Coming Attractions: August 2013
Coming Attractions is a monthly piece in which I let you know what I think will be the best movies releasing in the coming month. So if you plan on going to the movies any time this month, hopefully I’ll give you an idea as to what your best bet will be each week. So without further ado, here are the coming attractions for August 2013:
Friday, August 2
The Spectacular Now (Limited Release)
Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Written by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
From the writers of (500) Days of Summer, the director of last year's Smashed, and based off an incredible novel; a recipe for success. While it doesn't pack quite the emotional punch of the book, this film was perfectly cast (especially in the case of the two leads) and take you on a raw, emotional journey. At one point you can literally feel two people fall in love over the course of a single long take. A wonderful, bittersweet love story.
Friday, August 9
Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
Written by: Neil Blomkamp
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna
In the near-ish future, a man with nothing to lose tries to escape from the low-class wasteland that Earth has become to the space station Elysium, which houses all the wealthy people who have left Earth. Coming from Neill Blomkamp, who brought us Disctrict 9 a few years ago, rest assured that we'll get a gritty, realistic depiction of a sci-fi future featuring social issues of today's world.
Friday, August 16
Directed by: Jeff Wadlow
Written by: Jeff Wadlow
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey
A follow-up to the 2010 film, superheros are now commonplace, but so are the villains. Kick-Ass faces the revenge of The Mother Fucker (formerly Red Mist), Hit Girl is back to be adorable yet dangerous, and Jim Carrey plays a semi-insane person (surprise). It looks pretty much just like the first installment, but with more people dressing up and being violent. Definitely check it out if that's you liked the original.
Friday, August 23
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan
One of my most anticipated films of the year. A group of old friends get together after years apart to finish a bar hop they failed to complete back in the good old days. Now from all different walks of life, they reflect over how things have changed over time. Also, the world is invaded by aliens while they continue to get drunk. Completing the Three Flavours Cornetto/Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy also made up of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, this sci-fi satire looks to be just as brilliantly funny as the other two team-ups between director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Closed Circuit
Wednesday, August 28
Directed by: John Crowley
Written by: Steven Knight
Starring: Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciarán Hinds, Jim Broadbent
I know virtually nothing about this movie other than that it's a crime/conspiracy thriller and the poster says that it stars Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciarán Hinds, and Jim Broadbent; but frankly, with a cast like that, it's all I need to know.
Honorable Mentions
Europa Report (August 2 - LIMITED RELEASE)
Directed by: Sebastián Cordero
Written by: Philip Gelatt
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist
A sci-fi thriller depicting a ship's research voyage to Jupiter's moon Europa, where all kinds of crazy stuff begins going down. Highly lauded as being presenting space travel and the plausibility of Europan conditions in a realistic manner, Europa Report seems to be more along the line of hard sci-fi like 2001: A Space Odyssey. A must-see if the bright lights and laser guns of the other sci-fi space flicks just don't cut it for you.
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Written by: David Gordon Green
Starring: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch
Director David Gordon Green (who you may know from directing Pineapple Express and Your Highness) returns to his indie roots with a story of two men who retreat into the country to take on the menial task of painting traffic lines down a highway and rediscover themselves. A Sundance film that promises some great comedic but touching performances from Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.
Drinking Buddies (August 23 - LIMITED)
Directed by: Joe Swanberg
Written by: Joe Swanberg
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston
I'm not usually one for romantic comedies with characters who are clearly with the wrong person while Mr./Miss Right is standing right in front of them the whole time, but this is another case where an amazingly funny and talented core cast is enough to pull me in to something I wouldn't otherwise be too interested in. However, if those types of rom-coms are your thing, you definitely don't want to miss this one. It's bound to be good.
Short Term 12 (August 23 - LIMITED)
Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Written by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Brie Larson; John Gallagher, Jr.; Kaitlyn Dever; Rami Malek; Keith Stanfield
A South by Southwest film darling about a young woman (the incredibly talented Brie Larson) working at a foster center for at-risk children. Always putting her own problems aside for the children, she begins coming to terms with her own life. Apparently this packs a hell of an emotional punch and has some great performances to boot.
You're Next (August 23)
Directed by:
Written by: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard, Damon Lindelof
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, David Morse, Abigail Hargrove
A horror flick that's not standard fare when it comes to home invasion thrillers. When a group of dog-face mask-wearing killers start tormenting a family having a get-together at their cabin in the woods, they get more than they bargained for. Getting lots of acclaim and being touted as a breath of fresh air for films featuring home invasions.
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I can confirm that The World's End was all we had hoped for! Loved it!!!! Don't know why America is having to wait so long for it.
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