Not sure what is coming out this month? Here is a rundown of what to see, avoid, and rent this September.
11. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Lord, Miller, Sept. 18th)
Synopsis: Inspired by the children’s book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.
Why You Should See It: The fact that this Sony animation is brought to you by the guys behind How I Met Your Mother should be a good reason to see it. Sony’s last outing, Surf’s Up, was fun and the 3D aspect should make this family film one to see in the theater.
10. Surrogates (Mostow, Sept. 25th)
Synopsis: Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others’ surrogates
Why You Should See It: Sure the story has been told before and it probably won’t offer anything new to the sci-fi genre, but neither did The Fifth Element. Both have the same movie star, who has only gotten better with age.
9. The Burning Plain (Arriaga, Sept. 18th)
Synopsis: A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother (Basinger) and daughter (Theron) who try to form a bond after the young woman’s difficult childhood.
Why You Should See It: Directed and scripted by the writer behind Iñárritu’s films (Amores Perros, Babel, 21 Grams) should be more than enough reason to see this drama.
8. Whiteout (Sena, Sept. 11th)
Synopsis: U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko tracks a killer in Antarctica, as the sun is about to set for six months.
Why You Should See It: Although it looks a bit bland, director Dominic Sena proved he can make a fun action/thriller before. The gorgeous Kate Beckinsale is always worth watching.
7. Coco Before Chanel (Fontaine, Sept. 25th)
Synopsis: The story of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (Tautou) and her rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.
Why You Should See It: This french biopic about the lavish story of the rise of a fashion queen may not have mass appeal, but it certainly looks like it is one of the more beautifully shot films this month.
6. Gamer (Neveldine, Taylor, Sept. 4th)
Synopsis: Set in a future-world where humans can control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming environments, a star player (Butler) from a game called “Slayers” looks to regain his independence while taking down the game’s mastermind (Hall).
Why You Should See It: If you love Crank then you know why this film is on the list. I’m interested to see Michael C. Hall ham it up as well.
5. Jennifer’s Body (Kusama, Sept. 18th)
Synopsis: A cheerleader at a small midwestern high school becomes possessed by a demon and sets out to kill off all the guys in town.
Why You Should See It: Can Diablo Cody strike gold twice? This film looks to have a bit less ambition, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be fun as hell. Let’s see if Megan Fox can show off that “acting ability” she hasn’t been given a chance to show yet.
4. Bright Star (Campion, Sept. 18th)
Synopsis: A drama focused on the last few years in the life of poet John Keats (Whishaw), as seen through the eyes of his lover, Fanny Brawne (Cornish).
Why You Should See It: This Cannes favorite is getting it’s expected fall release here in the US, just in time to kick off the Oscar race. A beautifully shot period piece with great performances may not be for everyone, but if you like the genre, this looks like a must-see.
3. Extract (Judge, Sept. 4th)
Synopsis: The owner of a flower-extract plant (Bateman), tries to contend with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife (Wiig), a hot new temp (Kunis), and employees who want to take advantage of him.
Why You Should See It: Mike Judge is back with his first wide release in 10 years. With a stellar cast and a promising script this looks like one of the best comedies of the year.
2. 9 (Acker, Sept. 9th)
Synopsis: When 9 (voice of Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone. Upon discovering a community of other beings like him, 9 takes the lead in an effort to strike back at the machines that control the world and are bent on exterminating most signs of life.
Why You Should See It: With the help of Tim Burton and Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, Shane Acker expands his vision from his Oscar-winning short film with this feature. It’s rare we get a dark, epic, apocalyptic tale, let alone an animated one.
1. The Informant! (Soderbergh, Sept. 18th)
Synopsis: The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, company-man-turned-whistleblower Mark Whitacre (Damon).
Why You Should See It: After Che and The Girlfriend Experience Soderbergh widens the appeal with this political comedy starring Matt Damon. See it for the exclamation point and the corn, among other things.
