I saw six worthwhile movies this month, highlighted in bold above, and as always you can read spoiler-free blurbs on each below.  You’ll notice I also added a Don’t Bother section due to popular demand.  Some of these I hated (really Burnt? really?) and some of these I just thought were “meh” (Money Monster).

Speaking of “meh,” I have a few notes for WB on The Accountant.  When accountants are speaking amongst one another, we don’t say “Profit and Loss Statement,” we say “P&L.”  We don’t say “Earnings Before Interest, Tax, and Amortization,” we say “EBITA.”  And also, we own more than one set of utensils (insinuating that we never have company over).  How dare you.

The first frames of 13th, a Netflix documentary from Selma’s Ava DuVernay, present four matters of fact.  The fact that the US contains 5% of the world’s population.  The fact that the US contains 25% of the world’s incarcerated population.  The fact that African Americans make up 14% of the US population.  And finally, the fact that African Americans make up 40% of the US incarcerated population.  DuVernay uses the rest of this fast moving, 100-minute doc to examine exactly how those extremely lopsided and ludicrous percentages came to be, starting with the adoption of the 13th Amendment in 1865, ending with this year’s shitshow election, and the 150 years of steps forward and steps backward in between.  Specifically in terms of the election, both candidates take some well-deserved hits.  The Clintons are admonished for their very direct involvement in discriminatory mass incarceration tactics during the 90’s.  As for Trump…well…he doesn’t come off great to say the least.  Tier 2 – Runner Up

Amanda Knox is a thoroughly intriguing Netflix documentary recounting the Seattle native’s arrest and trial for the 2007 murder of her roommate while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. As Making A Murderer proved last Christmas break, Netflix knows how to make true crime content. But what sets stuff like Making a Murderer and HBO’s The Jinx a part from this documentary is that those subjects were relatively unknown by the general public, whereas Knox’s ordeal was heavily covered in real time by the American media and was even considered Italy’s “trial of the century.” Personally, I was too preoccupied with Xbox Live and Whitlow’s on Wilson dollar drafts back in 2007 to pay much attention to this developing story, so a lot of the film is brand new to me.  But for some of you this may be more of a refresher as opposed to learning anything new.  Tier 4

The Birth of a Nation, a film about preacher Nat Turner and the slave rebellion he orchestrated in 1831 Virginia, won the top prizes at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently sold to Fox Searchlight for a record deal. Like the 2013 Best Picture Winner 12 Years A Slave, the horrific nature of the times that the film encompasses includes scenes that are extremely troubling to watch, but being uncomfortable is necessary sometimes to fully grasp an auteur’s point. Also like 12 Years A Slave, this is a very well made and exceptionally acted film.  Tier 2 – Runner Up

You can add Mark Wahlberg versus Oil Spill to the previous list of memorable 2016 slugfests.   He’s gone up against Decepticons, prize fighters, countless criminals, and a justifiably protective father of teenage Reese Witherspoon, but how will he fare against the most destructive oil spill in US history?  Let’s find out.  If you responded with serious side eye to Lionsgate turning the 2010 BP oil spill into a disaster movie, I wouldn’t blame you.

But after seeing Deepwater Horizon, I can attest that this is actually a very considerate and gripping retelling of the events that happened in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20^th, 2010. Upon closer look this shouldn’t be a surprise given that it’s directed by Peter Berg, one of the most underrated screen auteurs working today (Lone Survivor, The Kingdom, HBO’s The Leftovers, and Friday Night Lights both movie and TV show).   What makes Deepwater Horizon more than just a disaster movie is that the hour or so leading up to the catastrophe is truly compelling storytelling, intermixed with grade-A Louisiana good ole boy banter, and not just filler waiting for the hook. In fact, I even enjoyed the lead up a little more than what follows in the onset of Mark Wahlberg, family man morphing into Mark Wahlberg, action hero (that part’s still good too though, duh).  The main event of the film in my opinion isn’t even the spill, but site crew chief Kurt Russell going toe to toe with a contentious BP executive played by John Malkovich. Malkovich in particular, with such a good southern drawl that I seriously thought it was just someone that looked like him playing the part, turns in probably my favorite villainous performance of the year.  BP certainly cannot be thrilled with their portrayal in this film, for obvious reasons.  Tier 4

I saw five worthwhile movies in September, but none of which made it into the top tier.  Spoiler-free blurbs on Don’t Think Twice, Deepwater Horizon, The Magnificent Seven, Keanu, and Eye In The Sky below.