Preview for Movies Being Released in August 2009

August is the last full month of summer, but August is also the final phase of the summer movie season. In many ways, August is the least enviable month for summer movies, as all the major blockbusters have already come out, and August usually has bottom-of-the-barrel summer movies to end the season. Still, August occasionally has one more surprise hit or two to define the summer movie period, and there are already a few August films that may steal some thunder by season's ends.

August ends the summer with more Hasbro toys being brought into live action, icons like Julia Child, Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino and Michael Myers sharing the spotlight, and some stranded aliens being cramped into a mysterious district.

August 7
G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra: G.I. Joe was the equally action-packed, uber-patriotic toy line that Hasbro milked throughout the 80's alongside Transformers. Now, just after Transformers finished wrecking a summer box office for the second time, G.I. Joe takes their first shot at the big screen, alongside arch-nemesis Cobra. G.I. Joe seems more art-house by comparison, since they just settle for destroying France with chemical weapons.
Julie & Julia: Meryl Streep stole the summer the last two years by being an ice queen, and then a dancing queen. This August, Streep is the queen of the kitchen, playing Julia Child herself during her early rise to the top. Her tale gives inspiration to Streep's Doubt co-star Amy Adams, who sets out to pay homage to Child 50 years later.
A Perfect Getaway: Honeymoons often face mishaps, but for Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn, a honeymoon in Hawaii turns into a fight for their lives when a serial killer takes out their fellow tourists.

August 14
District 9: Sci-fi geeks and Peter Jackson fans are already dubbing District 9 as the sleeper hit of summer, and a better version of Cloverfield. The latest special effects driven mockumentary thriller is about illegal aliens from outer space who are locked up in the South African ghetto District 9. But a few select humans are about to go into District 9 and uncover the truth as to why.
The Time Traveler's Wife: Rachel McAdams returns to tear-jerker Notebook territory and takes Eric Bana with her. After going through the sci-fi ringer on Lost and Star Trek, time travel is used for romantic drama, as time traveler Bana struggles to stay in one time period with life-long love McAdams.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard: The latest Will Ferrell/Adam McKay production centers on the world of used car dealership, as helmed by Chappelle's Show co-creator Neil Brennan. Jeremy Piven is out to sell all his used cars, by any means necessary, before his dealership is taken over by rival Ed Helms.
Paper Heart: The second mockumentary of the week is more of an indie affair, as comedianne Charlyne Yi puts together a documentary on love, while juggling her relationship with the real-life Michael Cera.

August 21
Inglorious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino is back again, trying to get some juice back by setting his Inglorious Basterds on the loose in Nazi Germany. Tarantino waited over a decade to make Inglorious Basterds, and is now finally finished in time for Brad Pitt to lead a group of Jewish soldiers that slaughters every Nazi in their path - and are out to slaughter the biggest Nazis of all at a movie premiere. But Inglorious Basterds got a mixed response at Cannes due to Tarantino's lack of editing, and too much talking before the blood and guts kick in - though newcomer Christoph Waltz already has Oscar buzz as the head Nazi villain.
Shorts: Robert Rodriguez either grosses everyone out with R-rated, Tarantino-esq exploitation, or cleans himself up with G-rated, special effects driven kiddie films. Rodriguez goes back to the kiddie set, as kids and adults in a suburban town go mad over a wishing rock.
Post Grad: Alexis Bledel can't find a job after college, and is forced to put up with family members like Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch until she does.

August 28
Halloween II: Rob Zombie remade the original Halloween classic with mixed results. Now Zombie tries to do better in remaking Halloween II, which was hardly considered anything close to a classic. But Michael Myers isn't the only killer stalking teens two months before Halloween.
The Final Destination: Death also gets a jump start in killing everyone in sight again. The Final Destination films enter their fourth installment, only in this case, the elaborate deaths can jump out in 3D.
Taking Woodstock: The 40'th anniversary of Woodstock had to bring along some kind of tribute movie. Therefore, the ever unpredictable Ang Lee took the helm, with Daily Show alum Demetri Martin, of all people, starring as the young man who hosted Woodstock from his family farm.

Sources

IMDb.com- "Now Playing in the U.S." www.imdb.com/nowplaying/2009/08/