Ryan Reynolds is back in Free Guy, & more new movies to watch in August

The movie release schedule continues to be a strange and unpredictable beast this month, as releases are slowly moving away from tent poles that have been sitting on the shelf for the whole pandemic to a more varied output. Case in point: on Aug. 6, you’ll be able to go to a movie theatre to see either James Gunn’s reboot of The Suicide Squad OR the long-gestating musical epic from the strange team of Sparks and Leos Carax, Annette.

The Suicide Squad, designed to right the perceived wrongs of David Ayer’s bungled take from a few years ago, is actually getting some of the best reviews for a superhero movie in a long time; Idris Elba, Viola Davis and John Cena head up a star-studded cast. Reviews were a little less favorable when Annette premiered at Cannes — suffice to say that the musical drama featuring the music of cult art pop duo Sparks is not for everyone. Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard and Simon Helberg star.

Ryan Reynolds stars in Free Guy (Aug. 13), a comedy from Shawn Levy in which Reynolds plays a NPC in a videogame who becomes self-aware and attempts to become the hero of the videogame in order to save the world. It seems to be more or less along the lines of all the other cheeky stuff Reynolds has been doing lately, though one can’t really complain about a movie that is based on no pre-existing property. Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery and Taika Waititi co-star.

Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson star in Reminiscence (Aug. 20), a sci-fi thriller from Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy. Michael Keaton, Maggie Q and Samuel L. Jackson star in the assassin thriller The Protégé (Aug. 20), which honestly has the vibe of something that usually skips theatres altogether.

Standup comedian Mariana Mazza co-wrote and stars in Maria, the debut feature by Alec Pronovost (Le Killing, Tony Speed). The dramatic comedy about a woman who becomes a substitute teacher while taking care of her ailing mother will premiere at Fantasia and hit theatres on Aug. 20. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris star in Candyman, Nia DaCosta’s reboot / sequel to the 1992 horror film. John David Washington and Vicky Krieps star in Beckett, a Greek-set political thriller in which he plays a tourist caught in a manhunt after he is suspected of a crime he didn’t commit. It’s out Aug. 13 on Netflix.

Jason Momoa stars in Netflix’s Sweet Girl (Aug. 20), an action-thriller in which he plays a dad out to avenge the death of his wife and protect his daughter. Sian Heder’s CODA swept the prizes at Sundance and was purchased by Apple (where it premieres on Aug. 13) for a whopping $25-million. It stars Emilia Jones as a teenager who is the only hearing member of her culturally Deaf family. Nine Days also got rave reviews coming out of Sundance; the supernatural drama starring Zazie Beetz and Winston Duke is out on Aug. 6. ■

Watch the trailer for Free Guy below.

This article originally appeared in the August 2021 issue of Cult MTL. Check Montreal cinema showtimes here.

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