Films That I Saw: August 2026

 

Remember 2016? Remember how bad that year was with all these awful events including the U.S. Presidential election that year along with shootings and the deaths of famous people? Well, 2026 feels a lot similar like the decade except there is no big U.S. presidential election this year. However, the U.S. continues to be an embarrassment with our dumb-fuck dictator finding new ways to embarrass everyone while also doing what he can to fill his fragile ego as he has now pissed off Canada by re-naming Lake Ontario to Lake America. We are living in the worst timeline as there have been so much happening in the world including flash-floods in Nepal where a lot of people have died. The year for me personally has not been good as I have struggled to finish projects while having a hard time trying to get back to regular film-watching though I am glad that I have access to certain TV shows.

Yet, this year did see a major loss that I do not think anyone will get over and that is passing of Dolly Parton at the age of 80 on August 25 of this year. This death has now cast a shadow over everything else as there has been no one that is saintlier than Dolly. As a child of the 80s, I grew up on her image not just in music and movies but also on what she has given back to the world. Her Imagination Library is probably the greatest thing she has created where it allowed children access to books at no cost as she created it to honor her father who had never learned to read and write but she still considered him an intelligent man. This is a woman that also gave back to her community as she came from a very poor small town in the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee and that little town is where her theme park Dollywood is at.



I do not consider myself to be a fan of country music as I loathe today’s country music as I much prefer the country music going back to its early years to the 1970s. Dolly on the other hand was a major exception as she did not just fuse country music with pop music but also with so much more as she was also a traditionalist that also loved bluegrass and roots-based music. Her music was extremely accessible and inclusive as it played into who she is while she connected with artists from other genres. Hip-hop artists such as Eminem and Three 6 Mafia paid tribute to her as they kept letters that she wrote to them. The latter of which beat her at the Academy Awards in 2006 for Best Original Song, yet she congratulated them saying it was a win for Tennessee.



There are so many stories about Dolly that showcase how great she is as a person, including the story of the song that she wrote in I Will Always Love You. The story that Elvis Presley wanted to record the song, but his manager Colonel Tom Parker wanted Dolly to sell half of the publishing to Elvis which Dolly refused as Elvis never recorded the song. In 1992, Whitney Houston recorded her legendary version of the song that became iconic for the movie that Houston was starring in. The song is now attached to both Houston and Parton as you cannot go wrong with either version as Dolly got a lot of money for that song, yet she used the money to give back to the African-American community in Tennessee in tribute to Houston. She was also a champion for the LGBTQ community as she is an icon for that community as the story about her being in a Dolly Parton look-a-like contest and lost is among those great stories. This loss is immense as there will never be anyone like Dolly Parton. She will be missed for everyone as she should be renamed as St. Dolly Parton. Thank you, Dolly. We will miss you.



Since this month has been dark with losses and so many bad things happening, there was however something positive that did happen this month in the world of rock n’ roll. At the Jones Beach Theater in Wanaugh, New York on Long Island on August 12 of this year, an unexpected event happened though it was teased hours before the concert with many saying, “I’ll see it when I believe it”. What happened on that night was unimaginable as Deep Purple played their show that night where for the encore. Ritchie Blackmore arrived on stage for the first time in 33 years to play Smoke on the Water with the band with current guitarist Simon McBride playing along in support. Given the history of Deep Purple, the legendary tension between Blackmore and vocalist Ian Gillan that led to Blackmore’s departure in 1993. This was a surprise as from the videos on YouTube, it was a historical event even though Blackmore and Gillan are dealing with health issues. They managed to play this legendary song as it did not matter if Blackmore played a few bum notes as it was the feeling of what he was playing and the sense of joy that happened that matter. If this was going to be the last time Blackmore will ever play with his old band. At least he went out on his own terms and made peace with his old band.



In the month of August 2026, I saw a total of 4 films in 2 re-watches and 2 first-timers as I largely watched TV shows this month though I was able to watch a few films as I now have access to a new Smartphone I received this month having replaced my dad’s old one. The 2 re-watches I watched were Little Miss Sunshine and Modern Girls.

Monthly Mini-Reviews/What Else I Saw

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

Jesse Vile’s 2012 documentary film about guitar prodigy Jason Becker who at the age of 19 received the gig of all gigs in being the lead guitarist for David Lee Roth’s 1991 studio album A Little Ain’t Enough following in the footsteps of previous players Roth had played with in Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. What happened afterwards would be considered tragic as Becker would be diagnosed with ALS as he would complete his work on Roth’s album but was unable to tour. Due to the serious conditions of ALS, Becker was only expected to live for a few years but as of 2026. Becker is still alive and well despite not being able to speak yet he communicates with his eyes while continuing to make music with the aid of his parents as well as musicians such as Richie Kotzen, former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, Steve Hunter, and Greg Bissonette who are among those that are interviewed in the film. It is also a film about the human spirit as it plays into the life of a man who may have been cut down by a horrible disease, but it did not stop him from living and creating great art as this film is a must for music lovers.

