Behold, these 16 movies will premiere next month on Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Amazon and Hulu!<\/b>
\nSince we\u2019re likely to have about as many new mainstream theatrical releases in August as we did in July (probably none), it\u2019s once again up to the various streaming platforms to provide a month\u2019s worth of new feature-length films. And quite frankly there\u2019s a lot this month, including a healthy selection of both \u201cintended for streaming\u201d and \u201cinitially intended for theaters\u201d flicks debuting between August 6 and August 28.
This will not include VOD (\u201cpriced to rent\u201d) films nor is this a list of every old\/catalog movie arriving to every streaming service. This is the new stuff available on the likes of Disney+, HBO Max and Netflix starting next month, in order of release date.
Oh, and obviously these release dates could change (and\/or new movies could be added) along the way. Now, presuming I didn\u2019t miss any, without further ado\u2026
Release date unknown:
Class Action Park(HBO Max)
This documentary is focused on the infamous Action Park, which earned a reputation as an uncommonly dangerous amusement park during its existence in the 1980\u2019s and 1990\u2019s. The New Jersey-based location was known for its perilous and highly unregulated attractions, with rides seemingly unbound by \u201cbasic notions of physics or common sense.\u201d Johnny Knoxville\u2019s Action Point, a blink-and-you-miss-it theatrical bomb from the summer of 2018, was centered on a fictionalized version of this locale. Considering my wife\u2019s fondness for weird\/perilous vacation destinations (\u201cMomventure\u2026 where the lucky ones die first\u201d), this should be an easy sell.
August 7:
Work It (Netflix)
Directed by Laura Terruso (Good Girls Get High), this dance comedy stars Sabrina Carpenter as a young woman who needs to win an upcoming competition in order to get into her dream college) but little in the way of natural talent. Alas, she has no natural dancing talent, so she recruits a handful of young men and women and forms her own gee-whiz dance squad. The Girl Meets World star is featured alongside the likes of Jordan Fisher, Liza Koshy, Michelle Buteu and the perennially underused Keiynan Lonsdale (he was such a natural fit for the Legends of Tomorrow crew, but alas\u2026). Anyway, if you liked Center Stage and Feel the Beat, well, here you go.
Howard (Disney+)
This Don Hahn-directed documentary concerns the too-short life of Howard Ashman, the man who penned the songs for Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid before dying of AIDS in 1991. Hahn directed the dynamite Waking Sleeping Beauty documentary which chronicled the mid-80\u2019s-to-early 90\u2019s Disney animation renaissance period. That 2010 theatrical release was willing to dwell on the negative\/pick at scabs despite being an authorized Disney documentary and took time to note how Ashman\u2019s successes and death affected the company as a whole.
Boyz in the Wood (Amazon)
Written and directed by Ninian Doff, this Eddie Izzard vehicle premiered at last year\u2019s South by Southwest Film Festival before being acquired by Amazon. Set in the Scottish Highlands, it concerns four city boys on a camping trip convention trying to escape an unexpected peril while the police try and fail to help.
An American Pickle(HBO Max)
Initially intended for theatrical release later this year, Sony sold this Seth Rogen comedy to the Warner Media streaming service. The film, debuting on August 6, and directed by Brandon Trost and based on Simon Rich\u2019s New Yorker novella, concerns an American immigrant in 1920 who falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years before awaking in 2020 America. It was just six years ago that Neighbors opened with $49 million, but just last year Long Shot could barely pass $40 million total. That this Seth Rogen flick skipped theaters is more about the nature of the theatrical industry than any judgment on the film itself.
August 14:
Project Power (Netflix)
Netflix hopes to end what can only be called a blockbuster summer for the streaming giant with this Jamie Foxx\/Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi actioner. Project Power, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (who helmed Paranormal Activity 3 in 2011), this flick concerns a drug epidemic involving a new substance which gives folks random superpowers for five minutes. The high-concept original is penned by Mattson Tomlin, who also co-wrote The Batman with director Matt Reeves. Come what may, this one hopes to make at least as much of an impact next month as did Eurovision, The Old Guard and Extraction.
Magic Camp (Disney+)
This Mark Waters-directed kid-friendly comedy concerns a down-on-his-luck magician (Adam Devine) who tries to revive his career (or at least reignite his creative juices) by returning to the, well, magic camp that so inspired him as a kid. Instead, School of Rock-style, he finds inspiration in the young rookie magicians. Co-starring (among others) Jeffrey Tambor, Gillian Jacobs and Aldis Hodge, it was intended for theaters in 2018 before it became the kind of movie that A) Disney could no longer justify releasing in multiplexes and B) absolutely was the kind of movie that could justify being made as a Disney+ original.
