Our August Movie Picks

As the summer season concludes, we countdown our movie picks for the month of August that warrant your support at a cinema near you

Tell me you can successfully resist calling this Dog cute now.... 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' (CREDIT: Disney)

by Jack Linsdell

So, with the everyone heading for the month of August and saying to everyone they see, "Hey, hasn't this year summer flown by?", we thought we'd countdown our top movie picks for the month of August, as the summer movie season draws to a close. With something for everyone in our list, from the action, to the dramatic, from the comedic to the poignant, continue reading to find out our choices...

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

Release Date: 9th August (UK and USA)

Yes, in a summer in which Disney (mainly through their distribution rights to the MCU and popular remakes of their classic 1990's movies) have dominated the global box office, you may be hesitant to give anymore of your money to the media and film giant. If so, then please make an exception for The Art of Racing in the Rain, opening in a cinema near you from August 9th courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, which actually was a Fox picture originally until they were brought by the Mouse House. As a Dog owner, whose recently enjoyed such gems like Dog Days which I describe as "Love Actually but with Dogs", this is sort of "Rush meets My Dog Skip" in what promises to be an fantastic emotional rollercoaster but with plenty of heart-warming comedy engrained throughout. The official synopsis reads "Dog lovers believe their canine family members understand language, comprehend events, have opinions and exude loyalty. Wise old dog Enzo Swift (voiced by Kevin Costner) shares thoughts about the life experiences which prepared him to protect his family in times of greatest need". Yes, as the title, their is some car racing scenes to hook in those men in your family that need a little bit of "action" to keep them interested. But as a Dog owner specifically, this promises to be a fantastic movie, with real heart, and one all the family can (and should) see. With a stacked cast of quality actors like Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia) and Kevin Costner (who voices the Dog's inner thoughts), and with an excellent creative team of director Simon Curtis (Woman In Gold and Goodbye, Christopher Robin) and screenwriter Mark Bomback (Unstoppable and Outlaw King), this promises to be a well-made, phenomenally acted movie that in another time would get good money at the box office. Now, folks, that's up to you. Also, the other thing going for it is it's got a score by Dustin O'Halloran, whose score for The Hate U Give was one of this year's biggest Oscar snubs, so I can't wait!

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Release Date: 9th August (UK) and 14th August (USA)

Courtesy of Entertainment One in the UK and Warner Bros. for the rest of the world, comes another musical Blinded by the Light, which if you know your music is the title of a well-known Bruce Springsteen track. Indeed, this one is inspired by the life of journalist of Sarfraz Manzoor and his love of Springsteen's songs, who actually wrote the script with director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) and Paul Mayeda Berges, and follows the life of British teen Javid of Pakistani decent, whose struggling to live his life in racially-prejudiced Luton of 1987 until he discovers Springsteen's music and he's inspired to express his own voice. Considering the recent trend of musicals being popular at the box office, hopefully audiences will continue this and show up for this one. It looks like another excellent movie, and an important one at that, telling the story of an ethnic minority and directed by a woman of ethnic minority too, that fully deserves your purchase of a cinema ticket. You can't just see Black Panther, The Lion King or Wonder Woman and say you've done your bit for diversity in film, especially when you've ignored the considerably better Booksmart, Longshot and The Hate U Give in cinemas. Okay, I've not seen this one yet, but presuming it's quality is nearer to other recent musicals (The Greatest Showman, Rocketman) than others (Yesterday, The Lion King), or at least half-decent (La La Land, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again), then everything will be fine. But, regardless, this looks to be another important step for diversity and equality in film, and it's eventual quality notwithstanding, this one deserves your support on August 9th. And with ABBA, Queen, Elton John, The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen's music already given the big screen treatment, I can't really see whose left really...

ANGEL HAS FALLEN

Release Date: 23rd August (UK and USA)

So, Gerard Butler returns as Agent Mike Banning saving the world again as the US President's closest protection officer in Lionsgate's Angel Has Fallen. Yes, the first movie Olympus Has Fallen was basically "Die Hard in the Whitehouse" and although not being great was certainly a small scale hit. 2016's sequel London Has Fallen was a slight improvement, with some interesting direction choices, especially the artistic choice to make the action scenes seem like one shot/take wonders, which made it a little different from the convention meat and potatoes action flick. Okay, so Mike Banning's accidental trilogy isn't as good as Liam Neeson's Taken trilogy or Matt Damon's Bourne trilogy, but Angel Has Fallen looks like a decent action movie for the summer season, something that delivers the summer entertainment many of us need. And, with a lovely and stacked cast including Danny Huston, Jada Pinkett Smith and Nick Nolte, joining franchise vets Morgan Freeman and (of course) Butler, this one promises to be half-decent. Let's just hope the story can be a little more interesting than a rehash of genre conventions and previous narrative strands of grindhouse action flicks and that new director (and co-writer) Ric Roman Raugh can bring something new and fresh to the action scenes. With a screenplay polish by excellent writer Robert Mark Kamen (The Karate Kid and the Taken series) I'm hopeful. 

So, those are our top three August choices that deserve your money alongside the (presumably) lower quality tentpole flicks like Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. As ever folks, vote with your wallet.