Film Reviews by GI

If you love to watch the preparation of lovingly concocted dishes filtered through a soft focus interpretation of the Belle Époque period of France then this is a film for you. I found it a beautiful film to look at but ultimately quite a laborious watch as it's an ode to the delights of food and thus a quest for the pleasure in the subtleties and delights of being alive and yet it lingers just too long over every detail. The story follows Dodin (Benoît Magimel), a gourmet chef, who lives on his reputation in relative luxury inventing subtle ways to prepare traditional dishes. He is aided by Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), his cook for the past twenty years who can interpret his ideas and prepare the dishes exactly as he envisaged them. Dodin is in love with Eugénie and desperately wants to marry her but she is reluctant. Her recent fainting episodes suggest a potential malady that concerns Dodin. As a romance this lacks a zest of passion and as a narrative about food it has to be of interest otherwise it's a film that leaves you a bit empty. There is a charm to the film and the two leads perform admirably but for a film that is over two hours long it doesn't exactly grab the attention.

With stunning visuals recreating a pastoral and beautiful 18th Century England this is a wonderful adaptation of possibly the most famous romantic novel. Keira Knightley has her detractors but they are wrong, she is a marvellous actor and here she is simply wonderful and considering she's in scenes with the great Judi Dench and holding her own is enough to identify her as an actor of great range and depth. She plays Elizabeth Bennet, the second of five sisters. Her nervous and indiscreet mother (Brenda Blethyn) is desperate to see them all married off. So when the rich Mr Bingley (Simon Woods) takes an interest in the eldest Jane (Rosamund Pike) the family is thrown into chaos in the hope he makes a proposal. But it's in the relationship between Bingley's friend, Mr D'Arcy (Matthew MacFadyen), and Elizabeth that the narrative is concerned. This is a romantic drama about manners, about class and ultimately about true love that surpasses all social conventions. There have been numerous adaptations of this novel both in cinema and television but I really love this particular one. It's cast is fantastic with Donald Sutherland as the henpecked but wise Mr Bennet and Judi Dench as a Duchess, you'll also spot Carey Mulligan and the fantastic Tom Hollander as the ridiculous Mr Collins (an inspired piece of casting as the character in the novel is very tall!). If you love a good romance then please watch this it's a wonderful film, it has humour and warmth and if you're a total softie like me then it'll bring the odd tear to your eye too. Oh and read the novel it's magical.

Ian McKellen is clearly in his element in this period thriller set in 1930s London where he plays Jimmy, a renowned yet odious theatre critic for a popular newspaper. He's built his reputation over 40 years and now enjoys being thoroughly cantankerous and able to enjoy the guilty and illegal delights of gay sex in the park often close to police arrest. His biggest pleasure seems to be is dishing out awful reviews of actress Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), whose confidence is fractured as a result. However when Jimmy finds his job on the line by his new boss (Mark Strong) he comes up with a nasty and devious plan to save himself using Nina as his tool. There's no doubt the talent on show here marks this film as something worth seeing. Arterton is superb easily holding her own against McKellen's villain aided by Strong, who is always good, and Alfred Enoch as Jimmy's assistant and lover, Romola Garai and Lesley Manville add to the great cast although both are sadly underused. The film starts as a quite funny black comedy but it eventually turns into a dark conspiracy thriller and in some ways this is a shame. McKellen's Jimmy is a thoroughly unpleasant character but at his most appealing when he's using his wit and intellect to deal with those around him, he's less of an appeal when he resorts to actions to survive. Overall an entertaining film and one worth checking out.

This Finnish/Russian production is basically a romantic road movie albeit set on a claustrophobic train where two unlikely passengers are forced together. Laura (Seidi Haarla) is a Finnish student studying in Moscow who is encouraged by her teacher and lover to head to the bleak city of Murmansk to view the ancient cave paintings. Laura finds she is on the long train journey forced to share a compartment with the boorish, rude and often drunk miner, Lyokha (Yuriy Borisov). She considers abandoning the trip half way due to his behaviour but a call to her lover reveals that perhaps their relationship isn't all that Laura assumed and so she is sort of trapped into continuing the journey. But as they interact more Laura and Lyokha begin to see in each other something missing in both their lives and a gentle attraction and romance begins. As relationship dramas go this is interesting, touching and a small window into modern life in Russia. It's not a film that necessarily runs a predictable happy course but it does engross the viewer in these two unhappy and beguiling characters.

