For movie fans, September can be a strange month. The blockbusters of summer start to vanish from theaters in preparation for their impending DVD/Blu-ray releases, but the prestigious flicks that the awards circuit fawn over haven’t yet reached their wide release dates.
With the two of the prime film festivals – in Telluride, Colorado, and Venice – gearing up to start later this week, and the Toronto and New York festivals starting in September itself, this new month boasts an intriguing array of new releases, covering action, drama and comedy.
Sept. 5: “Forrest Gump,” IMAX re-release
Arguably no movie from the past 20 years exudes more classic American charm than “Forrest Gump,” the Best Picture-winning epic about an Alabama everyman (Tom Hanks, whose performance won him his second Oscar), who finds himself caught up in some of the most important events of the 20th century. It takes a special type of movie to get an IMAX one-week re-release (past examples include “Top Gun” and “The Wizard of Oz”). Undoubtedly, some of the war scenes and running sequences will look stunning.
Sept. 12: “The Drop”
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival shortly before its theatrical release, “The Drop” is the adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s short story “Animal Rescue.” Following a lonely bartender (Tom Hardy) whose rescue of a kidnapped pit bull puppy drags him into the Brooklyn crime underworld, this thriller’s trailer is both tantalizingly mysterious and entirely intriguing. The film also features Noomi Rapace (“Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows”) and the final feature film performance of the late James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”).
Sept. 19: “This is Where I Leave You”
Adapted from the novel by Jonathan Tropper (who also wrote the screenplay) and directed by Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum”), “This is Where I Leave You” focuses on the Foxman family, who reunites for a week to fulfill their late patriarch’s last wish. While the plot may sound familiar, the cast – led by Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver (“Girls,” “Inside Llewyn Davis”) and Corey Stoll (“House of Cards,” “Midnight in Paris”) – is sure to set this Toronto Film Festival premiere above the rest. The trailer echoes those of “The Family Stone” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” which is also a sign of confidence in its quality.
Sept. 26: “The Equalizer”
Denzel Washington’s reunion with director Antoine Fuqua (who directed Washington to a Best Actor Oscar in “Training Day”) remakes a 1980s TV series. Washington plays McCall, an enigmatic ex-military man who devotes himself to fighting injustice. When he befriends a young girl (Chlöe Grace Moretz), whom he saves from Russian mobsters, he goes on a one-man vigilante spree. While its trailer hints at the usual vigilante-on-the-run movie, the duo of Washington and Fuqua, plus a prestigious gala screening slot at the Toronto International Film Festival, makes “The Equalizer” an intriguing ending to September.
