Superpowers, politics and monsters (any difference?) are featured in this weeks VOD
Boys State (Streaming August 14 on Apple TV+)
Every summer, 1100 teen males arrive in Austin, Texas to attend an American Legion-sponsored leadership conference. Participants are randomly divided into the Nationalist and Federalist parties. Each party must form a platform and choose a candidate for governor. Strategies will be decided; speeches and attacks will be made. Everyone learns a little something about politics, and perhaps about themselves. In 2017, married couple, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, armed with seven camera-people, followed a handful of candidates and their supporters. Criticisms include the reality-TV-style format and lack of character shown by contestants. A winner at the 2020 Sundance and Miami Film Festivals, check in to see the state of America's political future.
Monstrous (On Disc/Streaming, August 11 On Demand)
Anna Shields portrays Sylvia, a young woman doing what no lead character should when she goes searching for her missing friend in Adirondack town known for Bigfoot sightings. Deep in the woods, Sylvia discovers something ain’t right about her volunteer companion, and that an isolated, uninhabited cabin offers precious little protection. The trailer depicts potential victims and their assailant (glimpses of a tall man wearing a faux-fur suit). Director Bruce Wemple is unlikely to improve his dismal record: Altered Hours (2016), with a 4.1/10 IMDB viewer rating, or Lake Artifact (2018) with a 25% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Project Power (Streaming August 14, on Netflix)
To everyone feeling the vacancy of superhero films, Netflix sorta fills that gap. Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt appear as ex-soldier, Art, and ex-cop Frank. In New Orleans, the pair seek to stop a new crime-wave stemming from a pill that grants five-minute super-powers to those ingesting it. Teen dealer Robin (Dominique Fishback), is at the center of the war. Since no one knows what superpower they will receive, the outcome is unpredictable—unlike casting both Levitt and Foxx, whose presence should further bloat Netflix's subscriber list.
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