Coming Soon: September 2013

Jordan Rath is back with his monthly movie preview guest post, enjoy and if you missed it, Click here to listen to the podcast Jordan and I made last week.

It's that time of the month again! Wow...that sounded wrong. But it's true! Jordan from RATH'S REVIEWS here to give you the low down on the big movies for September. 

August was a pretty fun month at the movies, but other than a couple in particular, it was nothing to phone home about. Some interesting facts from Rath's Reviews...compared to last August, scores were up 16.4%. However, last summer (June/July/August) as a whole was better with an average score of 7.59 compared to this summer's average score of 7.30 (a difference of 3.9%). CLICK HERE to see Rath's Reviews complete Score History. Here's a quick review of what August sent down the pipeline:

2 Guns: A very generic action/comedy that was tons of fun. Thank Wahlberg and Denzel for taking this one from "average" to "good". Hopefully we will see them team up again in the future. (Rath's Review Score: 7/10)

We're the Millers: This is the End still sits comfortably on top the "Best Comedy of 2013" throne, but this film was usually pretty funny and had some priceless moments. (RRS: 7.5/10)

Elysium: The first film to get an "Instant Classic" rating in 2013. It may not have been as smart as District 9 but it was certainly just as entertaining, if not more so. It had a message, awesome action, a great villain, etc. This one clicked with me BIG TIME. (RRS: 10/10 -- Instant Classic)

Jobs: I didn't see this one, but it seems that it was all over the place. Chock this one up to a case of Hollywood's "too soon" syndrome. I'm not sure the world really needed or wanted a Steve Jobs movie right now, and certainly not one that was mediocre. 

The Butler: It's doing surprisingly well at the box-office despite some lukewarm reviews. From what I've heard of, it was a lot about race (as I predicted) and not about much else which is a shame given the time period and positioning of the main character. You're probably better off just watching The Help instead.

Kick-Ass 2: This one hurts a little bit more every time I think about it. It is, in every way, shape, and form, a serviceable sequel to the original Kick-Ass (one of my favorites). But it just had some key pieces missing that made the first one so great. (RRS: 7.5/10)

The World's End: I'm not the biggest fan of British comedy. I just dont particularly think it's all that funny. This movie IS funny, but not for people like myself. Take my review score with a grain of salt and know that if you like British humor, you will love this movie. (RRS: 7/10)

You're Next: Probably the movie I'm most bummed about missing out on. It seems to be a really fun, darkly comedic, and scary time. The horror genre is certainly on a roll this year it seems...

Getaway: I was planning on seeing this, but the abysmal reviews made me really not want to. Some reviews claimed that it was even bad if it would have been a TV movie. So instead...

The Spectacular Now: I reviewed some indie films! This film had a lot to say about life and featured fantastic performances, storytelling, and script. I loved it. (RRS: 9/10)

Drinking Buddies: This was a very authentic indie film about a group of friends who are trying to figure out their romantic lives. By the time it is all said and done, nothing really happens, but the journey there is fun enough. Plus its got Olivia Wilde in it. (RRS: 7.5/10)

Most Disappointing: Kick-Ass 2

Most Surprising: We're the Millers

Worst Movie: Getaway

Best Movie: Elysium

Click each movie title for its trailer!

Riddick -- Sep 6

Why It's Worth Seeing: For starters, it seems like the creators have taken a lot of time to make sure that they do justice to the character, mainly by making it R-rated. Vin Diesel has gained some acting chops since his last time in the role so if the story goes dark, he can probably keep up. 

What Could Go Wrong: The Riddick films remind me a lot of the Underworld series. Fantastic protagonist kicking a bunch of butt, but at the end of the day, they just aren't very well made movies. Riddick will probably have some great action, a few scares, and probably a couple memorable one-liners. But usually movies like this don't warrant a second viewing.

Insidious: Chapter 2 -- Sep 13

Why It's Worth Seeing: The first Insidious was a bit of a surprise horror hit (much like last month's The Conjuring). It's third act fell off the rails a bit, but it was still pretty terrifying. If this one plays more as a necessary sequel than just a cash cow, it could be the start of a great horror trilogy.

What Could Go Wrong: Umm....have you seen horror movie sequels? They have a hard enough time getting it right the first time, sometimes the second time is just awful. There are exceptions to the rule, yes, but generally the rule is that as the sequel number increases, the creativity and quality decreases.

 Prisoners -- Sep 20

Why It's Worth Seeing: The cast for starters. Gyllenhaal and Jackman are the leads in what looks to be a very intense story about a father searching for his daughters. If this one can keep it's head above water and not get corny or outlandish, it could be a powerhouse.

What Could Go Wrong: Sometimes an awesome cast is a mask for bigger problems. It could be overly long (146 minutes), go into unnecessary violent territory, or just plain boring.

Rush -- Sep 20

Why It's Worth Seeing: Chris Hemsworth as an F1 driver directed by Ron Howard. The trailer is fantastic and it also seems to be packaged with a fantastic original score. Plus its got Olivia Wilde and Rule #346 of cinema is that Olivia Wilde makes everything better. Count this as my most anticipated of September.

What Could Go Wrong: It seems to want to play out more like a drama. Which is what I am hoping for. However, if it plays out as a sports movie about F1 racing I think it could end up to be pretty boring/cliche/corny/[insert adjective for 90% of sports movies here].

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 -- Sep 27

Why It's Worth Seeing: I havent seen the first one, but I heard that it was pretty inspired. From the trailer it seems like this one certainly doesn't lack for creativity (baked potato hippos?). If it has some adult humor hidden in the script it could be a fun time.

What Could Go Wrong: It's going to be really hard for it to beat another animated sequel from earlier this year *cough cough* Despicable Me 2 *cough* and at least to me, it doesn't seem to have a strong enough character base to make it anything special. Animated movies' success is based on their characters: Minions, Buzz/Woody, Wreck-it Ralph, Shrek and Donkey, Simba and Nala (old school reference).

Don Jon -- Sep 27

Why It's Worth Seeing: Everyone loves Joseph Gordon-Levitt right now and not only does he star in this, he directed it as well. It's the story about a normal guy who has an abnormal addiction to pornography. Then he meets Scarlett Johansson who doesn't like the porn thing. Hint: he should probably stop looking at porn...But either way, it looks clever, fun, and funny. I'm excited to see what he can do behind the camera.

What Could Go Wrong: With it being a directorial debut, a lot could go wrong. Editing could be all over the place, it could be a dumb story, it may not make sense, etc. I'd like to think that Levitt is more talented than that, but there is certainly room for a lot of error. 

Well there you have it everybody! I hope this helped you to organize which movies you want to see this month! Remember to come follow me at Rath's Reviews through Blogger and LIKE the Facebook page. I would be really appreciative and I will gladly follow back any blogs that you have!

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Thanks, James for another opportunity to guest post!