One Battle After Another and A House of Dynamite: The Most Anticipated Movies in September and October

Features

Sep 23

Every year, the period from September to November is considered a vital film season, as many movies released during these months become major contenders for the following year's awards ceremonies. Among them, this year's One Battle After Another and A House of Dynamite have received excellent reviews, while It Was Just an Accident is considered strong contender for next year's Oscar Best International Film.

One Battle After Another, Canadian Release Date: September 26

The film is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who won Best Director awards at three major film festivals for his work on Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and The Master. Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel "Vineland," the movie stars Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn (Mystic River, Milk), Oscar winner Benicio del Toro (Traffic), Regina Hall (Scary Movie), singer Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti (Presumed Innocent). Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead guitarist and frequent collaborator with Anderson, also composes the score. This film premiered earlier this month to excellent reviews.

Washed-up revolutionary Bob (DiCaprio) exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Infiniti). When his evil nemesis (Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

Play Dirty, Streaming on Prime Video on October 1

Directed by Shane Black (Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys), the film was written by Black, Chuck Mondry, and Anthony Bagarozzi. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg (Uncharted), LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah), Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel), three-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka), Nat Wolff (Death Note), Chukwudi Iwuji (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), and Thomas Jane (The Expanse).

An expert thief rolls out the biggest heist of his life in Play Dirty, an action-packed thriller from director Shane Black. Parker (Mark Wahlberg), along with Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), Zen (Rosa Salazar) and a skilled crew, stumble onto a score that pits them against the New York mob in this gritty, clever caper.

Anemone, Canadian Release Date: October 3

The film is directed by Ronan Day-Lewis, who co-wrote the script with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis—the three-time Best Actor Oscar winner for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln. In additional to Daniel Day-Lewis, the cast also includes Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), Samuel Bottomley (How to Have Sex), and Samantha Morton (The Whale). The film explores the complex and profound ties that exist between brothers, fathers, and sons.

The Lost Bus, Canadian Release Date: September 26, Streaming on Apple TV+ on October 3

Directed by Paul Greengrass, the BAFTA-winning director of United 93, and written by him and Brad Ingelsby, the creator of the Critics' Choice Award-winning limited series Mare of Easttown. The film stars Oscar Best Actor winner Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Emmy Best Actress winner America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Yul Vazquez (The Outsider), and Ashlie Atkinson (Mr. Robot). This film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month to positive reviews.

“Another dry and windy day in paradise” is rapidly transforming Northern California into something close to an inferno. Fires are spreading and huge plumes of smoke fill the horizon. School bus driver Kevin McCay (McConaughey) is ending his day when he gets a call requesting help for 23 children stranded at Ponderosa Elementary School. As the disaster escalates, Kevin knows that navigating his way toward the school could prove perilous, but a sense of responsibility, along with memories of personal loss, send him hurtling into harm’s way.

The Smashing Machine, Canadian Release Date: October 3

This film is written, directed, and edited by Benny Safdie (Good Time, Uncut Gems). It focuses on the life of wrestler and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Mark Kerr. Kerr helped grow the sport’s popularity in its early days, but the fights’ brutal demands took a toll, eventually leading to painkiller addiction. The constant need to travel, since the most lucrative early matches were always in Japan, didn’t help either. This film premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month to positive reviews and Benny Safdie won the Silver Lion for Best Director.

The film's cast includes:

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Fast & Furious franchise) as Mark Kerr.
Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) as Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples.
MMA fighter Ryan Bader as the first UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE FC 2000 champion, Mark Coleman.
UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten as himself.
Undisputed boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk as MMA fighter Igor Vovchanchyn.

Tron: Ares, Canadian Release Date: October 10

This highly anticipated sequel to Tron and Tron: Legacy is directed by Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil). The screenplay is crafted by Jack Thorne (Wonder) and Jesse Wigutow. Adding to the film's creative powerhouse, the Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network and Soul) will score the movie under their band name, Nine Inch Nails. The editor, Tyler Nelson, served as an assistant editor on The Social Network, and the director of photography, Jeff Cronenweth, was the cinematographer for The Social Network. Parts of the film were shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras.

