Film Reviews by GI

SPOILER ALERT

A southern revenge thriller that's really bad. In fact it's a struggle to find anything redeeming about this pile of trash even with the presence of Robert De Niro and John Malkovich, I'm struggling to believe they signed up for this so perhaps the script started out a lot better.....we'll never know. Shelby (Jack Huston) and Ruby (Willa Fitzgerald) are lovers and heroin addicts who decide to get clean when Shelby proposes. Her family is delighted including her brother in law (Malkovich). But when Ruby relapses and overdoses Shelby goes on the rampage hunting down the local drug hierarchy. De Niro is the cop on his tail who is given some inner demons of his own presumably so he can actually do a bit of acting in the film. The action is muted and often carried out while some daft song on the soundtrack drowns out the gunfire. Malkovich, as if you didn't already guess, has a bigger part to play in the denouement. None of this is particularly original and it drags itself to the finish line after lengthy and dull romance scenes in the first half just in case you don't get how much in love the starry eyed junkies actually are. You can avoid this one. Known as Savage Salvation in other countries including the US - again for reasons unknown.

One of the several adventure films Roger Moore appeared in during his James Bond tenure and indeed there's a bit of a Bond family thing going on here as the director Peter Hunt had directed On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and the titles are by Maurice Binder who is famous for his 007 opening title sequences. That aside this is an adventure film with doses of comedy in a Fordian style intermixed with some quite brutal violence the contrast making for a confused film that never really decides what it's trying to be. Set in 1913 in East Africa and alcoholic ivory poacher Flynn (Lee Marvin) teams up with handsome aristocratic Englishman Sebastian (Moore) and harasses the stereotyped German commissioner across the river. When war breaks out a year later the two sides go all out to kill the other and it all comes to a climax when the two heroes decide to blow up a German battleship. There's a love interest for Moore with Barbara Parkins as Flynn's daughter and plenty of nasty violence that at times is a bit unnecessary and Marvin gets a Wild Bunch moment, ironically considering he was Sam Peckinpah's first choice to star in that classic.. It's an overlong film and very of its time making it one for those nostalgic for 70s cinema and/or fans of Roiger Moore but otherwise it's mediocre when viewed today.

This is a rollicking and thoroughly entertaining piece of hokum obviously influenced by Indiana Jones but manages to keep itself exciting, humorous and downright good fun from start to finish. Despite its horror film roots this is actually a piece of fantasy adventure made with adults in mind although there's no resort to gore or fright, it's more of a swashbuckler than an outright monster film. Set in the 1920s Brendan Fraser is fantastic as the hero Rick O'Connell who happens to know the location of a lost Egyptian city being sought after by egyptologist Evelyn (the tantalisingly beautiful Rachel Weisz) and her hapless brother Jonathan (John Hannah). Unfortunately for them others are looking for it too but it's protected by an ancient brotherhood who happen to know an ancient evil resides there and of course it's not long before this gets awakened. So what with it's 50s serial styling, great storytelling and a nostalgic feel for those great fantasy films of yesteryear like Jason and The Argonauts (1963) this is absolutely superb. There was a couple of fairly pointless sequels but this one is a film to really enjoy time and time again.

Director David Lynch's dark, sinister and distinctly unsettling thriller is an absolute masterpiece of modern cinema. On first viewing this will baffle and astound in equal measure but you'll want to go and watch it again very soon afterwards. I recommend you do because the clues to what is going on are all there if you are careful enough to spot them. If you are familiar with Lynch's work then this will be a bit easier as there's a narrative structure here that can be seen in some of his other work including his TV series Twin Peaks. Naomi Watts plays Betty, an aspiring young actress who arrives in Hollywood hoping to make it big in the movies. She takes up residence in her Aunt's apartment whilst her Aunt is away but is surprised when she finds the glamorous Rita (Laura Harring) hiding there. Rita has lost her memory after a mysterious car crash and Betty agrees to help her find out who she is and what has happened to her. This starts a nightmare chain of events that involves a film director (Justin Theroux) and his struggles with casting his new film under pressure from some nasty bad guys. There's a host of strange characters throughout the story and it involves murder, dark erotic sex and corruption. To give you a slight clue Lynch is obsessed with dreams and nightmares so bear that in mind when you're watching. I cannot recommend this film enough. Watts is superb, the story and vision unique and it's a film that will get you talking for hours after having seen it.

