HOLLYWOOD—August movies are in full swing. Some of the movies to watch that are coming out this month are: “Blink Twice” is about a tech billionaire Slater King that meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala and invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality. When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) sparks fly.
Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. Nobody wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. Something is wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive. The film stars Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Alia Shawkat and is directed by Zoe Kravitz.
Another dark romance film is “Strange Darling,” it is directed by JT Moliner and stars Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner and Barbara Hershey. As you know, nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree. If you want comedy there is the film being released titled “Greedy People,” that stars Lily James, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Traci Lords. The film is about the residents of a small town who must navigate a sensational murder and the discovery of a million dollars, a series of increasingly bad decisions upend the once peaceful community.
Another film being released is “You Gotta Believe,” about a little league baseball team of misfits dedicate their season to a player’s dying father. In doing so, they accomplish the impossible by reaching the World Series finals in a game that became an ESPN instant classic. The film stars, Molly Parker, Sarah Gadon and Luke Wilson and is directed by Ty Roberts.
One film that everyone is talking about is “It Ends With Us,” based on the 2016 book that became an internet sensation. Based on Colleen Hoover’s by the same title. It appears to be a standard romantic comedy, however, it comes with a dark twist. It stars, “Gossip Girl” alum Blake Lively, and it tells the story of Lily Bloom, a young woman who grew up witnessing domestic abuse and winds up in the same position years later.
Lily, a florist in Boston, navigates a complicated love triangle between her charming but abusive boyfriend Ryle Kincaid, played by Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni, and her compassionate first love, Atlas Corrigan, acted by Brandon Sklenar. The film has been met with highly wide criticism that it romanticizes domestic abuse. Lively, who is credited as a producer, says the film is adamant with displays of empathy.
Lively, who rose to fame in the 2000s playing Serena van der Woodsen in “Gossip Girl,” is said to be the perfect casting. Critics have been awarding the film two and three stars, which is not very favorable. Fans can make or break a movie, just look at the adaptation of popular books, read by the younger demographics of women. Look at “Twilight” and the “Hunger Games” that have both become a blockbuster hits. Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, meanwhile, is producing and stars as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in the R-rated “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the third film in the Deadpool movie franchise.
Franchises are very profitable, especially merchandise. Does anyone remember the iconic fedora worn by Harrison Ford in a scene in which “Indiana Jones” jumps from a crashing plane? The hat worn by actor Harrison Ford in the second installment of the “Indiana Jones” film has sold for nearly $630,000 dollars last week in Los Angeles.
Other items of movie memorabilia were sold at the same time including props from “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and James Bond productions. We also hear that a “Star Wars” film script left by Harrison Ford in a west London flat has also been put up for sale. It will take place next month at an auction.
Rose’s Scoop: Miley Cyrus has become the youngest-ever star to receive Disney legend status. The singer rose to fame playing Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series which airs in 2006 when she was 13. She was “Hannah Montana,” and she’s extremely proud to have been in that series.
