What to watch on the big screen this September

1 September

In the vigilante action thriller Equalizer 3: The Final Chapter, Denzel Washington is back in action as a retired US marine and former DIA officer. When he moves to Southern Italy to escape from his past, he discovers that his new friends are under the control of the Sicilian Mafia and he unleashes his past self to protect them. It’s the final instalment of the Equalizer trilogy. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film also stars Dakota Fanning, David Denman, Sonia Ammar, and Remo Girone.

8 September

From writer and director Nia Vardalos, the third film in the globally beloved My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise reunites the immensely relatable Portokalos family as they embark on an adventure to their ancestral home of Greece to honour the past, present, and future, and rediscover their roots. It stars Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Lainie Kazan and Andrea Martin.

The gothic supernatural horror Nun II is set four years after the ending of the first film and follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face to face with the demonic force Valak, the Nun, at a boarding school in France. Directed by Michael Chaves, it marks the ninth instalment in The Conjuring Universe franchise and stars Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet and Bonnie Aarons, returning from the first film, with Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell joining the cast.

15 September

A Haunting in Venice is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

This unsettling supernatural thriller is based on the 1969 novel Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie and directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Michael Green. Branagh portrays the Belgian detective. The ensemble cast also includes Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Michelle Yeoh.

The Australian supernatural horror Talk To Me follows a group of teenagers who discover they are able to contact spirits using a mysterious embalmed hand, only for one of them to take things too far. It marks the feature debut of twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou who directs from a script by Danny and Bill Hinzman. It stars Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, and Alexandria Steffensen.

The Japanese animated sports film The First Slam Dunk is based on Inoue's Slam Dunk manga series and follows the point guard of Shohoku high-school's basketball team who challenge the inter-high basketball champions. It won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year and was written and directed by Takehiko Inoue, produced by Toei Animation and Dandelion Animation Studio.

A freak accident leaves three members of the Space Protection Force inside a 16-year-old's brain on their microscopic spaceship in Headspace, an animated South African alien invasion comedy action-adventure. These crime fighting aliens must enlist Norman’s help to save Earth from an intergalactic villain.

It was directed by Gerhard Painter and Paul Louis Meyer from a screenplay by Daniel Buckland, Ronald Henry, Painter, and Meyer. The CGI animated film is a South African production by Luma Animation and The Ergo Company.

22 September

The romance After Everything is based on the characters from the After series of novels by Anna Todd and is the fifth and final overall instalment in the After series. Though Tessa and Hardin had previous separated, Hardin is determined to make amends and rekindle their love.

Directed and written by Castille Landon, it stars Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin, reprising their roles as Tessa Young and Hardin Scott, respectively.

Inspired by the true story of the legendary four-legged inhabitants at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the animated Cats In The Museum. When Maurice the mouse saves Vincent the cat during a shipwreck, they meet the famous group of cats who has to protect works of art from rodents at the museum. Vincent wants to be one of them, but Maurice is his friend.

In the action film Expendables 4, the mercenaries are assigned on a mission to stop Rahmat, who runs a terrorist organisation, from smuggling nuclear warheads that will ignite a conflict between Russia and the US. Directed by Scott Waugh from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, and Max Adams, based on a story by Spenser Cohen, Wimmer, and Daggerhart, it’s the fourth instalment in The Expendables film series and stars an ensemble cast including Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture reprising their roles from previous films, with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox and Andy Garcia joining the cast.

The romance Past Lives follows a reunion between two childhood friends as they contemplate their relationship and their own lives. Written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut, it stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro.

23 September

In the NT Live screening of the stage play Good, David Tennant makes a much-anticipated return to the West End in a blistering reimagining of one of Britain’s most powerful, political plays. As the world faces its Second World War, John Halder, a good, intelligent German professor, finds himself pulled into a movement with unthinkable consequences. Olivier Award-winner Dominic Cooke (Follies) directs C.P. Taylor’s timely tale, with a cast that also features Elliot Levey (Coriolanus) and Sharon Small (The Bay). Filmed live at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.

Dates of screenings in South Africa:: 23, 24,27 and 28 September 2023.

29 September

The science fiction action thriller The Creator takes place in a future impacted by a war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence. Joshua, a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war… and mankind itself. Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory only to discover the world-ending weapon he's been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child.

Directed and co-produced by Gareth Edwards from a screenplay written by Edwards and Chris Weitz, and a story from Edwards, the film stars John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, and Allison Janney.

Saw X is set between the events of Saw and Saw II and follows a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer — only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable.

Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps. It’s directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg. It is the tenth instalment overall in the Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Michael Beach and Renata Vaca.

In The Dive, two sisters go diving at a beautiful remote location. One of the sisters is struck by a rock, leaving her trapped 28 meters below. With dangerously low levels of oxygen and cold temperatures, it is up to her sister to fight for her life. It is directed by Maximilian Erlenwein from a screenplay by Erlenwein and Joachim Hedén. It stars Louisa Krause and Sophie Lowe.

The South African film Hans Steek Die Rubikon Oor centres on Hans Kraaienburg, a 90-year-old man whose life is turned upside down when he is forced to move to an old age home. Based on the former journalist-turned-author Rudie van Rensburg’s best seller, it is adapted by filmmaker couple Corné (director) and Rene van Rooyen (screenwriter), following their success of Vaselinetjie, Toorbos, as well as the popular drama series Alles Malan. The acting legends in the family comedy include Pierre van Pletzen, Tobie Cronjé, June van Merch, Sandra Prinsloo and Nicola Hanekom.

Recommended viewing on the streaming platforms

Netflix: From Chile, the black comedy El Conde / The Count (15/9) is about a vampire over two centuries old deciding to end his own life. The romantic drama, Love At First Sight (15/9) is about two people who fall in love on their flight home from New York to London. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (27/9) is the first of several shorts based on the Roald Dahl short stories from Wes Anderson. Love Is In The Air (28/9) is an Australian romantic comedy movie about a pilot fighting to keep her family business in the air and ends up falling for the man sent to close her down. In the Spanish-language film Nowhere (29/9), a pregnant woman and a man are stranded in the sea alone and with limited resources.

Showmax: A young couple's relationship clashes with the harsh realities of the California Gold Rush of 1850 in Redeeming Love (7/9). In 1950s London, a widowed cleaning lady falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress in Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (7/9). A reclusive and controversial author is drawn out of hiding when he begins to receive endless letters from an obsessive fan in The Infernal Machine (11/9), while on a remote backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest. A young couple sense they may not be alone in Significant Other (14/9). A woman rescues two helpless cubs and forge an inseparable bond in The Wolf and the Lion (28/9).

Disney Plus: Steven Spielberg’s masterful adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Little Mermaid (6/9) is visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of Disney’s beloved animated musical classic, the story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. As a collection of history's worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them in The King’s Man (13/9). Nightmare Alley (20/9) is a neo-noir psychological thriller film with Bradley Cooper as a charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past. No One Will Save You (22/9) tells of a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from her community. Lonely but ever hopeful, Brynn finds solace within the walls of the home where she grew up - until she’s awakened one night by strange noises from decidedly unearthly intruders.

Read more about the latest and upcoming films.