confused, miserable, and oddly interesting suburbanites. The book is absolutely fantastic and the movie is getting raves across the board. New Line is releasing it in a slim 5 theaters, so if you happen to be near one of them, treat yourselves and check it out. Also opening this week is the Weinstein Company’s kid adventure flick Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker in 120 theaters, and John Cameron Mitchell’s sex romp Shortbus in 2 theaters, courtesy of ThinkFilm.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (Opens in 2,800 theaters.)
If horror movies are your bag, then this is the one to see. If you’re sick to death of the same movie being recycled over and over again with different titles, then this is the one to skip. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a prequel to the gruesome horror series, delving into the origin of Leatherface and the sick beginnings of the Hewitt clan. Jordana Brewstar stars, and early buzz says that the movie is a stinker. Even though it’s only 84 minutes long, that is 84 minutes of your life that you will never get back. Think of the walk in the park or the lengthy snooze you could be savoring instead.

Employee of the Month (Opens in 2,500+ theaters.)
The only thing worse than listening to Jessica Simpson try to sing, is watching Jessica Simpson try to act. Then again, seeing her try to string together an intelligent sentence is no picnic either. Her new comedy Employee of the Month, also starring Dane Cook and Dax Shepard, debuts this weekend. The story is about 2 slacker losers who compete to become “Employee of the Month” at their store in order to win over (and bed) Jessica. If that’s not pointless enough, the filmmakers thought it would be hilarious to give her big Dumbo ears in the movie. Are you laughing yet? Yeah, me neither. Pass.

The Departed (Opens in 3,017 theaters.)
Welcome back, old-school Marty! You’ve been sorely missed. With The Departed, Scorsese returns to his roots with a top-notch gangster flick. The film is about 2 undercover moles, one in the Boston Police department (Matt Damon) and the other in the Irish Mob (Leo Dicaprio). They engage in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase, each trying to track down the other’s identity, often to disastrous results. With a cast like this—Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg—and Scorsese back to doing what he does best, seeing this on Friday should be an offer you can’t refuse.


STILL IN THEATERS AND WORTH YOUR TIME: The Science of Sleep, Jesus Camp, The Queen