By Chip Chandler — Producer

'Tis the season for slashing killers. Plus, a hotly anticipated teen drama, Robert Redford's final (?) performance and more.

New in theaters

• Halloween: Laurie Strode (Jamie Leigh Curtis) returns in an attempt to finally rid herself and the world of killer Michael Myers in this new horror reboot (which does away with all of the other sequels to the 1978 original). Reviews are generally positive. (R for horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.; Cinergy Amarillo, 9201 Cinergy Square; and Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive)
• The Hate U Give: Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) stars in this well-received adapation of Angie Thomas' YA novel about a black teen girl caught up in a police shooting and between her neighborhood friends' horror at and prep school friends' dismissal of the event. Reviews are exceedingly good. (PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some violent content, drug material and language; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Hollywood 16)
• The Old Man & The Gun: Robert Redford has promised (perhaps with some wiggle room) that this is his final acting gig, and the buzz indicates he goes out with a bang. He's working with writer/director David Lowery (A Ghost Story) on this based-on-truth recounting of an astoundingly successful bank robber and prison escapee. Amarillo native Annell Brodeur is the film's costume designer, as she has been for most of Lowery's films. Generally, critics are quite high on the film's entertainment value. (PG-13 for brief strong language; click here for showtimes at Hollywood 16)

Special engagements

• Oct. 20 and 24: The Met: Live in HD series continues with Saint-Saëns’s biblical epic Samson et Dalila, starring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna. It'll screen live at 11:55 a.m. Oct. 20 and encore at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Hollywood 16.
• Oct. 21 and 23: A 10th anniversary screening of Twilight will be seen at 2 and 7 p.m. Oct. 21 and 23 at Hollywood 16.
• Oct. 22 and 29: The National Theatre production of Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller will return to theaters. The actors famously swapped roles throughout the production, and the 7 p.m. Oct. 22 screening will feature Cumberbatch as the Creature, with the 7 p.m. Oct. 29 screening featuring Miller as the Creature. Both screenings will take place at Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.

