With the end of summer comes the end of the superhero and mega-blockbuster season. And with the beginning of fall comes the arrival of prestige pictures and potential Oscar winners. A slew of socially and culturally relevant films, as well as a few big-budget stragglers, are coming this September and October. Here are a few worth checking out:
"Snowden," Sept. 16
Oliver Stone’s "Snowden" follows the true story of government contractor Edward Snowden’s leaking of classified documents that exposed domestic spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). The screenplay,by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald, is based on Luke Harding’s second-hand account "The Snowden Files" (2014) as well as "Time of the Octopus" (2014), a fictional novel by Snowden’s Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena.Stone also directed the film, so expect "Snowden" to follow in the footsteps of his previous works, such as "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) and "Platoon (1986)," in being strongly anti-war and critical of U.S. foreign policy. Stone is never afraid to embellish the facts in favor of developing the narrative, so don’t count on this to be the definitive account of the story (look to 2014’s Oscar-winning documentary "Citizenfour" for that). Nevertheless, "Snowden" will almost certainly be a well-crafted film from the Oscar-winning writer-director that effectively conveys the ideas, if not the details.
"Queen of Katwe," Sept. 23
From Oscar-nominated director Mira Nair and Walt Disney Pictures, "Queen of Katwe" depicts the true story of Phiona Mutesi, Uganda’s first woman Candidate Master, a title awarded by the World Chess Federation. The film stars David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, who won an Oscar for her role in "12 Years a Slave" (2013), as well as Madina Nalwanga as Mutesi.
"Magnificent Seven," Sept. 23
A remake of the John Sturges Western classic of the same name, which itself is a remake of Kurosawa’s masterpiece "Seven Samurai" (1954), this update was penned by Nic Pizzolato of "True Detective" (2014-present) fame with action film scribe Richard Wenk and directed by Anton Fuqua, who was also at the helm of "Training Day" (2001).It is Fuqua’s third film with star Denzel Washington, as they likely hope to repeat the success of "Training Day" and "The Equalizer" (2014), with fellow stars Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.
"Deepwater Horizon," Sept. 30
This telling of the 2010 explosion aboard British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig is based on David Barstow’s New York Times article and stars Mark Wahlberg as real-life rig worker Mike Williams, with Kurt Russell and John Malkovich playing other members of the crew. Producer Jeff Skoll’s company Participant Media gravitates toward socially conscious stories, while Wahlberg and director Peter Berg are both drawn to working-class characters and stories. "Deepwater Horizon" will likely center on rig workers’ objections to corporate negligence and their heroics in the face of the disaster, which should be rendered with pyrotechnic brilliance by Berg in the vein of his recent films "Lone Survivor" (2014) and "Battleship" (2012).
"American Honey," Sept. 30
This Cannes Jury Prize winner (the third for British director Andrea Arnold) has been hailed as a modern version of Harmony Korine’s "Kids" (1995), which generated massive controversy due to its graphic depictions of adolescent sex and drug use. Expect this film to explore similar topics as it depicts a young magazine sales crew as they travel across the country. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough and newcomer Sasha Lane. Limited release.
"The Girl on the Train," Oct. 7
Adapted from the Paula Hawkins mega-bestseller novel by Erin Cressida Wilson, writer of the BDSM dramedy "Secretary" (2002), "The Girl on the Train" stars Emily Blunt as a divorced alcoholic who believes she has witnessed a murder from her vantage point on a New York City commuter train. The film co-stars Rebecca Ferguson, who made waves for her breakout performance in "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" (2015).
"The Birth of a Nation," Oct. 7
Written by, directed by and starring Nate Parker, "The Birth of a Nation" takes its name from D.W. Griffith’s infamous Ku Klux Klan epic "Birth of a Nation" (1915) and tells the story of Nat Turner’s Rebellion, an 1831 slave uprising that sparked a brutal backlash across the American South. The film got huge buzz at Sundance and set a festival record for the sale of its distribution rights at $17.5 million. However, the revelation of a 1999 rape charge against Parker and co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin, as well as Parker’s statements that he would not play a gay character because it would be “emasculating," have cast a cloud over the film’s release. Even so, the film’s stark portrayals of the brutality of slavery and its confrontation of the audience with the continuing issues of race and violence make it a potentially landmark film.
"The 13th," Oct. 7
"Selma" (2014) director Ava Duvernay directs this documentary -- whose title refers to the 13th Amendment -- that explores the American prison system and the effects of race on incarceration. The film was recently selected to open the New York Film Festival and will be available on Netflix and in specialty theaters.
"Moonlight," Oct. 21
The feature-film debut of writer-director Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight" stars Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders and Alex Hibbert as Chiron, a gay black man grappling with his faith and sexuality. The film follows Chiron at three points in his life, each portrayed by one of the actors.The film holds a perfect score from reviewers at press time.Limited release.
"Inferno," Oct. 21
The third adaptation of the Robert Langdon series of novels by Dan Brown, this latest entry also stars Tom Hanks with Ron Howard directing. Felicity Jones co-stars in the thriller, which sees Hanks’ Langdon on the run as he recovers from amnesia and tries to solve an ancient riddle with roots in Dante’s epic poem "Inferno."
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