September’s Top Movies

September 3

• Booksmart

  In this fresh, unfiltered modern comedy, best friends and academic overachievers Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) realize they’ve missed out on pretty much all fun during high school. So, on the eve of graduation, they decide to make up for lost time with one wild adventure in this coming-of-age story about the meaningful bonds we create. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut. Vitals: Director: Olivia Wilde. Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $22.680 million, Fox. Extras: Audio commentary by Olivia Wilde, “Booksmart: The Next Best High School Comedy,” “Pliés and Jazz Hands: The Dance Fantasy,” “Dressing Booksmart,” deleted scenes, gallery.

• Men in Black: International

  The Men in Black have expanded to cover the globe but so have the villains of the universe. To keep everyone safe, decorated Agent H and determined rookie M join forces — an unlikely pairing that just might work. When aliens that can take the form of any human arrive on Earth, H and M embark on a globe-trotting adventure to save the agency — and ultimately the world — from their mischievous plans. And they must tackle a mole in the Men in Black organization. Vitals: Director: F. Gary Gray. Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Les Twins: Laurent Bourgeois & Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 114 min., Action Adventure, Box office gross: $79.289 million, Sony. Extras: Gag Reel; “New Recruits, Classic Suits” cast featurette; “Let’s Do This! Inside the Action & Stunts”; “Look Right Here: Gadgets, Weapons, & Rides”; “Expanding the Universe of MIB” featurette with international locations, aliens and more as the universe expands; “Frank & Pawny’s Peanut Gallery”; “Les Twins Leave It on the Floor”: dance sensations Les Twins show off their signature style and how they devised their alien moves; “In Case You’ve Been Neuralyzed: MIB Recap” rapid-fire recap of the MIB franchise; “The MIB Meet the NBA.” Blu-ray adds Deleted scenes; “Alien-cestry.com”: Everyone has a little alien in them. Trace your roots with Alien-cestry.com; “Neuralyzer: Like It Never Even Happened”: As NOT seen on Alien TV, order now to get your very own Neuralyzer and erase life’s embarrassing moments like a pro.

• Ma

  Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer) is a lonely woman who keeps to herself in a quiet Ohio town. When local teenager Maggie (Diana Silvers) asks Sue Ann to buy booze for her group of friends, she decides to make some new friends of her own and offers her basement for the kids to party. They just have to follow a few simple house rules: Someone has to stay sober, don’t curse, never go upstairs and call her “Ma.” As Ma’s hospitality curdles into obsession, her place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on earth. Vitals: Director: Tate Taylor. Stars: Octavia Spencer, Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Corey Fogelmanis and Luke Evans. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Horror Thriller, Box office gross: $43.315 million, Universal. Extras: Alternate ending; “Creating Sue Ann” look at the character of Sue Ann, and how trauma from people’s past can manifest itself later in life; “Party at Ma’s” behind-the-scenes featurette; deleted scenes, theatrical trailer.

 

September 10

• Aladdin (2019)

  Live-action adaptation of the studio’s animated classic. A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true. Vitals: Director: Guy Ritchie . Stars: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, Numan Acar .2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 128 min., Family, Box office gross: $352.774 million, Disney. Blu-ray extras: Aladdin’s Video Journal: A New Fantastic Point Of View”; deleted song: “Desert Moon”; “Guy Ritchie: A Cinematic Genie”; “A Friend Like Genie”; six deleted scenes; bloopers; three music videos: “Speechless” by Naomi Scott, “A Whole New World” by ZAYN and Zhavia Ward and A Whole New World” (“Un Mundo Ideal”) by ZAYN and Becky G.

• The Dead Don’t Die

  In the sleepy small town of Centerville, something is not quite right. The moon hangs large and low in the sky, the hours of daylight are becoming unpredictable and animals are beginning to exhibit unusual behavior. No one foresees the strangest and most dangerous repercussion that will soon start plaguing the town: The dead rise from their graves and savagely attack and feast on the living — and the citizens must battle for their survival. Jim Jarmusch’s black comedy riff on zombie films, politics and pop culture. Vitals: Director: Jim Jarmusch. Stars: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Horror Comedy, Box office gross: $6.563 million, Universal. Extras: “Bill Murray: Zombie Hunting Action Star”; “Behind-the-Scenes of The Dead Don’t Die”; “Stick Together”: Jim Jarmusch’s frequent collaborators talk about his filmmaking style, and what makes “The Dead Don’t Die” stand out from other zombie films.

• John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

  In this third installment of the adrenaline-fueled action franchise, skilled assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn. Vitals: Director: Chad Stahelski. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Marc Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 130 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $170.462 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Parabellum: Legacy of the High Table” featurette; “Excommunicado” featurette; theatrical trailers; “John Wick Hex Game” trailer; “Behind the Scenes of John Wick Hex” featurette. Blu-ray adds “Check Your Sights” featurette; “Saddle Up Wick” featurette; “Bikes, Blades, Bridges, and Bits” featurette; “Continental in the Desert” featurette; “Dog Fu” featurette; “House of Transparency” featurette; “Shot by Shot” featurette.

