Indie Film Release Guide: August 17th [An ONTD Original]

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Major studio releases this weekend include Crazy Rich Asians, Alpha and Mile 22, but there are a lot of independent releases heading to theaters as well. Yes, there are two Ethan Hawke movies and an Uma Thurman movie in this round-up; no, it’s not 1998.

Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: August 10th, August 3rd, and July 27th.

The Wife

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Stars: Glenn Close, Christian Slater, Max Irons, Elizabeth McGovern
Writer: Jane Anderson, Meg Wolitzer
Director: Björn Runge
Genre: Drama
Plot: A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
What you should know: Glenn Close wanted Gary Oldman to play her husband, but he was busy so she got the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) instead.
Opens in: NYC & LA



Billionaire Boys Club

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Stars: Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton, Kevin Spacey, Emma Roberts
Writer: James Cox, Captain Mauzner
Director: James Cox
Genre: Biography, Drama, Thriller
Plot: A group of wealthy boys in Los Angeles during the early 1980s establish a 'get-rich-quick' scam that turns deadly.
What you should know: This was shot before Baby Driver, and they clearly had no idea what to do with it after the Spacey revelations. Emma Roberts dropped out of S5 of American Horror Story to film this.
Opens in: Nowhere, as far as I can tell; available VOD.

The Little Mermaid

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Stars: Poppy Drayton, William Mosely, Armando Gutierrez, Shirley MacLaine
Writer: Blake Harris, Hans Christian Andersen
Director: Blake Harris, Chris Bouchard
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Plot: A young reporter and his niece discover a beautiful and enchanting creature they believe to be the real little mermaid.
What you should know: This is not Disney’s The Little Mermaid, so no Ariel or Flounder or any of that.
Opens in: This is an AMC Theater exclusive (check your local listings)

Juliet, Naked

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Stars: Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Dodds
Writer: Evgenia Peretz, Jim Taylor, Tamara Jenkins
Director: Jesse Peretz
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Plot: Annie is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan - an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe. 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.
What you should know: Based on the book by Nick Hornby.
Opens in: NYC & LA

We The Animals

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Stars: Raul Castillo, Josiah Gabriel, Terry Holland, Isaiah Christian
Writer: Daniel Kitrosser, Jeremiah Zagar
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Genre: Drama, LGBT
Plot: 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 embraces an imagined world all on his own.
What you should know: Based on a semi-autobiographical book by Justin Torres.
Opens in: NYC & LA

Minding the Gap

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Director: Bing Liu
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust-Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.
What you should know: Won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Opens in: Select cites and on Hulu

Down a Dark Hall

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Stars: AnnaSophia Robb, Uma Thurman, Isabelle Fuhrman, Victoria Moroles
Writer: Michael Goldbach, Chris Sparling
Director: Rodrigo Cortés
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Plot: Kit Gordy, a new student at the exclusive Blackwood Boarding School, confronts the institution's supernatural occurrences and dark powers of its headmistress.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Lois Duncan.
Opens in: Select cities

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich

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Stars: Thomas Lennon, Michael Paré, Charlyne Yi, Udo Kier
Writer: S. Craig Zahler
Director: Sonny Laguna, Tommy Wiklund
Genre: Horror
Plot: All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets up for auction at a convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that's motivated by an evil as old as time.
What you should know: Check out a detailed review of this film from ONTD’s own hjalmartazar, who saw it at Fantasia Fest and posted about it here.
Opens in: Select cities

Blaze

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Stars: Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, Wyatt Russell
Writer: Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen
Director: Ethan Hawke
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Plot: A reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.
What you should know: Based on Sybil Rosen’s memoir; she also co-wrote the film and plays her own mother.
Opens in: Austin, Texas

The Ranger

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Stars: Chloe Levine, Jeremy Holm, Granit Lahu, Jeremy Pope
Writer: Giaco Furino, Jenn Wexler
Director: Jenn Wexler
Genre: Horror
Plot: Teen punks, on the run from the cops and hiding out in the woods, come up against the local authority - an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind.
What you should know: Premiered at SXSW.
Opens in: NYC + select cities

Also opening: Breaking and Exiting (Trailer), Running for Grace (Trailer), Memoir of War (Trailer), Songwriter (Trailer), Alt Right: Age of Rage (Trailer)

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See anything good, bad or in-between lately? What are you checking out this weekend?