Horror in the Skies, on the Seas, in Big Homes: September 9's New Movies

This week looks downright weird. There’s the annual Clint Eastwood Oscar contender and a slew of other options that have not received much of an ad campaign. For you box office prognosticators out there, it could be a goofy weekend. Let’s check ‘em out.

The Disappointments Room

Director: D.J. Caruso

Writers: D.J. Caruso, Wentworth Miller

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Lucas Till, Michaela Conlin

Kate Beckinsale stars as a woman who may or may not have mental illness nipping at her heels. She moves with her family to a secluded house in woods that look like they’re from the scarier parts of Beauty and the Beast. Once she gets there, she discovers a locked door and a box of skeleton keys (simple KW-1 house keys just aren’t cinematic enough for Hollywood horror flicks, it seems), and soon she enters. She gets blood on her hands, perhaps figuratively.

The Disappointments Room comes from director-co-writer D.J. Caruso, a journeyman director whose Disturbia and Eagle Eye were received by critics and the general public fairly warmly about a decade ago, even if he receded from that warm reception with his next couple features. I can only speak to Eagle Eye, which was a nice-looking conspiracy thriller that left the mind shortly after it ended. The guy puts together competent pictures that move along well, but there’s potential for something a little meatier this time around. ‘Tis the season for scary stuff, so have at it, gorehounds.

Sully

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Todd Komarnicki

Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney

The last really good Clint Eastwood movie was Million Dollar Baby in 2004. The last 12 years have been a little rough for him, creatively speaking, particularly with 2014’s wretched American Sniper. He tries to right the ship while he crash lands an airplane in Sully, a biopic of the pilot of an airline who landed his malfunctioning plane on the Hudson River in New York City in 2009.

Considering how the plane took off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, there isn’t a whole bunch of time to tell a cinematic story. That’s why Eastwood and screenwriter Todd Komarnicki focus on the investigation into whether Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) needed to make the water landing rather than returning to the airport. That may prove to be high drama, but I’m personally skeptical.

When the Bough Breaks

Director: Jon Cassar

Writer: Jack Olsen

Starring: Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall, Jaz Sinclair, Romany Malco

Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall are a married couple struggling to have a baby, so they hire Jaz Sinclair’s character as a surrogate to carry their child for them. After a domestic incident leaves Sinclair’s character homeless, they invite her to live with them during the pregnancy. It gets manipulative and thriller-y.

Chestnut and Hall are always easy to watch, so plop them into a thriller with a crazy person threatening to do insane things sure sounds like a fun time at the movies.

The Wild Life

Directors: Vincent Kesteloot, Ben Stassen

Starring: Matthias Schweighöfer, Kaya Yanar, Ilka Bessin

In this CGI animated retelling of Robinson Crusoe, a group of talking animals help Crusoe make it on the deserted island. It looks a little rough in every aspect but the animation, which seems crisp and well rendered. That’s something. It’s a movie for kids made by a company that’s not Laika, Disney, Pixar, or Studio Ghibli, so, you know, be wary.