Updated

Updated · news9.com KWTV · Aug 15

5 New Films Open in Theaters, Led by Andrew Patterson's 'The Rivals of Amziah King'

Updated

Updated · news9.com KWTV · Aug 15

5 New Films Open in Theaters, Led by Andrew Patterson's 'The Rivals of Amziah King'

Q: What happens when teenage musicians ditch their phones for a chaotic, analog road trip to meet their punk rock idols?

They get **“Nimrods,”** an R-rated, music-fueled coming-of-age comedy in which three teenage musicians trade screens for a messy, old-school dash across the country to meet Green Day. The film follows three high school friends in a fledgling punk band who mistakenly believe they’ve been booked to open for Green Day on New Year’s Eve at the Hollywood Palladium. That misunderstanding launches an analog road trip built around van trouble, roadside mishaps, family tension, romance, and the kind of DIY chaos associated with punk touring culture. Writer-director Lee Kirk and Green Day framed the movie around a deliberately low-tech sensibility: demo tapes, vinyl, four-track recording, breakdowns, and minimal phone or social media use. Reporting on the film says that choice gives the story a more timeless feel and echoes Green Day’s own early years living out of a van before mainstream success. The teens’ journey is less about efficient navigation than about identity, friendship, and ambition. Reviews and interviews describe the trip as a comedy of errors, but also as a story about young musicians using music as an emotional outlet while chasing a dream that may not even be real. The movie stars Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman, and Ryan Foust, with Jenna Fischer in a supporting role. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool appear in cameos, and Green Day’s songs form both the soundtrack and much of the film’s emotional backbone.

3 articles · Updated · news9.com KWTV · Aug 15

Andrew Patterson’s R-rated “The Rivals of Amziah King” tops this weekend’s new releases, with Matthew McConaughey playing an Oklahoma beekeeper whose life is upended when his foster daughter returns.
Patterson said the film scaled up sharply from “The Vast of Night,” with a crew of 150 versus 15 and a budget 20 times larger, while he tried to keep the same creative discipline.
The film blends heist thriller, modern western, love story and comedy, with reviewer Dino Lalli calling it bright, original and rooted in themes of belonging and community.
Four other openings round out the slate: “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie,” “The Brink of War,” “The End of Oak Street” and the R-rated road-trip comedy “Nimrods.”