Pride is a great, uplifting, heartwarming, hilarious and eye opening British drama set in 1984 during the Miner's Strike and documenting the relationship which developed between Welsh miners and a London based group, Lesbians & Gays Support The Miners (LGSM). This is a clash of cultures themed film that gives full applause to the human spirit of friendship and trust even in the face of bigotry, violence and hatred. A great cast that includes Dominic West, Bill Nighy, Paddy Considine and Imelda Staunton tell the story of a small group of gay men and women led by Mark (Ben Schetzner) who decide to collect money in support of striking Welsh miners many of whom are at first less than enamoured to be associated with the gay fraternity. But as their mutual need for support and barriers break down a bond forms between them. In amongst this drama is the story of Joe (George MacKay), a young man living under the narrow minded middle class dominance of his parents, who has yet to come out as gay and finds happiness with the group. This is a marvellous, quite lovely film that never fails to make you laugh, cry and feel good after watching it. Definitely a film to seek out if you've never watched it.

A lean, suspenseful and very satisfying B movie style horror film where during a Florida hurricane a father and daughter find themselves trapped inside their house as rising floodwaters bring forth hungry alligators. Most of the film has them trapped in the labyrinthine basement as they are in turn injured, thus bleeding, and stalked by some very big 'gators. It steals heavily from Deep Blue Sea (1999) and you'll spot the influences of Jurassic Park (1993) and of course Jaws (1975) and even Aliens (1986) but it's all done in a neat, sturdy story that has tension, scares and some quite bloody moments. British actor Kaya Scodelario, who made her name from the Maze Runner films, and Barry Pepper are the two leads in this competent little film that is great fun. And the playing of See You Later, Alligator over the end credits just tops it all off.

A ghost story that essentially steals from a whole host of other better films including Let The Right One In (2008), The Ring (2002) and The Babadook (2014) amongst others and whilst it's very predictable and utilises well worn narrative tropes it does begin with an interesting allegory around parental child abuse but eventually descends into a nasty spook story. Eight your old Peter (Woody Norman) is a withdrawn kid, bullied and friendless, who gets the attention of kindly teacher Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman). But at home Peter has to tread warily around his creepy parents (Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr), while emotionally dealing with finding a skull in his backyard, and hearing strange knocking and voice from inside the walls of his house. This all builds up to a malevolent ghost creature emerging coinciding with a home invasion scenario, which means the film goes for horror over subtlety. This is a shame as the final result is a fairly routine horror film that lacked any real originality or indeed scares.

It's easy nowadays to overlook Christopher Nolan's earlier films following his huge blockbusters such as Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017) and Tenet (2020). But they are definitely worth checking out again and especially if you've not seen them. Like those others films The Prestige has all of Nolan's trademarks, adult themed, enigmatic story with a convoluted plot, great cast and his mix of genres. Here we have a Victorian era set mystery drama with fantasy and science fiction elements and a narrative strewn with clues and misdirection making for a very entertaining film. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play two friends Robert and Alfred, who both have ambitions to be successful stage magicians. When an onstage accident results in the death of Robert's wife (Piper Perabo) he blames Alfred and a bitter feud develops between them. As they become more famous each tries to outdo the other with more and more daring and fantastical magic tricks. Eventually this leads to tragedy but all is not what it seems! Aided by Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis and David Bowie this is a story that draws you along trying to unravel what is going on. Like the magic of the story the film uses 'sleight of hand' to throw you off the scent although watching carefully does reveal plot elements but you have to be on the ball to spot them. This is a wonderfully original film and one that has become overlooked of late so I highly recommend it.

Basically a biopic of the early career of Clarice Cliff, a working class young woman who overcame the patriarchal world of design pottery and became a key designer in the 1920s. Apart from telling her story the film thematically looks at the plight of skilled and talented women battling to overcome the entrenched sexism of a male dominated industry. Phoebe Dynevor plays Cliff as a bright and cheerful young woman living with her younger sister and her laundress mother (Kerry Fox) in the industrialised midlands of England, an area smothered in the smog and soot of factories where Cliff dreams of bright colour and eccentric designs for the pottery made in the factory where she works. Unbeknown to her employees Cliff has studied and trained herself in all aspects of the trade and manages to convince the owner, Shorter (Matthew Goode), to allow her to make her own, controversial designs for tableware. She has to overcome the traditions of the industry where men decide what women like! It's an interesting story, well told. David Morrissey has a small role as the factory foreman in a film that is worth checking out especially if the story of Clarice Cliff is unknown to you.

This biopic of 1930s American boxer James Braddock follows a fairly straightforward narrative arc. It's a rag to riches and triumph over adversity story with big production values and a top cast. But for all that it's a routine story of Braddock (Russell Crowe) a reasonably talented boxer, who because of injury loses his licence and during the Depression struggles to support his family until he's given a return to the ring opportunity by his old trainer, Joe (Paul Giamatti). This proves to be the turning point and the film rattles along to the inevitable climactic bout against a ruthless rival. That final bout is grittily re-enacted although a tiny bit of a let down owing to the predictable result. Renée Zellweger plays the wife who supports her husband but hates him fighting and the contrast between the wealthy and the poor during the hard times is emphasised to make the success story even more impressive. Although not a big fan of boxing films I found this entertaining and it recreates the times very well although the usual liberties with the facts are taken so don't believe this is entirely a true account. Otherwise this is ok and worth checking out if you've not seen it.

