Well, that’s it folks… Summer days are definitely numbered now that we’re entering the ‘brrr’ months. Ok so I’m being a tad dramatic. September is actually still quite warm here in the upper Midwest, and in fact Autumn is my all time favorite season, it’s just the season that followed that I’m not looking forward to.
2016 Summer blockbuster season has been seriously lackluster, with mostly duds than gems. I don’t think there’s a single film I absolutely love, except maybe Pete’s Dragon, but it remains to be seen if that would be a classic down the road. Well, I always look forward to smaller Fall films.
September screenings include Queen of Katwe, Sully, Blair Witch, Bridget Jones Baby and The Dressmaker. None of them are on my must-see list, but I’d think they’d be pretty entertaining. Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for Bridget Jones Baby (and she’s in it as well), so that’s the main draw for me in seeing it. Still hoping there’d be a screening for The Magnificent Seven and American Honey!
So anyway, here are movies I saw this month:
New-to-me Movies
Florence Foster Jenkins
Ben-Hur
I Am Not A Serial Killer
Equity
The Light Between Oceans
La Clinique du Docteur Blanche (2014)
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As you can see, I didn’t really see that many movies this past month. I’m so behind on my reviews, too, but I’m hoping to do my write-up of Florence Foster Jenkins, Ben-Hur, The Light Between Oceans and Equity sometime in the next couple of weeks.
I’ve also posted my top 10 list of the year so far…
are any of your favorites on the list?
7 out of 10 of my 2016 favorites so far are independent/small-budget films https://t.co/i8s0QfNRZO #SupportIndieFilm pic.twitter.com/POC1W65J0y
— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) August 30, 2016
TV Series
The Wine Show
Mr. Robot (Season 1)
Rewatches
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Starz’s The White Queen | BBC North & South
The Age of Adaline | Not Another Happy Ending
I didn’t rewatch many movies this month. I did watch about an hour worth of the 1959 Ben-Hur, especially some of the key moments that are so indelible to this day. It’s incredible how in the age of pre-CGI, the epic chariot race still got my blood pumping, and the rowing/ship battle scenes are simply incredible. It made me miss Quintus Arius’ presence in the 2016 all the more.
MOVIE OF THE MONTH
Glad I saw #Equity today at my local cinema. A tense, shrewd female-driven Wall-Street drama. #DirectedByWomen2016 pic.twitter.com/aU6WAfqhYI
— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) August 29, 2016
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EQUITY might not be the first Women-on-Wall-Street film, but it certainly is an important one that paints a realistic portrayal of real women on the male-dominated financial industry… strong, driven, ruthless, conflicted… This film isn’t afraid to show powerful women who are flawed. It’s a warts-and-all approach that I find refreshing. A far cry from the rosy, fantasy world of Mike Nichols’ Working Girl.
Produced, written, directed by women featuring a female-driven cast, this is a film I wish Hollywood would make more of! It’s not perfect, but the story’s well-crafted and Anna Gunn is excellent in the lead role.
Well that’s my viewing recap of August. What’s YOUR favorite film of the month?
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Anna Gunn was great in Breaking Bad. Will look out for your other reviews
I haven’t seen that series but I have no doubt she’s good in it. She’s got screen charisma and a talented performer.
Can’t believe summer is almost over and Christmas is just three months away! Ahh time just fly by so fast these days. But at least there are some good films coming out, hopefully they’re good. Summer 2016’s one of the worst for quality in films, I skipped seeing a few big tentpole pictures and I love big summer movies. I guess two of my favorite movies from August were Hell or High Water and Don’t Breath.
Equity looks good, I remember seeing a trailer for it weeks ago and then never heard anything about it again. I’ll check it out when it’s available for rental. I love stories about financial industry and tech startups; heck I’ve been involved with startups for years so I have some knowledge in that world. I’m surprised that Anna Gunn never became a big named actress, she’s blonde, tall and pretty and been working in Hollywood for years. She’s wonderful in Breaking Bad and it’s shame that Hollywood only offer big roles to the male actors from that show while she pretty much disappeared after the show’s over. That’s good example of Hollywood sexism right there.
Yeah Summer is fleeting isn’t it? Not gonna think about Christmas yet aaargh, though I know some stores are already playing Christmas music!! Yep I think Summer 2016 is indeed one of the worst.
Don’t Breathe isn’t an extremely pleasant film and at times it’s a bit too serious for its own good, but it feels realistic… the people, the situations they find themselves in, etc., which is completely different from the fantastical Hollywood versions like in Working Girl.
Yeah Anna Gunn is excellent here, she commands attention every time she’s on screen. It’s true about the sexism thing as obviously Cranston and Paul seem to be everywhere these days.
The best film I saw in August is Like Someone in Love by Abbas Kiarostami. I’m glad the summer is over as I’m planning for what to do next year in the Blind Spot series.
I’m not sure I’ll be doing Blind Spot series again as I could barely keep up w/ this year’s commitments.
I’m a little bummed to see summer fading into fall. 😦 Aside from a couple of films, I wasn’t that enthralled with the summer movie line up and looking at the September screenings it doesn’t interest me much either. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Equity, never heard of it but how you describe it makes it sound good. 🙂
Hi Eddie! Where do you live again? Well it might not get cold right away but yeah, it seems that time flies in the Summer time. I’m looking forward to October screenings more than September, esp. w/ mystery thrillers like The Girl on the Train & The Accountant. Yes do check out EQUITY! They probably didn’t have a big budget for marketing but the film deserves to be seen.
Hi Ruth! I’m in Canada. I noticed the sun is setting earlier. This week has been a lot cooler here and pouring rain on my way home the other day. I think they’ll be some sunny days still to come in Sept, just not as warm. I’ll remember to check out Equity on your recommendation!
Where in Canada are you, Eddie? I’ve just been to Montreal last May. I’m in Minneapolis so yeah the sun is definitely setting earlier here too and Autumn weather is definitely in the air. Hey if you’re ever in MN we should meet up, I’ve been hoping to return to Toronto one day too, esp during TIFF!
Oooh, would be nice to get the TIFF experience, I’m on the other side of the country though in Vancouver area. I’ll let you know if I ever take a trip to MN in the future.
Yeah we should do a meet up either in Vancouver or in Minneapolis 😉 I LOVE Vancouver too, been there a couple of times and definitely will be back!
Ooh I think you’ve still done better than I have in August! Looking forward to reading your thoughts on Florence Foster Jenkins, I haven’t seen it yet, I’m still on the fence 🙂
– Allie
Hi Allie! I enjoyed Florence Foster Jenkins, it was funnier than I thought it’d be.
My month of August seemed to involve more TV than film. I caught up with Better Call Saul which was brilliant and also watched True Detective series 1 and 2.
Hi Dan! I’m glad I finished season 1 of Mr. Robot, so I did see fewer movies because of that. I still haven’t caught up w/ True Detective Season 1 yet.
How was Florence Foster Jenkins? And wow had no idea Emma Thompson wrote the script for new Bridget! hopefully it will be good.
My favorite of the month is The Neon Demon!
Hi Margaret! I like Florence Foster Jenkins, I wasn’t anticipating it but it was enjoyable and heartwarming. Yeah I didn’t know Emma wrote the new Bridget movie until I went to the IMDb page.
Oh cool, Neon Demon is the one w/ Elle Fanning right? She’s a terrific young actress!
I need to see Equity. Anna Gunn was terrific in Breaking Bad.
I hope you get to see Equity soon Steph, Anna Gunn is terrific in here as well.
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