Our picks for the movies coming to UK/ROI cinemas this August.
Words by Eric Hillis
With Spiderman: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes and Dunkirk battling for July's box-office, August sees a more low-key roster of films hitting cinemas, though with new movies from cult directors Luc Besson and Katherine Bigelow among the line-up, there's plenty to get excited about.
Here are the 10 UK/ROI releases we're most interested in seeing in August.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Luc Besson was happily plugging away in the world of mid budget action movies until Lucy proved a surprise hit, so now he finds himself with a $200 million budget (the largest ever for a European production) with which to adapt a cult French comic book. Frankly, this looks like a candy-coloured mess, but you just never know what you're going to get from Besson. Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan star.
In cinemas August 2nd.
The Ghoul
Actor Gareth Tunley's directorial debut follows a cop whose investigation of a double homicide takes on a possibly supernatural twist when he goes undercover as a patient of a mysterious psychotherapist. It's been compared by some to Omer Fast's Remainder, one of the best British films of recent years, so we're hyped for this one.
In cinemas August 4th.
Atomic Blonde
Charlize Theron's reinvention of herself as an ass-kicking action star continues in this spy thriller from John Wick director David Leitch. Adapted from a graphic novel, the film sees Theron play a British spy assigned to take down a ring of enemy spies in Berlin on the eve of the collapse of the wall. James McAvoy and John Goodman also star.
In cinemas August 9th.
Shin Godzilla
It's been a long wait, but Toho Studios' return to the monster franchise that made its name finally arrives in UK cinemas after being held from its planned July release. A film of surprising depth, the movie explores Japan's growing nationalism and discontent with old western alliances. But it's also a very enjoyable monster movie.
A Ghost Story
Writer-director David Lowery reteams with the stars of his 2013 gem Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. The latter plays a man who returns from the dead as a bedsheet clad spectre to observe his girlfriend (Mara). While it's a meditative drama on the theme of connection, the title has fooled some US cinemagoers into believing it a horror film, causing multiple walkouts from disgruntled punters at screenings.
In cinemas August 11th.
Annabelle: Creation
Those who stormed out of A Ghost Story will likely be better served by Annabelle: Creation, the latest chapter in the ongoing Conjuring franchise. While the first Annabelle left us cold, the presence of Lights Out's David F Sandberg behind the camera gives us some hope for this prequel, which presents the origin story of the titular possessed doll.
In cinemas August 11th.
Dark Night
In the town of Aurora, Colorado on July 20th 2012, gunman James Holmes murdered 24 cinemagoers at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Writer-director Tim Sutton's film takes this event as the basis for a drama that follows a disparate bunch of characters over the course of a day, leading up to a similar mass shooting. While Sutton's film has won praise, some have understandably found it distasteful.
In cinemas August 17th.
The Untamed
Heli and Los Bastardos director Amat Escalante returns with a Lovecraftian tale set in a small-minded town in rural Mexico. The humdrum lives of two siblings are enlivened when a mysterious woman convinces them of the existence of an otherworldly presence in the nearby woods.
In cinemas August 18th.
American Made
Director Doug Liman reunites with his Edge of Tomorrow star Tom Cruise for a change of pace, a dramatisation of the true life exploits of Barry Seal (Cruise), a pilot who found himself running drugs for a dangerous Mexican cartel before then working undercover for the DEA. Sarah Wright and Domhnall Gleeson also star.
In cinemas August 25th.
Detroit
Arguably the most high-profile woman filmmaker working today, Katherine Bigelow returns with this drama based on a violent incident that occurred during riots in the titular city in 1967. Young British stars John Boyega and Will Poulter headline what is otherwise a very American tale.
In cinemas August 25th.