All The Cool Stuff Coming To Hulu In August 2024

Does looking with interest at reality dating shows on Hulu mean the heat of these dog days has baked your brain?  Not when the dating shows in question promise to widen your images of Muslim-Americans and British lesbians.  Besides, more traditionally minded types can always go see new seasons of an animated comedy about aliens stuck on Earth or a star-studded comedy/drama about three true crime podcasters who turn real-life sleuths.

For those who missed out on theatrical screenings of the newest installment of a popular science fiction film series reboot, Hulu hasn’t wasted any time bringing it to your favorite personal screen.  However, don’t overlook worthy older titles such as a Martin Scorsese epic starring Robert De Niro in prime form as a mob-connected casino manager whose early success turns into a fall from grace.

Whether you want your August with Hulu to include seeing Viola Davis kick butt and take names or Adam Sandler showing he can do very offbeat lead roles, let your curiosity lead the way through these suggestions.

Now Available

The Brothers McMullen–Fox Searchlight’s first-ever release happened to be Edward Burns’ romantic comedy.  Barry, Jack, and Patrick McMullen are three Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island, New York who temporarily live together under one roof as they struggle to figure out love and relationships.  Barry thinks he’s not interested in any sort of long-term relationship.  Jack is married to Molly, but his eye has started wandering a little too frequently toward Barry’s former girlfriend Ann.  Patrick thinks it’s time to end his engagement to Susan, but gets depressed when it turns out she has the same idea.  

Punch-Drunk Love

Casino–Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic adapts Nicholas Pileggi’s book Casino: Love And Honor In Las Vegas.  In 1973, the Chicago Outfit asks Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro) to handle day-to-day operations at Las Vegas’ Tangiers Casino and Hotel.  Rothstein initially succeeds in doubling the casino’s profits and skimming a cut to the Midwest Mafia.  But over the course of a decade, his life slowly takes a turn for the worse thanks to two people: childhood friend and mob enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) and con artist Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone).  Betrayals, unwanted attention, and a murder or two make life very interesting (in the Chinese sense) for Rothstein. 

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes–This fourth installment of the “Planet of the Apes” reboot is set many generations after Caesar’s death.  Apes have established numerous clans while humans have apparently devolved into mute primitives.  Young chimpanzee Noa survives a raid on his village led by gorilla general Sylva.  The attack ends with the villagers abducted by the raiders and Noa’s father murdered.  During Noa’s journey to rescue the villagers, he encounters a supposedly feral human named Mae…who turns out to be both intelligent and capable of speech.  It turns out the two of them are headed for the same destination: a place with a human-era treasure trove that must be kept out of the hands of the ape king Proximus Caesar. 

Punch-Drunk Love–Famed director Paul Thomas Anderson (“Phantom Thread”) gets set loose on an off-kilter romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler as a very unconventional lead character.  Lonely novelty company owner Barry Egan (Sandler) has frequent fits of rage and social anxiety thanks to his having seven sisters who regularly belittle and emotionally abuse him.  Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), a co-worker of one of Barry’s sisters, might be the one who can bring the lonely businessman out of his emotional shell.  But repeated harassment from goons for a phone sex line threatens to ruin Barry’s future happiness.  How the harmonium in the street and deliberately accumulating Healthy Choice pudding figures into this, the viewer must see for themselves.   

Zero Dark Thirty–Director Kathryn Bigelow re-unites with “The Hurt Locker” writer-producer Mark Boal to tell the story of the decade-long manhunt to find and kill al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden.  Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a lone-wolf CIA agent convinced that bin Laden is living in relatively open sight.  Others are convinced that the terrorist leader is hiding in a cave in Afghanistan with a handy dialysis machine.  Massive political embarrassment will result for the Obama Administration if the wrong decision is made.  Maya’s burden will be to track down leads that show her theory is plausible and to hope the final decision-makers have the willingness to act on that theory.

August 3

Suitable Flesh–Director Joe Lynch’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Thing On The Doorstep” also serves as a love letter to late horror director Stuart Gordon.  How did successful psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham) wind up imprisoned in a psych ward in a matter of days?  Why was Derby obsessed with a sexy multiple personality disorder patient named Asa?  The answers to these questions involve someone who can soul-hop from body to body, and whose next target is the psychiatrist herself.

Solar Opposites

August 7

No Way Out: The Roulette–In this Korean thriller series, heinous criminal and murderer Kim Guk-Ho has been released from prison after serving 13 years.  However, thanks to a mysterious masked man, Kim’s post-incarceration life will be anything but easy.  The masked man puts out a bounty of 20 billion won ($15 million US) for Kim’s death.  While many Korean citizens try to hunt down Kim, police officer Baek Joong-Sik and attorney Lee Sang-Bong try both to keep Kim alive and discover the identity of the masked man.  

