After months of big, spectacle-driven blockbusters full of explosions and superheroes, the smaller, lower-budgeted films that make up the fall movie season can sometimes be a welcome change of pace.
This year is no exception. Literary adaptations, real-life stories, romantic comedies and a few spooky options just in time for Halloween are some of autumn's offerings.
Here's a look at what the next two months have to offer before the madness of the holiday movie season commences in November with films such as the Hunger Games finale, another Pixar release in "The Good Dinosaur" and the long-awaited "Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens."
This list is not all-inclusive and features films that may be considered by families and other audiences concerned with potentially objectionable content.
September
The Visit Touted as a return to his roots for director M. Night Shyamalan, The Visit aims to make people afraid of trips to grandmas house with a small-scale tale of terror produced by horror Svengali Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious).
Rating: PG-13 for disturbing thematic material including terror, violence and some nudity, and for brief language.
Release date: Sept. 11
90 Minutes in Heaven A Christian film based on The New York Times best-seller by Don Piper, 90 Minutes in Heaven chronicles Pipers near-death experience following a horrific car accident. Hayden Christensen (aka Anakin Skywalker) stars as Piper with Kate Bosworth as his wife, Eva.
Rating: PG-13 for intense accident and injury images.
Release date: Sept. 11
Wolf Totem Set in rural Mongolia during Chinas Cultural Revolution, this Chinese-language film from director Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet) portrays the effects of modernization on a group of nomadic herdsmen as well as their traditional enemies, the wolves.
Rating: PG-13 for disturbing images and violence involving animals, and for brief sexuality.
Release date: Sept. 11
Pawn Sacrifice Tobey Maguire plays chess master Bobby Fischer in this dramatization of the legendary meet-up between Fischer and the Soviet Unions Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) at the height of the Cold War.
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual content and historical smoking.
Release date: Sept. 16
Everest Based on the true story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which also served as the basis for Jon Krakauers book Into Thin Air," this film from Icelandic director Baltasar Kormkur features an all-star ensemble cast, including Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin and Keira Knightley, among others.
Rating: PG-13 for intense peril and disturbing images.
Release date: Sept. 18
Captive Kate Mara plays a recovering drug addict and single mother taken hostage by an escaped murderer (David Oyelowo) in this true story with strong Christian themes.
Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving violence and substance abuse.
Release date: Sept. 18
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials The second book in Utahn James Dashners popular young adult series, The Scorch Trials sees Thomas (Dylan OBrien of Teen Wolf fame) and the rest of the Gladers trying to get to the bottom of the mysterious organization known as WCKD.
Rating: PG-13 for extended sequences of violence and action, some thematic elements, substance use and language.
Release date: Sept. 18
The Intern A senior citizen (Robert De Niro) interns at a fashion-based e-commerce company run by a young CEO (Anne Hathaway).
Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive content and brief strong language.
Release date: Sept. 25
Hotel Transylvania 2 Director Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexters Laboratory, Samurai Jack) returns for this sequel to 2012s Hotel Transylvania. This time, Adam Sandler and Co. are joined by Mel Brooks as Draculas dad.
Rating: PG for some scary images, action and rude humor.
Release date: Sept. 25
A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story A documentary about Lizzie Velasquez, a girl born with an extremely rare congenital disease that prevents her body from storing any fat.
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements involving bullying, and for brief strong language.
Release date: Sept. 25 (limited release)
The Walk Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays French high-wire artist Philippe Petit in this portrayal of his 1974 walk between the Twin Towers, which also served as the basis for the Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire.
Rating: PG for thematic elements involving perilous situations, and for some nudity, language, brief drug references and smoking.
Release date: Sept. 30 (limited release)
Attack on Titan: Part 1A live-action adaptation of the hugely popular manga/anime set in a fantasy dystopia where the last humans live in a walled city besieged by giant monsters called Titans.
Rating: Not rated but probable PG-13.
Release date: Sept. 30 (limited release)
October
The Martian Gravity meets Interstellar in this Ridley Scott-directed film about an astronaut (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars.
