Getting popcorn ready for the fall at the Movie Trailer Park

With summer movie season starting to wind down, it's time to prepare for the fabulous films of the fall. Traditionally, autumn releases are meant to be less intense,not to mention award show friendly, but lately, we've gotten movies that can be just as jolting as warm weather blockbuster fare, if not more so.

First up, we have the second half of Stephen King's monster mash epic appropriately titled IT: Chapter Two. Set twenty seven years later after their original encounter with Pennywise, the grown-up members of the Losers Club reunite in their hometown to destroy the otherworldly predator that has risen again.

The casting for the now adult monster hunters looks great, with Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh, James McAvoy as prominent writer Bill Denbrough and Bill Hader as Richie Tozer(I've seen him on Barry, his HBO series, and the guy does have a nice flair for drama). Of course, Bill Skarsgard is back as our Big Bad and like the first installment, this fearful follow-up will be rated R.

As much as the made for TV miniseries back in the nineties was awkwardly amusing, only a big screen version would do to bring this most chilling and meaningful novel of Stephen King's to true vivid life. Even the slight changes made from the source material that are bound to be here will be fine as they were for the first film, I have no doubt. All in all, we are in for a scary sweet pre-Halloween treat indeed:

Turns out we're getting a double dose of King as Doctor Sleep is set to arrive in time for Thanksgiving. This sequel to the modern classic The Shining has Ewan McGregor as the adult version of Danny Torrence, the psychic boy who barely escaped from the supernatural clutches of the Overlook Hotel.

Danny's powers are still strong yet they lead him to an even stronger psychic, a young girl named Abra(Kyliegh Curran) who is being hunted by a gang called the True Knot run by Rose the Hat(Rebecca Ferguson). The True Knot fuel their strange gifts by feeding off of children with "the shining" and Rose can sense Abra's abilities from miles away.

With Danny having made a mess of his life in a manner similar to his late father's, helping Abra seems like a good step towards redemption. However, will his gifts be powerful enough to save her from dark forces that are not bound by location?

A big change from the book is the connection made to the Kubrick film version, an adaptation that King is famously known for being less than thrilled with. However, the director of this movie did consult with King about this and it's understandable to link the two, given the iconic status of the earlier film, for present day audiences. How well this will do is uncertain but as someone who did read Doctor Sleep, I think it's going to be worth a look there:

For something even more frightening than back-to-back Stephen King movies, the holiday release of the beloved Broadway musical Cats might do the trick.

Just the trailer alone has horrified worldwide audiences online, due to the freakish CGI used to make the actors look like genetic mutations that escaped from a mad scientist's lair rather than felines brought to magical life.

Yes, the cast is great(with the exception of Rebel Wilson, who I consider to be a screeching pratfall of a performer at best) and Jennifer Hudson is a perfect choice to play Grizabella, the Glamour Cat. However, the bizarre look of the characters is off putting, to say the least.

As someone who was lucky enough to see the stage version of Cats twice, I totally get why many Broadway fans are happy to see this movie finally hit the multiplex. Yet, it would've been better if the same cast was selected to voice an animated adaptation(which was planned in the 1990s but sadly abandoned), which would give a much more creative and welcoming atmosphere for this story to be able to reach out to new audiences as well as old:

If you're looking for something very literary and possibly Oscar worthy, The Goldfinch, based on Donna Tartt's award winning novel, is your golden movie ticket.

This dark Dickensian tale follows Theo,(Ansel Elgort) who as a child (played by Oakes Fegley) witnessed a museum attack that took his mother's life and left him with a valuable art treasure that he has taken with him on many a strange life adventure.

This is not an easy story to condense but the cast has some great talents such as Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright,Denis O'Hare and Sarah Paulson, plus some positive feedback from the trailer release alone, so this could be a strong film this season,here's hoping!:

There will be more major movies to enjoy before the end of the year and with any luck, a couple that will bring movie goers that good feeling and sense of unity from a shared experience that we all seem to be missing in these turbulent times.

At least one thing is certain and that is many of us will be visiting Downton Abbey again this fall , only I do not think the Dowager Countess Violet would approve of popcorn eating during her scenes. Then again, she need never know of such a thing and why would we unnecessarily upset her so?: