So the first weekend of the month has come and gone, and with it, a couple Primer-able events, namely Tom Cruise returning to theatres as Ethan Hunt in the fifth Mission: Impossible flick and Ronda Rousey doing as Ronda Rousey does against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 on Saturday night in Brazil.
Even with those two off the board, August still has a ton of stuff to look forward to, so let’s get right to it.
Netflix New Arrivals (All Month)
In addition to this year’s Best Picture winner Birdman and Julianne Moore’s Oscar-winning performance in Still Alice, this month offers plenty of time to get into Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (which arrived on July 31), the new series Narcos (August 28), the Tom Hardy vehicle Locke, A Most Violent Year and my personal favourite new add, the Eddie Murphy classic Coming to America.
New Reads (All Month)
Another month, another James Patterson book hits the shelves and I say that with all due respect for the man that pens the Alex Cross series (which I’ve read in its entirety) and several others. Also coming out this month are new offerings from Sue Grafton, Ken Follett and Jonathan Kellerman, as well as the next entry into the Percy Jackson series. Find some shade under a tree, some snacks and a bottle of water and enjoy a good book.
New Music (All Month)
There is a little bit from all over the musical spectrum coming out in the month ahead, with new releases ranging from Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas’ latest and country star Luke Bryan to new albums from Disturbed and Method Man. On the Canadian front, Carly Rae Jepsen and k-os return and the new album from The Weeknd featuring the official song of the summer, “Can’t Feel My Face,” arrives on August 28.
Squamish Festival (August 6-9)
Fresh off owning Meek Mill all last week, Drake heads west to join an absolutely loaded list of talent performing out in the B.C. valley. Other acts scheduled to appear on stage include Sam Smith, Schoolboy Q, The Arkells, Of Monsters and Men, A$AP Rocky, Alabama Shakes and Mumford & Sons. If you’re in the area or into kick-ass concert weekends in killer surroundings, get yourself to Squamish.
Shambhala (August 7-10)
If beats and dancing and DJs are more your thing, head out to the Salmo River and lose yourself in Shambhala, an annual festival of top-tier talent and people looking to have a good time. This year’s lineup is headlined by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Skrillex, plus tons of others.
Comic Book Reboot and Meryl Streep Returns (August 7)
The original Fantastic Four movies that came out earlier this millenium were mediocre at best, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm notwithstanding. Now comes a reboot by director Josh Trank with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell as the titular group and Toby Kebbell as the team’s forever foil, Victor Von “Dr.” Doom. Joining the comic book restart in theatres is Meryl Streep as rocker Ricki Randazzo alongside her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer as her recently dumped kid. Ricki and the Flash should give people a case of the feels if the trailer can be trusted.
The Story of N.W.A. (August 14)
Straight Outta Compton is going to be great because (a) N.W.A. were a trendsetting, amazing group, (b) director F. Gary Gray is solid in the chair always and great aty times and (c) the soundtrack is guaranteed to be amazing. Add in Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller and O’Shea Jackson Jr. playing his father, the original O’Shea Jackson a.k.a. Ice Cube and you’ve got a must-see movie for anyone that came up during the rise of this influential crew.
A Twist on Jason Bourne (August 21)
There have been plenty of amnesiac special agent movies over the years, with the Jason Bourne series being the most famous and Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in The Long Kiss Goodnight standing as my person underrated favourite. The fourth weekend of August offers a twist on the story with Jesse Eisenberg starring as a convenience store stoner who just so happens to be a government agent. With a strong supporting cast including Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, John Leguizamo and Connie Britton, this should be a good laugh.
Get Your Game System Ready (August 25)
While I’m no longer a gamer, I used to go hard with some sports games back in the day and the release I looked forward to the most each year was the arrival of the new Madden. One of the most popular and engrossing game franchises of all-time, Madden is always a hyper-realistic and the kind of game you can make as easy or as hard as you want. Plus, trucking your friends and talking junk playing online are amazing ways to spend a lazy Sunday.
Zac Efron, Superstar DJ? (August 28)
After delivering a lights out performance in the “going to hold up over time” Neighbors last year with Seth Rogan, Rose Byrne and David Franco, Efron returns in the feature-length debut from Catfish host Max Joseph, We Are Your Friends, as an aspiring DJ looking to make it big. To it’s credit, the trailer is pretty honest about what it takes for a DJ to make it these days: a laptop, some talent and a track. Hopefully it surprises, but we’ll see.
