The month of September started off very slow for the movie industry as late summer films brought weak box office. Now the movie industry will try to recharge the box office with many high profile films and awards contenders.
September 7 Releases
The first batch of September films comes this Friday with "The Cold Light of Day", an action thriller which stars "Superman's" Henry Cavil. The film follows William Shaw who goes to Spain on a vacation with his family but his whole world turns around when they are kidnapped. Also opening that weekend is the Sundance film "The Words" starring Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper. The film tells the story of a man who becomes successful for a novel he never wrote. Both these films while intriguing have scored unfavorable reviews according to Rotten tomatoes, a website who finds reviews and aggregates a score out of the reviews. "The Cold Light of Day" has an 8% critic approval while "The Words" is only approved by 25% of critics.
For the art house crowd three Sundance films will be released. Music Box will release the critically acclaimed gay drama "Keep the Lights On" by Ira Sachs, and Oscilloscope Pictures will release the Melanie Lynesky starrer "Hello I Must Go".
Finally the last film of that weekend is the successful Kirsten Dunst film "Bachelorette" which has been available on Video on Demand for a couple of weeks and which has given the Weinstein Company one of the biggest monetary successes in a while. The movie looks to continue its success in theaters.
If You Could Only Pick One: "Bacholorette" starring Kirsten Dunst in her follow-up to her tremendous turn in last year's "Melancholia."
September 14 Releases
On the 14th Disney and Sony will heat up the box office with the rerelease of "Finding Nemo in 3D" and "Resident Evil: Retribution". The Oscar winner, "Finding Nemo" comes on the heels of "Star Wars" and "Titanic's" successful re-releases in 3D. Now Disney is looking to bank off their most popular film to date. The fifth "Resident Evil" film will also be released and it will try to capsize its predecessors with a bigger opening weekend. This will be the first released since 2010 and the first to be released in 3D. "Retribution" continues Alice's fight against Umbrella Corporation. The film promises to be the biggest and most action packed to date.
In the art house theaters the Oscar contender "The Master" will open alongside Sundance hits "Liberal Arts" and "Arbitrage". After its premiere at the Venice film Festival, "The Master" has been getting Oscar buzz and phenomenal reviews, making it the must see film of the month. The film follows a World War 2 vet who is inspired to create a religion. It stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams.
"Liberal Arts" starring Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, and Alison Janney and "Arbitrage" starring "Another Earth's" Brit Marling, Susan Sarandon, and Richard Gere are also getting great reviews.
If You Could Only Pick One: "The Master." This may be the film to win the Oscar for Best Picture in February.Nemo is already on DVD, so this is an easy choice.
September 21 Releases
The weekend of the 21st sees the release of four wide releases. "Dredd" based on the graphic novel tells the story future America in an irradiated Waste land. The British film, which premiered in London to outstanding reviews, stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Domhnall Gleeson. While the series isn't popular here in the US it is sure to interest fan boys.
"House at the End of the Street" sees Jennifer Lawerance (The Hunger Games ) in a horror film about mother and daughter Sarah and Elissa who move into a new home in an upscale rural town and how unexplainable events start to happen. The film while not very promising in originality is sure to bring Horror fans to theaters.
David Ayer's "End of Watch" starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena and Anna Kendrick also opens. The film tells the story of two young cops who patrol the meanest streets in LA. The film which opens at the Toronto Film Festival this week hopes to garner Oscar buzz.
The last of the wide releases is "Trouble with the Curve" which is rumored to be Clint Eastwood's last appearance on the silver screen. The film which has already received a plethora of buzz for its central performance tells the story of Gus who is one of the best baseball scouts. However age is catching up to him and he refuses to retire. The film also stars Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake and is directed by Eastwood's long time producer Randy Brown.
In art house theaters "The Master" will expand beyond New York and LA and "The Perks of being a Wallflower" will open. "Wallflower", starring Harry Potter's Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman is based on the acclaimed novel by Stephen Chbosky who also directed and wrote the movie.
If You Could Only Pick One: "Trouble with the Curve." Clint Eastwood never disappoints when he's on the screen.
September 28 Releases
For the end of the month three major films will open on the 28th. The first one which is likely to bring children back to the theaters after "Nemo" is "Hotel Translyvania" which sets its action in a hotel where monsters are allowed to interact with humans. The film being released by Sony is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the season.
The Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Wills starrer "Looper" directed by Rian Johnson also opens. The film which kicks off the Toronto Film festival has garnered rave reviews and is about time travel and how it is reinvented. Based on the previous two Johnson films this is sure to be inventive and intelligent.
"Won't Back Down" is the last film of the three. The film stars Oscar nominees Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal as two mothers who will stop at nothing to transform their children's failing inner city school. Fox looks to make an Oscar campaign for the two leads after Davis' nominations for "The Help" and "Doubt" and after Gyllenhaal's nomination for "Crazy Heart".
In the art house, Weinstein Company will release "Solomon Kane" after another successful Video on Demand release. The film looks tp get fan boys into the theaters and continue to make successful business.
If You Could Only PIck One: "Looper." An indie-sci-fi-gangster movie. Covers all the bases in terms of audience.
While September lacks event films, the month will bring some gems to the big screen that may end up on many of critics' top ten lists at the end of the year.