A routine thriller that benefits from a topnotch cast. Michael Caine effortlessly plays an aging man on the run chased by Tilda Swinton in a story that is loosely based on real events. Swinton is Annemarie, a French Judge tasked with tracking down Broussard (Caine) a former nazi collaborator who personally selected and executed seven jewish men during the Second World War and who managed to escape justice. It turns out Broussard is protected by a secret cabal of catholics who fund and hide him. Also after him is a high ranking government official who Broussard can implicate in war crimes. All this leads to a film that has little excitement, hardly any action or suspense and where a series of incompetent agents fail to capture this angina ridden old man who outwits them time and time again to the point of tedium. All this is a shame too because with this cast and as director Norman Jewison's last film it had all the ingredients to be something rather good. But sadly this is no Marathon Man (1976) despite Ciarán Hinds, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Northam and Alan Bates also in his last theatrical film.

A chilling dystopian action film from director Alex Garland, a director of unique vision, and a film that will possibly divide audiences although as a cinematic experience it's visceral and an assault on the senses. Set in the near future the USA is embroiled in a civil war where the states of Texas and California have united to fight a tyrannical President (a cameo from Nick Offerman). The film doesn't give us much if any political context for the causes off the war although there's the inevitable allegory to Trump albeit a tentative one. This is a narrative around the effects of conflict and close proximity to combat. Kirsten Dunst plays Lee, a veteran combat photo journalist, who has become somewhat immune to the violence she witnesses although she is haunted by the past. She and her colleague are intent on a perilous journey across America to try and get an interview with the President, a risky enterprise as journalists have been summarily executed in Washington DC but as the President appears close to defeat they want the scoop. Tagging along are a fellow veteran journalist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and Jess (Cailee Spaeny). Jess is terrified by what she sees and Lee becomes a reluctant mentor to her and the film focuses on Jess' emotional arc as she becomes more and more a war junkie. With a road movie structure the travellers go from episode to episode some of which are very traumatising and violence is ever present. This is a violent and at times uncomfortable film and the combat scenes and set pieces are realistic both visually and aurally. This film captures the chilling and terrible momentum of war in a way that Saving Private Ryan (1998) did for the war film genre and in the character structures it reminded me of The Hurt Locker (2008) in the depiction of the numbness to horror and the addiction to the rush of combat that both Lee has and regrets and Jess is obtaining on the journey. An impressive film and one that I'm sure will gain accolades as time goes on.

There's been a few adaptations of this famous 1930 children's novel by Arthur Ransome possibly the most famous being the 1974 film with Virginia McKenna. This latest one doesn't really offer much that's new or particularly amazing other than a very good adult cast and the addition of a spy subplot that wasn't in the original novel. I'm unsure where the drive to remake this period nostalgic adventure has come from as it's a story directed at children in an age of superheroes, the MCU and very realistic computer games that the young seem much more involved in than a 1930s story of children pretending to be pirates on an idyllic English lake. Anyway, the story here is of the Walker family who led by their mother played by Kelly McDonald (the father is away at sea) go on holiday to the Lake District and stay in a local farmhouse,. The four children spend their days sailing a small boat on the nearby lake and have a mock pirate battle with two local girls, go camping, get into a few minor scrapes and eventually come up against a grumpy man (Rafe Spall) on a houseboat who accuses them of stealing his stuff. Added to this rather worn out and unexciting stuff there's a couple of Soviet spies roaming around and thereafter the grumpy man. Andrew Scott is the lead bad guy, and typically very good as the charming but cold villain. There's a small set piece involving a seaplane but other than that this is a routine children's adventure film that has a charm but that's about all.

