August Movies

Our critic Chris Potts previews the latest films coming up for August

Brave

This year’s release of The Hunger Games reportedly led to a surge in demand for archery lessons and this summer’s big animated release is likely to keep sales of bows and arrows high for some time yet. Set in tenth century Scotland, Brave tells the story of Princess Merida, a strong-minded young woman determined to live the life she wishes for, rather than that dictated to her by custom, which causes chaos in her kingdom. When a curse is placed on her family, it’s down to Merida to undo the spell. As usual, there is no shortage of big name stars to lend their voices to proceedings, including Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters and Kelly Macdonald as Merida. Visually, Brave is likely to be spectacular, with a brand new animation system being used by Pixar, whose films, from Toy Story to Cars, are already some of the most beautiful animated movies seen on the big screen.

Released 17 August

The Bourne Legacy

Throughout the last decade, the Bourne series was hugely successful both critically and commercially, and this month the fourth instalment arrives in cinemas, but with one notable exception – the absence of Matt Damon in the lead role of Jason Bourne. Instead, the plot for The Bourne Legacy switches to an entirely different CIA operative, Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner (pictured). Like Bourne, Cross is attempting to escape the very agency that made him, before they can assassinate him. Renner will be a more than capable replacement for Damon as a leading man, and there is support from Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton and Albert Finney amongst others. The film is also directed by Tony Gilroy, who wrote the screenplays for the first three films, ensuring that there is plenty of consistency between this new-look Bourne and those films that preceded it.

Released 13 August