• Echo in the Canyon

  Celebrates the explosion of popular music that came out of Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon in the mid-1960s as folk went electric and The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and The Mamas and the Papas gave birth to the California Sound. 1965-67 was a moment when bands came to L.A. to emulate The Beatles, and Laurel Canyon emerged as a hotbed of creativity and collaboration for a new generation of musicians who would soon put an indelible stamp on American popular music. Featuring musician Jakob Dylan as interviewer, the film explores the Laurel Canyon scene via never-before-heard personal details behind the bands and their songs, and how that music continues to inspire listeners and musicians today. Contains candid conversations and performances with Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), Michelle Phillips (The Mamas and the Papas), Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield), David Crosby, Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful), their contemporaries Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, and slightly younger followers Jackson Browne and Tom Petty (in his last filmed interview). Also interviewed are contemporary musicians influenced by their music such as Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor and Norah Jones. Vitals: Director:. Stars:. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 82 min., Documentary, Box office gross: $3.285 million, Greenwich Entertainment.

 

September 17

• X-Men: Dark Phoenix

  During a rescue mission in space, Jean Grey s transformed into the dark and ancient infinitely powerful and dangerous DARK PHOENIX. This power has destroyed everything it comes in contact with, until her. Now that this power is becoming unstable, she releases it with destruction and anger. Now that this foreign power is consuming her, and the world is threatened, the X-Men have to face an important truth: they must save either the world, or their friend who threatens it. Vitals: Director: Simon Kinberg. Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 133 min., Action-Adventure, Box office gross: $65, 158 million, Fox. Extras: Five deleted scenes, “Rise of the Phoenix: The Making of Dark Phoenix”(five-part documentary), “How to Fly Your Jet to Space With Beast,” audio commentary by director Simon Kinberg and producer Hutch Parker.

 

September 24

• Yesterday

  Jack Malik was just another struggling songwriter .. .but that was yesterday. After a mysterious blackout, Jack (Himesh Patel) discovers he is the only person on Earth who remembers The Beatles! As he rockets to fame by passing off the Fab Four’s songs as his own, Jack risks losing Ellie (Lily James) – the one person who has loved him and believed in him from the start. Vitals: Director: Danny Boyle. Stars: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 116 min., Romance Fantasy Music, Box office gross: $72.662 million, Universal. Extras: Alternate opening; alternate ending; 12 deleted scenes; gag reel; “Live at Abbey Road Studios” in which Himesh Patel perform “Yesterday,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “Let it Be”; “Ed Sheeran: From Stadium to Screen”; “Agent of Comedy: Kate McKinnon”; “A Talented Duo” featurette about screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Danny Boyle, who team up for the first time; “Playing for Real” featurette about the re-interpreting of the Beatles songs by Himesh Patel, who spent months learning to play the songs perfectly as the production decided to take the more challenging route of recording the musical numbers live on set; “Soul Mates” love story featurette; “A Conversation With Richard & Ed” (long-term friends Richard Curtis and Ed Sheeran); feature commentary with Boyle and Richard Curtis.

• Pavarotti

  A wonderfully intimate portrait of Luciano Pavarotti, the most beloved opera singer of all time. Interweaving Pavarotti’s genre-defining performances with revealing, never-before-seen footage, the documentary is a movie experience as singularly entertaining as its legendary subject. Pavarotti quickly gained notoriety worldwide for singing the aria “Nessun dorma” at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Featuring testimonies from his fellow Three Tenors members Jose Carreras and Plácido Domingo, the film also includes archive footage featuring Spike Lee, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, and Stevie Wonder. Vitals: Director: Ron Howard. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 115 min., Documentary, Box office gross: $4.600 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Friends of Pavarotti” featurette, “The Entertainer” featurette, “Ron Howard on Pavarotti” featurette.

• Shaft (2019)

  JJ, aka John Shaft Jr. (Jessie T. Usher), may be a cybersecurity expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly. And while JJ’s own FBI analyst’s badge may clash with his dad’s trademark leather duster, there’s no denying family. Besides, Shaft’s got an agenda of his own, and a score to settle that’s professional and personal. Vitals: Director: Tim Story. Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Regina Hall, Jessie T. Usher, Richard Roundtree, Avan Jogia, Alexandra Shipp, Matt Lauria, Luna Lauren Velez, Method Man. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Action, Box office gross: $21.346 million, Warner. Extras: TBA.

• Child’s Play (2019)

  Re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic. Realizing that her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) is lonely, Karen (Aubrey Plaza) buys him a seemingly innocent, AI-enhanced Buddi doll that he names Chucky. But Chucky’s safety restrictions have been disabled, and soon, a gruesome series of events unfolds. Unable to convince his mom that the doll is responsible for the carnage, Andy becomes the target of the bloodthirsty Chucky. Vitals: Director: Lars Klevberg. Stars: Voice of Mark Hamill, Aubrey Plaza, Tim Matheson, Brian Tyree Henry, Gabriel Bateman. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Horror, Box office gross: $29.208 million, Fox. Extras: “The Making of Child’s Play,” “Bringing Child’s Play’s Chucky to Life,” soundtrack trailer, “Toy Massacre,” “A.I. Mayhem,” gallery.

• Anna

  Anna Poliatova (Sasha Luss) has always been the rare type of woman who can captivate a room. With her bold beauty, she is able to secure a modeling career that others can only dream of. But investigators quickly begin to discover that Anna is so much more than just another pretty face. With the brains and strength to overcome any opponent, Anna dazzles government officials with her skills and ingenuity. Pitted against some of the most daunting enemies around, she finds herself in a world of trouble as she become one of the world’s most feared government assassins. Vitals: Director: Luc Besson. Stars: Sasha Luss, Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 119 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $7.743 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Dressing a Doll: Costumes of Anna,” “Anatomy of a Scene: Restaurant Fight,” “Unnesting a Russian Doll: Making Anna,” “Constructing the Car Chase” featurettes.