It is the first weekend of September, which means the summer season is officially over. While it will take some time for the big fall films to kick in, we still have some average budget studio films coming our way. Let’s check them out.
Peppermint
Directed by: Pierre Morel
With: Kate McKinnon, Mila Kunis, Justin Theroux, and Sam Heughan
What is it about? A revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they stole from her.
Heads Up: A revenge thriller from the director of Taken and starring Jennifer Garner who started her career playing these kind of roles on TV’s Alias and in the Daredevil movie as Electra. Don’t expect high art, only some good old-fashion killing bad guys.
The Nun
Directed by: Corin Hardy
With: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, and Jonas Bloquet
What is it about? A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.
Heads Up? The third spin-off of The Conjuring universe after two Annabelle films. The Nun made her debut in the second Conjuring film and it was one of the creepiest aspects about it. I expect this one to be spooky, but prequels of horror films rarely work. That’s why I’m not too optimistic about this one.
Alpha
Directed by: Albert Hughes
With: Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Morgan Freeman
What is it about? In the prehistoric past, a young man struggles to return home after being separated from his tribe during a buffalo hunt. He finds a similarly lost wolf companion and starts a friendship that would change humanity.
Heads Up? Director Albert Hughes is half of the Hughes Brothers who directed From Hell and The Book of Eli. Alpha has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, but our critics disagree with that, as some of them did see it for an advance screening, and they think aside from visual spectacle, the movie fails miserably in storytelling. It also failed to register at the US box-office.
The Mercy
Directed by: James Marsh
With: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, and David Thewlis
What is it about? The incredible story of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst and his solo attempt to circumnavigate the globe. The struggles he confronted on the journey while his family awaited his return is one of the most enduring mysteries of recent times.
Heads Up? On paper, this film has prestige and Oscar bait written all over it. It’s based on true events, starring two Oscar-winning British thespians, and directed by an Oscar-winning director James Marsh (Man on Wire, The Theory of Everything), so the fact that it is dumped in September should tell you something. The reviews are actually decent, but they are not good enough for it to show up at the awards season. If you are in the mood for tear-jerking drama then by all means, otherwise I suggest you wait for it to come out for home-viewing.
Paltan
Directed by: J.P. Dutta
With: Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, and Abdul Quadir Amin
What is it about? Based on the Nathu La military clashes of 1967 which took place along the Sikkim border, Paltan showcases an untold story of the Indian forces facing off in an intense battle to ward off a Chinese infiltration.
Heads Up? A J. P. Dutta movie release with hardly any fanfare? Oh how the mighty fall. The complete lack of awareness and anticipation can’t be good, especially for a big-budget multi-starrer. If you hadn’t heard about this movie’s release until now, there is no reason to start now.
