Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich

Director Sonny Laguna, Tommy Wiklund

Genre Horror

Cast Thomas Lennon, Barbara Crampton, Michael Paré, Charlyne Yi

Rating Unrated

Release Date August 17th, 2018 (Limited & On-Demand)

“All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets up for auction at a convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that’s motivated by an evil as old as time.”

From directors Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is the latest of the cult horror franchise that burst onto the scene in 1989 with the original Puppetmaster. Now these movies are FAR from perfect, but they are a guilty pleasure for fans of B-movie horror and I have always enjoyed them. The Little Reich seems to have hit the nail on the head as far as what fans have come to expect. The cast includes Thomas Lennon, Barbara Crampton, Michael Paré, and Charlyne Yi. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich:

• The crew rescued an abandoned tabby kitten during the filming of this movie that they found under the floorboards of one of the movie sets. They named the kitten 'Toulon' after the main character of the movie.

• This movie stars Barbara Crampton, she also starred in the original 1989 Puppet Master movie.

Blood Fest

Director Owen Egerton

Genre Comedy | Horror

Cast Zachari Levi, Robbie Kay, Seychelle Gabriel, Tate Donovan

Rating Unrated

Release Date August 31st, 2018 (Limited & On-Demand)

“Fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda.”

Written and directed by Owen Egerton, Blood Fest tells the story of a festival that is assembled to celebrate iconic horror movies, only the showman behind the event has much more sinister ideas in mind for his visitors. The cast includes Zachari Levi, Robbie Kay, Seychelle Gabriel, and Tate Donovan. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Blood Fest:

Owen Egerton, the director and producer of the film, also plays the character Gamemaster Anthony Walsh.

The Happytime Murders

Director Brian Henson

Genre Action | Comedy | Crime

Cast Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, Maya Rudolph

Rating R

Release Date August 24th, 2018

“When the puppet cast of an ‘80s children’s TV show begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.”

From director Brian Henson (The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island), The Happytime Murders is a kids movie gone bad showing what really happens with The Muppets behind closed doors. The trailer looks absolutely nutty but i'd be lying if I didn't say I was intrigued. The cast includes Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, and Maya Rudolph. Check out the official UNRATED trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Happytime Murders:

• The film is directed by Brian Henson, the son of Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets.
• This is the first theatrical film by director Brian Henson in 22 years, since Muppet Treasure Island (1996).

A.X.L

Director Oliver Daly

Genre Sci-Fi | Action

Cast Alex Neustaedter, Becky G, Thomas Jane, Dominic Rains

Rating PG

Release Date August 24th, 2018

“A.X.L. is a top-secret, robotic dog who develops a special friendship with Miles and will go to any length to protect his new companion.”

Written and directed by Oliver Daly, A.X.L is a sci-fi action film about a young man who develops a special relationship after stumbling across a top secret robotic dog, and he finds himself fighting to keep his new friend from his former owners. To me this looks like Transformers meets Monster Truck, and both have their fair of criticisms, and combine that with a novice director and a unseasoned cast, I'll be interested to see how this one does. Plus the dirt bike riding aspect looks cool. The cast includes Alex Neustaedter, Becky G, Thomas Jane, and Dominic Rains. Check out the official trailer below!!

Arizona

Director Jonathan Watson 

Genre Comedy | Thriller

Cast Danny McBride, Elizabeth Gillies, Kaitlin Olson, Rosemarie DeWitt

Rating Unrated

Release Date August 24th, 2018 (Limited & On-Demand)

“Set in the midst of the 2009 housing crisis, this darkly comedic story follows Cassie Fowler, a single mom and struggling realtor whose life goes off the rails when she witnesses a murder.”

