It\u2019s back-to-school time, and the major studios are out to lunch. After front-loading the summer with the requisite tentpoles, major intellectual property is taking September off. Outside of The Conjuring: Last Rites, there\u2019s nary a blockbuster franchise in the bunch. This has left an opening for smaller movies, overdue send-offs, and unexpected returns to break through, including Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, and a Spinal Tap legacy sequel that we hope can still crank it up to 11. Both Jay Duplass and Scarlett Johansson are doing their part to bring feel-good comedies back to theaters, while Him continues to test moviegoers\u2019 taste for original horror films. But the biggest movie of the month is One Battle After Another, the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary. It can\u2019t really be a weak movie month when a new PTA is in our September film preview.<\/p>\n
Writer-director James Sweeney\u2019s Sundance breakthrough Twinless isn\u2019t quite the movie it seems. After the death of his twin brother, the introspective Roman (Dylan O\u2019Brien) meets the outgoing Dennis (Sweeney) at a support group for single-twin survivors. After their meet-cute friendship becomes a situationship, the typical indie romantic dramedy swerves into erotic thriller territory as the boys deal with their grief in increasingly erratic and dangerous ways.<\/p>\n
Director Jay Duplass\u2019 first theatrical film since 2012, The Baltimorons is a May-December Christmas rom-com about a divorced dentist (Liz Larsen) striking up an unexpected romance with a cheery young comedian (Duplass\u2019 co-writer Michael Strassner). As she deals with the feelings of worthlessness that accompany her ex\u2019s new marriage and the existential crisis of aging, he helps to break her out of her midlife funk\u2014while she helps him with some holiday tooth problems.<\/p>\n
Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren are back for one last exorcism, supposedly. America\u2019s favorite demon-fighting couple meets the one supernatural entity they couldn\u2019t exorcise, a demon from their past returning for a final showdown. Come for the Last Rites, stay for the flashbacks of young Ed and Lorraine.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re not dead yet. Documentarian Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner, returning to direct) gets the band back together for one last reunion. Now well over the hill, the collective members of Spinal Tap, David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), are as delusional as ever. But with the help of mid-century rock \u2018n\u2019 roll royalty, including Paul McCartney and Elton John, they\u2019re hitting the stage for one final gig.<\/p>\n
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (September 12)<\/p>\n
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It is time for the Crawleys to close up Downton. Julian Fellowes\u2019 long-running cultural phenomenon Downton Abbey is shutting its doors and firing its staff. The third in a trilogy of films that began in 2019 and continued with A New Era<\/a>, The Grand Finale follows the fallout of Lady Mary Talbot\u2019s (Michelle Dockery) divorce. The scandal puts social and financial pressure on the household, causing a total turnover. Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, and much of the original cast are joined by Paul Giamatti, Dominic West, and Alessandro Nivola to say farewell.<\/p>\n The Long Walk (September 12)<\/p>\n \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n Based on a short story by Richard Bachman (Stephen King\u2019s bad-boy nom de plume), The Long Walk puts Cooper Hoffman and Industry\u2018s David Jonsson on the road to nowhere. Set in a futuristic dystopia, Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence\u2019s movie follows a group of boys in a walking contest where the rules are simple: If they stop marching, they\u2019re shot dead.<\/p>\n A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (September 19)<\/p>\n \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n Reteaming with Colin Farrell for another sci-fi fantasy, After Yang director Kogonada paints another gorgeous-looking and optimistic view of the near future. This time, a magic GPS directs sad-sack David (Farrell) to the site of his one true love, Sarah (Margot Robbie), who decides to ride shotgun on David\u2019s AI-led adventure. Written by The Menu\u2018s Seth Reiss, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey brings optimism, romance, and vibrancy to a future that looks anything but.<\/p>\n Waltzing With Brando (September 19)<\/p>\n \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n Who are we to deny Billy Zane of his dream of playing Marlon Brando? More importantly, given the eerie and uncanny makeup job that helps Zane get closer to the god of the method, who are we to deny ourselves the opportunity to watch it? Set between 1969 and 1974, as Brando prepared for The Godfather and Last Tango In Paris, Zane\u2019s Brando enlists an idealistic architect (Jon Heder) to build a workable hotel on his Tahitian island.<\/p>\n MegaDoc (September 19)<\/p>\n \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n