“The Kitchen” – August 9
Based on the acclaimed comic book written by Ollie Masters and drawn by the incredible Ming Doyle, “The Kitchen” is essentially “Widows” meets “The Sopranos.” It’s about a trio of women who break bad, taking over the crime business when their husbands are locked away, in order to make a statement; don’t mess with their families. Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss were cast as the Irish mob wives who take over “The Kitchen.” Andrea Berloff, co-writer of “Straight Outta Compton” is making her feature debut as a director and cinematographer Maryse Alberti, DP of Todd Haynes “Velvet Goldmine,” lensed the movie. We’re still a little baffled “Widows” wasn’t more widely successful, perhaps “The Kitchen” and its trio of hot actors, will rectify that. – AB
“Blinded By The Light” – August 14
Great music has the power to transform and inspire. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, who made the little miracle of a sports movie, “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Blinded by the Light” is about a Pakistani British teen named Javed (Viviek Kalra) in the ‘80s, who hasn’t quite decided what to do with his life yet. He’d love to write poetry but is too ashamed to share his writing. All that changes when a friend introduces him to the words and world of Bruce Springsteen. Javed hears the first notes of “Dancing in the Dark,” off Born in the U.S.A. and instantly becomes enamored. Alongside plastering posters of “The Boss” all across his bedroom, Javed even starts dressing like his idol and obsessively memorizes his song lyrics. Fans will not want to miss it; “this is the closest to a Springsteen movie musical we’re ever going to get and frankly, no one should bother after this,” Jordan Ruimy wrote, in our Sundance review. The movie also features music from Academy Award-winning composer A.R Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and is being championed as Chadha’s best film since ‘Bend It.’ A heartfelt flick with serious potential to connect with all sort of audiences, “Blinded by the Light” beams joy through the transportive power of rock & roll. – AB
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” – August 16
Richard Linklater’s eagerly anticipated adaptation of Maria Semple’s award-winning comedy, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” finally arrives this August after being pushed back from its original release date by Annapurna Pictures. Some film lovers speculated this indicated that there might be some problems with the production, but after MGM & Annapurna’s recent announcement that they were reviving United Artists, under a new releasing banner, perhaps the film is simply being branded and positioned for awards consideration and a better box office return. The source material for Linklater’s newest is an epistolary novel from the point of view of the titular character’s daughter. We’re not saying that critics and voters will immediately embrace it and instantly brand the film “Girlhood,” but given the acclaimed material, talent behind the camera, plus Cate Blanchett lending her unrivaled ability to a Richard Linklater movie, ‘Bernadette,’ will certainly be a hot topic for film lovers this August. – AB
“Good Boys” – August 16
“Booksmart” may be giving teenage girls a hard-R comedy of their own, but the upcoming raunchfest “Good Boys” is proof that, for better or worse, this is still a boy’s genre. “Room” breakout Jacob Tremblay stars as Max: a shy 12-year-old who gets invited to a “kissing party” and decides to tag along with his best buds Lucas and Thor. Unlike “Booksmart,” “Good Boys” was greeted with a more lukewarm reception at this year’s SXSW (although our own Ryan Oliver gave it a decent review, even if he described the movie as “too vulgar for kids” and admitted that “some of [the film’s] sophomoric elements could get a little grating”). It’s hard to say who “Good Boys” is for exactly, since those who exist in the same age range as the film’s protagonists probably won’t be allowed in the theater without their parents. That said, the film has the stamp of approval from producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who have a proven record of success with this sort of thing. We’ll find out how many people want to see a hard-R version of “Kids Say the Darndest Things” when “Good Boys” hits theaters everywhere August 17th. [Our review] – NL
“In Fabric” – Late Summer TBD
English director Peter Strickland is something of a sensualist, a homagiste, a fetishist, and a man of exquisite weirdo/mondo taste. He generally fuses his strange, heightened, surreal, absurd sensibilities into lurid, exploitative and beautiful horror films of some stripe or another. His latest, “In Fabric” isn’t much different. It does the unusual, inventive bit of fusing Mike Leigh-esque kitchen sink English realism with erotica and Italian giallo horror. His latest stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hayley Squires, Leo Bill, Gwendoline Christie, Julian Barratt Steve Oram, and Fatma Mohamed. It’s almost a vignette-driven film and centers on a haunted and cursed dress that makes its way from victim to victim, all centered around the creepiest, vintage department store in the history of cinema. Let us tell you first hand, the movie is deliciously wicked and delirious fun, absurd, hilarious, and twisted. “In Fabric” just played the Tribeca Film Festival, comes out June 28 in the U.K., and well, A24 is still determining if it’s going to be a summer release or not but we love it so much, we’re going to include it just in case. [Our review]
Honorable Mention
Considering many studios believe that the summer movie season is the best time to release their various projects, a list comprised of 35 films just scratches the surface. Outside of the films listed above, you may want to visit your local arthouse or mutliplex to check out movies such as the biopic “Tolkien,” the YA romance “The Sun is Also a Star,” court drama “Trial by Fire,” Octavia Spencer’s Blumhouse horror film “Ma,” Tessa Thompson & Chris Hemsworth’s “Men in Black: International,” the crowd-pleasing “Wild Rose,” Luc Besson’s latest actioner “Anna,” slasher remake “Child’s Play,” slow-burn horror/thriller “Them That Follow,” doll-centered creepfest “Annabelle Comes Home,” Russos Brothers-produced thriller “21 Bridges,” Guillermo del Toro-produced horror “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” and “PLAYMOBIL: The Movie.” (Kidding about that last one. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention after that laundry list of mentions. You weren’t, were you?)