Nightbooks
Nightbooks is Netflix’s original fantasy horror family film directed by David Yarovesky and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis based on the 2018 horror-fantasy children’s book of the same name by J. A. White. The film stars Winslow Fegley, Lidya Jewett, Jess Brown, Miley Haik, Khiyla Aynne, Liam Couvion, and Krysten Ritter.
Synopsis: Alex (Fegley) is a creative young boy with a strong passion for writing scary stories. But when he’s labeled weird and rejected for what he likes, he swears he’ll never write again. That’s when an evil witch (Ritter), captures him in her magical apartment in New York City and demands that he tell her a new tale every night if he wants to stay alive.
To avoid certain death, Alex convinces her to let him tell her his original hair-raising scary tales as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place. Trapped inside with Lenore, the witch’s spiteful cat watching his every move, Alex meets Yasmin (Jewett), another young prisoner who has learned how to survive the witch’s wicked whims. With Yasmin’s help, Alex must learn to embrace what makes him unique — his love for scary stories — and rewrite his own destiny to break them free.
Nightbooks Netflix release date: September 15, 2021
My Son
My Son is Peacock’s original mystery crime drama film written and directed by Christian Carion. It is an English language remake of his 2017 French film of the same name. The film stars James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Gary Lewis, Tom Cullen, Jamie Mitchie, Robert Jack, and Owen Whitelaw. The R-rated thriller is scheduled to be released on the Peacock streaming service.
Synopsis: Driving in the heart of the Highlands, Edmond Murray receives a call from his ex-wife, in tears. Their 7-year-old son has gone missing from a campsite. Soon, it becomes clear that the child has been kidnapped, and the parents give way to despair.
My Son Peacock release date: September 15, 2021.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is Searchlight Pictures’ biographical drama directed by Michael Showalter and written by Abe Sylvia based on the 2000 documentary of the same name by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. This film is an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall, and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.
The film depicts the history of controversial televangelists Tammy Faye Bakker and Jim Bakker, as portrayed by Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield. Cherry Jones, Fredric Lehne, Louis Cancelmi, Sam Jaeger, Gabriel Olds, Mark Wystrach, Randy Havens, Chandler Head, and Vincent D’Onofrio also star. Chastain also produces the film.
Synopsis: In the 1970s and 80s, Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim Bakker, rose from humble beginnings to create the world’s largest religious broadcasting network and theme park, and were revered for their message of love, acceptance, and prosperity. Tammy Faye was legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life. However, it wasn’t long before financial improprieties, scheming rivals, and scandal toppled their carefully constructed empire.
This film aims to be an awards contender movie. It is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2021. Then it will have a wide theatrical release and it is a must-watch film.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye release date: September 17, 2021
Cry Macho
Cry Macho is Warner Bros. neo-Western drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood as an adaptation of the 1975 novel of the same name by N. Richard Nash. It stars Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam, Eduardo Minett, Natalia Traven, Fernanda Urrejola, Horacio Garcia Rojas, Alexandra Ruddy, Ana Rey, and Paul Lincoln Alayo.
The film follows Mike Milo (Eastwood), a former rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who, in 1979, takes a job from an ex-boss (Yoakam) to bring the man’s young son (Minett) home from Mexico. Forced to take the backroads on their way to Texas, the unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world-weary horseman finds unexpected connections and his own sense of redemption.
This is one of the WB films of this year that is following the HBO Max release strategy. The uplifting and poignant drama is scheduled to be released in theaters worldwide and also have a month-long simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service. This is a must-watch for western fans and Clint Eastwood fans.
Cry Macho (HBO Max & theatrical) release date: September 17, 2021
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is 20th Century Studios’ biographical coming-of-age musical comedy-drama directed by Jonathan Butterell, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tom MacRae based on the stage musical of the same name which is inspired by true events.
The film stars newcomer Max Harwood in the title role and also Sarah Lancashire, Lauren Patel, Shobna Gulati, Ralph Ineson, Adeel Akhtar, Samuel Bottomley, Sharon Horgan, and Richard E. Grant.
Synopsis: Jamie New is a 16-year-old and doesn’t quite fit in. Instead of pursuing a “real” career, he dreams of becoming a proud drag queen. Uncertain about his future, Jamie knows one thing for sure: he is going to be a sensation. His best friend Pritti (Patel) and his loving mum (Lancashire) shower him with endless support, while local drag legend Miss Loco Chanelle (Grant) mentors him toward his debut stage performance.
But Jamie also has to contend with an unsupportive father (Ineson), an uninspired careers advisor (Horgan), and some ignorant school kids who attempt to rain on his sensational parade. In rousing and colorful musical numbers, Jamie and his community inspire one another to overcome prejudice, be more accepting, and to step out of the darkness into the spotlight.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is skipping theatres and is scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video, following delays of a planned theatrical release by 20th Century Studios, due to the pandemic. It premiered at the Frameline Film Festival on 12 June 2021, as part of their San Francisco Pride celebration. It so far holds an 86% RT score based on 7 reviews and it is a must-watch film.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Amazon Prime release date: September 17, 2021
Blue Bayou
Blue Bayou is Focus Features’ drama film written and directed by Justin Chon (Gook). The film stars Chon, Alicia Vikander, Mark O’Brien, Linh Dan Pham, Sydney Kowalske, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Emory Cohen.
Synopsis: It is the moving and timely story of a uniquely American family fighting for their future. Antonio LeBlanc (Chon), a Korean adoptee raised in a small town in the Louisiana bayou, is married to the love of his life Kathy (Vikander), and step-dad to their beloved daughter Jessie. Struggling to make a better life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past when he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home.
