Fall Preview: September

With summer winding down, school is getting back into session, and the Fall weather creeping upon us, here at Killer Film, we’re still strolling into the movie theaters. September is stereotypically a “dumping” month, much like January, where studios with little faith in a film will release it. Sometimes, it’s also because they don’t know how to market a film, and feel it might fail in other, more competitive months. I think that might be true for some films, but it seems like some really good ones do come out. So let us at Killer Film, in our attempt at infinite wisdom, shuffle through each of these Fall months to see what you should, and shouldn’t see. To keep it all simple, we’ll state our reasonings on whether you should see it theatrically or not with a brief opinion and a See It or Skip It. Of course, we’ll be seeing everything so check back with our reviews to see if we we’re spot on, but now onto Fall Preview: September.

(September 4th)

Gamer

Jon: Mark Neveldine and Mark Taylor, the Crank directors, should give us a huge actionfest with this film. I think the film’s gimmick, where people can control real people in a video game-like environment, could be hit-or-miss, all depending on how they handle it. But I think seeing Butler, who can handle the action well, be pit against Michael C. Hall, is the draw for me. This could be a lot of fun, if Crank: High Voltage was any indication. See It

Donny: Mark Neveldine and Mark Taylor kick ass! I love the Crank flicks and am excited about this one as well. Also, Michael C. Hall is amazing in Dexter, so I’m pretty stoked to see him strut his stuff on the big screen with Mr. Butler. See It

Jon: Mike Judge just might be a cult comedy director no matter what he does. With the lack of faith Fox had in Idiocracy, it’s a sigh of relief seeing a Judge film back on the silver screen. Do I expect this to be a huge hit? No, but with the casting of actors like Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, clifton Collins, Jr., and a hippie-looking Ben Affleck, this might be the crossover film to win Judge some mainstream love. Office Space and Beavis and Butthead, while widely popular now, were cult titles. King of the Hill was his most mainstream thing, until this. See It

Donny: I love everything Judge does, so it won’t surprise anyone that knows me that I’ll be in the theatre (probably more than once) checking this one  out. See It

Carriers

Jon: Outside of the fact that this got some attention since it starred the new Captain Kirk, Chris Pine, I personally don’t know much about it, let alone saw a trailer. The premise seems standard; an epidemic causes some people to make some tough decisions, so I’m not expecting it to much more than a lucky direct-to-DVD film than got a (small) theatrical push, thanks to the casting of Pine. Skip It

Donny: I definitely want to check this one out.  Mainly because I enjoy outbreak pics, zombie pics, basically any picture with something deadly that is transferred from person to person.  Pine is only an added bonus. See It

9

Jon: It’s been a stellar year for animation, and what I’m curious about is, with the handful of potential Oscar-nominated animation films, is there a Pixar killer in this bunch? Perhaps 9. It looks original, fresh, and interesting, a rarity in animation, which seems to always copy the Disney formula. I expect this to be a fantastic film that will get Oscar nominated. See It

Donny: What Jon said. See It

Sorority Row

Jon: I never saw the original, but based on this trailer, this looks like a late-’90s I Know What You Did Last Summer copycat. The cast is made up of beautiful girls, but who cares? I personally hate girls in sororities anyway (sorry, if there was a reader who was a sorority chick, I’m still single by the way lol), but it is R-rated, and slasher have had a little resurgence this year, so maybe it could be watchable? Skip It

Donny: Phooey! Don’t listen to Jon people, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Well, about sorority girls anyway.  Sorority girls are hot! Sorority girls in a slasher movie are even hotter! See It

Jon: I don’t think Donny and I are in the Tyler Perry demographic, but having said that, this looks better than his other films. It should do pretty well, too. If you’re a fan, you’ll See It, but for the initiated or non-Perry fans, I doubt if this will win you over, so Skip It.

