Movies coming to you in August: Godzilla: Resurgence, Lights Out, Genius and more
Lights Out. (Warner Bros Singapore)
Every month, we’ll tell you what upcoming movies are screening in cinemas islandwide, and which are the ones that you must watch.
Overview of July’s releases
“Suicide Squad” is out this month, as well as the zombie thriller “Train to Busan!” If you’re a Louis Koo fan, he appears in three movies this month too. But the end August highlight has got to be “Godzilla: Resurgence” — after 2014’s “Godzilla,” we definitely need a better monster movie to remember that giant radioactive lizard by. The second half of August sees plenty of films to keep any cinephile happy, although if you’re student, that’s not so great (since your EOY exams will be just around the corner).
Lights Out (18 August)
From producer James Wan (“The Conjuring”) comes a tale of an unknown terror that lurks in the dark. When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger… once the lights go out.
This is every filmmaker’s dream come true — a feature film that was developed from a short film! “Lights Out” has all the elements of a good horror film, what with the ghost that’s perpetually in shadow and the childhood connection to the main protagonist. It’ll be like “The Conjuring” or “Annabelle,” except that this time, it’s going to prey on your noctiphobia…
Genuis (25 August)
Thomas Wolfe, a blazing talent with a larger-than-life personality to match, finds fame and critical success at a young age. Meanwhile, Max Perkins is one of the most respected and well-known literary editors of all time, who discovers such iconic novelists as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. The two develop a tender, complex friendship that will change the lives of these brilliant, but very different men, forever.
I have to admit my bias here — I like to see writers depicted on screen, because it romanticises the art of writing (when it’s mostly just pounding away at a computer with a cup of coffee nearby). And with Colin Firth and Jude Law helming the film, you know that there’s going to be plenty of verbal sparring. Get ready for a slew of movies based on Thomas Wolfe’s works after this film.
Godzilla: Resurgence (25 August)
An unknown accident occurs in Tokyo Bay’s Aqua Line, which causes an emergency cabinet to assemble. All of the sudden, a giant creature immediately appears, destroying town after town with its landing reaching the capital. This mysterious giant monster is named “Godzilla”.
It’ll be a while before “Power Rangers” hits the screens, so if you need giant monster action in the meantime, “Godzilla: Resurgence” has got you covered. It’s pretty much the same formula, where they discover Godzilla is awakening and then he rampages across the land. Expect to see some messages about environmental conservation and how Godzilla isn’t evil, but just a force of nature.
4 August
Train to Busan
Genre: Zombie horror thriller
Cast: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok, Jung Yu-mi, Choi Woo-Shik, Ahn So-Hee, Kim Soo-Ahn
Suicide Squad
Genre: Superhero dark action comedy
Cast: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Viola Davis
Girl of the Big House (宝贝当家)
Genre: Dramedy
Cast: Francis Ng, Angela Wan, Miriam Yeung
Erased
Genre: Science fiction mystery thriller
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kasumi Arimura, Tsubasa Nakagawa, Rio Suzuki, Yuriko Ishida, Tetta Sugimoto, Mitsuhiro Oikawa
Robinson Crusoe
Genre: Comedy animation
Voice talents: Ron Allen, George Babbit, Laila Berzins, Ilka Bessin, Dieter Hallervorden, Matthias Schweighöfer
5 August
Nine Lives
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Amell, Christopher Walken
11 August
Nerve
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Juliette Lewis, Emily Meade, Kimiko Glenn
The Shallows
Genre: Drama
Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Sedona Legge
Line Walker (使徒行者)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Charmaine Sheh, Louis Koo, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung
12 August
Mohenjo Daro
Genre: Adventure romance
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde
18 August
Ben-Hur
Genre: Drama
Cast: Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell, Nazanin Boniadi, Rodrigo Santoro
Lights Out
Genre: Horror
Cast: Teresa Palmer, Emily Alyn Lind, Alicia Vela-Bailey
Call of Heroes (危城)
Genre: Action
Cast: Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo, Eddie Peng, Yuan Quan, Jiang Shuying, Jacky Wu
The BFG
Genre: Fantasy
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Penelope Wilton, Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill
Kampai! For The Love Of Sake
Genre: Documentary
Cast: Chizuru Doi, Cat Ford-Coates, Mitch Fortune, Philip Harper, John Gautner, Kosuke Kuji
Indignation
Genre: Drama
Cast: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Linda Emond
47 Meters Down
Genre: Adventure thriller
Cast: Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine, Santiago Segura
S Storm (S风暴)
Genre: Crime action drama
Cast: Louis Koo, Julian Cheung, Vic Chou, Ada Choi, Bowie Lam, Dada Chan, Shek Sau, Hoi-Pang Lo, Jacky Cai, Kwok Cheung Tsang
Sword Master (三少爷的剑)
Genre: Action
Cast: Lin Gengxin, Peter Ho, Jiang Yiyan, Jiang Mengjie
The Space Between Us
Genre: Romantic science fiction drama
Cast: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson
25 August
Godzilla: Resurgence
Genre: Science fiction action adventure
Cast: Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Ishihara Satomi
Time Raiders (盗墓笔记)
Genre: Fantasy adventure
Cast: Lu Han, Jing Boran, Ma Sichun, Mallika Sherawat, Wang Jingchun, Zhang Boyu
Genius
Genre: Biographical drama
Cast: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Dominic West, Guy Pearce
The Infiltrator
Genre: Crime drama
Cast: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Amy Ryan
Hands of Stone
Genre: Biographical action drama
Cast: Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Ana de Armas, Usher Raymond, Ellen Barkin, John Turturro
Don’t Breathe
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Dylan Minnette, Stephen Lang, Daniel Zovatto, Jane Levy
The Hollars
Genre: Dramedy
Cast: John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sharlto Copley, Charlie Day, Margo Martindale, Richard Jenkins
Take Down
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Jeremy Sumpter, Phoebe Tonkin, Sebastian Koch, Ashley Walters, Dominic Sherwood, Ed Westwick
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders, Julia Sawalha
The Warrior’s Gate
Genre: Action adventure
Cast: Dave Bautista, Sienna Guillory, Uriah Shelton, Mark Chao, Francis Ng
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Imogen Poots, Andy Samberg, Carrie Underwood
26 August
1400 (失爱欲谎)
Genre: Romance
Cast: Desmond Tan, Yahui, Vincent Tee, Alan Tan, Angeline Yap, Will Lawandi, Maria Alexandria, Luis Lim, Grace Lee-Khoo, Junichi Takahashi
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
