✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: August 16-22

Jerod Ra'Del Hollyfield -

The latest releases and special screenings hitting Music City this week. For a complete list of upcoming releases, check out our 2024 Film Guide.

Alien: Romulus  (Dir. Fede Alvarez; Starring Cailee Spaeny) If anyone can pull off succeeding Sigourney Weaver as a rough-and-tumble heroine fighting oozing extraterrestrial monsters, it’s Priscilla and Civil War star Spaeny. Not to mention, Alvarez has an enviable track record for resurrecting moribund horror franchises (2013’s Evil Dead) and creating a sense of compelling claustrophobia (2016’s Don’t Breathe). Reviews are stellar. Now playing in theaters. 

Defy Film Festival Now in its ninth year, Defy promises two days of unconventional indie shorts and features from all around the world that “defy” expectations. Highlights include locally produced short “Where the Bullets Go,” an experimental documentary program, and “Jack”--the new horror short from frequent The Pamphleteer livestream guest Jay Curtis Miller. Friday and Saturday at Studio 615 East Nashville. 

Skincare (Dir. Austin Peters; Starring Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion) An esthetician on the cusp of launching her own product line fends off saboteurs in this wild LA satire. Now playing in theaters. 

The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe (Dir. Nick Pollett; Starring Luke Hemsworth) When a mandatory vaccine wipes out humanity’s ability to surf in a dystopian future, a band of the sport’s all-stars unite to save their way of life. The most leftfield of COVID claymation allegories. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20.

Sundance Film Festival 2024 Shorts Tour A collection of the best short films from emerging directors that premiered last January in Park City. Now playing at the Belcourt. 

The Big Lebowski and Clue @ Belcourt Midnights See White Dudes for Harris’s biggest name as the iconic Boomer burnout and the 80s cult comedy starring Tim Curry that adapts the classic board game.

Coraline 15th Anniversary (Dir. Henry Selick; Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Keith David) It’s probably not the ideal time to celebrate Neil Gaiman with the restored version of the instant animated classic, but at least it shows cancel culture ain’t what it used to be. Now playing in theaters. 

Weekend Classics: Animal Kingdom @The Belcourt In conjunction with Cat Video Fest, The Belcourt has curated a series of the greatest animal movies ever made. This week, it’s Disney’s Lady and the Tramp and a 35mm print of Christopher Guest’s rock-solid mockumentary Best in Show. 

My Morning Jacket: Okonokos (Dirs. Sam Erickson, Wyatt Smith) A 4K restoration of the 2006 concert film that saw Louisville’s premiere alt-rock act play San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium. Playing as part of Music City Mondays at the Belcourt with an live introduction from My Morning Jacket's Carl Broemel.

My Penguin Friend (Dir. David Schurmann; Starring Jean Reno) The hitman from Leon: The Professional stars as an empty nester who bonds with an orphaned baby penguin in a movie that’s quietly amassed solid reviews. Now playing in theaters. 

Rob Peace (Dir. Chiwetel Ejiofor; Starring Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, Camila Cabello, Chiwetel Ejiofor) The storied actor steps behind the camera for this true story of a twentysomething who broke the cycle of poverty trying to free his father from prison. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20, AMC Murfreesboro 16, and Regal Hollywood 27. 

Gunner (Dir. Dimitri Logothetis; Starring Luke Hemsworth and Morgan Freeman) A father tries to save his sons from a vicious drug gang. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27 and Regal Opry Mills 20. 

Close to You (Dir. Dominic Savage; Starring Elliot Page) What better avenue for a comeback than an artless middlebrow trans melodrama about acceptance and love that’s way below Page’s talents? Now playing at  AMC Thoroughbred 20, AMC Murfreesboro 16.

Ryan’s World The Movie: Titan Universe Adventure (Dir. Albie Hecht) A family-friendly anime about a boy who finds himself lost in a comic book. Now playing in theaters. 

The Latest in Bolly/Tolly/Kolly/Lollywood and Other Special Presentations of Asian and Middle Eastern Imports.

Nunakuzhi (Malayalam) A young man gets caught up in a world of mistaken identities. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27. 

Khel Khel Mein (Hindi) A millennial dinner party takes a turn. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27. 

Raghu Thatha (Tamil) The patriarchy is no match for a young woman in this uproarious comedy. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27. 

Vedaa (Hindi) “The journey of a young woman, who faces and resists a repressive system against portrayal of an antagonist.” Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27.