To the surprise of few, the film studios and streaming services are pretty much killing time until the prestige titles start rolling out in September.
Aug. 7
‘One Night Only’
What initially sounds like a seedy premise might just be one of the most interesting romantic comedies in a while. In this alternate universe, single people in the U.S. are prohibited from having premarital relations. On one day every year, though, they’re allowed to sleep with whoever they want.
While everyone around them is taking full advantage of this, pizzeria owner Owen (Callum Turner) and one of his customers, Allie (Monica Barbaro), choose to abstain all of this despite a long stretch of mutual flirting. (Universal)
This hotly anticipated biodrama about the early career of writer and chef Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) is already generating heavy awards-season buzz.
Based mostly on Bourdain’s book “Kitchen Confidential,” the plot centers on his frustrations as a struggling writer. While getting his act together as a scribe, Bourdain reluctantly takes a job washing dishes at a seaside restaurant run by “Chef” (Antonio Banderas).
Slowly but surely, Chef begins to notice Bourdain’s culinary promise and starts letting him come up with his own unique dishes. (A24)
This inverse of the age-old home-invasion thriller turns the genre on its ear, and it looks kind of interesting.
A family of four finds it impossible to leave their home. As they slowly figure out they’re in for the long haul, they must acclimate. Based on the trailer, this appears to be something conceived during the COVID-19 situation, while speaking to the overreach of the government and the power of orchestrated media misinformation. (Netflix)
The busiest actor in the world, Willem Dafoe, stars as Ed Saxberger, a New Yorker whose obscure 50-year-old book of self-published poetry is heralded by a young hipster audience.
Aug. 14
‘The Birthday Party’
Originally scheduled for release in June, this dramatic thriller is set in the early 1970s on a remote Greek island. Based on the 2007 novel by Panos Karnezis, it stars Willem Dafoe as Marcos Timoleon, a billionaire shipping magnate throwing a weekend party for his troubled daughter, Sofia (Vic Carmen Sonne).
The similarities between the Timoleon family and that of Aristotle Onassis are impossible to miss, right down to the mysterious deaths of their sons. (Quiver Distribution)
Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway play parents of two children in this sci-fi thriller, which recalls elements of Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jurassic Park,” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” (Warner Bros.)
Jeff Daniels (as Ronald Reagan) and Jared Harris (as Mikhail Gorbachev) star in what’s basically a chamber piece taking place at the 1986 Reykjavik Summit.
Aug. 28
‘The Dog Stars’
In the wake of three of the most disappointing efforts of his career (“House of Gucci,” “Napoleon,” and “Gladiator II”), director Ridley Scott returns with this post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller.
Based on the 2012 novel by Peter Heller, its source book predates COVID-19, which makes the story somewhat prophetic, as it deals with the fallout after a worldwide viral pandemic.
The more-than-promising cast includes Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, and Allison Janney. (20th Century)
In this unorthodox take on the love triangle scenario, Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy, a woman deeply in love with her current boyfriend, Jack (Jake Johnson). In a baffling move, Jack asks her for mutual time “alone” to determine whether or not her feelings are true or only fleeting.
Only after Wendy reconnects with her former beau, Chuck (Cory Michael Smith), does Jack decide he wants her back. Is it a “you don’t know you want till it’s gone” situation or a devious exercise in gaslighting? (Independent Film Company)
Generally the second annual dumping ground and clearing house (February being the other) of the film industry, August always manages to have at least a few titles that show actual promise.
This year, those would be the Anthony Bourdain biopic “Tony” (for which Antonio Banderas is getting rave notices) and Ridley Scott’s return-to-basics action thriller “The Dog Stars.”