Avoid:
I Can Do Bad All By Myself (Perry, Sept. 11th)
Synopsis: Madea (Perry) delivers three young adults who tried to rob her home to their aunt (Henson), a hard-living nightclub singer who doesn’t want the responsibility of parenting the trio. Can Madea’s influence, coupled with the arrival a handsome, industrious new tenant (Rodriguez), help April turn a corner in her life?
Why You Shouldn’t See It: It would be nice if the bad that Perry does only affects himself, but we don’t live in a perfect world. Each year we get another profitable, mindless comedy that rivals Transformers 2 in it’s inherent ability to set a new precedent for insulting the audience.
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (Gosse, Sept. 25th)
Synopsis: A guy tries to patch things up with his soon-to-be-married pal after botching things up at his bachelor party. Based on Tucker Max’s best-seller “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”.
Why You Shouldn’t See It: I don’t care how funny the book was. The production value looks worse then Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus. At least that movie has this in it.
Love Happens (Camp, Sept. 18th)
Synopsis: On a business trip to Seattle, a popular self-help guru (Eckhart) sparks with a woman (Aniston) who attends one of his seminars. Their connection causes his to realize, however, that he hasn’t truly confronted his wife’s recent passing.
Why You Shouldn’t See It: Is this a sequel to Sleepless In Seattle? Similarities aside, this looks like nothing new for the romantic comedy genre and will likely be forgotten before you can say opening weekend.
All About Steve (Traill, Sept. 4th)
Synopsis: After Mary Horowitz (Bullock) has one date with a CNN cameraman (Cooper), the brilliant crossword-puzzle constructor decides the hunk is her true love. While she alienates him by trailing him all over the country, she falls in with a crew of misfits who appreciate her eccentric nature.
Why You Shouldn’t See It: After The Proposal and The Hangover it seems like a great time to release a movie starring the two leads of those films. Well it’s probably not a coincidence that this film was made and shelved for quite some time before those two summer hits. Also, the fact that this is behind the writer of License to Wed doesn’t give me much hope.
Rent:
Sorority Row (Hendler, Sept. 11th)
Synopsis: A group of sorority girls pledge to keep mum on the accidental death of one of their sisters; after graduation, however, they find themselves stalked by a serial killer who seems bent on eliminating anyone who knows their secret.
Why You Should Rent It: The genuinely frightening trailer makes this out to be a fun, mindless horror romp worthy of a late night viewing.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Hyams, Sept. 11th)
Synopsis: Remake of the 1956 film noir film “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” in which a writer’s plan to expose a corrupt district attorney takes an unexpected turn.
Trailer
Why You Should Rent It: It’s suspicious why this remake is getting a very limited release. The talent involved seems promising. It might not be the best drama thriller this year, but worth a rent.
Carriers (Pastor, Sept. 4th)
Synopsis: Four young people speed across the Southwestern U.S. in a desperate attempt to outrun a viral pandemic. Over the course of a few days, tough moral decisions will have to be made if they have any chance at survival.
Why You Should Rent It: Chris Pine, the leading man of Star Trek, heads this horror fest. Early impressions hint at a tight horror that presents some interesting moral problems.
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (Krasinski, Sept. 25th)
Synopsis: Grad student Sara Quinn (Nicholson) holds as series of conversations with an array of men, motivated by her desire to understand the male psyche and apply her new-found knowledge to a recent break-up.
Why You Should Rent It: John Krasinski’s debut as a writer, director, and producer got decent buzz at Sundance. I’m looking forward to see if he has anything else up his sleeve.
Splice (Natali, Sept 18th)
Synopsis: Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment.
Why You Should Rent It: Well, there is no trailer out yet and not much press but it will be interesting to see Adrien Brody in a sci-fi/horror/thriller.
Pandorum (Alvart, Sept. Sept. 25th)
Synopsis: A pair of crew members aboard a spaceship wake up with no knowledge of their mission or their identities.
Why You Should Rent It: This sci-fi adventure looks a bit recycled, but Ben Foster gives me a reason to watch.
Check out previous months here.
Do you agree with the list? What are you seeing this month?