Let’s Get Excited: August

Whether you want to admit it or not, August’s arrival marks the beginning of the end of summer. We’ve seen Dark Knight Rises for a 3rd time, Ted is already a month old and Men and Black is nothing but a memory. As we enter the last week of the Olympics, I begin to wonder: What else do I have to look forward to? Fall television? The World Series? It all just seems so far away.

Even though it’s likely none of the opening nights for the following movies are going to sell out three weeks in advance, it’s guaranteed that they are enough to keep my summer movie mojo rolling into September. Here is what we all have to look forward to:

Week of August 10th
Red Hook Summer

The latest from Spike Lee set in old Brooklyn territory. The film follows the story of a boy from middle-class Atlanta sent to live with his Bishop grandfather (whom he’s never met) in Red Hook. While it has been argued that the film’s trailer seems a little “soft” for Lee, I’m excited to see something with some substance after budget blow outs all summer long. Think of this as a chaser to the sugary sweet we know and love about summer blockbusters.

Week of August 17th
Cosmopolis

See, what did I say? Just a week after Spike Lee we get David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. I think it’s important to note that the majority of my life has been spent reading and Don Delillo is a master of post-modern novels. While I haven’t read Cosmopolis (but don’t worry, I will) a have no doubt that the story will link terrifyingly close to our own lives and point out all of our flaws. I’ve never been an R-Patz fan, but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for this one since I don’t see any vampires around.

Week of August 31st
Lawless

Another book-came-first flick, this time the true story of the bootlegging Bondurant Brothers from Prohibition era Virginia. Quite frankly, I am so excited to see Shia LaBeouf has managed to get his act together for this one. Ignoring my Even Stevens crush from when I was twelve, I’ve always thought highly of his acting and I’m excited to see how he does. I just hope it doesn’t wind up being a Lindsay Lohan on SNL kind of moment.

There you have it. Now we can all quite our bellyaching.