New movies to watch in September

As the strikes continue and the studios refuse to negotiate and offer their employees fair working conditions, the fall release schedule is in flux. Dune: Part Two and Challengers have been pulled from fall releases and will come out in 2024. With other productions are delayed due to work stoppages and little advancement in negotiations, upcoming releases (particularly those with major stars) are on shaky ground. 

Among the heavy hitters still on schedule, first up, we have the Denzel Washington-helmed sequel The Equalizer 3 (Sept. 1). Robert McCall (Washington) is a retired government assassin living in Southern Italy who discovers his friends are controlled by local crime bosses. Will McCall face off against the mafia and protect his friends? You bet he will! The star-studded A Haunting in Venice (Sept. 15) is Kenneth Branagh’s third Hercule Poirot adaptation. Based on a lesser-known Agatha Christie story about a murder at a seance (Hallowe’en Party), the film’s supporting cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan and Tina Fey.

After an unexpectedly successful limited run, Bottoms (Sept. 1), the raunchy lesbian fight club comedy, will finally be available to watch in Montreal at the top of the month. (To read our Bottoms review, please click here.) For more LGBTQ+ content, Sophie Dupuis’s third feature, Solo (Sept. 15), stars Theodore Pellerin and is set in the world of drag. Pellerin plays Simon, a happy and ambitious drag queen who strikes up a complex and tumultuous relationship with a new boy at the club. Struggling to navigate a fresh romance and a reunion with his distant mother, Simon struggles to maintain control over his life. (To read our Solo review from TIFF, please click here.)

Spooky season is here! The Nun II (Sept. 8) is set in 1956 France; a priest is murdered, and it seems an evil is spreading. Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) once again comes face to face with a demonic force. Be sure to check out It Lives Inside (Sept. 22), a horror film about a high school student desperate to fit in, so she rejects her East Asian culture only to be pulled into an ancient evil. For something a little gorier, you can also check out Saw X (Sept. 29), which is set between the events of Saw and Saw II, and sees a sick and desperate John Kramer travel to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer — only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable.

Prefer comedy over spooky? My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (Sept. 8) sees the Portokalos family take a journey back to the homeland after the death of Gus. Nia Vardalos returns as writer, director and star, and early interviews promise that the film will feature, believe it or not, another Greek wedding. For more true-to-life comedy, Paul Dano helms Dumb Money (Sept. 22), based on the GameStop stock bump that pitted Redditors against hedge fund investors. Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, America Ferrara, Vincent D’Onofrio and Sebastian Stan are among the many big names in the star-heavy cast. (To read our Dumb Money review from TIFF, please click here.)

Two Canadian films coming to the big screen this month are Richelieu (Sept. 1) and Polaris (Sept. 1). Richelieu centres on the experiences of Ariane, who recently got a job as an interpreter for seasonal migrant workers to help pay off her debts. Witnessing workplace abuses, Ariane must decide how far she has to go to speak out against injustice. (To read our Richelieu interview, please click here.) Polaris has been described as Mad Max in the Arctic and is about a young girl raised by a polar bear who pursues her destiny after escaping capture by brutal warriors intent on killing her mother. (To read our Polaris interview, please click here.)

From director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One), The Creator (Sept. 29) is described as a post-apocalyptic thriller involving a future impacted by a war between humans and AI. It stars John David Washington, Allison Janney, Gemma Chan and Ken Watanabe.

Are you looking for a film to bring the whole family to? PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Sept. 29) hits screens by the end of the month. The PAW Patrol pups magically gain superpowers after a meteor strikes Adventure City. However, things become worse when Humdinger and a mad scientist steal their powers and turn themselves into supervillains.

For Montreal cinema showtimes, please click here.

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