This month, the big screen features dynamic trios, battles, bird watching, sci-fi adventures, and an overall cross-section of eccentric gentlemen.

The Big Year is about three obsessive bird watchers who compete to spot the largest number of rare birds in a year, each with his own outrageous approach. An equally devoted yet slightly fiercer trio unites in The Three Musketeers, adapted from the timeless classic by Alexandre Dumas. Here, the Musketeers must battle a seductive double agent to protect the French throne and save Europe from war.

In The Thing, a different battle finds paleontologist Kate Lloyd joining up with a Norwegian scientific team to fight a vicious extraterrestrial creature that has escaped from a crashed alien spaceship deep within the ice of Antarctica.

In another violent arena, Real Steel, inspired by Richard Matheson’s short story “Steel” (which was also the basis for a "Twilight Zone" episode of the same name in 1963), stars Hugh Jackman as a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2,000-pound, eight-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. But after he teams up with his estranged son, the duo may finally get a chance at redemption. Dr. Robert Ledgard is also in search of redemption in The Skin I Live In. This eminent plastic surgeon is desperately attempting to create a new skin with which he could have saved his wife, who was burned to death in a car crash.

In keeping with the masculine trend, The Rum Diary, based on Hunter S. Thompson's novel, stars Johnny Depp as freelance journalist Paul Kemp. After moving from New York to the Caribbean to write for a small, neglected newspaper there, Paul finds himself amidst a violent, alcoholic and self-destructive group, and his life and career take critical turns.

If you need a break from all that testosterone, look no further than the small screen. After a tantalizing six-week hiatus, "Pretty Little Liars", inspired by Sara Shepard’s drama-filled YA series, returns on October 19th with a Halloween special that promises to be juicy as ever.

October 5th and 6th saw the premiere of "George Harrison: Living in the Material World", an HBO documentary by Martin Scorsese about the late Beatle. A companion book with the same title was written by his wife, Olivia Harrison, and includes an introduction by Paul Theroux and a foreword by Scorsese. The special will be repeated later this month.

Also on the small screen are the second season premiere of "The Walking Dead", a chilling adaptation of the highly successful comic by Robert Kirkman, and "Castle", the mystery crime show based on bestselling author Richard Castle, who was investigated by the New York City police department after the victim of a murder was found to match the description of a victim in one of his books. PBS is also airing "Case Histories", a mystery miniseries inspired by Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels. Three episodes, based on the first three books, air on October 16th, 23rd and 30th.

If you’re in the mood for some fun and adventure without leaving your couch, there are a few DVD options as well. In case you missed them in theaters, Captain America: The First Avenger, Green Lantern, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, Monte Carlo, Submarine and Winnie the Pooh all will be released this month for your viewing pleasure.

Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2,000-pound, eight-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, journalist Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault, the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancé of Sanderson. Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen's financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.

TV Series Based on Books:

"Case Histories"
Cast: Jason Isaacs, Amanda Abbington, Zawe Ashton, Millie Innes
Network: PBS
Air Dates: October 16th, 23rd and 30th
Based on: CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson

The recent midseason finale of "Pretty Little Liars" gave the audience a few answers. Or did it? With this show,there are always more mysteries to be solved. "Pretty Little Liars" is currently on hiatus until January 2012, but ABC Family is giving us a special treat in October. On October 19th, to be exact, a special Halloween-themed episode of the show will air and will be a part of ABC Family's Halloween campaign.

The Halloween episode will actually be a prequel to the series and will flash back to the time when Alison was still alive. Familiar faces will return. Ian and Melissa will both be making appearances, as will Lucas. We'll be getting a great deal more insight into Alison and the kind of person she was, as well as more back story on why people like Lucas, for example, hated her so much. But the promo for the Halloween episode reveals that Alison herself could have been "A"'s first victim.  Could we take what we learned in the midseason finale about "A"'s possibly identity (or identities) and Alison's potential killers and guess what might happen in this special episode?

AMC’s critically acclaimed original series, "The Walking Dead," is back with its much anticipated second season. When we last left the "The Walking Dead," the characters were in the midst of a high-intensity struggle to survive, fleeing the CDC as it burst into flames. In Season 2, they are still on the move, facing more threats and obstacles than ever. Led by a remarkable ensemble cast and crew, Season 2 premieres with a 90-minute episode on Sunday, Oct. 16th at 9/8c.

New On DVD:

Fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate has two big ambitions: to save his parents' marriage via carefully plotted intervention and to lose his virginity before his next birthday. Worried that his mom is having an affair with New Age weirdo Graham, Oliver monitors his parents' sex life by charting the dimmer switch in their bedroom. He also forges suggestive love letters from his mom to his dad. Meanwhile, Oliver attempts to woo his classmate, Jordana, a self-professed pyromaniac who supervises his journal writing --- especially the bits about her. When necessary, she orders him to cross things out.

This summer, third grader Judy Moody is planning the most super-duper, double-rare summer vacation ever with best friends Rocky and Amy. Except that it turns out Rocky is going to circus camp to learn to tame lions, and Amy is headed off to Borneo with her mom to save a lost tribe while Judy stays home with her pesky little brother Stink and second-best friend Frank Pearl.

Just when she thinks things are as rotten as they can be, her parents announce that they will be going to California and Judy will have to stay behind with her Aunt Opal, who she's never even met! It looks like Judy's best summer ever has just become her way worst summer ever.

But feisty, fearless and ever-funny Judy Moody never gives up! With help from some unexpected sources, she's headed for a summer full of surprises in this charming and spirited family film. Get ready, get set, get MOODY!

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

While on a trip to Paris with her best friend and soon-to-be-stepsister, Grace is mistaken for a British socialite, resulting in all three young women flying to Monte Carlo for a charity ball, auction, and the chance for international romance. However, when a million-dollar necklace goes missing, Grace and her friends must scramble to find it before the auction is ruined and their identities are exposed.

Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull.

Winnie the Pooh
Cast: Jim Cummings, Bud Luckey, Craig Ferguson, Jack Boulter, Jim Cummings, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Travis Oates, Wyatt Hall, John Cleese
Director: Stephen Anderson and Don Hall
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Distribution
MPAA Rating: G
DVD Release Date: October 25th
Based on: The Winnie-the-Pooh series by A. A. Milne