WHAT WE CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH
Disenchantment
Matt Groening’s first new animated comedy in almost 20 years is a medieval fantasy adventure thing with the voices of Abbi Jacobson, Nat Faxon and Eric Andre as (respectively) Princess Bean, her elf pal Elfo and “personal demon” Luci. Everybody drinks. We can’t wait. August 17
Follow This
An insider’s look at the Buzzfeed newsroom, this weekly, short-form documentary series follows the culture site’s reporters as they explore everything from quirky internet crazes to safe injection sites. In the first of 20 15-minute long episodes, senior culture writer Scaachi Koul – the Toronto-based essayist who released One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter in 2017 – reflects on how “a lot of times the internet takes me to some pretty weird places” as she covers the world of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos, an internet phenomenon that many describe as having a “head orgasm.” August 23
Marching Orders
Only a handful of depictions of Black college marching bands have made it into the mainstream, from the 2002 classic Drumline to Beyoncé’s landmark Coachella performance, but when we do get to see them they’re always electric. Expect the same spine-tingliness from this behind-the-scenes look at Bethune-Cookman University’s Marching Wildcats. The reality series follows an incoming class of marching band and majorette hopefuls as they try to survive the rigours of practice and performance all while balancing school and their social lives. August 3
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Based on Jenny Han’s bestselling YA novel of the same name, this Netflix film tells the story of Lara Jean (newcomer Lana Condor), a shy high schooler who keeps a stash of love letters she’s written to all the boys she’s had major crushes on. One day, those letters go missing and Lara realizes her worst nightmare has come true. While trying to figure out what her crushes know and how to fix the situation, she inadvertently falls in love for real. August 17
Demetri Martin: The Overthinker
After writing, directing and starring in his debut 2016 feature film, Dean, deadpan comic Demetri Martin returns to form with his latest Netflix stand-up special. Expect plenty of one-liners and jokes articulated via his signature cartoon drawings, as well as meditations on everyday minutia like doughnut holes (or as we say up here, timbits,) sports bars and the most aggressive letters in the alphabet. August 10
Universal Pictures
Andy Samberg goes full douche in the underrated music industry satire Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
SOLID BETS
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer’s goofy comedy about the rise and fall of entitled, oblivious music star Conner4Real (Samberg, going full douche) failed to set the box office on fire, but two years later it looks like one of the funniest comedies of the decade, with a soundtrack that should have topped the charts. Style Boyz for life, y’all. August 1
Adventures In Public School
Kyle Rideout and Josh Epstein’s whip-smart comedy – which played TIFF last year under the title Public Schooled – stars Daniel Doheny as a home-schooled genius who enrols in public school so he can chase his dream girl (Siobhan Williams), much to the consternation of his overprotective mother (Judy Greer). Keep an eye out for Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park and Kim’s Convenience’s Andrea Bang as a mother-daughter pairing even weirder than the leads. August 15
Don’t Breathe
Fede Alvarez’s follow-up to his Evil Dead remake is about three friends who break into the home of a blind man after they get a tip that he’s sitting on $300,000. However, the mysterious man is an Iraq War vet and no pushover. The cast suggests a lot with minimal dialogue, while Alvarez and his co-writer, Rodo Sayagues have a blast with the skeevy premise, letting our feelings about the trio and the vet (known in the credits as The Blind Man) change with each narrative jolt. August 15
8 Mile
It’s been 16 years since 8 Mile hit theatres, but we bet you still try to rap along every time the song comes on the radio (something-something-mom’s spaghetti, right?). The musical drama stars Eminem as Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith, a blue-collar worker who dreams of making it as a hip-hop star. Trouble is, he’s white in a genre dominated by African Americans. Also, B-Rabbit’s stuck living in his mom’s trailer at 8 Mile Road in Detroit. It’s all fodder for a big rap battle, and at least we know, it all worked out in the end for Eminem. August 1
