We’re exiting the underwhelming summer movie season and entering the much-anticipated Oscar season. Starting with September, I’ll bring you a monthly list of what I believe are must-see movies for that month. Without the advance influence of critical or audience reviews, chances of these movies bombing with either moviegoers or the box office are pretty medium, but I’m anticipating these films nonetheless. I delay you no longer: here are my list of 10 September 2016 films that you should catch in theaters!
Opening September 2nd
– The Light Between Oceans –
Oscar season arrives already in the first weekend of September with director Derek Cianfrance‘s The Light Between Oceans. Cianfrance’s previous works include the emotionally raw Blue Valentine and the brilliantly-told The Place Beyond the Pines. His latest effort stars the ridiculously talented duo of Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.
The story sounds as emotional and potentially-depressing as Valentine. Vikander’s character Isabel experiences a miscarriage and struggles with the aftermath of that along with her husband Tom (played by Fassbender). After some time, the mourning couple discovers a baby girl in an abandoned rowboat that washed ashore, and soon adopt the child as their own. However, they’re soon confronted with Rachel Weisz’s character, Hannah, who claims to be the child’s biological mother. As I typed that, I’m nothing but curious to see how this drama unfolds, knowing full well the performances and directing will be top-notch from this skilled group.
– Morgan –
The next must-see entry in my September 2016 films list is already a divisive one. Morgan is the only “blockbuster” film here with critic reviews trickling out, but that isn’t hindering my desire to see Ridley Scott‘s son, Luke, in his directorial debut. I’m a relentless believer in developing your own opinions on movies anyway. After watching the trailers, Morgan‘s tone strikes me as an Ex Machina-ish plot, but with more horror/action elements.
Also, the cast is utterly stellar. Kate Mara stars as Lee Weathers, tasked with determining whether or not to exterminate the titular Morgan, who is a lab-created individual and has become increasingly violent. Morgan is portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy, who delivered her breakout performance earlier this year in The Witch. The film co-stars Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones), Paul Giamatti (from everything, really), Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger), Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) among many others. Cast and premise alone have me anticipating this picture.
Opening September 9th
– Sully –
I know director Clint Eastwood is not everyone’s favorite person, but seriously, did you see the Sully trailer? The teased airplane water landing scene in the trailers gives me goosebumps. Then you discover a new layer to this feature: a deeper exploration of how this event impacted Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger‘s psyche. I’m certain this will be yet another effortlessly human, charming Tom Hanks performance. To sum it up, I’m all in on this film. But buckle up for non-turbulence reasons: this starts our trend of biographical topics in our September 2016 films.
– Author: The JT LeRoy Story –
I witnessed the trailer for Author: The JT LeRoy Story prior to a screening of Gleason in July, and this documentary hasn’t left my brain since. The premise of JT LeRoy is infinitely compelling. Author Laura Albert created a faux writing persona in LeRoy throughout various publications, and had her friend dress up as this character in public. LeRoy had a fictionalized background with a history of drug abuse and prostitution, as well as a distinct wardrobe style, and people bought it for almost 10 years. A 2005 exposé revealed the truth, but the true story of it remains no less interesting.
Opening September 16th
– Blair Witch –
Everyone! Blair Witch is back! Adam Wingard, director of You’re Next and The Guest, revived the franchise! It’s the sequel we deserved to The Blair Witch Project from the start, and will likely surpass the original’s quality! This is my most anticipated movie of the fall! I don’t think I can say anymore without exclaiming it, but just know I’m beyond stoked for this flick!
– Snowden –
My most controversial must-see pick from these September 2016 films is Snowden. Another Oliver Stone-directed biographical film that follows Edward Snowden‘s life and drastic choices, which is guaranteed to fascinate audiences. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden might sound like Philip Seymour Hoffman for some reason, but I can look past that in my excitement to see this thriller expressed.
Furthermore, the cast is as impressive as any other outing mentioned here. Shailene Woodley plays Snowden’s girlfriend Lindsay, and Zachary Quinto is Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who aided in revealing these contentious truths about data mining. Plus the film stars Logan Marshall-Green (The Invitation), Timothy Olyphant (Justified), Ben Schnetzer (Warcraft), and Nicolas Cage for some reason. Many elements at play here result in my intrigue.
Opening September 23rd
– The Magnificent Seven –
Usually I reside in an anti-remake camp, but director Antoine Fuqua may be giving us a fun modern western, judging from the trailers! In an ensemble cast led by Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, the true star could be the writers (one of whom is True Detective‘s Nic Pizzolatto). The dialogue has potential to be witty and clever; enough to elevate the actors’ interactions and chemistry. Not to mention the action looks really enjoyable and gratifying as well. Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee (Terminator Genisys; yes, the bad one), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (From Dusk till Dawn: The Series), Peter Sarsgaard (no surprise he’s the Magnificent villain), and Haley Bennett (Hardcore Henry) round out the ensemble cast.
– Queen of Katwe –
Our September 2016 films bequeath another potential Oscar-quality movie in Queen of Katwe. Yet another biographical subject, this one follows Phiona Mutesi, otherwise known as Uganda’s most successful chess prodigy. Newcomer Madina Nalwanga plays Phiona, and the cast is led by David Oyelowo as Phiona’s teacher/mentor and Lupita Nyong’o as Phiona’s mother. The latter 2 actors always hit home-run level performances. Judging from the trailer, this movie will inspire and bring us many emotional moments. “Excited” describes how I feel about this movie mildly.
Opening September 30th
– Deepwater Horizon –
Director Peter Berg demonstrated in Lone Survivor and Battleship that he can balance providing thrills and sentiment equally and effectively. I’m giving Berg the benefit of the doubt in hoping Survivor wasn’t an outlier, as I expect Deepwater Horizon to distribute very similar quality. Yes, this is another biographical affair, but the visuals stun and I anticipate Berg fleshing out the characters in satisfying ways. Along with gravitas and visuals, this movie boasts another great cast which features Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell (sweet!), John Malkovich (double sweet!), Kate Hudson, and Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner). Make no mistake, I’ll be seeing this day one.
– American Honey –
Say what you want about Shia LeBeouf (co-star of American Honey), I say his entire schtick is an act or some form of art Shia’s attempting. Regardless, it sounds like we’ll all be discussing director Andrea Arnold and newcomer Sasha Lane more than anyone after seeing Honey. This movie could garner the attention both need to propel them as blockbuster stars or household names. The plot details are scarce, even after viewing the trailer, but you get the sense it’s a stylistic coming of age tale. Enough specifics have been given to me to be hyped, so I’m hyped.