While the previous Tron films saw protagonists enter the digital game world, this installment will bring elements of the game world into reality. The film features a star-studded cast including Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Greta Lee (Past Lives), Golden Globe winner Evan Peters (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), comedian Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith (The Acolyte), Arturo Castro (Narcos), Cameron Monaghan, Emmy winner Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), and Sarah Desjardins (The Night Agent). Original Tron star Jeff Bridges will also return for this sequel.

Black Phone 2, Canadian Release Date: October 17

Scott Derrickson, the director of the first film, and C. Robert Cargill, the screenwriter, both return to direct and write this sequel. In addition to returning stars Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Miguel Mora, and Jeremy Davies, new cast members include Demián Bichir (Godzilla vs. Kong) and Arianna Rivas.

Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again. The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Canadian Release Date: October 17

Written and directed by Mary Bronstein, this film premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and was also shown at the Berlin International Film Festival, where its star, Venice Film Festival Best Actress Rose Byrne (The Goddess of 1967), won Best Actress. The cast also includes talk show host Conan O'Brien, Danielle Macdonald (Bird Box), and rapper ASAP Rocky.

For Linda (Rose Byrne), being a working wife and mother in Montauk is not a life of serenity and joy but stress and anxiety. Her daughter is suffering from an unknown disease and is hooked up to a constantly beeping medical device. Her husband is away at sea working and unable to alleviate the crippling pressure weighing on her every minute. Tensions escalate when a hole in the ceiling bursts, a problematic event that metaphorically sums up the immense strain she's under.

Then there are the patients where she works as a counsellor at the Center for Psychological Arts and Mom Talk, and an aloof contractor not providing much help at the house. The repairs send Linda and her daughter to a motel where a calm, supportive superintendent (A$AP Rocky, very good) offers space to breathe. But Linda’s mental health continues to spiral, the stresses of her life accumulating.

The Perfect Neighbor, Streaming on Netflix on October 17

This documentary is directed by Geeta Gandbhir. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary.

Using bodycam footage from dozens of police visits, The Perfect Neighbor bears witness to a tight-knit community navigating one neighbor’s relentless harassment. But her hostility takes a sinister turn when it escalates into a fatal crime.

A House of Dynamite, Streaming on Netflix on October 24

Directed by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker) and written by Noah Oppenheim (Jackie). The cast includes Golden Globe Best Actor winner Idris Elba (Thor franchise, Luther), Rebecca Ferguson (Dune franchise), Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent), BAFTA Best Actor winner Jared Harris (Chernobyl), Tracy Letts (Little Women), Anthony Ramos (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts), Moses Ingram (The Queen's Gambit), Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), Greta Lee (Past Lives), and Jason Clarke (Pet Sematary). The film's crew is also exceptional, including two-time Oscar-winning editor Kirk Baxter (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Oscar-winning composer Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front), and BAFTA-winning cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker). The film premiered last month at the Venice Film Festival and was one of the best-reviewed films of the festival.

When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.

Blue Moon, Canadian Release Date: October 24

Directed by Golden Globe-winning director Richard Linklater (Boyhood), the film stars the director's frequent collaborator and Independent Spirit Award winner Ethan Hawke (First Reformed), Margaret Qualley (The Substance), Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire), and BAFTA winner Andrew Scott (Sherlock). The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February to good reviews, and Andrew Scott won the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance.

On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.

Bugonia, Canadian Release Date: October 24

This film, an adaptation of the South Korean movie Save the Green Planet!, is directed by Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), with the screenplay written by Will Tracy (Succession). The film's two leads, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, have both collaborated with Lanthimos before, winning an Oscar for Best Actress (Poor Things) and the Cannes Best Actor award (Kinds of Kindness) respectively for his previous works. This makes their performances in Bugonia highly anticipated for potential awards. Other cast members include Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless). The original film is considered a South Korean cult classic, and Lanthimos's previous works are known for their absurd and dark comedic tones, making his reinterpretation of this story eagerly awaited. This film premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month to good reviews.

Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc, Canadian Release Date: October 24

Based on Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga, serialized since 2019, which achieved significant accolades, including first place in Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (men version), second place in the Next Manga Award, and second place in Nationwide Bookstore Employees Recommended Comics, as well as being nominated for the Manga Taishō. The anime is produced by MAPPA, known for Jujutsu Kaisen, and first premiered in 2022. This film adaptation will continue directly from the plot of the first season.

