Setting up your cinematic reading list for the fall at the Movie Trailer Park

Autumn is a big time for movies, as many of them are stepping out into theaters in hopes of claiming some future Oscar glory.

As it so happens, plenty of those contenders are based on books, giving film fans the perfect excuse to hit the bookstore/library on the way to their nearest multiplex.

I'm going to highlight an interesting quartet of films in that category here, starting with Mary,Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role with Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I.

Based on the John Guy biography, this story covers the growing rivalry between the two sisterly sovereigns with things getting tricky as Mary finds herself with child. Given that Elizabeth is not about to have any children anytime soon, Mary knows full well that her offspring could be the rightful heir to the British empire and willing to declare war in order to maintain that destiny for her descendants.

The movie certainly looks promising and yes, there is a meeting between the leading ladies that didn't happen in real life but given the towering talents of these two actresses, the temptation to bring them together at least once is clearly too hard to resist:

In a more female friendly fashion, we have a new version of Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women, set in modern times. Lea Thompson plays Marmee to her lively set of daughters who are figuring out their future roles in life and love.

Having Little Women be set in the present is not a bad idea; there was a brief YouTube series that did so very well(it stopped at a certain point and a sad one at that).

It also helps that this isn't a big celebrity driven cast which may allow for new audiences to get more invested into the main characters and their particular dilemmas all the more better.

The big selling point for this adaptation is that it's the 150th anniversary of the book and if that gets more people to read or reread that iconic novel, it's good enough for me!:

Speaking of modern times, the acclaimed YA novel by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give, is about to arrive in theaters very soon. Amanda Stenberg plays Starr Carter, who finds herself switching from one personality to another as she goes from her working class neighborhood to the exclusive prep school that she attends.

Those worlds collide harshly as Starr witnesses the death of her childhood friend Khalil at the hands of a white police officer. Racial tensions increase within both halves of the community and Starr is forced to choose between what's the right thing to do and what is considered the right thing to do by certain people.

To say that this story is timely is a major understatement and this adaptation ought to pave the way for more conversations about the obvious prejudices all around us that affect more than one generation. At the very least, this book and film should be seen as a step forward in the right direction for us all:

Finally, if you're in the mood for a new twist on an old genre, The Sisters Brothers should provide that in plenitude.

Based upon the novel by Patrick DeWitt, the story is set during the California Gold Rush where top hitmen brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters(John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) are hired to take down a prospector who has ripped off the Commodore(Rutger Hauer).

The job turns out to be not so simple for the sinister siblings and while an opportunity is open for them to gain a fortune, the price for that risk is higher than they expected. This story is a mix of dark humor and family drama, bringing some fresh spice to this familiar brand of popcorn delight:

 These book-to-screen tales should be enjoyable in either form and whether or not you read the book before or after the movie is up to you. Debates still rage on about how well any adaptation does by the source material but by now, we ought to realize that with such pop culture developments, what we're really getting is two stories for the price of one.  That's quite a bargain, if you ask me: