September is traditionally one of the quietest months on the movie release calendar. The big summer movies have mostly left theaters and are heading rapidly towards the small screen, while the prestigious awards-season movies are yet to be released. The only notable new movies this week are the Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish’s comedy Night School and the horror movie Hellfest, plus Robert Redford’s final movie The Old Men and the Gun.
Perhaps the most anticipated film of the week, however, is on Netflix. Jeremy Saulnier's previous thrillers Blue Ruin and Green Room picked up many fans and much acclaim, and his next movie, the intense Hold the Dark, debuts on the streaming service this Friday. There's also the Netflix debut of the lavish fantasy A Wrinkle In Time, and Dwayne Johnson fans can buy this summer's action-packed Skyscraper.
The landscape for consuming movies has really changed over the past few years. The biggest films still debut in the old fashioned-way--in theaters, with home releases still a few months off. But with the rise of streaming and Video on Demand, we are increasingly seeing simultaneous releases for smaller movies, with films getting a limited theatrical release on the same day that they are available to buy and rent digitally.
The rise of Netflix and Amazon as major players in film production has also disrupted standard release patterns. Netflix in particular has attracted some major directors, and their movies will bypass theaters entirely and premiere worldwide on the streaming platform. And of course, movies that did get a theatrical release continue to move to digital platforms after a few months. This is a great way to catch up on movies you might have missed on the big screen--or are keen to rewatch. So here's our look at the best and most interesting new movies in theaters and available to watch at home this week.
Night School
Watch it in theaters on September 28
Girl's Trip was one of 2017's most successful comedies and provided the hugely talented Tiffany Haddish with her breakthrough role. Night School sees Haddish reunite with Girls Trip director Malcolm D Lee and teams her with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star Kevin Hart, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Haddish plays a teacher at a night school, who has some rather unorthodox methods to make her sure her adult students pass their exams. Hart is one of these reluctance students, and while the film doesn't exactly look subtle, it does look damn funny.
Hellfest
Watch it in theaters on September 28
October is nearly upon us and that means the month of Halloween--and horror movies. First out of the gate this year is Hellfest, which combines three of our favorite things--Halloween, slasher movies, and theme parks. The movie traps a bunch of unwitting visitors to a horror theme park, where a masked killed is erasing the boundary between haunted house fun and real-life terror. It's produced by genre veteran Gale-Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead, Aliens, The Terminator) and will hopefully deliver the gory goods.
The Old Men and the Gun
Watch it in theaters on September 28
Legendary actor Robert Redford has confirmed that this crime drama will be his final movie. It’s a moving, elegiac way for him to close his career and focuses on the real-life story of Forrest Tucker, a bank robber who was arrested at the age of 76, having performed more than 80 hold-ups in his life. The film is directed by David Lowery, who made last year's beautiful and moving fantasy A Ghost Story.
A Wrinkle in Time
Watch it on Netflix on September 25
This lavish fantasy adventure is based on the classic novel and directed by Ana DuVernay, best known for the 2014 drama Selma and the acclaimed documentary 13. It wasn’t exactly met with great reviews when it hit theaters back in March--GameSpot's review described it as "a disaster of galactic proportions, a two-hour jumble that sometimes borders on incoherent while striving for emotional greatness." But it's on Netflix from this week, so curious subscribers can decide for themselves.
Hold the Dark
Watch it on Netflix on September 28
Jeremy Saulnier's gripping thrillers Green Room and Blue Ruin proved that he is one of the most exciting young directors around, and Hold the Dark looks like it will continue his hot streak. It’s one of several upcoming movie from acclaimed directors that Netflix will be releasing over the next few months, continuing their move into serious film production. It stars Westworld's Jeffrey Wright as a retired tracker who is hired by a young mother to hunt the wolves that killed her young son. There is, of course, a lot more going on than that, so expect a seriously intense and violent--but unmissable--experience.
Skyscraper
Own it digitally on September 25
Dwayne Johnson has starred in no fewer than three big movies in the past year, but while Skyscraper wasn't as big a hit as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle or Rampage, it's definitely worth a look at home. Johnson is a retired FBI hostage rescue agent who now works as a security assessor for the world's biggest skyscraper, which inevitably becomes the target of some very dangerous terrorist-types. The movie's commercial disappointment means we're unlikely to get a sequel, but it's still undemanding fun and will tide fans of The Rock over until Hobbes and Shaw arrives next year.
Gotti
Own it digitally on September 25
There are bad films, and then there are films so bad that they become must-sees. The crime biopic Gotti gained notoriety earlier this year when it became one of only a handful of movies to hold a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, something which the producers subsequently used as part of their marketing campaign. It stars John Travolta as legendary mobster mobster John Gotti, and while we can't exactly recommended it, it has all the makings of future cult classic (for all the wrong reasons).
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rent it digitally on September 25
This year's Star Wars spin-off might have been a box office disappointment in comparison to other recent entries in the blockbuster franchise, but it’s certain to do great business at home, particularly amongst more casual Star Wars fans who skipped it in theaters. It's out to rent this week and remains a supremely entertaining space adventure. In his review, GameSpot's Michael Rougeau said that while Solo "wasn't an essential story to tell," it was nevertheless "surprisingly fun, [with] some really juicy surprises and Easter eggs that connect Solo to the larger Star Wars universe in delightfully unexpected ways."
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