Indie Film Release Guide: August 24th [An ONTD Original]

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The films of late August are upon us, and they aren't pretty. The Happytime Murders and A.X.L. are the two wide release films of the weekend, and neither fared well in critical reviews (I've seen speculation that Happytime may well be the worst movie of the year). Both could actually qualify for inclusion in this post based on my own criteria, since neither STX nor Global Road are "major" movie studios  (WB, Universal, etc), but I didn't discover that til I was done writing the post, and there are already a million movies in it so...moving on.
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 17th, August 10th and August 3rd.

Searching

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Stars: John Cho, Debra Messing, Sara Sohn, Michelle La
Writer: Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian
Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Plot: After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.
What you should know: The film is shot from the point of view of computer screens & smart phones.
Opens in: Select cities; expands wide next weekend



Papillon

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Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Tommy Flanagan, Eve Hewson
Writer: Aaron Guzikowski
Director: Michael Noer
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Plot: Wrongfully convicted for murder, Henri Charriere forms an unlikely relationship with fellow inmate and quirky convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega, in an attempt to escape from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.
What you should know: Based on the books by Henri Charrière and the 1973 film of the same name.
Opens in: Select Cities

Support the Girls

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Stars: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Dylan Gelula, Zoe Graham
Written and directed by: Andrew Bujalski
Genre: Comedy
Plot: The general manager at a highway-side ''sports bar with curves" has her incurable optimism and faith, in her girls, her customers, and herself, tested over the course of a long, strange day.
What you should know: According to critics, it's better and more meaningful than the trailer makes it look.
Opens in: Select cities

The Bookshop

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Stars: Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson, Hunter Tremayne
Written and directed by: Isabel Coixet
Genre: Drama
Plot: England 1959. In a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald.
Opens in: NYC & LA

What Keeps You Alive

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Stars: Hannah Emily Anderson, Brittany Allen, Martha MacIsaac, Joey Klein
Written and directed by: Colin Minihan
Genre: Thriller
Plot: Majestic mountains, a still lake and venomous betrayals engulf a female married couple attempting to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
What you should know: Both of the leads were also in Jigsaw.
Opens in: Select cities and on VOD

Night is Short, Walk on Girl

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Stars: Gen Hoshino, Kana Hanazawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Ryûji Akiyama
Writer: Makoto Ueda
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Plot: A young girl embarks on an insanely long night of partying where she interacts with an increasingly eccentric cast of characters.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi
Opens in: Select cities (starting 8/21)

An L.A. Minute

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Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Kiersey Clemons, Bob Balaban, Katherine Kendall
Writer: Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman, Daniel Adams
Director: Daniel Adams
Genre: Comedy
Plot: Best-selling author Ted Gold faces a moral dilemma when Velocity, an avant-garde performance artist and the living embodiment of integrity, rocks his 1% world.
What you should know: Adams shot the film on 35mm.
Opens in: I don't see it listed anywhere, but check your local listings, I'm not perfect.

John McEnroe: In The Realm of Perfection

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Director: Julien Faraut
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: A documentary set at the final of the 1984 French Open between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl at a time when McEnroe was the world's top-ranked player.
What you should know: The film utilizes a ton of 16mm footage, and covers both his playing and his temper tantrums.
Opens in: Not sure where it's running this weekend, but it expands next weekend to select cities.

Makala

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Director: Emmanuel Gras
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: Trials, tribulations, dreams, and aspirations of a young farmer earning a living making and selling charcoal in Congo.
What you should know: It's in Swahili and French.
Opens in: Select cities, and available on demand.

Blue Iguana

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Stars: Sam Rockwell, Phoebe Fox, Ben Schwartz
Written and directed by: Hadi Hajaig
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Thriller
Plot: Ex-jailbirds Eddie and Paul are on parole and working in a New York diner. Their lives are a dead end. That is, until English lawyer Katherine Rookwood walks into the diner with an offer they can't refuse.
What you should know: OP deserves better from her fave.
Opens in: Select cities

Also opening: The Wild Boys (Trailer), Beautifully Broken (Trailer), Dead Envy (Trailer), I Am Vengeance (Trailer)

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What looks good? Planning on seeing anything this weekend? Seen anything good lately?