RZA’s Crime Drama ‘Cut Throat City’ Opens In Theaters , Coming-Of-Age Pic ‘Words On Bathroom Walls’ Debuts – Specialty Preview

Dino-Ray Ramos
·8 min read

After numerous delays, Well Go USA’s Cut Throat City is finally making its debut — and in theaters. Yes, you heard that right. The RZA-directed crime drama will make its way into select theaters starting today as they slowly start to open their doors across the country.

“Well Go is a supporter of the traditional theatrical window and when we initially read the script a couple years ago we truly envisioned Cut Throat City as a wide theatrical release,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President & CEO, Well Go USA. “It is a socially relevant film that we feel needs to be seen on the big screen. We also want to help support the cinemas as best we can in bringing life back to their business.”

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She added, “Obviously, safety is an important part of reopening but we do feel that the cinemas are taking every precaution to make us all and the environment feel safe.”

Written by P.G. Cuschieri, Cut Throat City follows four boyhood friends in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward who return after Hurricane Katrina to find their homes decimated, with no jobs, and no help from FEMA.

When they realize they have no other options,they reluctantly turn to a local gangster, who offers them one shot at turning their situations around: a dangerous heist. When the job goes bad, the friends find themselves on the run, hunted by two relentless detectives and a neighborhood warlord who thinks they stole the heist money.

The film was slated to debut at SXSW and was set for an April release and then moved to July before landing on August 21.

Cut Throat City stars Shameik Moore, Tip T.I. Harris, Demetrius Shipp Jr., Kat Graham, Keean Johnson, Denzel Whitaker, Isaiah Washington, with Wesley Snipes, and Terrence Howard, and Eiza González, and Ethan Hawke. It is oroduced by Sean Lydiard, Michael Mendelsohn, Elliott Michael Smith and Kyle Tekiela.

Watch the trailer below.

LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions will put some Words on Bathroom Walls — so to speak. Directed by Thor Freudenthal and written by Nick Navela coming-of-age teen drama will also open in theaters starting today.

Based on the Julia Walton novel of the same name, the pic stars Charlie Plummer as Adam, a witty and introspective young man who seems like your ordinary hormonal teenager. He has dreams of becoming a chef but is expelled halfway through his senior year following an incident in chemistry class. He is then diagnosed with a mental illness and sent to a Catholic academy to finish out his term.

He struggles to fit in and keeps his illness a secret until he can enroll in culinary school. Things take a turn when he meets outspoken and fiercely intelligent Maya (Taylor Russell). They share an instant connection and as their romance deepens, she inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition. Now, with the love and support of his girlfriend and family, Adam is hopeful for the very first time that he can see the light and triumph over the challenges that lie ahead.

Words on Bathroom Walls also stars Andy Garcia, AnnaSophia Robb, Beth Grant, Devon Bostick, Lobo Sebastian, with Molly Parker and Walton Goggins.

Watch the trailer below.

All aboard! The Train To Busan is departing to Peninsula. Opening in theaters today, Peninsula is the next chapter in Yeon Sang-ho’s to Train To Busan, which was released in 2016.

Four years after South Korea’s total decimation of the zombie-filled Train to Busan, Peninsula brings us to this post-apocalyptic world, introducing us to Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland. He relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances. What’s there not to like about trains and post-apocalyptic zombies?

Michael Almereyda debuted Tesla earlier this year at Sundance and it is now ready to electrify theaters (on demand).

From IFC Films, Tesla tells the story of the titular Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke) who goes against all odds and fights a battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to the masses. On top of that, he facs more obstacles with his new system for worldwide wireless energy.

The pic, which was honored with the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance, follows Tesla’s journey as he butts heads with fellow inventor Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan) and his patron George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan). It also follows his sidewinding courtship of financial titan J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz), whose daughter Anne (Eve Hewson) takes a more than casual interest in him. As the story unfolds, Anne breaks things down with her modern voice in this unconventional drama.

In Richard Tanne’s Chemical Hearts, Austin Abrams plays Henry, a 17-year-old who has never been in love — and his a romantic kind of guy. That said, he’s still searching for that once-in-a-lifetime love, but he hasn’t fount it yet. Enter the new girl in town Grace Town (Lili Reinhart).

On the first day of his senior year at high school, they meet and are chosen to co-edit the school paper. He is immediately drawn to her. He learns of a heartbreaking secret that As he learns about a heartbreaking secret about her, he falls in love…but he might just be falling in love with the person he thinks she is.

The film is available on Amazon Prime Video starting today. Chemical Hearts is based on the book by the same name written by Krystal Sutherland. Reinhart also serves as executive producer while Tanne and Alex Saks produce. Sarah Jones and Adhir Kalyan also star.

With Vertical Entertainment’s The 24th, Academy Award winner Kevin Wilmott (BlacKkKlansman) gives us a history lesson that many of us may not have learned in school.

Directed by Wilmott, who co-wrote it with Trai Byers, the film tells the incredibly timely true story of the all-Black Twenty-Fourth United States Infantry Regiment and the Houston Riot of 1917. The Houston Riot was a mutiny by 156 Black soldiers in response to the brutal violence and abuse at the hands of Houston police officers. The riot, which lasted two hours, led to the death of nine civilians, four policemen and two soldiers and resulted in the largest murder trial in history, which sentenced a total of nineteen men to execution, and forty-one men to life sentences.

Byers stars in the film alongside Bashir Salahuddin, Aja Naomi King, Mo McRae, Tosin Morohunfola, Mykelti Williamson and Thomas Haden Church. Byers and Willmott also serve as producers with Jordan Fudge and Alexandra Milchan. Patrick Peach and Tony Grazia are executive producers.

The 24th will bow in virtual cinemas and be available on VOD and digital today.

Directed by Jonás Trueba, The August Virgin follows Eva (Itsaso Arana, who co-wrote the pic with Trueba) who is about to turn 33. She stays in Madrid during the hot months of August as everyone else flees. She is on a journey of self-discovery and searching for a new life. The neighborhoods around her are filled with traditional Saint’s Days festivities, where she encounters a series of old friends and lovers, and meets new ones.

Combining the elements of a western and a horror, Aaron B. Koontz’s The Pale Door follows the Dalton gang, who take shelter in a ghost town after a train robbery goes off the rails. They discovery a brothel in the town’s square — but these women turn out to be a coven witches and they have some special own plans for this gang of train robbers.

The Busan International Film Festival movie The Prey is set to open in virtual theaters today and on VOD August 25. The Jimmy Henderson-directed pic is loosely based on Richard Connell’s story of survival and adventure The Most Dangerous Game. It follows undercover Chinese cop Xin (Gu Shangwei) who sets out on a secret international mission. A surprise raid lands him in a remote Cambodian jungle prison overseen by a ruthless warden (Vithaya Pansringarm) who sells prisoners as human prey for rich hunters looking for thrills in the jungle. As a result, he escapes only to be hunted as — you guessed it — prey.

Next week comes Matt Eskandari’s Hard Kill, which is heading to on-demand and digital August 25. The action pic, written by Joe Russo, Chris LaMont, Clayton Haugen and Nikolai From stars Bruce Willis and Jesse Metcalfe and follows a team of mercenaries who find themselves racing against the clock to protect the fate of the human race before it’s too late.

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