Looking at the Movie Times

The paperback novel has always been popular cinematic source material — from Jaws and The Godfather in the '70s to John Grisham and Michael Crichton in the '90s. And they're more popular than ever, with acclaimed director David Fincher tackling The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl or October alone seeing the release of The Girl on the Train, Inferno and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Jimmy Geurts talks with Tampa Bay Times book editor Colette Bancroft about these novels and movies including The Girl on the Train, Tate Taylor's adaptation of the Paul Hawkins novel starring Emily Blunt.

Stop-motion may not be as prevalent as digital animation, but it still has its admirers, including acclaimed directors like Wes Anderson and Charlie Kaufman, who used it for Fantastic Mr. Fox and Anomalisa. Jimmy Geurts and Animation Art Conservation director Ron Barbagallo discuss those works, as well as stop-motion films by Tim Burton and Henry Selick, Aardman and Laika, including their newest film Kubo and the Two Strings.

Seth Rogen's new movie Sausage Party is billing itself as the first R-rated CGI film, but it's far from the only animated one. Benjamin Wright returns to discuss the spectrum of R-rated animation, from fellow raunchy comedies(Fritz the Cat, South Park, Team America: World Police)to artier fare (Akira, Anomalisa, A Scanner Darkly). Then they talk Sausage Party's place in that history and what it may mean for the future of R-rated animation.

More now than ever, superhero movies with huge budgets and A-list talent are being made. Yet for every one that gets it right, there's another where all the elements don't come together. Jimmy Geurts and his brother Brandon discuss some of the most notable superhero movie messes, from the relatively decent (Spider-Man 3) to the very poor (Howard the Duck, Fantastic Four). Then the two discuss DC's newest film Suicide Squad, which falls in the latter category.