Denji worked as a Devil Hunter for the yakuza, trying to pay off the debt he inherited from his parents, until the yakuza betrayed him and had him killed. As he was losing consciousness, Denji’s beloved chainsaw-powered devil-dog, Pochita, made a deal with Denji and saved his life. This fused the two together, creating the unstoppable Chainsaw Man. Now, in a brutal war between devils, hunters, and secret enemies, a mysterious girl named Reze has stepped into his world, and Denji faces his deadliest battle yet, fueled by love in a world where survival knows no rules.

It Was Just an Accident, Canadian Release Date: October 24

This film won the Palme d'Or, the highest honor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Iranian director Jafar Panahi had previously won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for The Circle in 2000 and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Taxi in 2015. This new award makes him only the fourth director in history to win the top prize at all three major European film festivals. Panahi's films have been banned in Iran, and he was arrested by the Iranian government in 2010 and banned from filmmaking for 20 years, so this movie was made in secret.

Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi), is heading home with his wife (Afssaneh Najmabadi) and daughter (Delmaz Najafi) when he hits a dog, killing the poor animal and destroying his engine. Seeking roadside assistance, he wanders into a warehouse. Here, a worker named Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) spots him, and it's possible they are not meeting for the first time. Vahid’s life has been in shambles since his hellish time in prison, due to the actions of a torturer he calls Pegleg — and he thinks Eghbal is this man. While his impulse for revenge is swift-acting, doubt is sewn by his captive, and Vahid must seek out help from other survivors including Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a spitfire wedding photographer, and a bride named Golrokh (Hadis Pakbaten) who brings her groom (Majid Panahi) and their impetuous friend (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr) along for the ride. Confronting the man they believe was a sadistic torturer, the group faces an ethical dilemma. What should they do now?

The Mastermind, Canadian Release Date: October 24

Written and directed by Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women), the film stars Emmy Outstanding Actor winner Josh O'Connor (The Crown), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Hope Davis (Your Honor), John Magaro (Past Lives), Gaby Hoffmann (Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty), and Bill Camp (Presumed Innocent). The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and was met with good reviews.

In a sedate Massachusetts suburb circa 1970, unemployed family man and amateur art thief J.B Mooney sets out on his first heist. With the museum cased and accomplices recruited, he has an airtight plan. Or so he thinks.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Canadian Release Date: October 24

Written and directed by Scott Cooper, who rose to prominence with Crazy Heart. Since then, Cooper has directed films like Black Mass and Antlers, challenging various genres including crime, horror, and thriller. This time, he returns to the music drama genre to adapt the biographical story of legendary American rock singer Bruce Springsteen. Two-time Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) will portray Bruce Springsteen, while Emmy winner Jeremy Strong (Succession) will play his manager, Jon Landau. Other cast members include Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird), Stephen Graham Adolescence, AACTA winner Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffmann (Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty), Marc Maron (GLOW), and David Krumholtz (Num3ers). Jeff Bridges won an Oscar for Crazy Heart; it remains to be seen if Jeremy Allen White can win an award for this film. This film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival last month to positive reviews.

The film chronicles the making of Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 “Nebraska” album when he was a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggling to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past. Recorded on a 4-track recorder in Springsteen’s New Jersey bedroom, the album marked a pivotal time in his life and is considered one of his most enduring works—a raw, haunted acoustic record populated by lost souls searching for a reason to believe.

If you are interested in upcoming movies to be released in Canada, please visit the Movie Release Schedule page on this website!

Photo and Source: Warner Bros. Pictures, Prime Video, Universal Pictures, Apple TV+, VVS Films, Walt Disney Studios, Elevation Pictures, Netflix, Sony Pictures, MUBI, 20th Century Studios

One Battle After AnotherPlay DirtyAnemoneThe Lost BusThe Smashing MachineTron: AresBlack Phone 2If I Had Legs I'd Kick YouThe Perfect NeighborA House of DynamiteBlue MoonBugoniaChainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze ArcIt Was Just an AccidentThe MastermindSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Edison Lau