Drama Month (2026) – Crime

I’m making a change. February used to be Drama Month, but it’s now going to be Awards Month. September is now Drama Month, and martial arts movies will now be part of action/adventure or an option for November. The theme for Drama Month will be crime dramas.

Spoiler alert: I really enjoyed all the films I picked. There are some that I’ve wanted to go back and watch and several that I’ve been itching to see. There are also several special event movies in September.

Here are the 2026 selections:

• Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
• One Battle After Another (2025)
• The Accountant (2016)
• The Accountant 2 (2025)
• Nightcrawler (2014)
• The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
• Random Movie: Molly’s Game (2017)
• Bonus and Special Event Movies

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Directed by: James Foley
Starring: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin
My Rating:

Go behind the scenes of unscrupulous salesmen duping suckers into buying their “real estate”. Based on the play written by David Mamet.

In addition to the three listed above, this movie also stars Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, and Jonathan Pryce. To say this is a “star-studded cast seems trite, given that four of those guys are Oscar winners and three are Oscar nominees. This movie is a master class in dramatic acting. It is an excellent drama, and I highly recommend it.

One Battle After Another (2025)

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro
My Rating:

A group of ex-revolutionaries comes together to rescue the daughter of one of their own after an old enemy resurfaces.

This is the 2025 Best Picture winner from the Oscars earlier this year. This is a good movie, and the Best Picture award is well earned. Even at a 2-hour and 41-minute runtime, it’s a good movie to watch. You probably won’t notice the length. Leo does a great job, and so does Sean Penn, who won the Oscar for his role in this. Also, I can’t believe how old Sean Penn looks.

The Accountant (2016)

Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons
My Rating:

A math savant with asperger’s is an accounting genius and hunted by the Treasury Department. But his skills go beyond bean counting.

I really enjoyed this movie, and I don’t say that about a lot of Ben Affleck films. He always seemed like a one-dimensional actor to me, and don’t get me started on “Batfleck”. Be that as it may, he was excellent in this role. There are a few more names you might recognize in this film. Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, Jean Smart, and John Lithgow, to name a few. Definitely check it out if you haven’t already.

The Accountant 2 (2025)

Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
My Rating:

After a retired treasury agent is murdered, the “Accountant” is brought in to find the murderer using his unique skills.

Christian Wolff might be my favorite Ben Affleck character. It’s also rare for a film with a unique premise to have a sequel that really isn’t half bad. The performances are solid again. There is great chemistry between Bernthal and Affleck as brothers; I especially enjoyed the scene in the country bar.

If you’re an Arrow fan, you might recognize Cynthia Addai-Robinson. She plays Amanda Waller in the Arrowverse and gives a solid performance in this film. If you enjoyed the first one, then you’ll enjoy this one as well.

Nightcrawler (2014)

Directed by: Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed
My Rating:

A thief desperate for cash works his way into the world of crime journalism and takes it a step too far.

I didn’t know that the “profession” of what is essentially vigilante video journalism is real. They are called “stringers”. In fact, Phil Donahue was once a stringer, and the most famous fictional stringer is Peter Parker. Basically, freelance photographers.

Jake Gyllenhaal gives an amazing performance. There is a strong “coyote” theme to the movie, and watching it with that in mind really sets a cool tone. I highly recommend checking out this movie; you might even recognize a familiar gif/meme.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margo Robbie
My Rating:

The rise and fall of stock-broker Jordan Belfort.

This is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort (who makes a cameo at the end of the film). All the hype that was made about this movie 13 years ago is completely warranted. This movie has been on my must-see list for a while; it was the 3-hour runtime that kept deterring me.

You hardly notice how long the movie is. The acting, writing, and directing are so well done that it keeps your attention for the entire 2h 59m. Granted, the director is Martin Scorsese, so you shouldn’t expect anything less. Be warned, there is a lot of gratuitous sex, drug use, and swearing in this movie, but it’s worth watching.

Random Selection: Molly’s Game (2017)

Directed by: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner
My Rating:

The true story of Molly Bloom, a former Olympic skier who ran exclusive poker games until she was raided by the FBI.

It’s just a coincidence that the random selection happened to match the “Crime Drama” theme. Jessica Chastain plays Molly Bloom, who was once an Olympic skier until fate put her on a different path.

I kept hearing various things about this movie, but I didn’t know that it was a true story. It has kind of a meta theme to it. The movie is based on the book written by Molly Bloom, and the book is mentioned several times in the film. It’s a weird chicken-before-the-egg motif.

Be that as it may, this is a good movie. I really enjoyed it, and I do recommend it. The acting is fantastic.

Bonus and Special Event Movies

Several special event movies occur in September. Programmer’s Day is September 13th this year, and that’s the day I watch Hackers (1995). September 20th is Unification Day from the Firefly series, so that’s a good day to watch Serenity.

The other two special events are the start of the NFL season and Star Trek Day. For each of these days, I pick a different movie each year.

Star Trek Day occurs on September 8th. It is the anniversary of the air date of the first episode of the original series. This year I watched Star Trek Generations, which is the 7th film of the franchise. It is also the first film to feature the crew from The Next Generation. This is essentially the movie that passes the proverbial torch. It’s also my second favorite Trek film (the first being First Contact).

To commemorate the start of the NFL season, I chose Remember the Titans. I realize this movie is about a high school football team, but I chose it to also celebrate the life of Hayden Panettiere. She was an amazing actress whose life was tragically cut short earlier this year.

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