New in Theaters This Week for 08/17/18
Welcome to a recurring feature here at The Nerd Mentality. As movie lovers, we often scramble to find all the films coming out in a given week. We thought we would take some of the guesswork out of it for our readers. We’ll be showcasing both wide and limited releases. So sit back watch some trailers and you might find something new to go watch this weekend. These films are what’s New in Theaters This Week for 08/17/18, shown in totally random order, because why not? Showtimes are linked on the titles so you can see if it is playing near you.
Crazy Rich Asians (Warner Bros.) 08/15/2018
The story follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can’t buy love, it can definitely complicate things.
Mr. & Mrs. 420 Returns (Rising Star Entertainment) 08/15/2018
Irresponsible and extravagant, Ranjit Bawa finds himself in a spot of bother when his family withholds his inheritance until he gets married. His search for a suitable bride brings him to Jassi Gill, a marriage bureau owner whose plight is somewhat similar and equally bad. Realising that they have a lot in common, the two men team up to sort out each other’s issues, and things take a hilariously interesting turn from this point.
Gold (ZEE Studios International) 08/15/2018
Gold, set in 1948, tells the historic story of the hockey team that won the first Olympic medal for India as a free nation on the 12th of August 1948. The same date this year commemorates the 70th anniversary of this historic feat.
The story of Gold highlights India’s emergence from the shadow of the British Empire as it meets the British hockey team on the field, this time as a nation in its own right. Gold is an inspirational story of a team that fought against all odds to bring their nation hope, pride and respect.
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (RLJE Films)
Recently divorced and reeling, Edgar returns to his childhood home to regroup his life. When Edgar finds a nefarious looking puppet in his deceased brother’s room, he decides to sell the doll for some quick cash. Girl-next-door Ashley and and comic book pal Markowitz join Edgar for a doomed road trip to an auction at a convention celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets at the convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that’s motivated by an evil as old as time.
Mile 22 (STX Entertainment)
In a visceral modern thriller from the director of Lone Survivor, Mark Wahlberg stars as James Silva, an operative of the CIA’s most highly-prized and least-understood unit. Aided by a top-secret tactical command team, Silva must retrieve and transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to Mile 22 for extraction before the enemy closes in.
Songwriter (Abramorama)
Songwriter is an intimate and personal look into the writing process of one of the world’s leading artists – Ed Sheeran. Filmed by Murray, Songwriter details the creation of Ed’s third studio album “Divide” and gives an authentic insight into Ed’s life through never before seen home videos. Witness firsthand the creativity, from the very first chord to the finishing touch – as the sounds become the songs.
Minding the Gap (Hulu / Magnolia Pictures)
Compiling over 12 years of footage shot in his hometown of Rockford, IL, in MINDING THE GAP, Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends’ turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern-day masculinity. As the film unfolds, Bing captures 23-year-old Zack’s tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend deteriorate after the birth of their son and 17-year-old Keire struggling with his racial identity as he faces new responsibilities following the death of his father. While navigating a difficult relationship between his camera, his friends, and his own past, Bing ultimately weaves a story of generational forgiveness while exploring the precarious gap between childhood and adulthood.
Blaze (IFC Films / Sundance Selects)
BLAZE stars newcomer Ben Dickey as Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw music movement that spawned the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding re-imagined versions of Blaze’s past, present and future. The different strands explore his love affair with Sybil Rosen (Alia Shawkat); his last, dark night on earth; and the impact of his songs and his death had on his fans, friends, and foes. The storyline terminates in a bittersweet ending that acknowledges Blaze’s profound highs and lows, as well as the impressions he made on the people who shared his journey.
Memoir of War (Music Box Films)
Mélanie Thierry gives an emotionally transfixing performance as seminal author Marguerite Duras in director Emmanuel Finkiel’s haunting and hypnotic adaptation of her autobiographical novel “The War: A Memoir.” Both members of the Resistance living in Nazi-occupied Paris, Marguerite is desperate for news of her husband Robert Antelme, who has been arrested by the Germans and sent to Dachau concentration camp. In exchange for information, Marguerite enters into a high-risk game of psychological cat and mouse with French Nazi collaborator Rabier (Benoît Magimel). But as the months wear on without word of the man she loves, Marguerite must begin the process of confronting the unimaginable. Through subtly expressionistic images and voiceover passages of Duras’s writing, Finkiel evokes the inner world of one of the 20th century’s most revolutionary writers.
Billionaire Boys Club (Vertical Entertainment)
In early 1980’s Los Angeles, rich boys led by Joe Hunt hit it big with a Ponzi scheme. Things go horribly wrong for all involved when they learn they’ve been betrayed by their investor, high roller Ron Levin, leaving Hunt owing a lot of money to a lot of people.
We The Animals (The Orchard)
Us three, us brothers, us kings. Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
Alpha (Sony / Columbia)
An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age, ALPHA tells a fascinating, visually stunning story that shines a light on the origins of man’s best friend. While on his first hunt with his tribe’s most elite group, a young man is injured and must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before winter arrives.
