Film Preview: August 2019

In August expect a feast of both small arthouse features and action packed big hitters.

Inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen, ‘Blinded by the Light’ opens on 9 August 2019. Directed by Gurinder Chadha (Viceroy’s House), this coming-of-age musical comedy takes inspiration from the life of British journalist Sarfraz Manzoor who co-wrote the screenplay. It tells the story of how the music of Springsteen changes the life of a British-Pakistani Muslim teenager forever.

With Jacob Tremblay (Room) in the main role, you could be forgiven for believing ‘Good Boys’, released on 16 August 2019, to be a nice little film that is suitable for children but with Seth Rogan (Pineapple Express) co-producing, it is anything but. Rated R in the United States, it means 12-year-old Tremblay won’t be old enough to watch it. I predict a riot!

Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera) returns as the eponymous character of American Secret Service agent Mike Banning in ‘Angel Has Fallen’, which hits the silver screen on 21 August 2019. In this third instalment of the Olympus Has Fallen film series, he is framed for a failed assassination of President Allan Trumbull played by Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption).

With a high pedigree of talent that includes Rosamund Pike (A Private War), Clive Owen (Closer), Joel Kinnaman (Robocop) and Common (Selma), ‘The Informer’ will arrive on 30 August 2019 with the thrilling promise of crime, power and undercover operations that will hopefully match the quality of its ensemble cast.