Blue Bayou had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 13, 2021. The R-rated drama so far holds a 64% RT score based on 11 reviews. It is scheduled to have a limited theatrical release.
Blue Bayou release date: September 17, 2021
Prisoners of the Ghostland
Prisoners of the Ghostland is RLJE Films’ neo-noir western action comedy thriller film directed by Sion Sono, from a script by Aaron Hendry and Reza Sixo Safai. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes, Tak Sakaguchi, and Bill Moseley.
Synopsis: In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber (Cage) is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor (Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Boutella) has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman–and his own path to redemption.
The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021. The action thriller so far holds a 75% RT score based on 75 reviews. The film will be released in limited theaters and on video on demand simultaneously.
Prisoners of the Ghostland VOD release date: September 17, 2021
Best Sellers
Best Sellers is Screen Media Films’ comedy-drama film directed by Lina Roessler with written by Anthony Grieco. It stars Michael Caine, Aubrey Plaza, Scott Speedman, Ellen Wong, Veronica Ferres, and Cary Elwes. The film will be released in limited theaters and on video on demand simultaneously.
Synopsis: Lucy Standbridge (Plaza) has inherited her father’s publishing house, and the ambitious would-be editor has nearly sunk it with failing titles. She discovers she is owed a book by Harris Shaw (Caine), a reclusive, cantankerous, booze-addled retired author who originally put the company on the map decades earlier. In a last-ditch effort to save the company, Lucy and Harris release his new book and embark on a book tour from hell that changes them both in ways they didn’t expect.
Best Sellers VOD release date: September 17, 2021
Copshop
Copshop is Open Road Films’ action crime thriller film directed by Joe Carnahan and written by Kurt McLeod and Carnahan, based on a story by McLeod and Mark Williams. The film, which stars Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, Ryan O’Nan, and Toby Huss, is set in a small-town police station that becomes the battleground between a hitman, a rookie cop, and a con artist. The R-rated action flick is set for a wide theatrical release.
Synopsis: Screaming through the Nevada desert in a bullet-ridden Crown Vic, wily con artist Teddy Murretto hatches (Grillo) a desperate plan to hide out from lethal hitman Bob Viddick (Butler): He sucker-punches rookie officer Valerie Young (Louder) to get himself arrested and locked up in a small-town police station. But jail can’t protect Murretto for long. Viddick schemes his own way into detention, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can complete his mission. When the arrival of a competing assassin ignites all-out mayhem, mounting threats force Viddick to get creative if he wants to finish the job and escape the explosive situation. And Young finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
Copshop release date: September 17, 2021
The Nowhere Inn
The Nowhere Inn is IFC Films’ mockumentary psychological thriller-comedy musical film, directed by Bill Benz, from a screenplay by Annie Clark (a.k.a. GRAMMY award-winning artist St. Vincent) and Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney). It stars Clark, Brownstein, and Dakota Johnson as themselves.
Synopsis: From real-life friends, Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein comes the metafictional account of two creative forces banding together to make a documentary about St. Vincent’s music, touring life, and on-stage persona. But they quickly discover unpredictable forces lurking within the subject and filmmaker that threaten to derail the friendship, the project, and the duo’s creative lives.
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. The comedy-thriller holds a 76% RT score based on 17 reviews. The film will be released in limited theaters and on video on demand simultaneously.
The Nowhere Inn VOD release date: September 17, 2021
Dear Evan Hansen
Dear Evan Hansen is Universal Pictures’ coming-of-age musical teen drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky and adapted for the screen by Steven Levenson from his and Benj Pasek & Justin Paul’s sensational 2015 stage musical of the same name.
The film stars Ben Platt, reprising his performance in the title role, which he originated on stage as an anxious, isolated high schooler aching for understanding and belonging amid the chaos and cruelty of the social-media age. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Danny Pino, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams.
Synopsis: Evan Hansen, a high school student with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), has a therapeutic self-intended letter stolen by a classmate named Connor Murphy, who later dies by suicide. Connor’s family mistakes the letter as a letter sent to Evan by Connor. Evan inserts himself into the boy’s past, throwing him into a series of lies and confrontational events.
Dear Evan Hansen joins the growing list of movies that are adapted from famous plays the recent ones are Hamilton, The Prom, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Blithe Spirit, The Boys in the Band, and In the Heights. It is from the songwriters of La La Land and The Greatest Showman. The film is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, to be followed by a wide release in theatres. This is a must-watch film.
Dear Evan Hansen release date: September 24, 2021
The Starling
The Starling is Netflix’s original fantasy comedy-drama directed and produced by Theodore Melfi and written by Matt Harris. It stars Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Kevin Kline, Timothy Olyphant, Daveed Diggs, Skyler Gisondo, Laura Harrier, Rosalind Chao, Elisabeth Rohm, Emily Tremaine, Kimberly Quinn, and Loretta Devine.
Synopsis: A married couple suffers a hardship, leading Jack (O’Dowd) to head off to deal with his grief while Lilly (McCarthy) remains in the “real” world, dealing with her own guilt. As if Lilly’s troubles weren’t bad enough, a starling that has nested in her backyard begins to harass and attack her and she becomes comically obsessed with killing it. Lilly eventually finds guidance from Larry (Kline), a quirky psychologist-turned-veterinarian with a troubled past of his own. The two form a unique and unlikely friendship as they each help the other to explore, acknowledge and confront their problems, and rediscover their capacity for love.
It is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2021. It is scheduled to be released in a limited release on September 17, before streaming on Netflix.
The Starling Netflix release date: September 24, 2021
Which September movies are you most excited about? Which movies will you be seeing during the month of September? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media and be sure to come back to The Illuminerdi for more movie news!
