It’s difficult to have time for regularly scheduled theater releases when there’s the triple-headed fall festival beast known as the Venice Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, and Telluride kicking off this month with some of the most highly-anticipated films of the upcoming year. It’s festival season, which means it’s awards season, which means we already know what the conversations are going to look like from now until early next year. That being said, there’s plenty being released in September worth talking about, both on the big-budget horror scale, as well as returns from well-established directorial talents with great casts. Beyond this list there’s plenty more to consume as this doesn’t even account for crowd-pleasers such as “Life Itself” and more.
READ MORE: 56 Must-See Films: The 2018 Fall Movie Preview
“The Nun”
Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir, Bonnie Aarons
Synopsis: When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate.
What You Need to Know: Credit where credit is due, but who would’ve guessed that the “The Conjuring” series would have such legs in the horror breakdown. As the fifth installment of the “Conjuring” Universe and a direct spin-off of the ‘Conjuring 2,’ this is the second film to be directed by Corin Hardy and his first in this franchise. With much of the buzz surrounding the film being due to a shock jump scare in the trailers, it will be interesting to see if “The Nun” can follow in its predecessors’ successes. Horror is a genre best experienced in the theater to feed off of live energy and September isn’t bursting with weekly, big budget hitters. So, for fans of a fun theater-going experience, “The Nun” is your best option.
Release Date: September 6th – Ally Johnson
READ MORE: Venice Film Festival Preview: 20 Most Anticipated Movies
“Blaze”
Cast: Alia Shawkat,Ben Dickey, Sam Rockwell
Synopsis: A re-imagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.
What You Need to Know: His latest foray into directing, as well as having his hand in the script, “Blaze” marks yet another entry in Ethan Hawke’s filmography that marries his interest in music with film. An intimate film with some terrific performers on board, it’s a new twist on the biopic with a folk singer at the center. Our critic who saw it at Sundance called it a success, saying “He’s made a film that rambles, scrambles, fights its way to the finish line, exactly the way its subject would have wanted it to be.”
Release Date: September 7th – AJ
“The Land Of Steady Habits”
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, Thomas Mann, Elizabeth Marvel, Bill Camp, Charlie Tahan, and Connie Britton
Synopsis: Feeling trapped in the stifling, wealthy enclave of Westport, Connecticut, Anders Hill (Mendelsohn) retires from his job in finance and leaves his wife (Falco) in the hopes that it will renew his zest for life.
What You Need to Know: Indie filmmaker Nicole Holofcener (“Enough Said,” “Lovely And Amazing”) has been making smart, funny, insightful comedic dramas about regular people, and often, female protagonists, for three decades now. She’s semi-appreciated, but we should maybe take a minute to pause, and bow down for a second given all the talk about female directors and telling stories with women in the lead — she’s been doing it forever. Her latest, “The Land Of Steady Habits” takes another humanist coming of age look at middle life, but this time, through the eyes of a man (Ben Mendelsohn). It’s also the first time she’s made a film based on man’s work (novelist Ted Thompson; though to be fair, she has written male-written adaptations before including an upcoming series). This shouldn’t marr “The Land Of Steady Habits,” which looks like yet another empathethic, witty and meaningful look at those in crisis trying to find their way through life. A terrific ensemble cast anchors the picture and all eyes will be on this one when it debuts at TIFF and then hits Netflix days later.
Release Date: September 14 – Rodrigo Perez
“The Predator”
Cast: Olivia Munn, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key
Synopsis: When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe’s most lethal hunters’ return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.
What You Need to Know: Three decades past following his bit part in the 80’s genre classic “Predator,” Shane Black is returning to the franchise as a writer and director of the new installment in the now-iconic franchise. The “Lethal Weapon” screenwriter and “Iron Man 3” helmer, has made a return to the mainstream over the past decade after taking a much-needed break from the pressures of the studio system. This reboot/sequel is a reteaming with Black’s “The Monster Squad” screenwriter Fred Dekker. Fans will see some fresh new faces in Black’s new vision, but, perhaps most notably, will have the opportunity to see another R-rated “Predator” film. This means that audiences will be exposed to the most gore in the franchise since “Predator 2.” Don’t say you weren’t warned.
Release Date: September 14 – Alex Arabian
