Snakes, planes and a guide to August film releases

August 4

“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”

Will Ferrell’s latest… August 4

“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”

Will Ferrell’s latest hook-up with director Adam McKay — the two previously worked together on “Anchorman” — finds Ferrell as fictional NASCAR racer Ricky Bobby and John C. Reilly as a fellow driver. Everything is well in the world of NASCAR until gay foreign driver Jean Girard — played by Sacha Baren Coen of “Da Ali G” show fame — comes onto the scene. Ferrell was paid a reported $20 million to co-write and star in the film after simply pitching it to Sony executives.

“The Science of Sleep”

International star Gael Garcia Bernal plays a young artist who is held captive by his own dreams in director Michael Gondry’s latest, “The Science of Sleep.” Gondry, who also wrote the script, hopes to continue his solid run after “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Dave Chapelle’s Block Party.”

August 11

“World Trade Center”

Oliver Stone’s ode to the heroes of Sept. 11, 2001, stars Nicholas Cage and “Crash’s” Michael Pena as Port Authority policemen who are buried alive under the towers but manage to survive. Stone perhaps should have stuck to conspiracy theories in his films, as early reviews of “World Trade Center” have been negative despite the story being based upon the testaments of two actual policemen.

“The Reaping”

Hilary Swank stars as a theology professor at LSU who also happens to debunk bogus religious miracles in “The Reaping.” She is sent to investigate a small town in Louisiana, which might be under a 21st-century form of the 10 plagues of the Bible. With its unique and potentially interesting premise, let’s hope this is a little more “The Ring” and a little less “White Noise.”

“Half Nelson”

This Sundance darling finds Ryan Gosling (“The Notebook”) as a teacher with a drug habit in an inner-city school who receives unexpected help from one of his students. Not only did the film itself receive rave reviews, but Gosling earned extensive praise for his performance in this film that seems to have everything going for it except a good title.

August 18

“Snakes on a Plane”

One of the first-ever films to be a cult classic before its release, “Snakes on a Plane” will be a hit based solely upon its tell-all title; fans have been clamoring for months online for glimpses of the film’s scaly stars. It’s not really possible to say much more about it, other than that Samuel L. Jackson stars, yells obscenities (hopefully at the snakes, which would be awesome) and actually signed on after seeing just the title of the script.

“The Illusionist”

Recent film hermit Edward Norton — seriously, when was the last time he was in something? — is a magician who conjures up spells to win back a childhood love (Jessica Biel) who is already set to marry a prince. And although the plot doesn’t sound terribly interesting, hopefully the always-good Norton and co-star Paul Giamatti will pull a sleight of hand and liven up the proceedings.

August 25

“Invincible”

How would you like to play quarterback for a pro football team (even if it was the Eagles)? That is what happened to a man named Vince Papale in 1976 when the Eagles held tryouts for quarterback and the 30-year-old bartender got the chance to play. Mark Wahlberg stars as Papale, and Greg Kinnear portrays Coach Dick Vermeil.

“Idlewild”

The long-awaited musical starring hip-hop masterminds Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton of Outkast finally hits theaters, as they play ’30s era musicians who become involved in a prohibition world of booze and broads. “Idlewild” also features Terrence Howard, Ving Rhames and, most importantly, a soundtrack with new music composed by Outkast.

“Beerfest”

“Beerfest” is the latest from college frat-boy cult-masters Broken Lizard, who previously created “Super Troopers.” This time, the boys go on a journey to Germany and stumble upon the beer-drinking version of the Olympics, wherein hilarity hopefully ensues.