What Movies to See in Miami Theaters in August

It's been a bit of a slow summer at the movies. Out of the many expected blockbusters, only Inside Out 2 and Twisters have earned truly impressive numbers. Even locally, Miami's movie scene is less active than usual, with O Cinema South Beach shutting down briefly for renovations. But August still brings with it some big events, including a local horror film festival, a thriller from Hollywood's modern master of suspense, a new installment in a beloved franchise, and one of the greatest films of all time returning to theaters.

Also, on Saturday, August 31, I'll be curating the next edition of AV Club at Miami-Dade Public Library's Main Library branch, selecting and screening 16mm films from the library's collection.

Peek at New Times' movie picks for August below, and check the local listings and showtimes at miaminewtimes.com/miami/movietimes.

Trap

Is it the Shyamalannaissance? The Shyamalascendance? Whatever you want to call it, M. Night Shyamalan is currently in the midst of a creative and commercial resurgence thanks to twisted hits like Split and Old. Now, he's following up on last year's Knock at the Cabin with what may be his wildest premise yet. The director has recruited the equally resurgent Josh Hartnett, fresh off Oppenheimer, to play Cooper, a mild-mannered dad taking his daughter to see a concert by pop star Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan's own daughter, Saleka). Pretty soon, he finds out the truth behind the gig: It's a sting operation designed to catch a notorious serial killer — Cooper himself. Will he escape? Is he even the killer they're looking for, or an entirely unrelated monster? This is the master of twists, after all. You'll have to find out in the theater. Opens Friday, August 2.

Ludi

Along with Monica Sorelle's Mountains releasing later this month, Third Horizon Film Festival and Cinemovíl are screening another film examining ordinary lives in Miami's Little Haiti. As part of a workshop delivered by Haitian-American filmmaker Edson Jean on the relationship between actors and directors, they're also screening Jean's film Ludi, about a struggling Haitian immigrant nurse desperate to send money home to her family on the island. Although slots to participate in the workshop are full, those interested in attending the workshop, the screening, or both can still sign up. Workshop at 4 p.m., screening at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 4, at Data 4 Black Lives, 300 NW 54th St., Miami; thirdhorizonfilmfestival.com. Admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.

Lawrence of Arabia

If you saw Dune earlier this year and were amazed by the expansive desert landscapes and mythic tale of a rising conqueror, you'll love Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean's biopic of the legendary British officer who banded together disparate Arab tribes to take on the Ottoman Empire during World War I is basically Dune 1.0. If you want to experience the nearly four-hour epic the way it was meant to be seen, you'll have multiple chances this month. Fathom Events is screening the film in multiplexes on August 11 and 12; meanwhile, Coral Gables Art Cinema is showing it as part of its Movies We Love series on Sunday, August 4.

Our Take

It may be one of the longest movies ever released by a major studio, but everything that makes Lawrence of Arabia one of the greatest films ever made can be distilled into one sequence of shots: the famous "match cut," in which director David Lean and editor Anne V. Coates jump from Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) blowing out a match to a shot of the sun rising over the desert horizon. It's as if he's blowing us from the stuffy intimacy of his Cairo office to the awesome, forbidding landscape of adventure and peril we're about in which we are about to spend the next three and a half hours. Sent in the desert to corral the tribes of Arabia into a fighting force worthy of taking on the Ottomans, Lawrence, joined by adversary-turned-ally Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif), goes above and beyond, gaining the trust, then the fealty, of the warrior tribes as they push the Turks northwards, defying death and nearly going mad in the process. O'Toole, a Shakespearean actor in his first major cinematic role, strikes an iconic figure as the quixotic, queer Lawrence, whose flamboyance and close relationship with Sherif Ali give the film an undercurrent of homoeroticism. Yet the images, those iconic desert landscapes, filled with hordes of cavalrymen on horse and camelback in one scene and populated only by a speck of a man on the horizon in the next, really define the film. If you had to criticize any part of it (beyond, obviously, the very of-its-time casting of a bunch of British theater actors as Arabs in brownface), it would be that it makes conquest and plunder look a little too sexy. Then again, as per Truffaut, so do all war movies. Noon, Sunday, August 4, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $11 to $12.75. Also screening in wide release on Sunday, August 11, and Monday, August 12.

Borderlands

The comedic sci-fi action role-playing game Borderlands debuted in 2009. Its last numbered sequel was released in 2019. The franchise hasn't really been culturally relevant in years. Yet, now, in 2024, it's getting the summer blockbuster treatment from Hollywood, directed by none other than horror specialist and Inglourious Basterds scene-stealer Eli Roth. Video game adaptations haven't always fared well at the box office, so they're bringing in extra insurance with a stacked cast: Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Jaime Lee Curtis, among others. Opens Friday, August 9.