Upcoming

• Oct. 25: Advance tickets are on sale now for action film Hunter Killer at Amarillo Star 14 and Cinergy Amarillo. Others may follow.
• Oct. 25: Advance tickets are on sale now for faith-based war drama drama Indivisible at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. Others may follow.
• Oct. 25: Advance tickets are on sale now for period teen drama Mid90s at Amarillo Star 14. Others may follow.
• Oct. 26: Last year's hit Pixar film Coco will return to big screens for a limited run at Hollywood 16.
• Oct. 26: Action comedy Johnny English Strikes Again is scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Oct. 26: Halloween favorite The Nightmare Before Christmas will return to big screens for a limited run at Amarillo Star 14.
• Oct. 27 and 31: The Met: Live in HD series continues with Puccini's Wild West drama La Fanciulla del West, starring Eva-Maria Westbroek and Jonas Kaufmann. It'll screen live at 11:55 a.m. Oct. 27 and encore at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Hollywood 16.
• Oct. 28 to 30: The Studio Ghibli Fest 2018 continues with the all-time classic Spirited Away at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. An English-dubbed version will screen at 12:55 p.m. Oct. 28 and 7 p.m. Oct. 30, with a subtitled version screening at 7 p.m. Oct. 29.
• Oct. 30: Christian singer Russ Taff's battle with alcoholism is charted in the documentary I Still Believe, screening at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 1: Advance tickets are on sale now for Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and family holiday adventure The Nutcracker and the Four Realms at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. Others may follow.
• Nov. 1: Faith-based urban drama Never Heard wil screen at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 2: Tyler Perry comedy Nobody's Fool is scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Nov. 3 and 5: A double-feature of Dragon Ball Z films — Bardock: The Father of Goku and Fusion Reborn — will screen at 12:55 p.m. Nov. 3 and 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 4: A 10th anniversary reissue of the original Mamma Mia! will screen at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 and 4 and 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at Amarillo Star 14.
• Nov. 8: Advance tickets are on sale now for family holiday film Dr. Seuss' The Grinch at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. Others may follow.
• Nov. 8: A performance captured live from the Festspielhaus in the Bavarian Alps, Hymn: Sarah Brightman in Concert will screen at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at Hollywood 16. 
• Nov. 9: Thriller The Girl in the Spider's Web and supernatural war thriller Overlord are scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Nov. 10 and 14: The Met: Live in HD series continues with composer Nico Muhly's new opera Marnie, starring Isabel Leonard and Christopher Maltman in a reimagining of the Winston Graham novel and Alfred Hitchcock film. It'll screen live at 11:55 a.m. Nov. 10 and encore at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 11 and 14: The TCM Big Screen Classics series continues with a 30th anniversary screening of iconic action film Die Hard at 2 and 7 p.m. 11 and 14 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 12: The animated favorite Batman: Mask of the Phantasm will screen in a 25th anniversary presentation at 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 13: Get a sneak preview of new Harry Potter franchise installment Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald at  p.m. Nov. 13 at Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 13: Cirque du Soleil's stage show Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities will screen at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 13: Faith-based documentary Restoring Tomorrow will screen at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 15 and 19: A filmed-on-stage version of Broadway musical Bandstand, about a group of World War II vets who work through their post-war trauma by forming a swing band, will encore at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 and 19 at Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 15: Advance tickets are on sale now for Harry Potter franchise Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. Others may follow.
• Nov. 16: Adoption comedy Instant Family and action thriller Widows are scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Nov. 18 to 20: The Studio Ghibli Fest 2018 continues with the classic Castle in the Sky at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. An English-dubbed version will screen at 12:55 p.m. Nov. 18 and 7 p.m. Nov. 20, with a subtitled version screening at 7 p.m. Nov. 19.
• Nov. 21: Sports drama sequel Creed II, period comedy/drama Green Book, animated sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet and action-adventure film Robin Hood  are scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Nov. 24 to Dec. 1: The new Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us will screen at 12:55 p.m. Nov. 24, 7 p.m. Nov. 26 and 28, and 12:55 p.m. Dec. 1 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 25 and 27: A 40th anniversary screening of Superman with Christopher Reeve will play at 3 p.m. Nov. 25  at Amarillo Star 14 and 3 and 7 p.m. Nov. 25 at Hollywood 16 and 3 and 7 p.m. Nov. 27 at both.
• Nov. 29: Get insight into Santa Fe's beguilingly bizarre art installation in Meow Wolf: Origin Story at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 atAmarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 29 to Dec. 8: Time-traveling anime film Mirai will screen at 7 and 8 p.m. Nov. 29, 7 p.m. Dec. 5 and 12:55 p.m. Dec. 8 at Hollywood 16.

Listings at a glance

Click on titles for my reviews and on theaters for showtimes. (AS-14 = Amarillo Star 14; CA = Cinergy Amarillo; H-16 = Hollywood 16, WM-6 = Westgate Mall 6)

• Alpha (WM-6)
• Bad Times at the El Royale (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Christopher Robin (WM-6)
• First Man (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer (AS-14, H-16)
• Halloween (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• The Hate U Give (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (WM-6)
• The House with a Clock in Its Walls (AS-14, H-16)
• The Incredibles 2 (WM-6)
• The Meg (WM-6)
• Night School (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• The Nun (AS-14, H-16)
• The Old Man & The Gun (H-16)
• Peppermint (WM-6)
• Searching (WM-6)
• Slender Man (WM-6)
• Smallfoot (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• A Star Is Born (AS-14, CA, H-16 and Tascosa Drive-In, 1999 Civic Circle)
• Venom (AS-14, CA, H-16 and Tascosa)

Chip Chandler is a producer for Panhandle PBS and a member of GALECA. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.