Donny: Once again, what Jon said. Skip It

September 18^th

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Jon: While this looks average, I know a lot of people who are really excited about this. Based on a popular kids book, I never knew of, I would recommend this to be seen only in 3D. Despite me thinking it looks average-maybe it’s the style of animation-I’m excited because this has been a great year for animation, and I hope it continues. See It

Donny: My kids are totally excited about seeing this flick, and that means that I’m totally excited about seeing it as well.  Any chance I get to take my kids to the movies and share my love for the silver screen with them I take it, and the flick doesn’t look terrible either. See It

Jennifer’s Body

Jon: What should be the biggest movie of all-time, since Ms. Megan Fox gets all sexy and naked, I’m excited for what Diablo cody will do with her second screenplay. We know she loves horror, as seen in Juno, with Ellen Page and Jason Bateman debating Dario Argento versus Hershel Gordon Lewis, so I expect a really fun, horror genre savvy film. Probably my most anticipated for this month. See It 

Donny: I’m not going to waste your time with a banter about why I want to see this flick, because I want to see it for the same reason that everyone wants to see it (yes girls, you too), Megan Fox. The girl is stupid hot, and Cody writes hot dialogue, so we should be in for a treat. See It

The Informant!

Jon: Does Steven Soderbergh ever sleep? Here’s his third film this year, after the epic Che and the underrated Girlfriend Experience. This looks like a Cohen Brothers film, with quirky characters and humor, dark humor, and I couldn’t be more stoked to see it. Matt Damon just might turn in a award-level performance here. Odd though, this is September release and not a later in the Fall release. See It

Donny: Soderbergh is quickly becoming the director to watch.  He churns out movies faster than Michelle Duggar pops out out children, yet somehow they are all stellar. He jumps from genre to genre and conquers them all.  So the fact that he’s doing a dark comedy with Matt Damon in the leading role is nothing short of awe inspiring. See It

Jon: A typical rom-com, that looks like it is trying to be something a bit more deep. Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston should have great chemistry, this should appeal to the female demographic, so I expect it to do good at the box office. Skip It

Donny: I’m not at all interested in this flick. If Megan Fox was in it, then maybe, although my wife will probably feel differently. So I’ll probably have to see it, but I’m gonna recommend that you skip it.

September 25^th

Astro Boy

Jon: Controversially adapted into CG, this anime/manga franchise is trying for some crossover appeal. I think it looks okay, actually, although I’m not a fan of this 70s character. The thing that has me worried, is the voice actors. But I’m going to See It anyway.

Donny: I have nothing to say other than I’m not at all interested in this flick.  Not at all. Skip It

Jon: Dark Castle has stopped the William Castle remakes, and is finally going after some neat original horror content. Orphan was a surprise this summer, and while this looks like a Thing clone, I thought that Orphan looked stupid. I’m hoping to be proving wrong again. Skip It until word comes out. 

Donny: Again people, ignore Jon’s rambling, he never likes anything.  Kate Beckinsale is smoking hot, and that combined with the fact that this is a sudo-horror flick should be reason enough to see it.

Jon: This has an Event Horizon vibe to it, and it looks pretty cool, then it looks generic. I get this odd vibe from it, and the casting of Dennis Quaid might hurt it to some, as my friend has said, “there’s no good movie when it stars Dennis Quaid”. Hmm, I’m hoping the flick is a groovy, nasty, little sci-fi yarn. See It

Donny: I am totally looking forward to seeing this flick.  Dennis Quaid kicks ass, no matter what Jon’s friend says.  Support science fiction horror on the big screen and see it.

Surrogates

Jon: Jonthan Mostow can handle drama and action together as seen in U-571 and Terminator 3, but I just get this Blade Runner feeling to it, and it turns me off. Already this month, we have a similar themed film in Gamer, and someone is going to hurt because of it. Skip It

Donny: We don’t get many science fiction flicks on the big screen these days, so I’m pretty stoked about this flick. It has a solid cast, a decent director, and robots that can have sex for you when your tired, so that even though your tired you can still perform at the top of your game. Hell yeah! See It

Jon: Here’s an art-house flick for this month, if you’re bored with action or horror. I’ve seen the trailer, and thought it was “meh”, but art-house films never have a good trailer to see you on it. This will appeal to the older crowd. This could be your start of Oscar season with this film. See It

Donny: I’m gonna let Jon and Jason handle this one. Basically because I could care less about fashion. Skip It

That’s September! Keep it here for our reviews all month long, and if you have any questions or comments, email us at donny@killerfilm.com and jon@killerfilm.com . Or take it to our new forums, and discuss everything movie-related! Also, you can follow us on Twitter: @Killer_Film