August 8

Food, Inc. 2 –Filmmaker Robert Kenner is joined by Melissa Robledo as they get together with Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser to look at the current state of American food consumption and the corporate food concerns who want Americans to eat things that are bad for them.  On one hand, there are such welcome trends as localization and farmers’ markets.  On the other hand, there’s supersized fast food portions on steroids, climate change, and the harm of artificial sweeteners.

August 12

Solar Opposites Season 5—Thanks to the events of the 2024 Valentine’s Day special, our favorite band of aliens have to get used once again to living on the planet they love to hate aka Earth.  Terry and Korvo are in the literal honeymoon phase thanks to their becoming newlyweds.  Meanwhile, Yumyulack and Jesse try to fit in at school but soon face possible expulsion.

August 13

The Woman King–Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Old Guard”) helms this stirring historical action-adventure film.  In 1823, the all-female warrior regiment known as the Agojie protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey.  Led by General Nansica (Viola Davis), the Agojie rescue Dahomean women kidnapped by slavers from the Oyo Empire.  Because King Ghezo thinks war with the Oyo is very likely, the Agojie General mounts a recruitment drive for a new generation of warriors.  One such recruit is Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), a willful girl who turns out to have a special connection to General Nansica.  But will the new recruit’s recklessness get her killed or thrown into slavery?

Stress Positions

August 14

La Chimera–In the new film from Alice Rohrwacher (“Happy As Lazzaro”), ex-British archeologist Arthur is at loose ends following his release from prison.  He spent prison time for tomb robbing but isn’t quite ready to put his criminal past behind him.  When the former archeologist discovers he can find old tombs with the use of a dowsing rod and the visions (the chimeras) he gets from standing atop an old gravesite, it means he’s back in the graverobbing business.  Whether Arthur is also emotionally ready to have a relationship with another woman is a different matter.

The Tyrant–The Tyrant Project was intended by a group of rogue scientists to elevate South Korea’s political power on the global stage.  One such effort from the project involved the creation of a bioweapon using a cutting-edge virus.  When American intelligence agents discovered the bioweapon project, they demanded the South Koreans surrender all virus samples.  However, during the secret handover of the bioweapon, the last sample of the virus gets stolen.  While both the South Korean and American governments vie with each other and a black ops team to recover the stolen sample, former agent Im Sang sets out to terminate anyone associated with the Tyrant Project.

August 15

Build It Bigger Season 1–In this docuseries, architect Danny Forster takes viewers inside the heart of massive engineering projects from start to finish.  He looks at the unique structural challenges behind each project as well as the science needed to make each project a reality.  This season looks at such projects as the Sakhalin oil and gas complex, the USS George HW Bush supercarrier, and a storm drain that serves double duty as an expressway.

August 19

OceanXplorers–In this documentary series co-produced by National Geographic and director James Cameron, the crew of the OceanXplorer travel to some of Earth’s most remote ocean frontiers.  On their journeys, the OceanXplorer crew will study the Azores’ gigantic prehistoric sixgill shark and try to decipher the language a mother whale speaks to her calf.

Reasonable Doubt

August 20

Muslim Matchmaker Season 1–Smriti Mhundra (“Indian Matchmaking”) created this new series about Muslim Americans looking for love.  This means viewers will get a chance to be exposed to the rich diversity of the Muslim-American community’s individual stories, personalities, and perspectives as the show’s contestants engage in one of the universal quests of human existence.

August 21

High School Return Of A Gangster–Kim Deuk Pal may be a 47-year-old gangster.  But he secretly dreams of attending a university, as childhood poverty prevented him from doing so when he was younger.  Opportunity unexpectedly comes when he encounters suicidal high school student Song Yi Heon.  The gangster’s spirit enters the younger man’s body, where he soon learns Yi Heon has been driven to suicide thanks to bullying from his classmates.  Deuk Pal uses Yi Heon’s body to punish the bullies.  He also becomes friends with model classmate Choi Se Kyung, whose home situation is anything but serene thanks to an abusive father.

Stress Positions–Theda Hammel’s dark ensemble comedy takes place during 2020’s Summer of COVID.  Terry Goon is locked down in the NYC brownstone owned by his wealthy soon-to-be-ex-husband.  He winds up being a COVID-conscious caretaker for his nephew Bahul, a hot male model stuck inside thanks to his broken leg.  But Bahul’s presence proves too much of a temptation for Terry’s stir-crazy social network.  If you’ve forgotten having the hots for delivery people or holding backyard barbecues where the logistics of both dietary requirements and distancing had to be worked out, this film might bring these and other memories back.

