Issue 8 / Get Reel: August's Must-See Movies

by Matthew Currie

Get Reel: August’s Must-See Movies

Jul 30, 2015

This month's unmissable flicks include the latest from Meryl Streep, Akshay Kumar stepping into the octagon and Superman doing his best James Bond impression.

In Theatres

Ricki and the Flash (August 7, Tristar)

^{Image courtesy of Tristar/youtube.com}

The incomparable Meryl Streep returns in this feel-good dramedy about an aging rocker named Ricki (Streep). She gets a chance to mend fences with the loved ones she abandoned to chase the rock ’n‘ roll dream. Receiving a call from her ex-husband (Kevin Kline), Ricki rushes home to be there for her daughter (Mamie Gummer, Streep’s real-life daughter) after she’s abandoned by her own husband. But will Ricki be able to fight through years of resentment to make her fractured family whole again?

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (August 14, Warner Brothers)

^{Image courtesy of Warner Brothers/ henrycavill.org}

Sherlock Holmes and Snatch director Guy Ritchie turns his singularly kinetic eye to the spy genre in this reboot of the classic 1960s TV series. Man of Steel heartthrob Henry Cavill trades in the blue and white tights for the tailored Armani of Napoleon Solo, a suave CIA operative. Solo is forced to team up with no-nonsense KGB agent Illya Kuryakin to take down a shady black-market outfit that has gotten its hands on some nukes. Zany, throwback spy games ensue.

Brothers (August 14, Lionsgate)

^{Image courtesy of Lionsgate/urbanasian.files.wordpress.com}

Bollywood remakes Warrior — one of one of the best (and most criminally overlooked) Hollywood sports dramas of the new millennium. The 2011 original starred Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as two estranged brothers who return to the world of mixed martial arts and wind up meeting in the octagon, where years of bitterness and pain manifest in a knock-down, drag-out brawl for the ages. Four years later, Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra do the same. If Brothers is anything like the film that inspired it, expect an action-packed yet surprisingly poignant trip to the cinema.

Learning to Drive (August 21, Broad Green Pictures)

^{Image courtesy of Broad Green Pictures/collider.com}

Struggling to come to terms with her recent divorce, middle-aged New York writer Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) decides to make some changes, starting with finally getting her driver’s license. Soon enough, she winds up behind the wheel with Darwan (Ben Kingsley), a Sikh driving instructor who is himself grapping with a love-related quandary in the form of his new bride, Sireen (Sarita Choudhury). She’s just arrived to the Big Apple and seemingly wants nothing to do with the city or her husband. Lost and hurting, Wendy and Darwan strike up an unlikely friendship, comforting and inspiring one another to fight for happiness … but as their relationship deepens, the line between friendship and romance begins to blur.

On DVD

The Salvation (August 4, Mongrel Media)

^{Image courtesy of Mongrel Media/flickreel.com}

Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen heads up this U.K.-produced Western about a Danish immigrant charging down a bloody path for revenge after outlaws murder his wife and son mere hours after coming to America. Mikkelsen’s Casino Royale co-star, Eva Green, plays a mute outlaw queen with her own burning need for vengeance. Coincidentally, their bones are with the same ruthless gunslinger (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). A distinctly European take on a singularly American genre.

Insurgent (August 4, Summit)

^{Image courtesy of Summit/asotherswere.files.wordpress.com}

The Divergent Series (AKA Hunger Games-lite) rolls out its epically scoped second instalment. The series’s resident chosen one, Tris (breakout star Shailene Woodley), and her fellow rebels continue to fight the good fight against an unstoppable alliance that threatens to repress them all and make this already dystopian future even more nightmarish. Still reeling from a devastating personal loss, Tris battles the repressive powers that be with everything she’s got, even as she surrenders to her passions for hunky fellow freedom fighter Four (Theo James).

Unfriended (August 11, Universal)

^{Image courtesy of Universal/thenypost.com}

You’d be forgiven for dismissing this cyber-shocker as just another disposable teen slasher when it hit theatres a few months back. But Unfriended is, in fact, one of the most inventive and well-crafted horror flicks of the year. Taking place entirely on its protagonist’s computer screen, the film follows five teenagers as they text, Facebook and Skype the night away — until the ghost of their dead friend crashes the online party, wielding both their most intimate secrets and murderous supernatural powers. Far from using the technique as a mere gimmick, director Leo Gabriadze uses the limitations of his computer-screen mise-en-scène to craft a uniquely chilling cinematic experience.

The Mindy Project: Season 3 (August 25, Universal)

^{Image courtesy of Fox/cinefilles.ca}

When Mindy Kaling’s romantic sitcom first came on the air in 2012, most observers agreed it was a promising debut that needed to iron out a few bugs. Three seasons and two cast overhauls later, the former Office writer and star has most definitely found her comedic stride. This season sees Mindy struggling to open up her own OB/GYN office while preparing to have a baby of her own with colleague-turned-soul-mate Danny (Chris Messina) — among many other delightfully madcap antics. This year, the always-impressive roster of guest stars includes The Hobbit’s Lee Pace and Stephen Colbert as a former drugged-out womanizer now a strict Catholic priest.

^{Photo Credit: Main Image Courtesy Lionsgate/youtube.com;} ^{Tristar/youtube.com; www.henrycavill.org; Lionsgate/urbanasian.files.wordpress.com; Broad Green Pictures/collider.com; Mongrel Media/flickreel.com; Summit/asotherswere.files.wordpress.com; Universal/thenypost.com;} ^{Fox/cinefilles.ca}

Matthew Currie

Author

A long-standing entertainment journalist, Currie is a graduate of the Professional Writing program at Toronto’s York University. He has spent the past number of years working as a freelancer for ANOKHI and for diverse publications such as Sharp, TV Week, CAA’s Westworld and BC Business. Currie ...