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, injury images and brief nudity.
Release date: Oct. 2
He Named Me Malala A documentary about Malala Yousafzai, the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements involving disturbing images and threats.
Release date: Oct. 2 (limited release)
Pan A holdover from the summer movie season, Pan explores the origin story of J.M. Barries Peter Pan. Garrett Hedlund co-stars as a young James Hook alongside newcomer Levi Miller as Peter and Hugh Jackman as the pirate Blackbeard.
Rating: PG for fantasy action violence, language and some thematic material.
Release date: Oct. 9
Big Stone Gap A romantic comedy set in 1970s Virginia with Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson.
Rating: PG-13 for brief suggestive material.
Release date: Oct. 9
Goosebumps A teenager accidentally releases all the monsters and ghosts and other spooky things locked inside the manuscripts of R.L. Stines Goosebumps series in this Jumanji-esque family adventure movie. Jack Black stars as R.L. Stine.
Rating: PG for scary and intense creature action and images, and for some rude humor.
Release date: Oct. 16
Bridge of Spies A Cold War thriller directed by Steven Spielberg about an insurance lawyer (Tom Hanks) recruited by the CIA to negotiate the release of an American pilot captured by the Soviets.
Rating: PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language.
Release date: Oct. 16
Attack on Titan: Part 2 The second half of the two-part adaptation.
Rating: Not rated but probable PG-13
Release date: Oct. 20 (limited release)
The Last Witch Hunter An immortal witch hunter (Vin Diesel) in modern-day New York City partners with a sworn enemy to prevent a plague that could destroy all humanity.
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.
Release date: Oct. 23
Suffragette Carey Mulligan heads a powerhouse cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep in this dramatic portrayal of the womens suffrage movement in England circa the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Rating: PG-13 for some intense violence, thematic elements, brief strong language and partial nudity.
Release date: Oct. 23
Jem and the Holograms A group of girls become international pop superstars in this live-action adaptation of the 80s Hasbro toys/cartoon of the same name. Directed by Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation").
Rating: PG for thematic material including reckless behavior, brief suggestive content and some language
Release date: Oct. 23
This year is no exception. Literary adaptations, real-life stories, romantic comedies and a few spooky options just in time for Halloween are some of autumn's offerings.
Here's a look at what the next two months have to offer before the madness of the holiday movie season commences in November with films such as the Hunger Games finale, another Pixar release in "The Good Dinosaur" and the long-awaited "Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens."
This list is not all-inclusive and features films that may be considered by families and other audiences concerned with potentially objectionable content.
September
The Visit Touted as a return to his roots for director M. Night Shyamalan, The Visit aims to make people afraid of trips to grandmas house with a small-scale tale of terror produced by horror Svengali Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious).
Rating: PG-13 for disturbing thematic material including terror, violence and some nudity, and for brief language.
Release date: Sept. 11
90 Minutes in Heaven A Christian film based on The New York Times best-seller by Don Piper, 90 Minutes in Heaven chronicles Pipers near-death experience following a horrific car accident. Hayden Christensen (aka Anakin Skywalker) stars as Piper with Kate Bosworth as his wife, Eva.
Rating: PG-13 for intense accident and injury images.
Release date: Sept. 11
Wolf Totem Set in rural Mongolia during Chinas Cultural Revolution, this Chinese-language film from director Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet) portrays the effects of modernization on a group of nomadic herdsmen as well as their traditional enemies, the wolves.
Rating: PG-13 for disturbing images and violence involving animals, and for brief sexuality.
Release date: Sept. 11
Pawn Sacrifice Tobey Maguire plays chess master Bobby Fischer in this dramatization of the legendary meet-up between Fischer and the Soviet Unions Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) at the height of the Cold War.
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual content and historical smoking.
Release date: Sept. 16
Everest Based on the true story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which also served as the basis for Jon Krakauers book Into Thin Air," this film from Icelandic director Baltasar Kormkur features an all-star ensemble cast, including Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin and Keira Knightley, among others.
Rating: PG-13 for intense peril and disturbing images.