The One and Only Ivan (Disney+)
This Thea Sharrock-directed fable about animals living in a shopping mall was supposed to be in theaters August 14, but coronavirus-related theater closures led to it meeting the same straight-to-streaming fate as Artemis Fowl. That big-budget Kenneth Branagh-directed fantasy was an artistic botch, but the hope is that, like Tom McCarthy\u2019s Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made from earlier this year, this is merely the kind of film that, quality aside, has become a risky bet for theatrical audiences now used to only showing up for the outright event movies. Needless to say, it\u2019s really odd that both this and Magic Camp (as well as the Disney Channel\u2019s Zombie 2) are dropping on the same day.
Sound of Metal (Amazon)
Directed by Darius Marder and starring Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke and Mathieu Amalric, Sound of Metal tells of a drummer who sobers up only to begin to lose his hearing. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of last year, where it earned mostly positive reviews before being snatched up by Amazon.
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn (HBO Max)
Directed by Muta\u2019Ali Muhammad (Life\u2019s Essentials with Ruby Dee) Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn tells the story of Yusuf Hawkins, a black teenager who was murdered in 1989 by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. This documentary chronicles Hawkins\u2019 death and the official response as well as the outrage it sparked in New York at the time. This, debuting August 12, one pretty much speaks for itself.
August 21
The Sleepover (Netflix)
Trish Sie\u2019s last two movies were the very bad Pitch Perfect 3 and the very good Step Up: All In, so I\u2019m hoping this Netflix comedy is closer in quality to the 2014 sequel as opposed to the 2017 sequel. Penned by Sarah Rothschild, LD Entertainment\u2019s The Sleepover concerns two kids (Sadie Stanley and Maxwell Simkins) who discover that their mother (Malin Akerman) is a former thief now living in the witness protection program. After mom is corralled into \u201cone last job,\u201d it\u2019s up to her kids to tail behind her and save the day. Ken Marino co-stars alongside Joe Manganiello and Erik Griffin.
Chemical Hearts (Amazon)
Awesomeness Films\u2019 Chemical Hearts stars Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams in a romantic melodrama courtesy of writer\/director Richard Tanne. The film is based on Krystal Sutherland\u2019s novel Our Chemical Hearts and concerns a young man who runs the high school paper falling for a quirky\/mysterious transfer student who begins editing that school paper. I don\u2019t know if the movie takes dark\/bleak turns similar to (offhand) The Fault in Our Stars, The Perks of Being a Wallflower or All Bright Places but judging by the cryptic marketing I\u2019d argue that such reveals would qualify as spoilers anyway.
August 28
The Binge (Hulu)
Directed by Jeremy Garelick and penned by Jordan VanDina, this Hulu original takes place in a world where drugs and alcohol are illegal in America save for one day each year when you, provided you\u2019re 18 or older, can indulge to your heart\u2019s content. This \u201cPurge, but with less murder\u201d comedy stars Skyler Gisondo, Eduardo Franco, Dexter Darden and (as the school principal) Vince Vaughn. Vaughn has been quietly turning himself into a valuable character actor, enhancing the likes of Hacksaw Ridge, Fighting with My Family, Seberg and Arkansas.
Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe (Disney+)
The witty, charming and endlessly clever musical\/sci-fi show remains one of the crown jewels in recent kid-friendly animation, so there\u2019s no harm in getting one extra serving even if the show ended in 2015. The flick, which takes place before the series finale (the events of the spin-off sequel series Milo Murphy\u2019s Law), concerns our heroes setting off on a rescue mission after their sister is kidnapped by aliens. As long as it\u2019s at least as good as an average episode of the show, I\u2019m game.
All Together Now (Netflix)
The streaming giant closes out the summer with two originals. The first of which is this music-centric drama starring Auli\u2019i Cravalho (Moana), Fred Armisenm Carol Burnett and Justina Machado about a young woman trying to balance her aspirations with her of-the-moment responsibilities. Based on Matthew Quick\u2019s Sorta Like a Rock Star, All Together Now is directed by Brett Haley, who helmed by Netflix\u2019s romantic melodrama All the Bright Places and the terrific musical dramedy Hearts Beat Loud. If you\u2019ve seen that Nick Offerman\/Kiersey Clemons summer 2018 release, then the title tune is probably already stuck in your head. Next up for him is (allegedly) a Grease prequel, which is a mean way to get me interested in a Grease prequel.
Unknown Origins (Netflix)
This Spanish-language thriller stars Javier Rey and Antonio Resines as two cops who have to team up with local comic\/cosplay nerds (Brays Efe and Veronica Echegui) to stop a killer who is recreating superhero origin stories. That\u2019s actually a pretty cool hook, even if I\u2019m guessing that the David Gal\u00e1n Galindo-directed flick won\u2019t approach the levels of the Holly Hunter\/Sigourney Weaver classic Copycat. Anyway, since the end of August usually sees old-school genre flicks and studio programmers just before Labor Day, it is almost appropriate that Netflix end its \u201cblockbuster summer\u201d accordingly.<\/p>\n