The September Issue

The dog days of the summer movie season have been getting me down lately.  Last weeks offerings were wimpy and pathetic; and the unholyness of a film called Vampire Suck (from the acclaimed filmmakers of atrocities like Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans) making more money than the joyous and inventive Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is enough for me to scream.  And while I don't rule the movie universe, evident by the box office tallies for wonderful offerings like Scott Pilgrim, The Kids Are All Right and Animal Kingdom, I choose to look ahead to next month, rather than get jazzed about Piranha 3-D, or the greedily produced nine extra minutes of this weekend's Avatar: Special Edition; the film is only eight months old, and already made over $2 billion, is a reissue really needed?

But on to (hopefully) happier movie events, and the month of September (known for tremendous tragedy, as well as my birth) looks, at the very least on paper like it could be solid.  Here's 12 films next month I'm looking forward to-- be warned: if I like any of them, history has learned that's a kiss of death for box office profitability.  I'd like to apologize in advance to the distributors.

OPENING SEPTEMBER 3rd:

• The American- George Clooney stars as an assassin taking one last job in what looks like might be an exciting noir.  With the Clooney factor, there's always a bit of Oscar buzz (since breaking bread with AMPAS in 2005 for Good Night, and Good Luck, he's received three nominations for acting: Syriana, for which in won, Michael Clayton, and last years Up in the Air.)  If nothing else, the pedigree looks solid-- its director Anton Corbjin's follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 Joy Division biopic Control, and its written by Rowan Jaffe, son of Roland (The Killing Fields.)

• A Woman A Gun and a Noodle Shop- Director Zhang Yimou's remake of the Coen Bros. Blood Simple.  Yimou has wowed before: Hero, House of Flying Daggers, the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics.  The trailer looks cool:

 

OPENING SEPTEMBER 17th:
 

• Catfish- A sensation at this years Sundance Film Festival, that based at least on the trailer looks like it could very well be the creepiest film of 2010.  I mean that in a good way; I think...I don't quite get it.  Is it an Internet cautionary tale?  All I can think of is I want to see it, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

 

• Easy A- This one could go either way, I see it already, however what interests me about this teen comedy remake of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is not because it could potentially be the last on screen appearance of Amanda Bynes (rumored to be retiring from acting), but the eclectic and wondrously gifted adult actors including Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Hayden Church and Lisa Kudrow.  Certainly not all of these fine actors would agree to take part if the script wasn't any good, right?  It could be teen comedy good, like Mean Girls or Heathers, not the the countless dreck that permeates the movie theaters often, right?  Also, leading lady Emma Stone is, I believe, a fairly strong light comedienne and might bring the right bite here. 

• Never Let Me Go- I'm already kind of sick of the trailer, and certainly was no fan of director Mark Romanek's debut feature (One Hour Photo), but a prime Fox Searchlight Oscar bid can never really be ignored.  And the pedigreed cast is off the chart with Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, newcomer Andrew Garfield (already a person of interest, due to that little Spider-man movie he'll appear in), plus supporting roles by Sally Hawkins (criminally un-Oscared for Happy-Go-Lucky) and Charlotte Rampling.  Primp English setting mixed with creepy sci-fi clone premise-- could be good.

• Jack Goes Boating- Another Sundance hit, this one starring and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.  I'm a bit torn here, because the premise seems a bit twee: mid-life crisis loser falls for pretty girl, played by Amy Ryan.  But reviews were solid from Sundance, it could be good.

• The Town- Ben Affleck stars, but more importantly returns to directing after the solid debut of Gone, Baby, Gone.  This one too is a Bostonian crime drama, but the acting, at least from the trailer looks terrific.  It's easy to knock on Affleck, and I've done my fair share of it-- especially post-Good Will Hunting, with the cocksure pose, but whats admirable after his more than competent first film behind the camera is that Affleck surrounds the film with an exciting and super talented cast.  Center stage highlight for me is Rebecca Hall-- after Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Please Give, I'll follow her anywhere, at least now.  Plus Jeremy Renner, John Hamm, Chris Cooper and Pete Postlewaite-- that's a good cast.

OPENING SEPTEMBER 24th:

• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps- Alright, I'm almost convinced I'm not going to like this one; Oliver Stone and myself have never quite seen eye to eye, even during his hot streaks, but here is a curiosity project, just because everything about seems kind of mismatched and I think at the very least it could wind up being a brilliant disaster.  Michael Douglas returns in his Oscar-winning role of Gordon Gecko, now released from prison.  Supporting him are Shia LeBeof, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin and Frank Langella.

• Buried- Another Sundance hit-- this one is the famous Ryan Reynolds trapped in a box picture.  Could be good\creepy\claustrophobic fun.  Or a monotonous tease of a movie; either way I'm officially curious.

 
 

• Howl- The James Franco picture that likely won't merit any Academy consideration (that might be 127 Hours instead), but perhaps the more notable at least when thinking about the range of the decidedly bizarrely fascinating actor.  Here's he's channeling Allen Ginsberg during the obscenity hearing of the poem, "Howl."

• Waiting for Superman- Davis Guggenheim, the documentary filmmaker behind An Inconvenient Truth and It Might Get Loud returns with what appears to be a searing indictment of the our country's education system.  "Bout time! 

• You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger- Woody Allen's latest starring Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin.  Who knows anything anymore on terms of quality with Mr. Allen; all I know is that for a brief, but important time in my youth, Annie Hall and Manhattan were scripture to me, and thus I return every time, I just have too...

I'm excited...