There are a mixture of views as to which version of Superman II is the better, Richard Lester's or Richard Donner's. There is little doubt that Lester's version is much more polished and arguably coherent as it had the benefit of being the film the studio released theatrically. However Richard Donner, the sacked director, had a chance to put together his vision of the film and it does have it's merits although there is an inconsistency in the structure of some scenes, with some tending to drift on a little too long and others being rather hurried and sharply edited. I offer no preference because viewed today this is a DC world film that lacks the vital ingredient of darkness that came years later. These early Superman films are vey comic book in style with cartoon characters and a little too much overt comedy that weakens the film. Carrying on from the first film this has Superman (Christopher Reeve) giving up his powers so he can have a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) only to have the inconvenient arrival of three villains led by Zod (Terence Stamp) from Krypton who are intent on enslaving mankind. Of course he finds a way back to super status and battles the bad guys. Gene Hackman has a good time as Lex Luthor and Marlon Brando is always good to see even though he's mostly a special effect here. Despite the various bouts of silliness this is probably the best of the Reeve films. Viewed today though it all seems a little puerile in style and structure even though many rate Reeve as the best cinematic Superman.

A fantastic drama with shades of thriller about it and one of Matthew McConaughey's best performances. A film that mixes a coming-of-age narrative with crime thriller and relationship drama and ends up as a top class film. Tye Sheridan is superb as the fourteen year old Ellis who, growing up on a big Arkansas river with his friend Nate, comes across the enigmatic and charismatic Mud. They mistake him for a bum but he tells them he's hiding out for killing a bad man and he's waiting for his woman to arrive in the area. This is the beautiful Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) who is soon found by Ellis and who then acts as a conduit between them. But it's soon apparent that both Mud and Juniper are being hunted by some ruthless bad guys and their story is not what it seems. Ellis is faced with conflicting emotions as he tries to understand who is telling him the truth. The film boasts a great cast that includes the brilliant Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon and a cameo from Joe Don Baker. If you have missed this film then it's one you should definitely seek out because it's very, very good.

This is a well meaning sports underdog story that highlights the homeless World Cup, a tournament set up in 2001 where teams of homeless people from different countries compete in a football (soccer) contest. Indeed the story of this would probably have been better told as a documentary because here we have a standard narrative of composite characters all with 'issues' and the story unfolds with various tensions in the England team designed to highlight the plight of homeless people. At the centre we have Bill Nighy who is here somewhat miscast but gets away with it due to his unique screen charisma, but as a former football manager with his own demons now managing this team he's a fish out of water although most of the amusement in the film comes from him. The main centre of the story surrounds Vinny (Micheal Ward) who is recruited by Mal (Nighy) to join the team in Rome for the finals. Vinny can't bring himself to admit he's homeless due to the breakdown of his marriage, he's also a former footballer who didn't quite make it as a professional and carries the stigma of rejection. Of course as the film progresses there's the inevitable healing and bonding and the finding of true self but it is all very standard and quite predictable. There's some deviations into the activities of some of the other teams, in particular Japan, that are never really pursued sufficiently to make them interesting. A reasonably entertaining if unsatisfying film.

A surprisingly influential film among other filmmakers with many citing it as one of their favourite films including the likes of Martin Scorsese. It's possibly the first real depiction of the professional assassin as a cool, laconic character which has been much utilised since in films such as The Killer (2023) and Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999), the latter being almost a remake. The hitman as a dedicated professional devoid of apparent emotional ties can be found in other films e.g. Collateral (2004) and so viewing Le Samouraï today it's easy to make more contemporary comparisons. Alain Delon, in one of his most famous roles plays the contract killer Jef. He's been hired to kill a club owner and carries out the hit but is unfortunately seen by some witnesses. But Jef has arranged his alibi very carefully and so when picked up by the police is able to quickly get himself released. Unfortunately for him he still has a worried employer out to kill him and a police detective who is convinced he's their killer. The narrative is a sort of cat and mouse scenario with police surveillance through Paris and especially the Metro (these are very reminiscent of the surveillance scenes that William Friedkin utilised in his 1971 The French Connection), the underworld's own killer is lurking around and Jef has to take action. It's a moody, atmospheric film, a modern crime thriller that is quintessential European in style and which would come to influence the American New wave directors that were soon to hit the mainstream. An interesting film when viewed today and certainly one film fans should ensure they check out.

