I cannot believe that the summer film season is over and we are already looking at what September and the autumn holds at the cinema.
Dope
It looks like we have a great few months on the horizon with potential Oscar contenders starting to be released and looking to find an audience.
September is a month that offers something for every film fan and we take a look at the independent films that you really must check out over the next few weeks.
- Dope - 4th September
Dope is one of the movies that has been whipping up a storm since it debuted in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
Dope has already hit the big screen in the U.S. and is set to be a film not to be missed this September if you are a fan of this genre. The movie has already been winning over the critics as Rick Famuyiwa is back on writing and directing duties.
This is the first film for Famuyiwa since he penned and directed comedy Our Family Wedding back in 2010... Dope could well be the film that really helps put him on the map this year. As well as Famuyiwa in the director's chair, Forest Whitaker has also thrown his support behind the film and served as producer. Pharrell Williams and Sean Combs have been on board as executive producers.
Shameik Moore takes on the central role of Malcolm in the film, in what is his biggest movie role to date. Moore has been working on TV and film projects in the last couple of years but he is a name to watch out for going forward. He is joined on the cast list by Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise, Chanel Iman, Tyga, and Zoe Kravitz.
In Dope, Malcolm (Moore) is carefully surviving life in a tough neighbourhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the SAT. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.
Dope features a young and exciting cast - Moore gives a star on the rise performance - and is a smart and entertaining movie.
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - 4th September
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is another movie that was a hit when it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival back at the beginning of the year and it looks set to be a huge indie hit this September.
The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Jesse Andrews and sees Alfonso Gomez-Rejon return to the director's chair for the second feature of his career; he made his debut back in 2014 with The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl really has been met with acclaim so far this year and went on to scoop the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the Audience Award for U.S. Drama at Sundance - it could well be one of the indie films of 2015 and I am excited to see how it plays in front of a UK audience.
Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, and Ronald Cyler are three more names that are on the rise and they are set to take on the central roles of Greg, Rachel and Earl in the film. The trio are joined by the more experienced Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Jon Bernthal, and Molly Shannon.
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is a uniquely funny and moving story about Greg, a high school senior who avoids deep human relationships as a way to safely navigate the social mine field that is teenage life. In fact he describes his best friend Earl, with whom he makes short-film parodies of classic movies, as being 'more like a co-worker'. But when Greg's mum insists he spends time with Rachel - a girl in his class who has just been diagnosed with cancer- Greg discovers just how powerful and important true friendship can be.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a wonderful coming of age movie and really could be one of the little gems of the year. I have my finger tightly crossed that the film does well at the UK box office when it is released later this week as it is a movie that deserves to do well and find an audience.
- A Walk in the Woods - 18th September
Robert Redford is a big favourite here at FemaleFirst and he is set to return to cinema screens this September as he takes on the central role in A Walk in the Woods, a movie that opened the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
A Walk in the Woods is based on the 1998 memoir of the same name by Bill Bryson and Redford will take on the role of Bryson in the film. The movie follows Bryson as he tries to reconnect with his U.S. homeland, which he has returned to after spending many years living in the UK.
Nick Nolte takes on the role of Stephen Katz, who joins Bryson on his trip, while Emma Thompson, Kristen Schaal, Nick Offerman, and Mary Steenbergen are all also on the cast list. Ken Kwapis is back in the director's chair for what is his first film since Big Miracle back in 2012 - he has also brought us movies such as He's Just Not That Into You and The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.
Upon his arrival back in the United States following two decades in the UK, Bryson wants to find a way to reconnect with his homeland. Impulsively he decides to hike a section of the longest continuous footpath in the world, The Appalachian Trail, 1000 arduous miles stretching from Maine to Georgia, an expedition men half his age struggle to complete.
Fearing for his life, his wife Cathy (Thompson) refuses to allow him to do a solo trek but is unsuccessful in persuading any of his friends to accompany him. When his old buddy Katz (Nolte), a crude, overweight, recovering alcoholic, calls him out of the blue and offers to accompany him, Bryson has no choice other than to accept. Thus begins an adventure as they encounter weird and wonderful characters and face hilarious trials and tribulations along the way. The men gamely persevere and together they learn that some roads are better left untravelled.
So far, A Walk in the Woods has received mixed reviews but Redford and Nolte look set to make a great comedic team and I can't wait to see the duo in action.
- 99 Homes - 25th September
2015 has been a quiet film year for Andrew Garfield but he is set to return the big screen this September with new film 99 Homes, which sees him team up with actor Michael Shannon.
Last year, the movie screened at the Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival and it is great to see this movie finally get a UK release.
99 Homes marks the return of Ramin Bahrani to the director's chair for his first feature since At Any Price back in 2012 - he has also penned the screenplay for the American drama.
Garfield and Shannon are two incredibly exciting actors and I am looking forward to seeing them share the screen together. The duo are joined on the cast list by Laura Dern, Noah Lomax, Tim Guinee, and Cullen Moss.
When single father Dennis Nash (Garfield) is evicted from his home, his only chance to win it back is to go to work for Rick Carver (Shannon), the charismatic and ruthless businessman who evicted him in the first place. It's a deal-with-the-devil that provides security for his family; but as Nash falls deeper into Carver's web, he finds his situation grows more brutal and dangerous than he ever imagined.
Garfield is an actor to well and truly keep an eye on over the next year or so as he has some interesting and very different movie projects on the horizon. It is great to see him return to a dramatic role with 99 Homes and I can't wait to see what he delivers.
