Features > Top Lists > LOVEFiLM Picks: Top 20 September Films

LOVEFiLM Picks: Top 20 September Films

September looks set to be rather super indeed, with a fairly equitable serving of buddy-movie comedy, thoughtful drama, slow-burning thriller and spine-curdling horror. Here are our Top 20 picks from the month's cinema, DVD and Watch Online offerings...

The Top 20

Superman & Superman II

Released: To Watch Online until September 9

Filmed back-to-back, controversy cloaked these movies when director Richard Donner was binned towards the end of the shoot because of 'creative differences'. And because the budget soared out of control. But as a double bill, these two Christopher Reeve Superman movies remain hugely entertaining – watch them both online as part of your subscription, the first only until Sept 9, so hurry; and Superman II from Sept 3.

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The Switch

Released: In cinemas September 1

Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman team up for this unconventional rom-com. After a spot of - hey! - switching with a turkey baster (don't ask), two friends’ lives are drastically changed, although it takes them a while before they realise. Aniston and Bateman make comedy magic, fuelling rumours that she’ll appear in the upcoming Arrested Development film. Great supporting performances from Juliette Lewis and Jeff Goldblum.

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The Last Exorcism

Released: In cinemas September 3

Taking a spirited stab at being one part The Exorcist, one part Blair Witch Project and one part Eli Roth (Hostel) produced gore-fest, this horror mockumentary finds a film crew following a disillusioned minister, intent on proving that the whole exorcism game is a sham. Planting their faith firmly in medical science, the crew pitch up in the deep South to 'exorcise' a farmer's daughter (Ashley Bell). Hands up who thinks this will end well?

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Dumb & Dumber

Released: To Watch Online from September 3

Snooty cineastes among us might balk at describing any Farrelly brothers comedy as a classic, but this 16 year old is surely worth the term: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels fire up great chemistry as they flee their haphazard pet-grooming business in pursuit of Lauren Holly, Carrey's dream woman. Gross-out, slapstick comedy by the bucket-load, sure, but there are also two big performances here, a proper story, and an awful lot of heart.

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Unforgiven

Released: To Watch Online from September 3

There had been revisionist Westerns before, of course, and Eastwood himself had played the hard-bitten anti-hero many times. But this was something else entirely, and still presents a hard, painful vision of life under the gun in the Old West. Clint has rarely been better than this grizzled, hollow, broken man, whose past life of violence has exacted a heavy toll on his soul, and may yet be rearing up to haunt him.

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Exit Through the Gift Shop

Released: In cinemas October 6

Love it or hate it, graffiti as an art form has reached a whole new level thanks to Banksy, the Bristol based graffiti artist famous for his depictions of politics and social issues. Narrated by Rhys Ifans, Banksy turns filmmaker for this documentary about street art. Although he appears on screen, Banksy’s face is hidden and his voice altered so his identity remains a mystery.

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Cyrus

Released: In cinemas September 10

John C. Reilly plays a no-hoper who meets the woman of his dreams, but there’s one thing standing in the way: her son Cyrus (Jonah Hill). Reilly has popped up in some serious roles and repeatedly courted comedy with Will Ferrell in Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, proving his range as an actor. Here, he stays on course with another comedy which sees him going head to head with Superbad star Hill.

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Going the Distance

Released: In cinemas September 10

Real-life on-off couple, Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, let their feelings run wild in this clever rom-com about making long-distance love work. It's sweet and funny and reasonably thoughtful, and whether or not the couple go the distance in reality, they're hand-in-hand to promote the film across Europe, and there’s plenty of on-screen chemistry to give this film longevity.

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The Runaways

Released: In cinemas September 10

Twilight star Kristen Stewart puts all that hair flicking to good use as rocker Joan Jett in the biopic The Runaways. Joined by the all-grown-up Dakota Fanning as lead singer Cherie Currie, the Twilight co-stars temporarily ditch Stephenie Meyers’ vampire franchise for some rebellious rock band fun, based on Currie's book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, about the trials of being in an all-girl group in the 1970s.

