New in Theaters October 26: Cloud Atlas, Chasing Mavericks, Fun Size, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

By Chris Kavan - 10/25/12 at 02:37 PM CT

With October winding down, two new movies aimed at the Halloween crowd are being released this weekend (though this market is becoming quite crowded). A crazy film that travels through time and multiple characters fills in the gap and finally a randomly placed movie about surfing decides to debut. Volume does not necessarily mean quality, and I have a feeling success is going to elude most new films this week.

CLOUD ATLAS It has been awhile since we last heard from the Wachowskis. In fact, 2008's not-so-well received Speed Racer was the last time the duo were behind the director's chair. Cloud Atlas looks to be a twisting sort of a film - spanning past, present, future and with actors such as Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess and many more taking on multiple roles throughout the film. Yet despite the high level of confusion, I'm still intrigued by how this entire thing is going to play out, plus, any time you can get a nice guy like Hanks to totally drop the F-bomb (warning adult language!) on live TV, you must have something special on your hands. I have a feeling this film is going to appeal only to a select audience, so I don't think box office returns are going to be incredibly high (this time it's operating on a modest $100 million budget), but a movie with so much going on has to be worth at least one watch.

SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D The original Silent Hill I though was a competent, if not slightly derivative, adaptation of the uber-creepy video game franchise. I had doubts about a sequel, considering it didn't break the bank or impress critics, but talks were already underway. Then this happened and I was sure that the movie was DOA. Yet here we are - years later and, amazingly, most of the original cast is back - including Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean and Deborah Kara Unger. This time we're following Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) as her 18th birthday is plagued with nightmares that lead her to Silent Hill and a startling revelation about who she really is. It looks like the twisted visuals are back, along with everyone's favorite Pyramid Head (and his huge sword/knife weapon). Yet I have a feeling that with Paranormal Activity 4 and Sinister both bringing in the horror movie crowd, this film is going to suffer - not even 3D is going to save this from a mediocre run. I'll catch this, but only from the comfort of home.

CHASING MAVERICKS It seems kind of bizarre to release a movie centered around surfing in the middle of the fall, but here we are. This is a film based on a true story about chasing your dreams (and, in this case, a huge freakin' wave). Young Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) is determined to conquer one of the world's biggest waves but must first learn how, and luckily legendary surfer Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) is there to get him into surfing shape. Guess what? The two form a bond and find much more to life than just surfing. This is the kind of feel-good sports film that has been done before. I'm sure this will find some people willing to go along for this ride, but I can't help thinking that I've been here before (and probably will be many more times to come).

FUN SIZE Finally that leaves us with Fun Size. This looks to be a typical teen adventure type film in the vein of "Adventures in Babysitter", though I have no aspirations this film is going to reach those lofty heights. I'm guessing this is going to be a rather safe (this is a Nickelodeon film after all), probably somewhat generic film. The target audience already has Hotel Transylvania, so I have a feeling it's going to suffer. The fact it has garnered a PG-13 rating rather than a straight PG may also have some parents holding back, which could also lower the returns on for the film.

I have a feeling the newcomers are only going to find limited success this weekend. Cloud Atlas is just a little too weird to draw in a wide audience. Silent Hill: Revelation and Fun Size both face stiff competition at the box office and Chasing Mavericks is kind of an odd duck. Some may find their way into the top five, but I don't think they can expect much more. We'll see on Sunday what happens.