August 22

Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal–This BBC docuseries recounts the story of renegade scientist Tommy Thompson, who went from world hero to jailed prisoner over the course of 30 years.  In 1989, Thompson and a resourceful team managed to recover three tons of gold from the 1857 shipwreck known as the SS Central America.  The feat proved more impressive because the gold was lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.  However, Thompson’s celebrity from this feat soon fades once the lawyers get involved. 

Only Murders In The Building

Reasonable Doubt Season 2–It’s the new season of this hit legal drama about unconventional high-powered defense lawyer Jax Stewart and her often messy personal life.  An affair that went south by the end of last season has put Jax’s marriage in critical condition.  Making life more complicated is what’s happened to a dear friend’s marriage: it’s over because she killed her husband.  Jax’s friend claims it was self-defense because the now-dead husband was physically abusive towards her.  However, a hardass prosecutor treats the killing as an act of murder.  Jax brings on an ambitious defense attorney (Morris Chestnut) to lead the case, but the tension soon starts heading toward 11.

August 23

Lewis Black: Thanks For Risking Your Life–Comedian Lewis Black’s comedy set was recorded on film shortly before all live entertainment was shut down because of COVID.  The album of this set was nominated for a Grammy…but lost to Louis C.K.’s “Sincerely.”   

August 24

The New York Times Presents: Lie To Fly–Remember professional pilot Joseph Emerson?  His name may be forgotten, but what he tried to do last year certainly won’t be.  Basically, Emerson was under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms when he attempted to crash an Alaska Airlines plane and kill the 83 passengers aboard.  How Emerson got to that homicidal point involves the FAA’s strict rules regarding pilot mental health and the professional stigma surrounding mental health treatment.  Could the Emerson case be used to reform the FAA rules?

August 25

The Courier–Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a Welsh businessman who’s great at boozing and schmoozing with his Eastern European customers and is presumed to only be interested in money.  In 1960, those qualities made Wynne an asset to be recruited by both MI6 and the CIA to smuggle intelligence out of Russia.  The veteran Russian agent passing along this information to Wynne is Oleg Penkovsky, a decorated former soldier with high-security clearances.  When the KGB starts closing in on Penkovsky, Wynne tries to help his friend the former soldier attempt to defect.  But the effort leads to terrible repercussions for the Welsh businessman.

I Kissed A Girl

Total Drama Island Reloaded Season 1A–In this animated parody of reality shows in the mode of “Survivor,” sixteen sixteen-year-olds sign up to take part in a reality show set on an island.  These teens were chosen for their age and whether they were “kooky, obnoxious, stuck-up, dense, loud,  annoying, filthy, or anything remotely in-between.”  The Canadian locale, known as Total Drama Island, is the home of a camp similar to the first season’s Camp Wawanakwa.  Over the course of nearly two weeks, the teens will use any means fair or foul to compete for immunity in challenges involving such things as extreme baking and disaster and horror movie-inspired challenges. The show’s goal is to be the last teen standing and thus entitled to the million Canadian dollars prize.    

August 27

Only Murders In The Building Season 4–It’s the new season of this comedy-drama about three true crime podcasters (Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short)) who wind up investigating real murders in their apartment building.  Taking up from the end of Season 3, our intrepid trio look into the shooting death of Charles’ longtime stunt double Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch).  What was the dying message Sazz left behind?  Was Sazz the real target…or Charles?  Meanwhile, a movie is being made about the trio’s podcast, and Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, and Zach Galifianakis (appearing as themselves) will take on the roles of the trio.  Meryl Streep’s character will also be returning to the show as well as Paul Rudd’s (in some capacity).  

August 29

The DUFF–In this adaptation of Kody Keplinger’s YA novel of the same name, Bianca (Mae Whitman in a star-making performance) is a smart high school student who goes into an emotional tailspin after getting some unwelcome news from hunky Wesley Rush (Robbie Amell), the next-door neighbor she’s known her whole life.  Her gorgeous supposed best friends Jess and Casey consider Bianca as their DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) especially when compared to them.  A makeover is called for, one in which Bianca must rely on Wesley’s advice.  However, Wesley’s on-again off-again girlfriend Madison (Bella Thorne) is a Mean Girl type who has something to say about the path Bianca and Wesley’s relationship is taking.

August 30

I Kissed A Girl Season 1–In this BBC reality show companion to “I Kissed A Boy,” ten lesbians come to an Italian masseria in search of a girlfriend.  The contestants are a mix of ordinary masc-leaning and femme-presenting women from smaller UK towns.  Will the initial pair-ups end with a permanent relationship?  Or will one or the other woman in an assigned couple find she likes someone else instead?  Add into the mix the introduction of new lesbians who might be more a particular contestant’s type, and the result is relationship evaluation aplenty.