Still from Sausage Party (2016)
A look at what’s in theatres this August
By Lauren Paulsen, Senior Columnist
With the last month of summer upon us, there are still many worthwhile film releases to check out. With plenty of different genres to choose from, including a sci-fi romance, an epic Japanese fantasy-adventure, and an animated comedy about food, there should be a movie for everyone.
August 5: Suicide Squad, The Founder
What happens when the worst supervillains humanity has to offer are our last hope? Suicide Squad is an action comedy where a team of supervillains is assembled and given one last shot at redemption. Unfortunately for them, they probably won’t survive their mission. This movie stars Will Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as The Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Ben Affleck as Batman.
Have you ever wondered how McDonald’s became such an enormous franchise? Director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) aims to answer that question in The Founder. Ray Kroc, a normal salesman, meets Mac and Dick McDonald, the inventors of “Fast Food,” and takes over their small burger joint, turning it into a billion-dollar empire.
August 12: Sausage Party, Florence Foster Jenkins
Looking for something unique, raunchy, and hilarious? Take a look at Sausage Party, an animated movie about how an actual sausage discovers what really happens to food after it’s brought home from the grocery store. This film stars the voices of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Bill Hader.
Based on an astonishing true story, Florence Foster Jenkins is an inspiring comedy-drama about a New York heiress, Florence (Meryl Streep), and her dream of becoming an opera singer, despite her horrible singing voice. Also starring in this tale that celebrates the human spirit are Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg.
August 19: Kubo and the Two Strings, The Space Between Us, War Dogs, Ben-Hur
Fans of 3-D stop-motion animation can find a great fantasy adventure in Kubo and the Two Strings. Set in Japan, Kubo’s (Game of Thrones’ Art Parkinson) life is thrown into chaos when his small seaside town is burned to the ground after he accidently summons a vengeful spirit from the past. Now Kubo must set off on an epic quest with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron), Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey) and his enchanted shamisen to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known.
The Space Between Us is a sci-fi adventure romance about two star-crossed lovers, Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) and Tulsa (Britt Robertson). Gardner was raised by scientists on Mars after one of the astronauts sent to colonize the red planet gave birth to him and died due to complications. Gardner tries to discover who his father is online and ends up falling in love with a girl named Tulsa that he meets through the web. Now Gardner wants to travel to Earth to meet them both, only to find that his organs cannot withstand Earth’s gravity. With time running out, he breaks out of medical containment and teams up with Tulsa to find his father.
From the director of the Hangover trilogy comes War Dogs, a crime comedy based on the true story of two arms dealers, David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), who are granted a $300-million contract from the Pentagon to supply weapons for American troops in Afghanistan.
Based on the bestselling novel by Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur is an action-drama set in Ancient Rome. This reimagining of the novel stars Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, a nobleman betrayed by his closest friend and adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell) and wrongfully accused of assassinating his family. After surviving years of slavery, Judah manages to escape and returns to get revenge by challenging Messala to a deadly chariot race.
August 26: Hands of Stone
If you are a sports drama fan, you might enjoy seeing Hands of Stone, based on the career of the legendary boxer Roberto Duran (Édgar Ramirez) and his trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro).
