September can sometimes be a dead month for movies, but for 2023, this month is ending with two pretty big tentpoles in the theaters.
In one corner, we’ve got Saw X, the tenth movie in the ever gruesome horror franchise. After a brief detour with Spiral in 2021, Saw X pivots once again to Tobin Bell’s John “Jigsaw” Kramer in the time before his death in Saw 3. After getting scammed into taking an experimental cancer treatment in Mexico, Kramer kidnaps the doctor and her assistance to get his revenge and see if they can survive his death traps. Previously billed as a return to basics, Saw X is actually getting on pretty well with audiences: at time of writing, it’s the best-reviewed movie across the franchise, with many calling Bell’s performance a highlight.
And in the other corner, we’ve a newcomer by way of The Creator. Directed and co-written by original Rogue One director Gareth Edwards (and his first movie since then), the sci-fi flick is set in a future where humanity and AI are locked in a years-long war. John David Washington’s special ops soldier Joshua is tasked with nabbing a weapon that could turn the tide in humans’ favor, but said weapon ends up being a young robot girl named Alphie (played by Madeline Yuna Voyles). Pre-release impressions of the film were fairly positive, while more recent revies have been slightly more on the mixed side. Plenty of praise for Edwards’ visuals and scale, but criticism for not having much to offer in the way of sci-fi AI stories and feeling like so much of what came before.
Whether you saw one or both, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below.
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