From The Dog Stars to One Night Only: 10 Must-See Films in August

August is an unusually busy month, both in cinemas and at home. Nicholas Barber from BBC Culture has selected ten films that will make their mark this month: from an absurd rom-com to Ridley Scott's new dystopia, from Cannes' most critically acclaimed film to a Looney Tunes adaptation shelved for years.

1. One Night Only (August 7 US/Canada — August 28 UK)

Ostensibly a typical romantic comedy: two attractive New Yorkers played by Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, directed by Will Gluck, who also directed "Friends with Benefits" and "Anyone but You." But Travis Braun's script has a strange hook: an alternate reality where singles are forbidden from having sex except for one night a year. The idea, dubbed "Purge for sex" online, made the film a topic of discussion before its release. Turner's advice to The Hollywood Reporter is clear: "If you lean into the absurdity, you'll have a good time. If you're going to get hung up on the rules, go watch a documentary."

2. Ice Cream Man (August 12–14, international)

Eli Roth, director of "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel," returns to low-budget, bloody horror. Ari Millen plays a mysterious ice cream man who travels through rural America, turning children into killing machines with the ice cream he sells. Roth's goal is not modest: "I want it to be the craziest movie I've ever made. Like The Birds, but with kids… So, completely insane."

3. The Dog Stars (August 7 US/Canada — August 21 UK)

Ridley Scott is 88, but he's never been more prolific. In this post-apocalyptic thriller adapted from Peter Heller's novel, survivors of a near-future flu pandemic include a pilot (Jacob Elordi), a medic (Margaret Qualley), and a former marine (Josh Brolin). Elordi's comment on Scott: "He's been connected to cinema his whole life — it's in his blood. I'm watching cinema sustain a life."

4. Tony (August 6–7, international)

Anthony Bourdain, who passed away in 2018, was a rock star of food and travel writing; he therefore deserves a rock star origin story. Inspired by "Kitchen Confidential," the film is set in the mid-1970s, during Bourdain's college dropout years when he worked in a restaurant in Provincetown. Director Matt Johnson; 19-year-old Bourdain is played by Dominic Sessa ("The Holdovers"), and the chef who mentored him is played by Antonio Banderas. Leo Woodall and Emilia Jones are also in the cast.

5. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (August 14, US)

The most critically acclaimed film at Cannes this year. In Jane Schoenbrun's ("I Saw the TV Glow") surreal postmodern comedy, Hannah Einbinder ("Hacks") plays a queer director tasked with reviving a Friday the 13th-like slasher series and making it "acceptable" for young liberal audiences. Her idea is to bring back the actress who starred in the first film (Gillian Anderson) — but that actress now lives as a recluse at the summer camp where the film was shot. Jessica Kiang from Variety: "A steamy stew of sex, death, VHS, and junk food; Schoenbrun's most mature and playful film."

6. The End of Oak Street (August 20–28, international)

A dinosaur film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, director of "It Follows," and produced by JJ Abrams. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor are ordinary parents in an ordinary suburb — the only problem is that the neighborhood has somehow been teleported into a primeval wilderness. Abrams: "I love the Jurassic movies as much as anyone, but they take place in beautiful forests, on remote islands. David's approach was to juxtapose ordinary suburban life with dinosaurs."

7. The Wrong Girls (August 7 US — August 14 UK)

Two friends smoke too much weed and tumble into a dangerous criminal underworld: one of the rare examples that breaks the exclusively male cast tradition of the genre, from "Up in Smoke" to "Pineapple Express." Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat play the lazy duo who stumble upon a shipment of experimental miracle drugs; Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani voice the talking cats during their hallucinations. Writer-director Dylan Meyer: "I joked throughout the shoot that these were my memories — which is pretty funny since there are giant squids and telepathy in the movie."

8. Union County (August 21, US/Canada)

Will Poulter and Noah Centineo play two opioid-addicted brothers in rural Ohio trying to stay sober and hold down jobs to avoid prison. First-time writer-director Adam Meeks grew up in Ohio; almost all the other people in the recovery program are non-professional actors telling their own stories. Chase Hutchinson from The Wrap: "The film earns every emotional beat; it's filled with such quiet humanity that you feel like you're sitting at the tables with them."

9. Coyote vs Acme (August 26–28, international)

A film we never thought we'd see. This Roger Rabbit-style live-action–2D animation hybrid focuses on Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner: in the classic cartoons, Coyote constantly buys faulty gadgets, and this time he sues the company that sells them; Will Forte plays his lawyer. Warner Bros shelved the film three years ago for a tax write-off (as with "Batgirl"); now it's being released by an independent company. Screenwriter Samy Burch: "There's a beauty in trying even after failing a hundred times."

10. The Magic Faraway Tree (August 21, US/Canada)

Simon Farnaby, co-writer of "Paddington 2" and "Wonka," modernizes Enid Blyton's classic children's novels. An inventor couple (Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield) move their three children to a remote cottage in the countryside to get them away from the internet; the children discover a tree whose branches are portals to other worlds. Silky (Nicola Coughlan), Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and the wicked Dame Snap (Rebecca Ferguson) are also in the cast. Phil de Semlyen from Time Out: "A smart update of Blyton's stories for the smartphone age."