Directed by Jonathan Watson, Arizona is a dark comedy/thriller taking place during the 2009 housing crisis, about a struggling realtor who finds herself in some hot water after she witnesses a murder. From the producers of Eastbound & Down, this looks like a delightful dark comedy with McBride reprising his trademark "Kenny Powers" and I am looking forward to checking it out. The cast includes Danny McBride, Elizabeth Gillies, Kaitlin Olson, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Luke Wilson. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Arizona:

• Jonathan Watson's directorial debut. He has previously worked as the second unit director or assistant director on shows and movies like Vice Principals (2016), The Disaster Artist(2017), 21 Jump Street (2012) and The Green Mile (1999).

Support the Girls

Director Andrew Bujalski

Genre Comedy

Cast Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka

Rating R

Release Date August 24th, 2018

“The general manager at a highway-side ‘’sports bar with curves” has her incurable optimism and faith, in her girls, her customers, and herself, tested over the course of a long, strange day.”

Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski, Support the Girls is a comedy about a general manager at a highway-side sports bar featuring beautiful girls who has her incurable optimism and faith in her girls and her customers tested over the course of a long and strange day. The cast includes Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Dylan Gelula, and AJ Michalka. Check out the official trailer below!!

Replicas

Director Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Genre Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Cast Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, Emily Alyn Lind

Rating PG-13

Release Date August 24th, 2018

“A scientist becomes obsessed with bringing back his family members who died in a traffic accident.”

From director Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Traitor), Replicas is a sci-fi thriller about a scientist who becomes obsessed with bringing his family back after they are tragically lost in a car accident. The cast includes Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, and Emily Alyn Lind. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Replicas:

• The story and screenplay for REPLICAS was developed at Keanu Reeves and Stephen Hamel's production company Company Films. Hamel writes the majority of all the stories produced there.

Papillon

Director Michael Noer

Genre Drama

Cast Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Tommy Flanagan, Eve Hewson

Rating R

Release Date August 24th, 2018 (Limited)

“A prisoner detained on a remote island plots his escape. A remake of the 1973 film ‘Papillon’.”

From Denmark born directer Michael Noer, Papillon is a remake of the 1973 film about a prisoner detained on a remote island who plots his escape. The cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Tommy Flanagan, and Eve Hewson. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Papillon:

• Based on a true story, Papillon was adapted from a memoir written by Charrière and first released in France back in 1969.
• Reunites Sons of Anarchy (2008) co-stars Tommy Flanagan and Charlie Hunnam.

The Bookshop

Director Isabel Coixet

Genre Drama

Cast Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson, Hunter Tremayne

Rating PG

Release Date August 24th, 2018 (Limited)

“Set in England 1959, a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.”

From director Isabel Coixet, The Bookshop is a drama about a woman that decides to go against the opposition in 1959 and open a bookshop. The cast includes Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson, and Hunter Tremayne. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Bookshop:

• Based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald.
• Isabel Coixet's screenplay won the Frankfurt Book Fair prize for Best International Literary Adaptation 2017.

Mile 22

Director Peter Berg

Genre Action | Thriller

Cast Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, John Malkovich, Ronda Rousey

Rating R

Release Date August 17th, 2018

“An elite American intelligence officer, aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country.”

From talented director Peter Berg, the man who brought us Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Lone Survivor, and Patriots Day, Mile 22 is an action thriller about an elite American intelligence officer who is tasked with smuggling a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country. Berg has built up quite the reputation with star Mark Wahlberg, so this is yet another opportunity for the two to show what they are capable of. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, John Malkovich, and Ronda Rousey. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Mile 22:

• This is the fourth time actor Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg have worked together, and the script was written with Wahlberg envisioned in the lead role.
• Mark Wahlberg was originally cast as Linus Caldwell in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but dropped out. The role went to Matt Damon.

Alpha

Director Albert Hughes

Genre Action | Drama | Thriller

Cast Kodi Smit-McPhee, Natassia Malthe, Leonor Varela, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson

Rating PG-13

Release Date August 17th, 2018

“A story of survival set 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.”