Popcorn Frights Film Festival

Reader, beware, you're in for a whole week of scares! Popcorn Frights, South Florida's premiere horror film festival, is back with a stacked lineup of classics (Candyman, The Grudge, an entire marathon for Nightmare on Elm Street) and brand-new films from around the world, including cosmic horror from Sweden (Voidcaller), zombies from Turkey (The Funeral), and video nasties from Serbia (Videoteka). New Times will have a more complete guide to this festival of fright later this month, but for now, be sure to mark your calendars August 8-16. The best part? Tickets to in-theater screenings at Savor Cinema and Paradigm Cinema's Gateway Theater are free (first come, first served), with only reserved seating and VIP badges costing money. Get the lowdown on the 48-film lineup and ticket information at popcornfrights.com. Thursday, August 8, through Friday, August 16, at Savor Cinema, 503 SE Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale; and Paradigm Cinemas Gateway Fort Lauderdale, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; popcornfrights.com.

Alien: Romulus

A new installment of the undying Alien franchise may not immediately inspire confidence, especially since Ridley Scott, who helmed the two most recent sequels to his legendary 1979 original, is only producing, too busy with his own upcoming sequel to Gladiator. But this one, directed by Uruguayan horror expert Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe) and starring quick-rising actress Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War), looks pretty decent. The story is back-to-basics: A group of space pirates, desperate to escape their miserable surroundings, decide to raid a derelict space station. You can probably guess what they find there: Facehuggers and Xenomorphs galore, all ready to tear them apart. Opens Friday, August 16.

Mountains

Movies rarely premiere in Miami before the rest of the country, which is why it's extra special that local director Monica Sorelle is bringing her award-winning film Mountains to Miami first. The movie will begin its commercial run at Coral Gables Art Cinema on Friday, August 16. That night's screening will feature a special reception at 6:30 p.m. ahead of the film, with a filmmaker Q&A following the movie. Two more Q&A screenings will follow on Saturday, August 17, and Sunday, August 18.

Our Take

Here's what New Times wrote about the film in April ahead of its screening at the Miami Film Festival, where it won the Made in MIA Feature Film Award: "Local filmmaker Monica Sorelle recently won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Mountains, her elegant first feature set within Miami's tight-knit Haitian-American community. Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) is a demolition man and first-generation immigrant living in Little Haiti with his wife (Sheila Anozier) and adult son (Chris Renois). Working hard to fulfill his dream of exchanging their tiny home for a bigger house in the neighborhood, he almost fails to notice the mysterious phone calls, new neighbors, and other harbingers of gentrification creeping in — that is, until his demolition crew starts tearing down homes just beyond his doorstep. With excellent performances from a mostly nonprofessional cast (including local artist Roscoe B. Thické as Xavier's co-worker), Mountains is an authentic portrayal of a community at risk, calling into question the true nature of the American Dream. Opens Friday, August 16, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $11 to $12.75.

Blink Twice

Disappointingly, this thriller from debutant director Zoë Kravitz will not screen under its original, superior name, Pussy Island. Kravitz has justly complained about the retitling in the press, telling Entertainment Weekly, "It was made very clear to me that 'pussy' is a word that we, our society, are not ready to embrace yet." Nevertheless, the movie persists, with the new title Blink Twice. It's got an interesting premise too, about a woman (Naomi Ackie) invited to a private island by its owner, a sketchy billionaire (Channing Tatum) where the darkness behind the paradisical surface quickly comes to light — think Glass Onion without the whodunit antics of Benoit Blanc. The cast for the movie, which Kravitz also co-wrote, is also pretty stacked, including Christian Slater, Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Geena Davis, and Kyle MacLachlan, among others. Opens Friday, August 23.

The Crow

A remake of The Crow was always going to be a tricky proposition. The original 1994 goth-superhero movie was overshadowed by the tragic on-set death of its star, Brandon Lee, and the Bill Skarsgård-starring update has already attracted criticism from the likes of Alex Proyas, who directed the first film, for supposedly disrespecting Lee's legacy. Nevertheless, the movie is still coming, directed by Rupert Sanders, whose last film, an adaptation of the legendary manga Ghost in the Shell, also attracted controversy for its casting. Skarsgård, best known for playing Pennywise the clown in the It movies, will play the titular superhero, risen from the dead to avenge the death of his fiancée, Shelly, played by British R&B star FKA Twigs, in her acting debut. Opens Friday, August 23.