Blinded By The Light, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Angel Has Fallen

Before Javed has that damascene moment when he discovers Bruce for the first time, the soundtrack of songs from the eighties sets the scene perfectly. From the introduction to "It's A Sin" by The Pet Shop boys to "The Sun Always Shines On TV" by A-ha and "Don't You Want Me" by Human League. When at last he is given those Springsteen tapes, there is a trademark guitar strum from one of the albums. But which one??? It's those moments that make a film for me.

And again, it takes ages for Javed to actually decide to listen to the tapes, and when he does, it accompanies the great storm of 1987. I thought this sequence was quite brilliant, not like one critic:
Javed’s immersion in the music of Springsteen takes place during the great storm of 1987 and in a silly, messily handled sequence, he’s inspired to frolic in the wind as lyrics appear on the screen and video footage plays on a wall. It’s one of many awkward attempts to truly embed Springsteen’s music in the film.

The film pulls no punches in it's depiction of a town like Luton in the eighties. And what it was like for a family of Pakistani immigrants. Javed's difficult relationship with his father is especially well handled. This is all down to director Gurinder Chadha who also co-wrote the script with the author of the original book. The lead actors are OK, however there are some excellent cameos from Rob Brydon, Hayley Atwell, Sally Phillips and David Hayman. 

Finally, the scene at the end with Javed's father and mother is terrific. I actually preferred this movie to Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and Yesterday. I thought it was splendid. (This review took me half an hour longer than usual as I failed at first to find the word damascene.)

I think that Quentin Tarantino just wanted to make a film of the actors driving cars around Hollywood in 1969 listening to some classic songs of the day. But I guess he had to put a plot in there somehow. In the end he gives us one of his greatest movies, a kind of patchwork revolving around the lives of fading actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio reprising one of his typical edgy roles) and his stuntman and (only?) friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt in superior lade back form). Many of Tarantino's regular actors are here, sometimes you get distracted thinking which movies they made.

There are a whole series of set pieces, one of which is memorably outstanding. The setting is the run down Spahn Movie Ranch, the "home" to Charles Manson and his followers. Cliff stumbles on the place having given a ride to one of Manson's young female followers. What happens next is full of magnificent tension as Cliff investigates the place. The one saving grace is that you know Cliff can look after himself, having previously beaten up Bruce Lee. However, the superb writing and Pitt's presence takes the film to a new level. No violence, no CGI, just a great set and Brad.

Tarantino saves any real violence until the very end, saving it up for the villains. His regular producer Shannon McIntosh is joined by Harry Potter producer David Heyman. He explains how they needed to cut an hour  from the original three and half hours. This includes a third encounter with ten year old Julia Butters as one of Rick's co-stars. Her first scene when they discuss acting is superb. And Tim Roth's scene never made the final version. I would love to see what was taken out.

A decent popcorn thriller was spoilt for me by the prolonged shoot out at the end. Apart from that, there was plenty to enjoy as Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is on the run from both the good guys and the bad guys. Have we not seen this before? However, there are some clever stunts in this, the third and last? of the franchise. ( Fortunately I avoided the second). Add in Morgan Freeman and Nick Nolte and the rest of the cast hardly matter.