Al’s Brain in 3-D



Weird Al Yankovic is indeed a genius. He made this 11-minute short film back in 2009 about the wonders of the human brain. The most powerful organ in the human body ever. Yet, we only use so little of it as the short film was widely considered to be lost media until now. Yet, he made this short film for one specific person. Me. That is right. All of you humanoids do not deserve to see this! YOU WILL ALL BOW DOWN TO ME! I AM YOUR GOD!!!!! 😆😆😆😆😆😆

Spartacus: House of Ashur

Starz should be ashamed of themselves for cancelling this series as the writing on this show is phenomenal. The series explores an alternate reality in which the character of Ashur was the one who killed Spartacus and was given his master’s own house in return. What makes this series unique is not just the exploration of social and racial politics as Ashur is Syrian but also in his need to prove himself amongst the Romans where he would also have to deal with an unwanted alliance with Julius Caesar as well as to try and get his champion gladiator Achilla to become the champion of the arena. The series retains many of the gratuitous sex and violence of its predecessor yet what makes it work is the cast as Nick Tarabay continues to be this great force as Ashur while the ensemble that includes Graham McTavish as Ashur’s gladiator trainer, Tenika Davis as the gladiator Achilla, Claudia Black as a senator’s wife who does not like Ashur, Ivana Baquero as one of Ashur’s slaves in Messia, and a special appearance from Lucy Lawless in the show’s first episode as a ghost of Lucretia from the series.

The only thing I did not like is Jackson Gallagher as Julius Caesar as I thought he was way too pretty to be Caesar as he was a poor replacement for Todd Lasance from the show’s final season. Still, it was better than I thought it would be though the fact that the show does not get a proper conclusion with so many things in the open as it relates to Ashur as well as the people he tried to win over.

Ted Lasso (season 4, episodes 1-4)

I was initially hesitant about the fourth season for the series given how great the third season ended. However, four episodes so far and I am invested in what the titular character is doing as it relates to the A.F.C. Richmond’s women’s team where he becomes their head coach. Several cast members from the series do make their return as it does explore gender politics as well as the difficulty of trying to get people to be invested in a women’s football team. Especially with leagues not making money and getting the attention of the public as it is something that needs to be normalized with the NWSL here in America starting to gain some momentum with Atlanta getting their own teaming in a few years. The series also showcase the idea of feminism as it relates to Rebecca Welton trying to gain support for the women’s team as well as one of the team’s coaches in a new character in Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds) who wonders why Lasso was chosen for the head coach job instead of her. It does play into some unique dynamics as this series continues to be this source of positivity as well as the need to be curious and not judgmental.

Dark Side of the Ring (season 7, episodes 6-9 & season 6, episodes 4-5)

Despite having a few episodes posted on their YouTube page, VICE has not put out any of their recent episodes on their YouTube page forcing other channels to post episodes on YouTube. Still, the episodes in season 7 are good as include episodes on Rick Wilson aka the Renegade, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, Missy Hyatt, and Zach Gowen. The ones on the Renegade and Orndorff are tragic with the former being someone who came to WCW as a wannabe-version of the Ultimate Warrior only to go nowhere and eventually kill himself in early 1999. The latter is about someone who was a big superstar that included a legendary feud with Hulk Hogan only for unfortunate events including health issues to derail him. The episodes on Missy Hyatt and Zach Gowen do have happy endings as they both went through a lot in their own lives with Hyatt as a woman who had a lot of personality but was treated unfairly in WCW. The latter is someone who came to fame way too young and too fast while being a one-legged wrestler who has managed to mature and still do well.

Catching up on what I missed in the previous season, the episodes on Tony Atlas and the late Superstar Billy Graham are great with the former being about someone who came to fame in the late 70s and early 80s but was overwhelmed with the fame money he had received. The latter on Graham is about someone who became the WWWF champion in the 1970s after defeating the much-revered Bruno Sammartino as he would become popular despite being a heel only to lose it to the more clean-cut Bob Backlund. Despite Graham’s brief time as the WWWF champion, his look and promo work were influential as guys like Hogan and Jesse Ventura would model themselves after Graham.

Well, that is all for August. I have no clue what I will do next month as well as no clue if whatever projects I am working on will be finished. I have also become more doubtful about returning to the movie theaters as I have lost a lot of enthusiasm. I was also troubled by movie tickets being scalped as the prices for the pre-sales for Dune: Part III in IMAX are fucking expensive. I will not pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for a movie ticket. Fuck off with that bullshit. No wonder going to the movies suck these days.



Since this has been a terrible month in terms of the many deaths that has happened, I would like to express my condolences to those who have died including the people in Nepal at the flash flood. Also, who passed away this month include the great Tim Curry, Frank Beard of ZZ Top, voice actor Peter Cullen, David Fair of Half Japanese, Hayden Panettiere, Jackie Glass, actor Samuel Monroe Jr., Jaye P. Morgan of The Gong Show, Debbie Clark aka Storm of American Gladiators, actor/stuntman James Lew, Shelley Fabares, songwriter Janie Bradford, actress Bunny Levine, Italian actor Virginio Gazzolo, actor Michael Wright, Queen bassist Brian Mitchell, film composer Nick Glennie-Smith, Yayoi Kusama, filmmaker Mark Rydell, filmmaker John Irvin, actor Reggie Bannister, music manager Peter Katsis, actor Jon Cypher, music producer David Z, and Vincent Pastore aka Big Puss of The Sopranos. We will miss you all. This is thevoid99 signing off…



© thevoid99 2026