Touch Of Evil
The story goes that Orson Welles joined Universal’s pulpy Charlton Heston-and-Janet Leigh thriller as an actor, and only an actor – until Heston demanded the studio let him direct it. As a result, what might have been a forgettable B-picture became a weird, impressionistic fever dream of motel jazz parties, heroin freaks, lady bikers and mad bombers. Yes, Charlton Heston wears brownface for the whole thing to play a Mexican cop. It’s unfortunate. The movie’s still amazing. August 1
A Hologram For The King
You almost certainly missed this Tom Hanks midlife-crisis dramedy – adapted by Run Lola Run’s Tom Tykwer from a novel by Dave Eggers – the first time around, and that’s okay it’s kind of a mess, to be honest. But it’s the kind of mess that plays a lot better on a smaller screen, where Hanks’s performance somehow registers more clearly. August 9
Julie & Julia
Young New Yorker Julie (Amy Adams) is dissatisfied with her job, so she decides to do something for herself – by cooking every recipe in Mastering The Art Of French Cooking by Julia Child (Meryl Streep). Writer-director Nora Ephron’s final film looks at the challenges both women faced and, perhaps more importantly, the comfort they found in cooking for themselves. August 1
The Commuter
No, the latest collaboration between Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra does not reach the dizzy heights of their finest two hours, Non-Stop. But it’s still pretty good, with a solid premise – ex-cop Neeson is offered a huge payday to find a person on his train out of Manhattan, only to realize he’s being set up for something nefarious – and a supporting cast filled with ringers like Vera Farmiga, Jonathan Banks and Lady Macbeth’s Florence Pugh. August 10
Full list of new titles available in August, by date:
TV SHOWS
August 1
Switched
August 2
The 100 (season five)
August 3
Cocaine Coast
Dinotrux Supercharged (season 3)
I AM A KILLER
Marching Orders
August 4
On Children
August 10
72 Dangerous Animals: Asia
All About The Washingtons
Insatiable
La casa de las flores
Million Pound Menu
Outlander (season three)
The Ponysitters Club
Voltron: Legendary Defender (season seven)
August 13
Splash And Bubbles (season two)
August 15
Homeland (season six)
August 17
Disenchantment
Magic For Humans
Pinky Malinky
Spirit Riding Free (season six)
Stay Here
Ultraviolet
August 19
The Investigator: A British Crime Story (season two)
August 21
The Sinner
August 22
How To Get Away With Murder (season four)
Marlon (season two)
August 23
Deadwind
Follow This
August 24
Ask The StoryBots (season two)
Ghoul
The Innocents
Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (season three)
August 27
The Blacklist (season five)
August 31
The Comedy Lineup (part two)
Inside The Criminal Mind
Ozark (season two)
Paradise PD
Ultimate Beastmaster: Survival Of The Fittest
MOVIES
August 1
8 Mile
Along Came Polly
Dragonheart
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Julie & Julia
Justice League Dark
House Of Deadly Secrets
The Land Before Time
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
The Perfect Man
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Public Enemies
Rise Of The Guardians
Safe House
‘Til Death Do Us Part
Touch of Evil
August 2
Wild Oats
August 3
Brij Mohan Amar Rahe
Like Father
August 4
Flavors Of Youth: International Version
August 6
I Kill Giants
Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back
Storks
Sully
August 9
A Hologram For The King
Perdida
August 10
Afflicted
The Commuter
Demetri Martin: The Overthinker
The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society
The Package
Zion
August 15
Adventures In Public School
Don’t Breathe
Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate
August 16
Made Of Honor
August 17
Den Of Thieves
The Motive
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
August 20
Death At A Funeral
August 23
In Darkness
August 24
The After Party
Bert Kreischer: Secret Time
Downsizing
August 27
The Accountant
When The Bough Breaks
August 31
The Laws Of Thermodynamics
Air date TBD
Meteor Garden
Last Call
TV series and movies leaving Netflix this month.
August 1
Apollo 13
Belle
The Fault In Our Stars
Finding Dory
How To Be Single
In Good Company
The Time Traveler’s Wife
August 3
The Truman Show
August 11
Scarface
August 15
Gangs Of New York
August 17
Minority Report
August 23
American Hustle
August 24
School Of Rock
Sixteen Candles
August 26
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
August 27
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
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