This Week In Movies: ‘Skyscraper,’ ‘Shock and Awe’

‘This Week In Movies’ is back! As July turns to its second week, it has seen the tally of a record-breaking year in film releases, thanks to the superhero and action genre (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Jurassic World 2).

But though billion-dollar tentpoles are not releasing this week, we do have an actioner with a family sensibility – Skyscraper – starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. His choices for films diverge from guns, suplexes, and corny jokes to family, social issues, and more human stories. There’s also Shock and Awe, which has all the bells and whistles of a prestige journalism film that could make it to the Oscars, but there’s not much hype behind it.

Another film release is Dark Money, a documentary about where political ads and those dark sources who fund it intersect that could fit into a double bill with the aforementioned. And if you like art, then Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti is a viewing necessity. It stars European star Vincent Cassell playing the eponymous painter. Enjoy the trailers and remember to listen to our podcast this Friday for our review of movies and interviews with filmmakers and other notable figures of American pop culture.

WIDE RELEASE

Skyscraper (PG-13, 1hr 42min, Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller)
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Pablo Schreiber, Noah Taylor
Synopsis: A father goes to great lengths to save his family from a burning skyscraper.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (97 min, Animation | Comedy | Family)
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Cast: Mel Brooks, Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg
Synopsis: In this second sequel, Count Dracula, while on a vacation with his family,  makes a romantic connection.

INDIE & LIMITED RELEASES

Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti  (102min, Biography | Drama | Romance)
Director: Edouard Deluc
Cast: Vincent Cassel, Tuheï Adams, Malik Zidi, Pua-Taï Hikutini
Synopsis: Focused on French painter Paul Gauguin’s affair with a younger lady in Tahiti.

Dark Money (98 min, Documentary)
Director: Kimberly Reed
Synopsis: “Dark Money,” a documentary political thriller, examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials.

Shock and Awe (R, 1h 30m, Biography | Drama | History | Thriller)
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Milla Jovovich, Jessica Biel, Tommy Lee Jones, Rob Reiner, Luke Tennie, and Richard Schiff
Synopsis: The film is based on the true events of Knight Ridder journalists who were the only ones who “got it right” in the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War when they questioned the true nature of the Bush White House’s justification for the conflict.

Yellow Submarine (NR, 1h 57m, Adventure, Drama, Mystery)
Director: George Dunning
Cast: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon
Synopsis: In this 50th anniversary 4K restoration of George Dunning’s psychedelic animated classic of The Beatles, Pepperland, an animated musical undersea fantasy world, is attacked by the music-hating Blue Meanies, it’s up to John, Paul, George, and Ringo to jump on that yellow submarine, disguise themselves as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and save the day. Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film’s restored photochemical elements. This was all done by hand, frame by frame.

Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (R, 113min, Biography | Comedy | Drama)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black
Synopsis: On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.

Eighth Grade (R, 1hr 34m, Comedy)
Director: Bo Burnham
Cast: Josh Hamilton, Daniel Zolghadri, Elsie Fisher, Emily Robinson
Synopsis: A teenager tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth-grade year before leaving to start high school.

For more film releases, click here.