Alpha is directed and co-written by Albert Hughes, the man who co-directed Menace II Society, Dead Presidents, and The Book of Eli, alongside his brother. The film is a survival story that takes place 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. I will be honest and say that this is actually the first I have heard of this movie but the trailer looks pretty damn good! The cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Natassia Malthe, Leonor Varela, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Film Facts, Alpha:

• Film cannot bear a "no animals were harmed in the making of this film" tag, as 4 bison were slaughtered for use on a skinning/hide-removal scene. The bison were dispatched humanely by staff from Longview Beef Jerky.
• It was filmed near East Coulee, Alberta, Canada, at Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Blue Iguana

Director Hadi Hajaig

Genre Comedy

Cast Sam Rockwell, Ben Schwartz, Phoebe Fox, Amanda Donohoe

Rating Unrated

Release Date August 24th, 2018

“Ex-jailbirds Eddie and Paul are on parole and working in a New York diner. Their lives are a dead end. That is, until English lawyer Katherine Rookwood walks into the diner with an offer they can’t refuse.”

Written and directed by Hadi Hajaig, Blue Iguana is a comedy about two ex-jailbirds who are on parole and working in a diner realizing their lives have reached a dead end, until an English lawyer walks into their diner with an offer they cannot refuse. The cast includes Sam Rockwell, Ben Schwartz, Phoebe Fox, Amanda Donohoe, and Frances Barber. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Blue Iguana:

• Actor Sam Rockwell Had a minor appearance in Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) but his part was removed from the final cut. The scene was the one of the "lover's lane" of sorts, when the Terenzi brothers drive up in their ice cream truck.
• A blue iguana is a breed of iguana that is indigenous to the Cayman Islands.

Crazy Rich Asians

Director Jon. M. Chu

Genre Comedy | Romance

Cast Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan

Rating PG-13

Release Date August 15th, 2018

“This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family.”

From director Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Now You See Me), Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy based on the global bestselling novel. Native New Yorker Rachel Chu must step out of her comfort zone when she heads to Singapore to meet her boyfriends family. The cast includes Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding, and Gemma Chan. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Film Facts, Crazy Rich Asians:

• The first Western-produced film with an exclusively Asian cast in more than 25 years.
• Based on a novel by the same name. The book the film is based on is the first part of a trilogy by Kevin Kwan.
• Per "The Hollywood Reporter, the film's creators turned down (in their words) "Life Changing Money" from Netflix before deciding to go the feature film route.

Juliet, Naked

Director Jesse Peretz

Genre Comedy | Drama | Music

Cast Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Odds

Rating R

Release Date August 17th, 2018

“The story of Annie, the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan, and her unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan’s musical obsession.”

From director Jesse Peretz (Our Idiot Brother, HBO's Girls), Juliet, Naked is a romantic comedy/drama about a messy love triangle between Annie Rose Byrne), Tucker (Ethan Hawke), and Duncan (Chris O'Dowd). The rest of the cast includes Megan Odds, Jimmy O. Yang, Lily Newmark, and Azhy Robertson. Check out the official trailer below!!

Disenchantment

Genre Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Cast Eric André, Jeny Batten, Matt Berry, John DiMaggio

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere August 17th, 2018 (Netflix)

“The medieval misadventures of a hard-drinking princess, her feisty elf, and her personal demon.”

A new show from creator Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama), Disenchantment tells the misadventures of an alcoholic princess, a feisty elf, and her own personal demon. The cast of voice actors include Eric André, Jeny Batten, Matt Berry, John DiMaggio, Nat Faxon, Noel Fielding, and Rich Fulcher. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Disenchantment:

• On January 15, 2016, it was announced that Groening is in talks with Netflix to develop a new animated series. At the time it was said that Netflix was considering giving the series a two-season order, totaling 20 episodes.
• This will be the third animated series by Matt Groening, the other two being The Simpsons (1989), and Futurama (1999). This is his first developed for a streaming services network.

Billionaire Boys Club

Director James Cox

Genre Biography | Drama | Thriller

Cast Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Taron Egerton, Emma Roberts

Rating R

Release Date August 17th, 2018 (Limited/Now Available On-Demand)

“A group of wealthy boys in Los Angeles during the early 1980s establish a ‘get-rich-quick’ scam that turns deadly.”

