SEPTEMBER FILMS WORTH SEEING

Looks of great stuff coming this fall. September is really the kickoff for awards season with Telluride and Toronto International in the near future.

September 1st
The American
George Clooney (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) plays an assassin who lays low in Italy after a heated mission in Sweden. While there, Clooney will most likely counter some threat against his life while having relations with beautiful women. American is directed by Anton Corbijn, who has mostly made his career by helming some pretty incredible music videos for Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, among others.

The trailers all look beautiful; the film really has a retro feel to it.




Check out more September films after the break.

September 17th
The Town
Ben Affleck stars and directs in a bank robbing film that takes place in his native Boston. Amazing cast in this one. Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Pete Postlethwaite (Amistad), Rebecca Hall (The Prestige), Jon "Don Draper" Hamm, Blake Likely (TV's Gossip Girl).

Hamm, who has dominated the small screen lately at the Emmy's and Golden Globe's. Here's hoping he takes that talent to more roles in theatres. Glad to see original Ben Affleck back after going severely downhill following his past relationship with Jennifer Lopez. He started slicking back his hair and taking roles that were completely wrong for him. Looks like he's showing off his Dazed and Confused, Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting talent.



I'm Still Here
Staying on the Affleck train, younger brother Casey directs crazy man accomplished actor Joaquin Phoenix (Two Lovers) in a documentary which chronicles Phoenix's retirement from into his second career as an aspiring hip-hop artist. Many probably remember his hilarious interview on David Letterman's The Late Show last year, where he was absolutely incoherent and Letterman truthfully didn't seem to know what was going on.

I still don't know if Phoenix is pulling a stunt, or if he's really just off his rocker, but it certainly makes for good entertainment.



September 24th
Waiting For Superman
Another documentary on the list, this one showcases the very frightening reality of the American public school system. If you have kids and live in the US, you should watch this one. I talked with a few families here in NYC and they told me about a lottery system that exists where a select few children get accepted into a certain school. In the trailer below, you'll see it for yourself. Truly scary stuff, where organizations think it's a good idea to limit the next generation's education. Superman is directed by Davis Guggenheim, who was the eye behind the Academy Award winning An Inconvenient Truth.



Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Gordon Gekko is back, twenty-three years after the first film. Gekko (Michael Douglas) has spent the last twenty plus years in jail, but he is released and jumps back into the game in an ever-changing world. Shia TheBeef (The Battle of Shaker Heights) plays Jacob, a young trader, reminiscent of Charlie Sheen's Bud Fox in the original. Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go) portrays Gekko's daughter Winnie, who is also the fiancée of Jacob. Oliver Stone of course is back to direct in the film that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.



Buried
Ryan Reynolds plays an Iraq-based contractor who is kidnapped and buried alive in a coffin with only a dying cell phone and 90 minutes of air remaining. From the trailer, all the scenes so far have been solely underground, meaning that it'll take an intriguing plot and powerful performance by Reynolds (Green Lantern) to maintain our attentions.