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Highlight Reel: The Most Exciting Movies Arriving August 2018
Nobody takes August seriously. The bosses are gone, the kids are savoring their last days of freedom, and the joys of summer are winding down. So it’s a good thing that there are some seriously exciting new movies heading to the big screen in August, just in time to take advantage of our distraction!
Because Even “Shark Week” Is Never Enough Shark: Check Out The Meg
At this point, “Shark Movies” is a very robust sub-genre all on its own. From Jaws to The Shallows, Sharknado to Shark Tale, The Reef to Deep Blue Sea, it’d be easy to think there wasn’t any new ground (water?) to tread… and that would be wrong. Turns out, all you need for an exciting new shark movie is to blow the shark up into a 75-foot prehistoric Megalodon and pit it against Jason effing Statham. And here’s where we’d love to crack a “Jurassic Shark” joke, but apparently Megalodons came way later (they went extinct during the Pleistocene) so THANKS FOR THAT, SCIENCE. Anyway, The Meg also stars Ruby Rose, Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, and Rainn Wilson, and there’s some plot involving a submersible trapped at the bottom of a trench waiting to be saved, but c’mon: isn’t “Jason Statham fights a giant shark” enough?
Why Aren’t There More Grown-Up Puppet Movies? Will The Happytime Murders Start A Trend?
An R-rated puppet movie full of murder and debauchery?! Shut up and take our money! The felt hits the fan when the (puppet) stars of a hit kid’s show from the 80s start dropping dead one by one. A disgraced LAPD officer-turned-private eye (Melissa McCarthy) takes the case with the help of her (puppet) partner. Can the two survive the fuzzy criminal underworld and put a stop to the violence before somebody else looses their stuffing? The cast also includes Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, and Maya Rudolf, with noted expert Brian Henson in the director’s chair. This isn’t the peaceful world of puppet/human relations you imagined as a child, but it’s definitely the naughty and hilarious one you deserve as an adult. Actually, it still looks a little dangerous, come to think of it. These puppets are NOT effing around.
Glamour and Romance With A Side Of Drama: Crazy Rich Asians Has You Covered
Based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians is bound to be the romantic spectacle of the summer. After all, what’s more relatable than a contentious first meeting with your loved one’s family? Oh, maybe it’s discovering that they are insanely wealthy and your partner is practically a real-life Prince Charming. Witnessing the opulence of Singapore’s high society for the first time, Rachel (Constance Wu) is going to discover that her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) is more than she thought he was – and that his intimidating mother (Michelle Yeoh) kinda sorta maybe hates her. Can their love withstand the combined forces of family AND money? And does anyone actually want to make Michelle Yeoh angry? The movie also stars Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, and Ken Jeong.
Based On A Story So Real, It’s Almost Unbelievable: Get Ready For BlacKkKlansman
First things first: this movie is directed by Spike Lee and produced by Jordan Peele, which is reason enough to be excited. The film is based on the incredible true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African-American detective in the Colorado Springs police department. It’s the 1970s, and Stallworth is determined to make a name for himself by tackling an ambitious mission: infiltrating the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Although he can fool David Duke (Topher Grace) into believing he’s a white supremacist on the phone, he needs someone to play the part in person. So Ron recruits his colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to join him in his undercover investigation and help him expose the hate group as it tried to peddle violent rhetoric to the mainstream. True AND shockingly timely? We’ll take it!
You’re Never Too Old For Old Friends: Visit WithChristopher Robin And Pals!
We’re not saying adulthood is terrible, per se. But sometimes adults lose their way, and maybe they need the help of their fictional childhood best friends to get back on the right track again. Or at the very least, it’s never a bad time for an impromptu hang sesh with our lovable pals from the Hundred Acre Wood! This live-action take on the classic A.A. Milne characters finds Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) all grown up, with a stressful job that’s pulling him away from his wife and daughter. Turns out, Winnie the Pooh is just the Pooh Bear needed to help him rediscover with what truly matters in his life, and appreciate the simple joys again. Will those simple joys include honey and hanging out with Piglet? If it were up to us, the answer would be an emphatic “yes!”
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