It’s safe to say after a crazy Labor Day weekend, the 2014 summer season in Ocean City ended with a bang! While there are still a few big events to happen in the next few months, the town is much less active than it is in the summer; and for many locals, that brings a sigh of relief. Regular readers know it’s a passion of mine to escape the outside world and see a movie whenever I can at one of the two movie theaters in Ocean City, and doing so in the offseason when there are only a few other people in the theater (if at all) is a heavenly experience. We’ve had some big blockbusters over the summer, but there are still a handful of awesome movies coming out as we begin to close out the year. As an offer to help spare some potential boredom this offseason for the locals, here are six movies coming out in the next few months I think are worth a watch.

 

Tusk
Releasing: September 19
Starring: Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment
    Famous director and lover of all things nerdy Kevin Smith returns to the horror genre with one of the most ridiculous movie premises you’ve ever heard. Podcaster Wallace Bryton (Long) is captured in the backwoods of Canada by a mysterious man (Parks) who wants to turn Wallace into a walrus. Wallace’s best friend, Teddy Craft (Osment) sets up a team (consisting of a cop played by Johnny Depp) to go look for him. Escaping the action of 2011’s Red State, this film ties horror with “dramedy;” and since Smith is at the helm, I’m sure he will deliver. This is the first of Smith’s True North Trilogy of films based on Canadian myths.
 
The Maze Runner
Releasing: September 19
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
    Continuing the trend of recent young-adult post-apocalyptic science fiction books being turned into movies, this is based off the James Dashner book of the same title released in 2009. Thomas (O’Brien) inexplicably ends up trapped in a maze with a group of boys. With no memory of his past or the world outside the maze, Thomas must regain his identity through clues in the maze and find a way to escape. The film has an interesting premise, and especially with Brodie-Sangster (known for his portrayal of Jojen Reed on Game of Thrones) as a main character, the boys look to be experienced enough actors to shine on the big screen.

 

Rosewater
Releasing: November 7
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Kim Bodnia
    I’m taking a quick detour of fun Hollywood movies to present you a serious and moving drama written and directed by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. Based on the memoir written by Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy called Then They Came for Me, it follows the true story of Bahari, who was wrongly imprisoned and tortured by Iranian officials for more than 118 days. After performing a guest interview on The Daily Show in 2009 about Iran’s recent controversial presidential election, Bahari was determined to have been in communication with an American spy by the controlling Iranian regime and arrested at his home. This is clearly a very personal story for Stewart, and filming this movie is the reason he had a hiatus from his talk show last year.

 

Interstellar
Releasing: November 7
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
    If you end up seeing only one movie from this list, please make it this one. Lauded director Christopher Nolan is at the helm again with an amazing story about space travel that he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. After a wormhole is discovered in space, a mission begins to send astronauts through it to test the theory that wormholes connect areas of space that are far away from each other. With no promise that the astronauts will make it back home, they have to fight the cost of leaving their families and loved ones for the good of humanity. Add in Hans Zimmer’s amazing soundtrack, and this looks to be a thrilling and emotional ride. If you still aren’t convinced, just watch the trailer.

Big Hero 6
Releasing: November 7
Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung
    Let me take back the statement I made back there: if you have kids, please make this the one movie you see from this list. Unbeknownst to many, this computer animated film is actually based on a lesser-known Marvel Comics team of superheroes, and is the first Disney animated film to feature Marvel characters since the animation giant acquired the comic giant in 2009. Taking place in the fictional city of San Fransokyo (a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo), a young robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada (Potter) and his robot Bymax (Adsit, famous for his character Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock) form a team of inexperienced crime-fighters to uncover a secret evil plot.

 

Dumb and Dumber To
Releasing: November 14
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Laurie Holden
    Oh. My. God. It’s almost here! The film sequel that no one expected or had a demand for, but still made us giddy upon its announcement looks to be one of the best comedies of the year. Carrey and Daniels reprise their roles of Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne as we catch up with the dimwitted duo exactly twenty years after their grand adventure (the first film came out in 1994). The friends embark on another journey in search of Harry’s long lost daughter and I can only imagine the hilarity that follows.