Juliet, Naked (Roadside Attractions / Lionsgate)
Annie (Rose Byrne) is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) – an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, JULIET, NAKED is a comic account of life’s second chances.
The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics)
Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) is a highly intelligent and still-striking beauty – the perfect devoted wife. Forty years spent sacrificing her own talent, dreams and ambitions to fan the flames of her charismatic husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and his skyrocketing literary career. Ignoring his infidelities and excuses because of his “art” with grace and humor. Their fateful pact has built a marriage upon uneven compromises and Joan’s reached her breaking point. On the eve of Joe’s Nobel Prize for Literature, the crown jewel in a spectacular body of work, Joan’s coup de grace is to confront the biggest sacrifice of her life and secret of his career. THE WIFE is a poignant, funny and emotional journey; a celebration of womanhood, self-discovery and liberation.
Benched (Gravitas Ventures)
Legendary baseball coach, Don (John C. McGinley, “Scrubs”), gets inexperienced Michael (Garret Dillahunt, “Raising Hope”) as his new assistant coach. The two coaches are polar opposites as fiery Don loves to win no matter the cost and Michael is all about having fun. To make matters worse, their team leads the league in errors, strikeouts, and hurt feelings. Throughout a season of hilarity and heartbreak, Michael and Don must work together to help their underdog team. Come play ball in this heartwarming comedy about two adverse coaches coming off the bench and getting their heads in the game.
A Whale of a Tale (Fine Line Media)
In 2010, Taiji, a sleepy fishing town in Japan, suddenly found itself in the worldwide media spotlight. THE COVE, a documentary denouncing the town’s longstanding whale and dolphin hunting traditions, won an Academy Award and almost overnight, Taiji became the go-to destination and battleground for activists from around the world. Can a proud 400-year-old whaling tradition survive a tsunami of modern animal-rights activism and colliding forces of globalism vs. localism?
A WHALE OF A TALE reveals the complex story behind the ongoing debate. Told through a wide range of characters including local fishermen, international activists and an American journalist (and long time Japanese resident), this powerful documentary unearths a deep divide in eastern and western thought about nature and wildlife and cultural sensitivity in the face of global activism.
Notes on an Appearance (Grasshopper Film)
A young man’s disappearance is at the center of an enigmatic, haunted film set inside New York City apartments, subway stations, bookstores, and cafés as the supporters of an elusive political theorist embark on a covert program of indiscriminate violence and censure. But Todd and Madeleine, who search for the missing David, soon enter the company of strangers promising diversion and intrigue, and the reasons for David’s disappearance become much less preoccupying – and less meaningful.
Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks (Gravitas Ventures)
Estranged brother and sister, Marcus and Michelle Brinks (Scott Rodgers and Kristin Slaysman) reunite after the sudden death of their parents, a saintly pair of doctors-without-borders they barely knew and never liked. The homecoming goes haywire when the siblings choose to revel in dysfunction rather than face the grief of losing a family they thought they didn’t need.
Luis and The Aliens (Viva Pictures)
With his father obsessed with finding proof of extra-terrestrial life, 12-year-old Luis does his best to take care of the house and lead a normal life. Unfortunately the neglect from his father drags Luis’ life down and he’s at risk of being taken away and sent off to a boarding school. When a group of three awkward aliens are drawn to Earth after watching too much of the home-shopping network they inevitably run into Luis. Feeling like he’s finally found a true family, Luis dedicates himself to helping them find their way home so he also can escape his own fate in this wild and wacky out-of-this-world adventure!
The Ranger (Glass Eye Pix)
Teen punks, on the run from the cops and hiding out in the woods, face off against the local authority– an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind.
The Little Mermaid (Conglomerate Media)
A young reporter and his niece discover a beautiful and enchanting creature they believe to be the real little mermaid.
Down a Dark Hall (Summit Entertainment)
Kit (AnnaSophia Robb), a difficult young girl, is sent to the mysterious Blackwood Boarding School when her heated temper becomes too much for her mother to handle. Once she arrives at Blackwood, Kit encounters eccentric headmistress Madame Duret (Uma Thurman) and meets the school’s only other students, four young women also headed down a troubled path. While exploring the labyrinthine corridors of the school, Kit and her classmates discover that Blackwood Manor hides an age-old secret rooted in the paranormal.
Running for Grace (Blue Fox Entertainment)
In RUNNING FOR GRACE, an orphan boy of mixed race finds family with the newly arrived white village doctor in Hawaii. The boy can run like the wind, and begins bringing Doc’s medicine to coffee pickers throughout the mountainous region. On an errand, the medicine runner meets the daughter of the plantation owner and a forbidden, young love blossoms like the white “Kona Snow” of the surrounding coffee trees.
Breaking & Exiting (Freestyle Digital Media)
A charming thief gets more than he bargained for when he stumbles upon a woman during an attempted robbery — sending both of them into a darkly comedic journey of love and self-discovery.
Hopefully, you found some interesting trailers and maybe plan to see a film you normally wouldn’t have. New in Theaters This Week for 08/17/18 brought to you by The Nerd Mentality! Check back each week by bookmarking our Now Playing tag.