Release date: Sept. 18
Captive Kate Mara plays a recovering drug addict and single mother taken hostage by an escaped murderer (David Oyelowo) in this true story with strong Christian themes.
Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving violence and substance abuse.
Release date: Sept. 18
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials The second book in Utahn James Dashners popular young adult series, The Scorch Trials sees Thomas (Dylan OBrien of Teen Wolf fame) and the rest of the Gladers trying to get to the bottom of the mysterious organization known as WCKD.
Rating: PG-13 for extended sequences of violence and action, some thematic elements, substance use and language.
Release date: Sept. 18
The Intern A senior citizen (Robert De Niro) interns at a fashion-based e-commerce company run by a young CEO (Anne Hathaway).
Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive content and brief strong language.
Release date: Sept. 25
Hotel Transylvania 2 Director Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexters Laboratory, Samurai Jack) returns for this sequel to 2012s Hotel Transylvania. This time, Adam Sandler and Co. are joined by Mel Brooks as Draculas dad.
Rating: PG for some scary images, action and rude humor.
Release date: Sept. 25
A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story A documentary about Lizzie Velasquez, a girl born with an extremely rare congenital disease that prevents her body from storing any fat.
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements involving bullying, and for brief strong language.
Release date: Sept. 25 (limited release)
The Walk Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays French high-wire artist Philippe Petit in this portrayal of his 1974 walk between the Twin Towers, which also served as the basis for the Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire.
Rating: PG for thematic elements involving perilous situations, and for some nudity, language, brief drug references and smoking.
Release date: Sept. 30 (limited release)
Attack on Titan: Part 1A live-action adaptation of the hugely popular manga/anime set in a fantasy dystopia where the last humans live in a walled city besieged by giant monsters called Titans.
Rating: Not rated but probable PG-13.
Release date: Sept. 30 (limited release)
October
The Martian Gravity meets Interstellar in this Ridley Scott-directed film about an astronaut (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars.
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, injury images and brief nudity.
Release date: Oct. 2
He Named Me Malala A documentary about Malala Yousafzai, the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements involving disturbing images and threats.
Release date: Oct. 2 (limited release)
Pan A holdover from the summer movie season, Pan explores the origin story of J.M. Barries Peter Pan. Garrett Hedlund co-stars as a young James Hook alongside newcomer Levi Miller as Peter and Hugh Jackman as the pirate Blackbeard.
Rating: PG for fantasy action violence, language and some thematic material.
Release date: Oct. 9
Big Stone Gap A romantic comedy set in 1970s Virginia with Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson.
Rating: PG-13 for brief suggestive material.
Release date: Oct. 9
Goosebumps A teenager accidentally releases all the monsters and ghosts and other spooky things locked inside the manuscripts of R.L. Stines Goosebumps series in this Jumanji-esque family adventure movie. Jack Black stars as R.L. Stine.
Rating: PG for scary and intense creature action and images, and for some rude humor.
Release date: Oct. 16
Bridge of Spies A Cold War thriller directed by Steven Spielberg about an insurance lawyer (Tom Hanks) recruited by the CIA to negotiate the release of an American pilot captured by the Soviets.
Rating: PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language.
Release date: Oct. 16
Attack on Titan: Part 2 The second half of the two-part adaptation.
Rating: Not rated but probable PG-13
Release date: Oct. 20 (limited release)
The Last Witch Hunter An immortal witch hunter (Vin Diesel) in modern-day New York City partners with a sworn enemy to prevent a plague that could destroy all humanity.
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.
Release date: Oct. 23
Suffragette Carey Mulligan heads a powerhouse cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep in this dramatic portrayal of the womens suffrage movement in England circa the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Rating: PG-13 for some intense violence, thematic elements, brief strong language and partial nudity.
Release date: Oct. 23
Jem and the Holograms A group of girls become international pop superstars in this live-action adaptation of the 80s Hasbro toys/cartoon of the same name. Directed by Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation").
Rating: PG for thematic material including reckless behavior, brief suggestive content and some language
Release date: Oct. 23
