A number of new movies will be released this week, including the following films opening in theaters or debuting via video on demand on various streaming platforms:
‘Reminiscence’
- Genre: Science fiction and thriller
- Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, and Cliff Curtis
- Director: Lisa Joy
- Rated: PG-13
Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories.
Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: How far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?
The film is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures Aug. 20, and will also have a month-long simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service.
‘PAW Patrol: The Movie’
- Genre: Computer-animated adventure comedy
- Cast: Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, Tyler Perry, and Jimmy Kimmel
- Director: Cal Brunker
- Rated: G
The PAW Patrol is on a roll!
When their biggest rival, Humdinger, becomes mayor of nearby Adventure City and starts wreaking havoc, Ryder and everyone’s favorite heroic pups kick into high gear to face the challenge head on. While one pup must face his past in Adventure City, the team finds help from a new ally, the savvy dachshund Liberty. Together, armed with exciting new gadgets and gear, the PAW Patrol fights to save the citizens of Adventure City.
‘Sweet Girl’
- Genre: Action and thriller
- Cast: Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Raza Jaffrey, Lex Scott Davis, Adria Arjona, Michael Raymond-James and Amy Brenneman
- Director: Brian Andrew Mendoza
- Rated: R
Devoted family man Ray Cooper (Jason Momoa) vows justice against the pharmaceutical company responsible for pulling a potentially life-saving drug from the market just before his wife (Adria Arjona) dies from cancer. But when his search for the truth leads to a deadly encounter that puts Ray and his daughter Rachel (Isabela Merced) in harm’s way, Ray’s mission turns into a quest for vengeance in order to protect the only family he has left.
The film is scheduled to be released Aug. 20 by Netflix.
‘The Protégé’
- Genre: Action and thriller
- Cast: Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Malahide, David Rintoul, Ori Pfeffer, Ray Fearon, Caroline Loncq, and Robert Patrick
- Director: Martin Campbell
- Rated: R
Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer.
But when Moody — the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival — is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves even tighter.
The film is scheduled to be released Aug. 20 by Lionsgate.
‘Flag Day’
- Genre: Drama
- Cast: Dylan Penn, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Norbert Leo Butz, Dale Dickey, and Eddie Marsan
- Director: Sean Penn
- Rated: R
Jennifer Vogel’s (Dylan Penn) father John (Sean Penn) was larger than life.
As a child, Jennifer marveled at his magnetizing energy and ability to make life feel like a grand adventure. He taught her so much about love and joy, but he also happened to be the most notorious counterfeiter in U.S. history.
Based on a true story and directed by Sean Penn, “Flag Day” stars Penn and his real-life daughter Dylan Penn in an intimate family portrait about a young woman who struggles to rise above the wreckage of her past while reconciling the inescapable bond between a daughter and her father.
The film is scheduled to be released Aug. 20 by United Artists Releasing.
‘The Night House’
- Genre: Psychological horror
- Cast: Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Evan Jonigkeit, Stacy Martin and Vondie Curtis-Hall
- Director: David Bruckner
- Rated: R
“The Night House” follows a widow (Rebecca Hall) who begins to uncover her recently deceased husband’s disturbing secrets.
The film is scheduled to be released Aug. 20 by Searchlight Pictures.
‘Cryptozoo’
- Genre: Adult animated drama
- Cast: Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Angeliki Papoulia, Zoe Kazan, Peter Stormare, Grace Zabriskie, Louisa Krause and Thomas Jay Ryan
- Director: Dash Shaw
- Not rated
Visionary comic book writer/artist/filmmaker Dash Shaw’s vibrant, fantastical animated feature follows cryptozookeepers through a richly-drawn hallucinatory world as they struggle to capture a baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature) and begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a zoo, or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown.
Featuring the voice talents of Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan, Michael Cera, Louisa Krause, Peter Stormare, Thomas Jay Ryan, Grace Zabriskie and Angeliki Papoulia, “Cryptozoo” is written and directed by Shaw, with Jane Samborski directing the stunning animation.
The film will be released by Magnolia Pictures Aug. 20.
‘Demonic’
- Genre: Horror
- Cast: Carly Pope, Chris William Martin, Michael J. Rogers, Nathalie Boltt, and Terry Chen
- Director: Neill Blomkamp
- Rated: R
When Carly Spenser (Carly Pope) learns that her estranged mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt) has fallen into a coma, she reluctantly agrees to take part in a cutting-edge therapy that will allow her to tap into Angela’s still-active brain and communicate with her.
Observed by physician Michael (Michael J. Rogers) and neuroscientist Daniel (Terry Chen), she enters a harrowing simulation of Angela’s mindscape where she discovers the powerful supernatural force that drove her mother to commit unspeakable acts of violence nearly two decades earlier. Afterward, haunted by terrifying visions, Carly joins forces with her old friend Martin (Chris William Martin) as she desperately tries to fend off the monstrous demon before it can enter a new host and inflict more pain and suffering on the world.
IFC Midnight will release the film in theaters Aug. 20, and on video on demand Aug. 27.