Seen on Screen: Fun Remakes, Record-Breaking Animation and Warren Ellis

We’re slowly approaching that lull in cinematic releases – that purgatory between the northern summer and year-end awards bait – but we’ve still got plenty to watch this month. Acclaimed filmmakers Spike Lee and Darren Aronofsky are both spruiking NYC-centric new releases. There are also local docos and thrillers, blockbuster animation and one very gory remake. On the TV front, viewers can revisit the bleak Philly suburbs and follow Kaitlin Olson’s latest crime-solving hijinks.

Here are our top picks for what to watch in September.

For startup ups and downs: Swiped

As films like Jobs and The Social Network showed us, stories about tech startups and the people who build them can be surprisingly compelling. Expect the same from this fast-paced, dramatised look at the steep ascent of Whitney Wolfe (Golden Globe-nominated Lily James), touted as the world’s youngest female billionaire. Wolfe was just 23 when she co-founded Tinder, almost instantly upending decades of established dating norms. Less than two years in, she spectacularly departed, later suing the company for sexual harrassment. In 2014 she went on to found Bumble, a rival dating app aimed exclusively at women. In settling the sexual harrassment suit, Wolfe signed an NDA and can’t talk about her time at Tinder. Swiped ’s director, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, and her writing partner Bill Parker had to get creative. The duo say they “pored over her lawsuit, read every article, watched every interview about anyone even tangentially involved” to build a thrilling arc that looks at early moments of euphoria – launch, hitting a million users – to the eventual break-up and Wolfe taking her own path. Premieres on Disney+ on September 19.

For a cat-and-mouse outback thriller: In Vitro

A stark thriller set on an Australian cattle farm, In Vitro is a two-hander featuring Layla (Lake Mungo ’s Talia Zucker) and her husband Jack (Succession ’s Ashley Zukerman). As the spark steadily dims in their marriage, Jack toils away at secretive biotech advances involving the couple’s cows. But when a blackout and a strange attack leave Layla with nagging suspicions, the plot pivots to a ruthless game of cat-and-mouse in the outback. There are shades of horror and sci-fi, but the story is firmly anchored by its two central performances. If you missed In Vitro at last year’s film festivals in Melbourne and Sydney, here’s your chance to stream it at home. On Stan now.

For a punchy trip back to late-’90s New York: Caught Stealing

Austin Butler stars in this smash-and-grab crime flick from Darren Aronofsky, who’s given us such disparate films as Black Swan and The Whale. Based on the novel by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the screenplay, Caught Stealing is set in the chaos of late ’90s New York. When amiable bartender Hank (Butler) agrees to look after a cat belonging to his neighbour (Matt Smith as a mohawked punk), he becomes embroiled in a wild scene that involves escalating amounts of money and violence. Along for the ride is his take-no-shit girlfriend (Zoë Kravitz). Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio also feature as an intimidating pair of Orthodox Jews. The trailer promises Aronofsky in irreverent, action-packed mode, with lots of heat generated between Butler and Kravitz. In cinemas now.

For a record-breaking animated epic: Ne Zha 2

For the uninitiated, Ne Zha 2 is a Chinese animated blockbuster that’s been smashing records since its release in January. It’s now the top-grossing movie of 2025, the top-grossing animated film ever and the top-grossing non-English film of all time, amongst many other things. It’s now been picked up for re-release by A24, with new English-language dialogue. Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh leads the new voice cast. And yes, it’s a sequel: the first Ne Zha came out in 2019 and drew inspiration from Chinese mythology. But the main takeaway is it’s a family-friendly fantasy epic that deserves to be seen on the big screen. In cinemas now.

For a mutated dad with a mop: The Toxic Avenger

While not quite a household name, The Toxic Avenger is the flagship character for gleeful B-movie factory Troma Entertainment. Since his introduction in a 1984 cult movie, the janitor-turned-hero has starred in everything from a children’s cartoon to a stage musical. This time, he’s played by Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), who leans into the gore-soaked absurdity of this self-aware remake. Writer-director Macon Blair has always loved the darkest of humour, and this time he has a special-effects budget to render a ridiculous degree of violence, too. Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon show up in scenery-chewing roles, while Toxie’s son (Room ’s Jacob Tremblay) proves a belated moral compass for his transformed father. A mutated guy with a mop might not be the stuff of the MCU, but it sure is fun. In cinemas now.

For Denzel reuniting with Spike: Highest 2 Lowest

This is the fifth team-up between Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, but that’s not the only enticing bit of trivia around Highest 2 Lowest. It’s actually a remake of the high-tension 1963 film High and Low by Akira Kurosawa. Lee has transposed this gripping crime story from Japan to his signature setting of New York City, as Washington plays a music mogul who must come up with an eye-watering ransom when his son is kidnapped. This isn’t the first time Lee has reinterpreted classic Asian cinema and it’s still top-tier source material for one of the most visually distinctive directors around. Look out for A$AP Rocky – both on screen and on the soundtrack. On Apple TV+ September 5.

For a prestige crime drama in the Philly suburbs: Task

Still hanging out for a second season of Mare of Easttown? Well, Task is the next best thing. It may not star a crime-solving Kate Winslet in the downtrodden Philly suburbs, but it does star Mark Ruffalo as a faded FBI agent in that same ripe locale. Helmed by Mare creator Brad Ingelsby, this seven-episode series will air weekly. This isn’t a straight procedural; the show gives equal time to the feds as it does to the brooding family-man-turned-armed robber. The trailer leans into that duality, with serious shades of Heat. This is a can’t-miss proposition for lovers of prestige crime dramas. On HBO Max from September 7.

For a national treasure nurturing wildlife: Ellis Park

Musician and frequent Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis is a national treasure. This intimate documentary follows the development of a wildlife sanctuary he co-founded in Sumatra, to help protect and rehabilitate formerly trafficked animals. Australian director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Nitram) follows Ellis from his regional Victorian hometown to Sumatra, as he expounds upon his philosophy, both as an artist and a human being. You couldn’t ask for a warmer guide to such a vital cause than a natural charisma-machine like Ellis. On Doc Play September 11.