Take a trip to the cinema this August

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2 August

“I believe that the stories that have impacted me the most have happened in the movie theater. Trap is intended for the movie theater experience. My job within that experience is to provoke the audience and give them something original, something they’ve never seen before,” says writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, whose psychological thriller tells of a serial killer dubbed “The Butcher”, who joins his teenage daughter at a concert for pop star Lady Raven, an event he realises is a trap set by police to catch him.

It stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, and Alison Pill.

Read more here.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic that has captivated young readers for decades.

Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life—and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends’ creativity to save both the real world and his own.

Directed by Carlos Saldanha it stars Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Benjamin Bottani, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds with Alfred Molina and Zooey Deschanel. The film’s screenplay is written by David Guion & Michael Handelman, based on the book by Crockett Johnson.

In the supernatural horror The Exorcism, Russell Crowe as Anthony Miller, an actor whose deteriorating mental state on a horror movie set causes his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins) to suspect either his former addictions or a more sinister cause.

The film is inspired by the rumored mysteries that took place on the set of the original 1973 cult classic, The Exorcist. It is directed by Joshua John Miller, from a script he co-wrote with M. A. Fortin. Miller is the son of the actor, Jaso Miller, who played Father Damien Karras in the original Exorcist film.

The Exorcism also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, and David Hyde Pierce.

Read more here.

The Bikeriders is an intimate and uncompromising look at the rise and fall of America’s notorious outlaw motorcycle clubs. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy).

Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club. The initial spark for writer and director Jeff Nichols came to him nearly 20 years ago, when he was introduced to Danny Lyon’s seminal photographic and oral history of a Midwestern outlaw motorcycle gang by his older brother Ben.

Read more.

9 August

Lilith, an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas in Borderlands. Lilith allies with an unexpected team – Roland, a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg, Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis, the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap, a persistent wiseass robot.

These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other.

Directed by Eli Roth, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Crombie, based on the video game series of the same name developed by Gearbox Software.

The animated adventure Big Trip 3: Race Around The World features the heroes of the first part, who team up with the characters of the second part of the Big Trip franchise. But their enemies Python and Vulture are not asleep either! So, our heroes gathered at Mick Mick’s and Mikaela’s house, because they expect the stork to bring them a baby. But what was their surprise when the stork brought them… a llama kid instead of a bear cub.

Mick Mick and his friends will go across the ocean to return the baby Llama to his parents. After all, they are sure that the children were simply replaced, and that the baby bear is exactly there. But, unfortunately, this is not the case. And now Mick Mick and his friends Oscar the Hare, Duke the Pelican, and Panda have to go on the Biggest Trip across all continents to find the missing child.

Widow Clicquot is based on the true story of the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (1777–1866) who, at the age of 20, became Madame Clicquot after marrying the scion of a winemaking family. Though their marriage was arranged, a timeless love blossomed between Barbe-Nicole (Haley Bennett) and her unconventional, erratic husband, François (Tom Sturridge).
After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great entrepreneurs.

16 August

It Ends With Us tells the compelling story of Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) sparks an intense connection, but as the two falls deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ relationship.

When Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future. Directed by Justin Baldoni and produced by Alex Saks, Jamey Heath, and Christy Hall. The film stars Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Amy Morton and Brandon Sklenar, from a screenplay by Christy Hall, based on the book by Colleen Hoover.

Alien: Romulus is the seventh instalment in the Alien franchise. Set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the story concerns a group of young space colonists who, while scavenging a derelict space station, come face to face with the most terrifying life form in space.

Directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote it with Rodo Sayagues, the film was produced by Scott Free Productions and Brandywine Productions. It stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.

23 August

The animated film Inspector Sun is set in a seaplane from Shanghai to San Francisco in 1934, the plot follows the anthropomorphic spider Inspector Sun in a mission against his foe, the Red Locust, with the mystery vis-à-vis the death of Dr. Spindelthorp as a backdrop.

It is directed by Julio Soto Gúrpide and based on an original screenplay by Rocco Pucillo.

A cocktail waitress becomes infatuated with a billionaire tech mogul in Blink Twice. She travels with him to his private island for a luxurious party, where things begin to go wrong after her friend vanishes.

This thriller is directed by Zoë Kravitz, in her directorial debut, from a script she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum. The film stars Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat. Trailer

A reboot of The Crow film series, The Crow it is the fifth film in the franchise and the second film adaptation of the 1989 comic book series of the same name by James O’Barr. In the film soulmates Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.

Directed by Rupert Sanders from a screenplay by Zach Baylin and William Schneider.

24 August

In the NT Live screening of the play Dear England, Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) plays Gareth Southgate in James Graham’s (Best of Enemies) gripping examination of nation and game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game? With the worst track record for penalties in the world, Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt, to take his team and country back to the promised land.

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Rupert Goold (Judy,/i>) directs this spectacular new play. It screens on 24, 25, 28 & 29 August at selected cinemas.

Read more about the NT Live Season.

Read more about the latest and upcoming films.