Only three movies in August I watched are worth recommending. I did a lot of rewatching, but also some subpar first-time watches. Below are the three films you should check out.

Open Range (2003) – Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner made a Western…What?

Boss (Robert Duvall) and Charley (Kevin Costner) are cattle drivers who drive cattle across the frontier. When another cattle hand Mose goes into a small town for supplies and doesn’t come back, Boss and Charley go looking for him.

They find Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) a vicious land baron who has made it his mission to teach Boss and his men a lesson. This leads to an inevitable face-off between Boss and Charley against Dexter and his many men.

Maybe it’s because Kevin became a bit of a joke with the double whammy of The Postman and Waterworld, but this is his best film, he directed at least, by a mile. Does it break new ground? No. Is it a blast? Yes.

With supporting actors of baby Diego Luna, Annette Benning, and Abraham Bunrubi. Michael Gambon is having a blast as the villain. Kim Coates doesn’t have enough to do, but his moment begins a stellar shootout.

A Bigger Splash (2015) – Luca Guadagnino

Loosely based on the 1969 film La Piscine by Jacques Delray. A Bigger Splash is about Rockstar Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) and her boyfriend Paul De Smedt (Matthias Schoenaerts) who are off on a romantic getaway in a private villa somewhere in Italy.

They receive a surprise visit from Marianne’s old flame Harry Hawkes (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). Tensions are high from the first minute and it only rises minute-by-minute. Why did Harry come? Why did he bring his daughter?

Quite possibly Ralph’s best performance ever, he comes in like a screaming comet and burns out bright in the end. Tilda is also great in a nearly silent role because her character has had vocal chord surgery.

I don’t want to say too much to give away what happens. But this acts as the road map for Luca’s first 2024 film Challengers. Rich people being nasty to each other and it’s marvelous, possibly Luca’s best film at that.

The Silent Partner (1978) – Daryl Duke

A small Canadian film starring Elliot Gould, and Christopher Plummer, with small supporting roles from John Candy and Susannah York. Elliot plays Miles Cullen a bank teller who finds out about an imminent bank robbery and steals the money first.

When criminal Reikle (Christopher Plummer) gets wind of this, he makes Miles’ life a living hell until he gives Reikle the money.

It gets bogged down in the second act but the opening and closing 30 minutes are very strong. The Criterion Channel is a gold mine for discovering lesser-known films. I had never heard about this film and it’s my favorite subgenre, 70s crime film.

Christopher Plummer is terrifying as the antagonist. It was an unexpected performance because I’m used to him being the hero or a gentle soul.

Elliot is subtle as a nerd who slowly transforms into a cool guy as he pulls off the robbery. It’s a cool film that will make you feel cool for having discovered it while most haven’t heard of the film.