August: Your Movie Month in Review

We don't know about you, but we're pretty sure August 2011 was the longest month in the history of months. At the beginning of August, the Declaration of Independence was signed: Long month. It's probably because August 1 was on a Monday: You don't even get a couple of free fast-moving weekend days to start the month. By the time we got a weekend, the month was already five days in. Considering the movies released this month ... let's just say that we're awfully happy September is at last here. Anyway, it's time to do our monthly look back -- check the bottom of this post for the archive -- at the films of the past month, the ones we saw, the ones we loved, the ones we missed. Welcome to the wonkishness.

Top Ten Highest Grossing Movies Released This August, As Of August 31

1. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," $150.7 million
2. "The Help," $100.8 million
3. "Final Destination 5," $38.6 million
4. "The Change-Up," $34.8 million
5. "30 Minutes or Less," $32.6 million
6. "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World," $23.4 million
7. "Conan the Barbarian," $17.5 million
8. "Fright Night," $15.1 million
9. "Colombiana," $12.9 million
10. "Glee the 3-D Concert Movie," $11.7 million

August 2011 Movies We Saw

Leitch
"The Change-Up"
"Colombiana"
"The Debt"
"Fright Night"
"The Help"
"Higher Ground"
"Magic Trip"
"Our Idiot Brother"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Senna"

Grierson
"Amigo"
"Bellflower"
"The Change-Up"
"Chasing Madoff"
"Colombiana"
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark"
"Flypaper"
"Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life"
"The Hedgehog"
"The Help"
"Higher Ground"
"Littlerock"
"Mysteries of Lisbon"
"Our Idiot Brother"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Senna"
"Tales From the Golden Age"

Best August 2011 Movie We Saw

Leitch: "The Help"
Grierson: "Higher Ground"

Worst August 2011 Movie We Saw

Leitch: "The Change-Up"
Grierson: "Flypaper"

Movie We Missed But Plan On Getting To

Leitch: "Bellflower"
Grierson: "The Debt"

What We Learned This Month

Leitch: I'm a little embarrassed to say I only saw 10 movies this month. But boy, if there were ever a month to only see 10 movies, it was August 2011. Dreary stuff. I mean, I like "The Help" more than most people ... but I don't like it that much.
Grierson: The best movie I saw in August wasn't a new movie -- technically, it's not a movie at all. The Los Angeles release of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's little-seen 1973 TV miniseries "World on a Wire" was a real treat, a bizarro riff on alternate realities that came long before "The Matrix" and "Inception." Especially after suffering through a pretty mediocre summer movie season, it was nice to dig into something so bold, ambitious and loopy. Plus, everybody in it has awesome hair.

We have such hope for September! See you then.

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