August used to be a dumping ground for unwanted movies, but I feel like that’s changed in the past few years. This year is no exception, and there’s been a lot of small indie fare coming out all month. But this weekend is actually looking to be pretty amazing. Here’s what’s coming:
- The World’s End – An unofficial sequel to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, this movie reunites the creative trio behind those great movies: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost. I’ve been avoiding specifics about the movie, but it looks to have something to do with a pub crawl and, uh, the end of the world. Or something. Early word seems good.
- You’re Next – This movie played at Fantastic Fest in 2011 (the year I went), but the movie got picked up that very week, and the studio cancelled the second showing (the one I had penciled in). Word of mouth from the first screening was great, and the film won awards at the end of the fest, so it’s been a long two years of waiting for this one. On the outside, it looks like a typical “home invasion” movie, but I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun (or “fun”, as home invasion isn’t the most playful of subgenres).
- The Spectacular Now – An indie film that’s been making the rounds for a while and is supposed to be expanding this weekend (though likely still fairly limited). It’s supposed to be a good coming of age story, which could be fun.
- Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – I know nothing of this movie, except that it has buzz. What else do you need? It’s supposed to be hitting VOD this weekend.
- Honorable Mention: Short Term 12 (doesn’t seem like my kinda thing, but it’s also got great buzz), Blue Jasmine (not a big Woody Allen fan, but he is usually at least interesting), The Grandmaster (Wong Kar Wai’s latest, only here in the HM section because it’s unlikely to be playing near me/you), and In a World… (which I think has been on VOD for a while now).
Obviously, I have no idea if any of these movies are actually good, but they all seem interesting, so let’s get on this stuff.