It’s already the month of August, and as summer winds down the last big blockbusters are set to close out the season.

Following July, which featured the fewest number of wide released films in a month, August features a total of sixteen wide-released films and one very notable limited release. There are only two 3D films this month with most 3D theatres being used for holdovers from the big summer blockbusters from previous months. From the Total Recall remake, to the third installment of Diary of Wimpy Kid, there’s something for everyone this month. 

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Weekend of August 3rd-5th

Total Recall (2012)

Directed by: Len Wiseman
Stars: Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, Bill Nighy, John Cho

Plot Summary: After visiting a memory implant company, a factory worker begins to suspect that he is a spy and now finds himself on the run while trying to discover who he really is. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Directed by: David Bowers
Stars: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick

Plot Summary: Greg finds himself with nothing to do during the summer now that school is out. 

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Weekend of August 10th-12th

The Bourne Legacy

Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Ed Norton, Scott Glenn, Joan Allen, David Strathairn

Plot Summary: Expanding on the universe of Robert Ludlum’s Bourney universe, Legacy sees a new hero (Jeremy Renner) being hunted down following the events of the previous three films. 

The Campaign

Directed by: Jay Roach
Stars: Will Ferrell, Zack Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Brian Cox, John Lithgow, Dan Akroyd

Plot Summary: Two CEO’s looking to expand their influence in North Carolina set up the naive Marty Huggins as their candidate to oust long-term candidate Cam Brady from congress. 

Red Hook Summer

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Directed by: Spike Lee
Stars: Jules Brown, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Toni Lysaith

Plot Summary: An Atlanta middle-schooler is sent to stay with his deeply religious grandfather during the summer in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Hope Springs (Wednesday Release)

Directed by: David Frankel
Stars: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell

Plot Summary: After thirty long years of marriage, a couple heads to a week-long counselling session to work on their relationship.

Nitro Circus The Movie 3D (Wednesday Release)

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Directed by: Greg Godfrey, Jeremy Rawle
Stars: Travis Pastrana, Jolene Van Vugt, Tommy Passemante

Plot Summary: Travis Pastrana and his tight-knit, highly-skilled, adrenaline-addicted friends bring their impossible, ridiculous, insane and hysterical adventures to the big screen for the first time.

The Expendables 2

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Directed by: Simon West
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Nan Yu

Plot Summary: Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should have been an easy job. But when one of their own gets killed the crew sets out for revenge. 

The Odd Life of Timothy Green (Wednesday Release)

Directed by: Peter Hedges
Stars: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams

Plot Summary: A childless couple buries a box of wishes in their backyard to find a child born sometime later; although, he is more than what he seems. 

ParaNorman

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Directed by: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, John Goodman, Casey Affleck

Plot Summary: A centuries-old curse sees an odd boy with the ability to speak to the dead rise up to save his town from ghosts, ghouls and zombies. 

Sparkle (2012)

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Directed by: Salim Akil
Stars: Jordin Sparks, Carmen Egojo, Whitney Houston, Mike Epps, Derek Luke

Plot Summary: Set in the 60’s, three sisters form a singing group and become a sensation in Motown. But with the fame comes challenges as the close knit family begins to break down. 

Cosmopolis (Limited Release)

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Directed by: David Cronenberg
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon

Plot Summary: A simple ride across Manhattan to get a haircut leaves a billionaire’s asset manager on a devolving odyssey where he meets an assortment of characters that tear his world apart. 

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Weekend of August 24th-26th

The Apparition

Directed by: Todd Lincoln
Stars: Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton

Plot Summary: A successful college experiment unleashes a haunting supernatural being that comes after the very students that created it. 

Premium Rush 

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Directed by: David Koepp
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Jamie Chung, Dania Ramirez

Plot Summary: A bike messenger picks up a letter that attracts the attention of a dirty New York cop. 

Hit & Run (Wednesday Release)

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Directed by: David Palmer, Dax Shepard
Stars: Dax Shepard, Bradley Cooper, Kristen Bell, Tom Arnold, Beau Bridges

Plot Summary: A former getaway driver is tracked down by his former associates looking for the money he hid away before going into protective custody. 

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Weekend of August 31st-September 2nd

Lawless

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Directed by: John Hillcoat
Stars: Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowski, Jessica Chastain, Dane DeHaan

Plot Summary: In Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging crew is threatened by the local authorities looking to take a cut of their business. 

The Possession

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Directed by: Ole Bornedal
Stars: Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick

Plot Summary: A young girl unknowingly buys an antique box containing an ancient and malicious spirit, leaving her father and his ex-wife searching for a way to end the curse on the child. 

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Pick of the Month: Total Recall (2012)

Now I’m a big fan of the original Total Recall film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. With this remake, I was hoping for something completely different from the more campy nature of Verhoeven’s film, and everything that has been released to date for this updated version by Len Wiseman has looked promising. The cast they have assembled is solid, with names like Farrell, Nighy, Cranston, Biel and Beckinsale as part of the main cast. This could be one of the better remakes in a while, or it could flop, but I’m banking more on the former. 

[BoxOfficeMojo]