JAWAN
Easily my most anticipated film next month, Jawan is the second Shah Rukh Khan film released this year, after the highly entertaining PATHAAN. SRK, probably the most famous Bollywood star today, looks as great as ever as he stars in this masala-action epic. Directed by Atlee, one of Kollywood’s most successful action directors, this film will likely give the slowly deflating Hindi film industry a new southern Indian breath of fresh air. With potentially an exciting cameo in the film as well, I already know audiences will go crazy for this one.
OLDBOY
The new 4k restoration of Park Chan-wook’s 2002 masterpiece has been in cinemas all around the country the past few weeks, but it is excitingly hitting Charleston theaters this month. Gritty, dark, and twisty are a few words to describe this Korean revenge film, definitely one of the country’s best films that I’ve seen. The famous long-take hallway fight is a highlight, fans of the Netflix show DAREDEVIL’s second episode climax will be keen to know where the inspiration for that fight came from.
Fair Play
This American drama-thriller premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where afterward Netflix snagged the rights for a whopping $20 million. Chloe Domont’s directorial debut, early reactions say this is a film that will surely catch fire when it releases in the same way THE MENU and KNIVES OUT did when they were released, sharply written thrillers that will surely be the topic of many water cooler discussions when it premieres in theaters this month and comes to Netflix on October 13th.
BOTTOMS
This new Gen-Z teen sex comedy has been slowly building up a fanbase ever since its premiere at SXSW earlier this year. The second feature from SHIVA BABY director Emma Seligman, this film looks to be a riot, with the talented Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott starring. Hopefully this does well, as original comedies have been DOA at the box office for the past decade or so, with few exceptions, but with the buzz around this I’m sure it will be a success.
STOP MAKING SENSE
This new A24 distributed restoration of the classic 1984 Talking Heads concert film, this is a tremendously exciting and energetic capture of the rock band at their artistic peak. Probably the best concert film ever, this is returning to theaters on September 29th.
SKANDA: THE ATTACKER
Boyapati Srinu is one of the most interesting action directors working today. Interesting, as in completely insane. I would call him India’s Michael Bay, as most of his films are bad but at least there is an auteur behind the camera, with their own clear thematic styles and reflect the director’s personal sensibilities. This seems like another by-the-numbers Telugu blockbuster, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. His last film AKHANDA was honestly one of the funnest theatrical experiences I’ve had maybe ever, so I’ll be first in line for this one. Seriously, watch the trailer below and tell me you don’t want to see it.
UNDER THE LIGHT
The new film by legendary Chinese director Zhang Yimou (HERO, RAISE THE RED LANTERN) follows his Chinese New Year hit “Full River Red” earlier this year, which became the sixth highest-grossing Chinese film ever. Little is known about this film, other than it being described as an “urban crime drama”, and a trailer with no English subtitles being released. Despite mainland China’s strict film censorship policies, Yimou has seemed to adapt to the system and continues to make critically acclaimed films. Although this will likely only be playing in the US in major cities, this is still a film to look out for from the auteur.
CHAAVER
Malayalam (films from the southern state of Kerala) cinema is one of the most exciting local industries in the world right now, churning out both great popular cinema and art house hits. This is the third film from director Tinu Pappachan, whose first two films were also gritty action films, and gained critical acclaim. While I haven’t seen those films, he seems to be in the kind of “new wave” of Malayalam artsy action films spearheaded by the fantastic director Lijo Jose Pellissery. CHAAVER stars Kunchacko Boban and also features Antony Varghese, who starred in LJP’s Jallikattu and Angamaly Diaries, both films I would highly recommend. I’d say get on this Malayalam cinema (Mollywood) train before it’s cool. While it is scheduled for September 21st, no trailer has been released other than a quick motion graphic.
EL CONDE
The new film from Chilean director Pablo Larrain (NO, JACKIE) is a black comedy horror satire about the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, depicting him as a 250-year-old vampire wanting to die, but “the vultures around him won’t let him go without one last bite”. This odd film drops on Netflix on September 15th.
THE CREATOR
Lastly, maybe the sleeper hit of the month is this new film by GODZILLA (2014) director Gareth Edwards, his latest film since ROGUE ONE. The sci-fi action film stars John David Washington as Joshua, who is recruited to track down and kill “the creator”, the developer of advanced AI, and stop his mysterious world-ending weapon. I say sleeper hit because this month is pretty dry for blockbusters, and only carrying an $80 million budget with positive reception this could be an unexpected box office success story.
