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What’s New to Stream on Amazon Prime for August 2021

Val, Annette, and Bruce the Shark walk into a bar and ask what’s on Amazon Prime…
Amazon Prime Video Guide August
By  · Published on August 2nd, 2021

Crossing the Streams is our series of guides looking at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time we’re checking out the new Amazon Prime arrivals for August 2021 including a Val Kilmer documentary, and film where Adam Driver sings into Marion Cotillard’s vagina!


Amazon Prime Pick of the Month for August 2021

Val

Val (premieres August 6th) is a new documentary crafted from four decades worth of home videos, archived footage, and interviews focused on the one, the only, Val Kilmer. The actor struggled with cancer, and while he pulled through it came at the cost of his voice. Still, it’s his own words that help bring the doc to life via narration by his son, Jack Kilmer. The footage dates back to the actor’s childhood and charts an unlikely success story up through his rise to leading man, various troubles, and current status as an artist reflecting back on his life. It’s an entertaining and enlightening watch, and don’t be surprised if it wrings a few tears out of you along the way.


A Fishy Marathon

Jaws The Revenge

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) needs no introduction as we can all agree it remains an absolute masterpiece. An animal attack film that succeeds through a combination of character, smarts, and clear skill, the films is a thrilling, suspenseful, and warm tale of real people interacting with each other while facing off against a killer shark. Does the shark look real? Nah, but credit all involved for making that an unimportant truth in the face of greatness. Jeannot Szwarc’s Jaws 2 (1978) isn’t in the same league, but it’s far better than its reputation suggests. Roy Scheider and Lorraine Gary are back, and the film manages some exciting set-pieces on its way towards blowing up another killer shark.

The last two films in the franchise are… not good, but there’s still fun to be had if you’re in the right state of mind. Joe Alves’ Jaws 3 (1983) tried riding the 3-D wave with some pretty uninspiring results, but Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., Lea Thompson, and Simon MacCorkindale have a good time with the premise. And then there’s Joseph Sargent’s Jaws: The Revenge (1987). Some will proclaim it to be a misunderstand gem — hell, it even made our list of the most entertaining killer shark movies — but it’s ultimately something far simpler. It’s a silly romp offering up some dumb fun, and sometimes that’s all you really need. It’s definitely all that Michael Caine needed as he’s infamously referred to the film as one he never watched but that he’s grateful for as it paid for his summer house.


Chase James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad With…

Slither

James Gunn’s journey from slinging shit at Troma to directing big-budget blockbusters has been an entertaining one, and with his latest — he’s behind DC’s The Suicide Squad, a not-quite reboot or sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) — hitting theaters this week it’s good to have a chaser for when you get home pumped up on Gunn’s brand of genre silliness. Slither (2006) fits the bill as a terrifically entertaining and fun monster movie about alien slugs that take over and mutate citizens with crazy results. It’s extremely funny, wonderfully gory and filled with practical effects, and the cast is absolute aces with Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Gregg Henry, and Michael Rooker all delivering comic magic. It may lack the “big screen appeal” of a comic book blockbuster, but it delivers tons of genre fun that never grows tired.


Straight from Cannes 2021

Annette Adam Driver Marion Cotillard
Amazon Studios

Leos Carax’s Annette (premieres August 20th) made its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and it won Best Director as well as being nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film’s narrative offers up a meta-musical that, while lacking some emotion, delivers with creativity, color, and wonder. It stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as a celebrity-ish couple whose offspring bears some surprising traits, and over perhaps too long 140 minutes the family’s story comes to life alongside critiques of toxic masculinity, celebrity culture, and more. The big draw for some will be music and songs by The Sparks Brothers. It’s an odd one that probably won’t find the same appeal as Carax’s Holy Motors (2012), but fans will want to dip their toes in all the same.


The Complete Amazon Prime List for August 2021

Release DateTitleNote
8/121 (2008)
500 Days of SummerIMDb TV
Aliens (1986)
All About Steve (2009)
Alpha and OmegaIMDb TV
American Pie Presents: Band CampIMDb TV
American Pie Presents: Beta HouseIMDb TV
American Pie Presents: The Naked MileIMDb TV
American Pie Presents: The Book of LoveIMDb TV
Anaconda (1997)
Annie (1982)
Apollo 13IMDb TV
Attack The Block (2011)
Beyond - Seasons 1-2IMDb TV
Borat (2006)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Center Stage (2000)
Code Black - Seasons 1-3IMDb TV
DaredevilIMDb TV
DetroitIMDb TV
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
Dominion - Seasons 1-2IMDb TV
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - Seasons 1-6IMDb TV
Eagle EyeIMDb TV
Elektra (2005)
Escape From Alcatraz (1979)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
Freedomland (2006)
Garden StateIMDb TV
Ghostbusters (1984)IMDb TV
Ghostbusters IIIMDb TV
The Great Debaters (2013)
The Green HornetIMDb TV
Hook (1991)
How to Train Your DragonIMDb TV
In Her Shoes (2005)
The Insider (2000)
The Iron Lady (2011)
Jaws (1975)
Jaws 2 (1978)
Jaws 3 (1983)
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Knowing (2009)
La Bamba (1987)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeIMDb TV
The Legend Of Zorro (2005)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Long ShotIMDb TV
Machete (2010)
MacGyver (2016) - Seasons 1-5IMDb TV
Made Of Honor (2008)
Major PayneIMDb TV
Max Payne (2008)
Moneyball (2011)
Mud (2013)
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
The Natural (1984)
No Good Deed (2014)IMDb TV
Only the Brave (2017)IMDb TV
Patriot Games (1992)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Perry Mason - Seasons 1-9IMDb TV
Predator (1987)
Predator 2 (1990)
The Road to El DoradoIMDb TV
The Roommate (2011)
Scorpion - Seasons 1-4IMDb TV
Seabiscuit (2003)
Secret Window (2004)
Shrek Forever AfterIMDb TV
Sideways (2004)
Slither (2006)
Something's Gotta Give (2003)
Soul Surfer (2011)
SpotlightIMDb TV
The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008)
Waiting to ExhaleIMDb TV
Walk the LineIMDb TV
Water For Elephants (2011)
What's Love Got to Do with ItIMDb TV
The Wolf of Wall Street IMDb TV
You, Me And Dupree (2006)
8/6S.O.Z. Soldiers or Zombies - Season 1Amazon Original Series
ValAmazon Original Movie
8/13Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a TimeAmazon Exclusive
Modern Love - Season 2Amazon Original Series
8/16Evan Almighty (2007)
In Bruges (2008)
La La LandIMDb TV
8/17The Skeleton Twins (2014)
8/20AnnetteAmazon Original Movie
Killer Among Us (2021)
8/27The Courier (2021)
Pete the Cat Back to School OperettaAmazon Original Special
8/28Alpha (2018)IMDb TV

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Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.