I don’t want to overstate this here or degenerate into Hyperbole Land (the nation’s sixth funnest amusement park), but September is a blasted wasteland of movie offal.  September is a dumping ground.  If your movie is being released in September, the studio A) knows it is a turd so large as to be seen from space and wish to bury it or B) the studio has no idea whatsoever what to make of your film and how to market it and because studios dislike thinking, your possibly original film is now opening against Hotel Transylvania.  I use that as an example, because – sadly – Hotel Transylvania is the highest grossing movie ever to be released in September.  Does this mean that no good movies have ever been released there?  Of course not!  Though certainly this year.  But in years past, movies of consequence have managed to sneak  past the savvy marketers that stuck 27 movies in May but didn’t have a new release for the 4th of July.  Hey, studios!  Looking at you, here.  I’m in a pissy mood because I haven’t had a movie to go see in over a month and I’m taking it out on you.  Here’s five movies of substance that did manage to get past the brain dead automatons scheduling release dates (I mean….really pissy mood).

1. The Last of the Mohicans

2. Zoolander

3. Prisoners

4. Looper

5. Jet Li’s Fearless

 

Honorable Mention: 3:10 to Yuma, Moneyball, The Town, Sneakers, The Debt, Hearts in Atlantis, Rounders, The Fisher King.