Co-written and directed by James Cox,, Billionaire Boys Club tells the true story of a group of wealthy boys in Los Angeles during the early 1980s who establish a 'get-rich-quick' scam that turns deadly. The cast includes Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Taron Egerton, and Emma Roberts. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Film Facts, Billionaire Boys Club:

• Emma Roberts was originally to join the fifth season of American Horror Story (2011), but she dropped out in order to shoot this movie.
• Unlike with All the Money in the World (2017), Kevin Spacey's performance was kept intact despite sexual misconduct allegations.

The Little Mermaid

Director Blake Harris, Chris Bouchard

Genre Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

Cast Poppy Drayton, William Moseley, Loreto Peralta, Shirley MacLaine

Rating PG

Release Date August 17th, 2018

“A young reporter and his niece discover a beautiful and enchanting creature they believe to be the real little mermaid.”

From directors Blake Harris and Chris Bouchard, The Little Mermaid is the live-action recreation of the famous fair tale. The cast includes Poppy Drayton, William Moseley, Loreto Peralta, and Shirley MacLaine. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Little Mermaid:

• The first trailer made it's debut on March 10th, 2017 and received over 40 million views in its first two weeks.

Patient Zero

Director Stefan Ruzowitzky

Genre Action | Drama | Horror

Cast Natalie Dormer, Matt Smith, Clive Standen, Stanley Tucci

Rating R

Release Date August 14th, 2018 (On-Demand | Limited Theaters 9/14)

“After an unprecedented global pandemic turns the majority of humankind into violent “Infected,” a man gifted with the ability to speak the Infected’s new language leads the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.”

From director Stefan Ruzowitzky, Patient Zero is a horror drama about an unprecedented global epidemic that turns humankind into violent "infected" who speak a new language, and all hope falls on a gifted man and his attempt to find a cure. The cast includes Natalie Dormer, Matt Smith, Clive Standen, and Stanley Tucci. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Patient Zero:

• The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2013 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.
• Though Natalie Dormer and John Bradley both star in Game Of Thrones, they have never been in any scenes together. Dormer and Bradley will finally share the screen together in Patient Zero.

The Meg

Director Jon Turteltaub

Genre Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

Cast Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Robert Taylor

Rating PG-13

Release Date August 10th, 2018

“After escaping an attack by what he claims was by a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront his fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible.”

From director Jon Turteltaub, the man who brought us 3 Ninjas, Cool Runnings, National Treasure, and Last Vegas, The Meg is a sci-fi action/horror film based on the novel by Steve Alten. The story is about a man named Jonas Taylor who claims to have escaped a 70-foot shark, and soon after must face his fears and save those trapped in a sunken submersible. The cast includes Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, and Robert Taylor. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Meg:

• Eli Roth was attached as director before he was replaced with Jon Turteltaub. Roth left due to creative differences with the studio, namely that he wanted the film to maintain both its R-rating and a $150 million budget. It's also rumored that Roth, on top of writing and directing, also wanted to play the lead role of Jonas, but the studio believed he didn't have the star power.
• MEG is based on the book, MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror, and is the first book that Steve Alten has ever published.

Slender Man

Director Sylvain White

Genre Horror

Cast Joey King, Annalise Basso, Javier Botet, Julia Goldani Telles

Rating PG-13

Release Date August 10th, 2018

“Slender Man tells the story of a tall, thin horrifying figure with unnaturally long arms and a featureless face, who is reputed to be responsible for the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens.”

From director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard, The Losers), Slender Man is a horror film based on the character created by Eric "Victor Surge" Knudsen. Knudsen submitted a creepy image of The Slender Man on an online blog and thus began the beginning of a cult following. As the story goes, the mere presence of Slender Man is linked to the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens. The cast includes Joey King, Annalise Basso, Javier Botet (as Slender Man), and Julia Goldani Telles. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Slender Man:

• Joey King and Javier Botet have both played characters in the Conjuring Universe. King played as Christine in The Conjuring and Botet played as The Crooked Man in The Conjuring 2.