What to Watch at Theaters and at Home This Weekend August 30-September 2, 2024
- Ryan Michael Painter
- Sep 2, 2024
- 7 min read
A Quiet Place: Day One (Paramount+)
Synopsis: Experience the day the world went quiet in this terrifying continuation of the A Quiet Place universe. When Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) returns home to New York City, her simple trip turns into a harrowing nightmare when the mysterious creatures that hunt by sound attack. Accompanied by her cat Frodo and an unexpected ally (Joseph Quinn), Samira must embark on a perilous journey through the city that has suddenly gone silent in which the only rule is to stay quiet to stay alive.
Terminator Zero (Netflix)
Synopsis: 2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity.
Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet’s impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children.
1992 (Theaters)
Synopsis: In 1992, Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son (Christopher A’mmanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 LA uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide in this tense crime-thriller.
Across the River and into the Trees (Theaters)
Synopsis: As WWII ends, Col. Cantwell, a witty war hero, confronts terminal illness. Seeking solace in Venice, he commandeers a driver for a final trip. Amid unraveling plans, a chance encounter with a countess offers hope and redemption against the backdrop of war. Hemingway's themes of love, youth, and age resonate in "Across the River and Into the Trees.”
Afraid (Theaters)
Synopsis: In AFRAID, Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called AIA. Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, AIA seems able to do it all. She learns the family's behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way.
Borderlands (Theaters/Digital Retailers)
Synopsis: Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to BORDERLANDS.
D.O.A.: A Right of Passage (Criterion Channel)
Synopsis: A groundbreaking documentary about the origins of punk rock, D.O.A.: A RIGHT OF PASSAGE is centered around the Sex Pistols’s 1978 tour of the United States, which ended with the group breaking up. Following the band with handheld cameras through the clubs and bars of their seven-city U.S. tour, director Lech Kowalski combined the footage with records of other contemporary bands, fashion trends, and punks of all stripes for a grainy, stained portrait of the punk movement at its peak (including the now-famous footage of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen in bed). Featuring rare interviews and concert performances by the Sex Pistols, the Dead Boys, Generation X (with Billy Idol), The Rich Kids, X-Ray Spex, and Sham 69, along with additional music from the Clash and Iggy Pop, D.O.A. is a you-are-there snapshot of a singular cultural moment.
The Deliverance (Netflix)
Synopsis: Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children. Inspired by a true story, THE DELIVERANCE is directed by Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels and stars Andra Day, Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Mo’Nique in a genre-defying take on darkness, possession, and finding a higher power.
The Falling Star (Theaters)
Synopsis: The latest caper from Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel (Lost in Paris, The Fairy) filters the language of film noir through their characteristically colorful palette to create a series of deceptively minimalistic setpieces that recall the best of Tati and Keaton. Abel plays Boris, a former activist hiding from his dark past, keeping in the shadows as a barkeeper until a one-armed vigilante finally hunts him down. The fortuitous appearance of a double – the depressive recluse Dom (also played by Abel) – seems to offer the perfect decoy. But his tenacious and loopy ex-wife, the private eye Fiona (Gordon), could foil their master plan.
Harold and the Purple Crayon (Theaters/Digital Retailers)
Synopsis: Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life—and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends’ creativity to save both the real world and his own. Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic that has captivated young readers for decades.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Blu-ray/Digital Retailers)
Synopsis: Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Killer Lies: Chasing a True Crime Con Man (National Geographic)
Synopsis: Based on reporting by The New Yorker’s Lauren Collins, KILLER LIES: CHASING A TRUE CRIME CON MAN tracks Collins’ investigation into the rise and fall of a provocative French serial killer expert, Stéphane Bourgoin, who built an international reputation for his extraordinary resume, personality quirks and morbid encounters. After citing a violent and horrifying origin story as motivation for his relentless pursuit to understand the minds of murderers, Bourgoin becomes the target of a group of online sleuths who try to untangle his web of lies and unearth the truth. The series fully reveals their dogged investigation and the shocking extent of Bourgoin’s deception for more than 30 years. Directed by Emmy® Award-nominated filmmaker Ben Selkow, the three-part thriller is a poignant exploration of human nature and cultural psychology, as well as a captivating metacommentary on the global entertainment industry of true crime.
Kinds of Kindness (Hulu)
Synopsis: KINDS OF KINDNESS is a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.
Mountains (Theaters)
Synopsis: In Miami’s Little Haiti, Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) makes a living as a demolition worker while his wife Esperance (Sheila Anozier) holds down two jobs to sustain their cozy household. Their routine is tested when their son Junior (Chris Renois) returns home after dropping out of college. Xavier and Esperance struggle to relate with Junior, who is no longer interested in speaking Creole with them and harbors ambitions of an artistic career path they do not understand. Xavier aspires to buy a more spacious house for his family, but still wakes up every morning, goes to work, and dismantles his neighborhood brick by brick. Yet even as construction vehicles rumble down the block, Little Haiti remains a vibrant community with traditions and rhythms distinctly its own. Monica Sorelle’s tender feature debut is a multigenerational drama that deftly explores the relationships between immigrants and their children, the looming threat of gentrification, and the pursuit of the American dream.
Only Murders in the Building: Season 4 (Hulu)
Synopsis: In Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building, our amateur podcasting trio wrestles with the shocking events at the end of Season 3 surrounding Charles’ stunt double & friend Sazz Pataki.
Reagan (Theaters)
Synopsis: From dusty small-town roots to the glitter of Hollywood, and then on to commanding the world stage, REAGAN is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds. Told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich, a former KGB agent who followed Reagan's ascent, REAGAN captures the indomitable spirit of the American dream. Starring Dennis Quaid, prepare to be moved and inspired.
The Watchers (Max)
Synopsis: From producer M. Night Shyamalan comes “The Watchers,” written for the screen and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and based on the novel by A.M. Shine. The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
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