This science fiction thriller is an entertaining science fiction/horror film which is heavily influenced by Alien (1979) and obviously a little derivative with a host of other films that can be cited as influencing or similar to this, e.g. Event Horizon (1997) where a spacecraft crew have to do battle with something unworldly. Here the six man crew of the International Space Station have to intercept a damaged probe returning from Mars where it's been collecting soil samples. On the safety and sterile environment of the station they are then tasked with examining the samples in the hope of finding evidence of life. And indeed they do, a micro-organism that causes immense excitement and prompts questions from schoolchildren back on Earth in a live link including 'Are you bringing the alien back to Earth?' which signposts the potential course of the narrative because the organism soon begins to evolve once nurtured in the space station and as it grows into something rather threatening and deadly the attempts to kill it fills the main body of the film. The film has some tense moments and the expected gore that usually accompanies this sort of plot. The 'alien' is interesting and far different from the 'xenomorph' of the Alien series and the film rattles along at a good pace. I suppose you have to like sci-fi to really enjoy this and it does its job here in a solid, well directed way. The cast give it their all led by Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson with Ryan Reynolds the most notable support. There's a predictability to the film's conclusion but that aside it's a very well made and watchable film that seems better on further viewings so if you were unconvinced the first time give it another go.

A perfectly watchable melodrama that is all a little depressing despite the out of place and quite unnecessary saccharine infused ending, which lets it down. Set in the early days of the First World War on a remote outer Hebridean island where the small community is close and dominated by the strictness of religion. An early sermon by the calvinist preacher about sins of the flesh signposts the plot. Bright and beautiful Kirsty (Hermione Corfield) lives on the island with her mother (the great Morven Christie) and younger sister and she yearns for adventure. Her young man Murdo (Will Fletcher) has been called up and on the eve of his departure the community holds a farewell dance but Kirsty is attacked and raped that evening setting the narrative up as a crime mystery too. She inevitably falls pregnant which she tries to conceal for fear of the retribution of her neighbours. The film focuses on her plight and of identifying the culprit. Corfield carries the film and is very good and is no doubt an actor we shall see more of. The various plot lines keep you watching as tragedy piles on tragedy but there comes a time when you'll guess how it all plays out including the identity of the rapist and as I said the final scene sort of spoils the overall film with it's quite daft conclusion.

Director Roman Polanski's seminal horror classic delves deep into the existential fears that one can have about trust and about whether the people around us are genuine or not. This slow building film of dread remains powerful and has hardly been diminished by the plethora of more visually shocking horror movies that followed. The fact that Polanski hints at events and shows just mere glimpses of what Rosemary goes through is where the power of the film lies. Rosemary (Mia Farrow), a naïve catholic girl, and her struggling actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes) move into an old, dark New York apartment building and plan to start a family. They are soon befriended by the elderly eccentric neighbours (Ruth Gordon & Sidney Blackmer) who have a host of equally weird friends. After a night of very bad dreams Rosemary finds she is pregnant and soon under the control of the neighbours and a sinister doctor. It turns out of course she has been raped by the Devil conjured up by the coven of her fellow tenants and her husband has agreed in return for success as an actor. The themes of trust, isolation and the corruption of family are at the centre of this film and Farrow is first rate here and should have received an award for her performance. Polanski has taken a fairly pulpy novel and faithfully adapted it but added nuances and a growing sense of suspense that has made this film a key one on the horror genre. Some may find the film anti-climactic in the decisions to show very little of monstrous although the rape scene is still shocking today and very risqué for its time. This is certainly a film that you should check out if you've not seen it as it ranks as one of the best of American horror films.

You need a hugely enjoyable B movie type action film every so often and this delivers brilliantly. It's a glorious, bloody war based film that has the stamp of Quentin Tarantino all over it (it has 'chapters' that QT often uses), and I'm sure he'll be a fan, as well as the hallmarks of films like First Blood (1982) and the John Wick series. Set in Finland in 1944 where a grizzled gold prospector avoids the war living in the remote Lapland area. Finding a rich vein he sets off with his gold to the nearest city to cash it in but on the way he's accosted by a company of SS soldiers who try to steal it. A big mistake as the old miner has a past and a skill set that is awoken to dire consequences for the Nazis. This is brutally violent with some crazy set pieces. The main character hardly says a word until the film's final moments and this is part of makes this film work so well. Like John Rambo he's man after some calmness and peace but once aroused to action he's simply unstoppable. Great fun, and rattles along at a solid pace and is wrapped up in a tight 90 minutes.