The final weekend of August offers moviegoers an unusually varied assortment of choices, from Ridley Scott’s latest post-apocalyptic epic and the long-rescued Coyote vs. Acme to romantic comedy, Korean zombies, offbeat horror and several acclaimed international films expanding into additional theaters. Some of these pictures have already opened in limited engagements and are widening their runs this weekend, while others make their U.S. theatrical debuts on Friday, August 28. Here are some of the more interesting choices vying for your movie-going dollar.
The Dog Stars
Ridley Scott returns to science fiction with The Dog Stars, adapted from Peter Heller’s novel. Jacob Elordi stars as Hig, a pilot who has survived a devastating pandemic and lives an isolated existence with the heavily armed Bangley, played by Josh Brolin. When Hig hears a mysterious radio transmission, he risks leaving their relatively secure compound in search of other survivors—and perhaps some reason to believe humanity still has a future. The impressive cast also includes Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney, Benedict Wong and Guy Pearce.
Recommendation: Worth the theatrical experience for Scott fans and anyone who enjoys serious post-apocalyptic science fiction. The cast alone makes it difficult to ignore.
Coyote vs. Acme
The movie that Hollywood nearly buried finally reaches theaters, and the early response suggests audiences almost lost something genuinely special. Directed by Dave Green, Coyote vs. Acme mixes live action with Looney Tunes animation as Wile E. Coyote finally decides that decades of exploding rockets, collapsing contraptions and defective Acme products are enough. He hires struggling attorney Kevin Avery (Will Forte) and sues the Acme Corporation, whose slick lawyer is played by John Cena. Lana Condor also stars, with Eric Bauza and other veteran performers supplying familiar Looney Tunes voices.
Recommendation: One of the weekend’s safest bets. See it in a theater, especially if you grew up with Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.
Finding Emily
For those wanting something lighter, Finding Emily offers an old-fashioned romantic comedy with contemporary complications. Directed by Alicia MacDonald, it stars Spike Fearn as Owen, a lovesick musician given the wrong telephone number for the woman he believes may be his perfect match. He joins forces with ambitious psychology student Emily, played by Angourie Rice, to locate the mystery woman, creating a campus-wide frenzy while gradually overlooking what may be developing between the two of them. Minnie Driver supplies veteran comic support as the university dean.
Recommendation: A good choice for viewers who miss the kind of charming, uncomplicated romantic comedy that once routinely filled theaters.
Buddy
Do not mistake Buddy for a children’s movie. Director Chris “Casper” Kelly turns the cheerful world of children’s television into something funny, creepy and increasingly disturbing. Buddy is a bright orange unicorn presiding over the relentlessly upbeat television program It’s Buddy!, where children sing, dance and learn happy little lessons—until one child refuses to cooperate and the artificial perfection begins coming apart. The cast includes Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace and Michael Shannon, with Keegan-Michael Key providing the voice of Buddy and Patton Oswalt also lending his voice to the nightmare.
Recommendation: Definitely worth seeing for adventurous horror fans. Anyone expecting a cute movie about a unicorn should stay far away.
Colony
Director Yeon Sang-ho, who gave us the terrific Train to Busan, returns to zombie territory with the Korean thriller Colony. Jun Ji-hyun (Gianna Jun) stars as Professor Se-jeong, trapped inside a biotech conference after a rapidly mutating virus is released and authorities seal the building. With the infected undergoing increasingly grotesque transformations, a small group of survivors must fight its way through the facility. Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Sin-rok and Shin Hyun-bin co-star.
Recommendation: A strong theatrical choice for zombie and Korean genre-film fans, though expectations should be kept below Train to Busan levels.
The Marching Band
One of the weekend’s strongest-reviewed international choices is the French comedy-drama The Marching Band, directed by Emmanuel Courcol and starring Benjamin Lavernhe and Pierre Lottin as two very different brothers unexpectedly brought together. One is an accomplished orchestra conductor; the other works in a factory and plays trombone in a struggling local marching band. Music gradually provides common ground between lives that have taken very different paths.
Recommendation: An excellent alternative to Hollywood spectacle and perhaps the sleeper choice of the weekend. Seek it out if it is playing near you.
It Ends
If your taste runs toward low-budget existential horror, It Ends follows four college friends whose drive home takes an impossible turn when they discover themselves trapped on a seemingly endless road. What begins like a straightforward nightmare develops into something stranger and more philosophical as escape becomes increasingly unlikely.
Recommendation: Horror fans who enjoy strange, ambiguous films should give it a chance. Those wanting conventional scares and tidy explanations may come away frustrated.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
And sometimes the best new movie in theaters is 35 years old. James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day returns to the big screen this weekend, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick once again battling over the future of humanity. Its reputation hardly needs defending. The film remains one of the benchmarks of modern action cinema. The groundbreaking effects still hold up remarkably well, but what gives T2 its endurance is Cameron’s combination of spectacle with genuine emotional stakes, particularly Linda Hamilton’s fiercely committed performance as Sarah Connor.
Recommendation: See it on the biggest screen available. Even if you have watched it repeatedly at home, Terminator 2 was built for a theater.
If you only have time for one new release this weekend, Coyote vs. Acme looks like the most broadly entertaining choice and arrives with an irresistible real-life story about a movie that audiences almost never got to see. Finding Emily appears to be the surprise charmer, while The Marching Band is the strongest option for viewers looking beyond mainstream Hollywood. Horror fans have an unusually interesting selection between the twisted children’s-show nightmare of Buddy, Yeon Sang-ho’s violent Colony and the far stranger It Ends. The Dog Stars remains the weekend’s biggest unknown, but Ridley Scott, Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin and Allison Janney make it a difficult film to resist. And if none of those tempt you, there is always a nearly indestructible Arnold Schwarzenegger waiting on the big screen in Terminator 2.
However you choose, this final weekend of August proves there is still something satisfying about leaving the streaming menu behind, buying a ticket and seeing a movie where movies were meant to be seen—in a theater.
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