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Tamara Drewe

Released: In cinemas September 10

Right, stay with us here: Tamara Drewe is based on a graphic novel by longtime Guardian cartoonist Posy Simmonds, which itself was loosely, satirically based on Thomas Hardy's 19th century novel, Far From The Madding Crowd. Continuing her rise to prominence, Gemma Arterton is newspaper writer Ms Drewe, returning to her English countryside town and reinventing herself from shy wallflower to tempting femme fatale.

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Falling Down

Released: To Watch Online from September 10

During one long, hot, and REALLY bad day in LA, a lifetime of frustration boils over for average joe Michael Douglas, who spins into vigilante rage in the biggest way. Made shortly after Basic Instinct, Wall Street and Fatal Attraction, Falling Down is a memorable movie from Douglas’ heyday, and a fine reminder of just how good an actor he is. You can watch this title online from 10 September.

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The Other Guys

Released: In cinemas September 17

Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes, The Other Guys knocked Inception off the top spot in the US and looks set to go down a storm on UK shores as well. This buddy-cop comedy sees Wahlberg and Ferrell take to the streets to fight crime, after years spent trawling through paper work. Adam Mackay takes on directing duties, while Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson also star.

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The Ghost

Released: On DVD September 20

It’s a power-packed line-up: Roman Polanksi directs from writer Robert Harris (Enigma), Pierce Brosnan plays a former British PM Adam Lang, and Ewan McGregor is the ghost-writer tasked with scribbling down his memoirs. But on Lang’s remote island, murky secrets are coming to light, the media is getting whiff of controversy and potential cover-up, and Ewan may be getting way out of his depth.

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Boogie Nights

Released: To Watch Online until September 23

Nominated for three Oscars including Best Screenplay for writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood), Boogie Nights boasts the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore and Heather Graham. Set in the 'Golden Age of Porn', the film focuses on a nightclub worker (Wahlberg) as he descends into the world of adult entertainment.

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Eat, Pray, Love

Released: In cinemas September 24

After her small yet stand out appearance in this year’s Valentine’s Day, Julia Roberts is back in leading lady territory. Based on author Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 memoir of the same name, the film chronicles a woman’s journey around the world after her divorce, and what she learns from her travels. Javier Bardem and James Franco co-star.

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Frozen

Released: In cinemas September 24

What would you do if you were left stranded, swinging in mid-air on a ski chairlift? After the resort had closed? For the week?! Time to live the nightmare in this chilling horror film from writer/director Adam Green, which pitches you right into the centre of the 'what if' fear and is a bit like Open Water, but with less sharks and a good few degrees colder.

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The Town

Released: In cinemas September 24

After the success of his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck is back behind the camera as he directs and stars in this gritty crime drama set in Boston. Affleck plays a professional thief who falls for a bank manager after a robbery. Needless to say, it’s a ticking time bomb until she finds out his real identity. John Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively round off an impressive cast.

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Bad Lieutenant

Released: On DVD September 27

Although neither sequel nor full-on remake of the 1992 Abel Ferrara/Harvey Keitel movie, Nic Cage’s Lieutenant is still rather bad: a drug-addled, gambling-addicted cop on the trail of killers in post-hurricane New Orleans. Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer and rapper Xzibit co-star, with Grizzly Man director Werner Herzog at the helm.

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The Killer Inside Me

Released: On DVD September 27

Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart) directs Casey Affleck is this remake of a 1976 film (itself based on Jim Thompson’s 1952 noir-thriller). The unremarkable appearance of a deputy sheriff in a small Texan town masks a brutal psychosis. Hard-hitting stuff, in more ways than one, co-starring Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and Bill Pullman.

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Tetro

Released: On DVD September 27

Hailed by many as Francis Ford Coppola’s finest film of the last 25 years, this moody, mystery drama sees a young man, Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich), visit his long-lost elder brother, Tetro (Vincent Gallo), in Buenos Aires. Tetro’s promising writing career has atrophied, but his neglected, unfinished play may unlock the shared secrets of the past.

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Darren Bignall