Months later and we’re still spurred into excitement when we remember the surprising “Moonlight” win of last year’s Oscars, making it all the more surreal that we’re about to be thrown head first into this year’s awards season with the trio of the Venice Film Festival, Telluride and The Toronto International Film Festival all happening one after another (with some even overlapping).
After two weeks in a row with somewhat dire new releases, though, and the fact that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find theaters still playing the movies we’ve missed, it comes as a relief that we’re about to be able to dive into a stacked season where every week has a highly buzzed about film. That being said, it’s easy to become overwhelmed when there’s more to choose from. From horror to action flicks to intimate explorations of faith or the lack there of, there’s no shortage of exciting films in September.
“IT”
Synopsis: When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
What You Need to Know: A sorry excuse of a Mainer, I’ve never read a Stephen King novel (boo, hiss, I know) but even I know that the cinematic adaptations of his work have been largely hit or miss. How better exemplified than this year with the TV adaption of “The Mist” receiving lukewarm reactions, to the dreadfully unnecessary “The Dark Tower” which leads up into the hotly anticipated (and positively buzzed about) “IT.” Horrifying just in the two-minute trailers alone, King’s epic seems to finally be getting the treatment its deserved with the only way to watch it being between your fingers.
Release Date: September 8th
“The Unknown Girl“
Synopsis: One evening after work hours, Jenny, a young doctor, allows the door buzzer at the small clinic where she works to go unanswered. It’s only later that she learns that the person ringing was an unidentified African woman found dead shortly after by the side of a road. Consumed by the thought that she is to blame, Jenny embarks on an obsessive crusade to discover who the anonymous woman was and to see to it that she is not forgotten.
What You Need to Know: From the two time Palme d’Or winners The Dardenne Brothers comes their latest with “The Unknown Girl.” Adèle Haenel has been remarked as having been revelatory in the leading role and while on the whole the reactions have been mixed, with many believing that perhaps the Dardenne had gone too stripped down, it’s still a film worth seeking out upon our release. Our critic had this to say at Cannes: “the somewhat drab aesthetic and almost vanishingly understated performance style dull the potential pleasures of a good old-fashioned whodunnit to roughly the luminosity of an above-average feature-length episode of a TV procedural.”
Release Date: September 8th
“mother!”
Synopsis: A couple’s ( Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) peaceful confines are terrorized upon the arrival of some unwelcomed guests.
What You Need to Know: It might seem as if the tag line for Darren Aronofsky’s latest picture, following the dead on arrival “Noah,” is that “not much is known about this mysterious picture.” What we do know is this: “mother!” returns Aronofsky to “Black Swan” territory, he’s assembled an all star cast, and Jennifer Lawrence looks amazing in the lead role. What remains to be seen is if all of the mystery and intrigue shrouding the picture will be worth it and just how terrifying the film ends up being.
Release Date: September 15th