Stanley Kubrick's dystopian vision of a future Britain where gang violence is out of control and a study of the limitations of the State and political ideology in trying to deal with it. It was and perhaps remains a controversial film probably due to Kubrick pulling the film from distribution in the UK from 1973 to 2000 owing to a couple of nasty copycat crimes. It was never actually banned as is often alleged. Viewed today it is an interesting film if somewhat unpleasant. It follows a youth gang leader, Alex (Malcolm McDowell), who along with his three acolytes indulge in "a little of the ol' ultra violence" whenever they can including brutally beating the helpless and rape. After he kills a woman he is sent to prison. Learning the Government are experimenting with a 'cure' for violence and participants will be freed early Alex volunteers and undergo a form a torture himself making him physically sick if he has violent or sexual thoughts. But once released he soon finds his earlier victims have not forgotten him. The scenes of sexual violence remain shocking but these are meant to be extreme in order to emphasise the film's theme of how to deal with violent crime. These themes resonate today perhaps more so than in the 70s with the rise of youth gang violence, the near collapse of the justice system after political interference and the total lack of ideas on how society is to handle offenders. This is tough watch with a unique vision from Kubrick. It's tough mainly because the film is powerful in its message and the performances are on occasion extreme. There's a host of British talent on show here and many faces were well known at the time or have become so subsequently. I think cinephiles need to ensure they see this because it's a Kubrick film that still has creates mixed feelings and it does have an originality to it that has been rarely bettered.

This is an eccentric drama that has some weird comedy moments and a very distinctive style. It's a film that will either immerse you or you'll be gradually thinking what on earth is this all about. Set in Italy in the 1980s it follows Arthur (Josh O'Connor), an archaeologist with a nose for finding old Etruscan tombs, who, fresh out of jail, rejoins his troop of tomb raiders, as they steal artefacts and sell them to a dodgy dealer. Arthur is in grief for his girlfriend and spends time with her cantankerous mother (a lovely performance from Isabella Rossellini) in between mooching about in a dirty old suit as he tries to justify why he does what he does. This is a film with a carnivalesque set of characters with the grave robbers all well known to the police and rival gangs, who sing, party and scurry through ancient tunnels basically desecrating graves. There's some drive in Arthur in attempting to reconnect with his 'dead' girlfriend and small elements of the supernatural on offer here although this can be read as Arthur's guilt. Either way this is a slightly bizarre film, interesting and certainly different and worth checking out.

The quintessential science fiction action film that has yet to be surpassed. Brilliantly edited and with a really great story and one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best performances. Cleverly the film doesn't try to hide its intentions, it signposts its genre from the outset as we get a full on space setting for the opening with the arrival of an alien spacecraft in the Earth's atmosphere. Then we get the introduction of the main characters with Schwarzenegger's Dutch, the leader of a Special Forces Unit, and his team and Carl Weathers' CIA man, Dillon. They are sent into the jungles of Central America to rescue some hostages held by some nasty guerrillas. But they soon discover that their mission has a different agenda under the control of Dillon. But after a violent gun battle in the jungle the team discover they have become hunted by the visiting alien and must use all their skills to survive. The film builds tension in not revealing the alien's appearance although we get to be aware of its presence very early in the film. When this film first arrived the design and look of the creature was highly original and it is a brilliant conception by Stan Winston and a worthy adversary for Schwarzenegger. The action scenes in this film are grittily realistic and certainly director John McTiernan proves he is adept at extended action set pieces. This remains a stunningly entertaining film. Yes it's a macho action fest but that's what makes it so good. This is the first, the best and the only Predator film. None of the sequels or spin-offs has come close in story or style probably because Arnie refused to be involved with any of them.

Like any documentary about a rock band it helps to be a fan but this is a highly interesting one and it's gratifying that this one focuses almost solely on their music development and not on any off stage shenanigans. This film charts the four members early interest in music and their involvement in various musical experiences before finding each other and becoming the unique sounding heavy rock band that broke America before finding an audience in the UK. The interviews are with the three surviving members with some archive interview audio of John Bonham, the drummer who died in 1980. It's a really enjoyable and nostalgic retrospective of the band finding their sound and going all out to sell it. Led by Jimmy Page, the talented guitarist who had learnt his chops as a session musician playing on endless very famous songs including Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey. The colossal riffs of tracks like Whole Lotta Love are given a full airing here and you can't help stomp your foot along with it and you'll then be digging out those old records to listen to with a renewed ear. The film shows that these four guys were hard working musicians which paid off with a new rock sound and success. Early gigs where the audience are too old and have their fingers in their ears will make you chuckle. The film charts their years up to their huge hit second album which implies there might be a follow up of their later period. If that does come and sticks to the same focus on the brilliance of the music then I look forward to it. Until then this is the best rock documentary for quite awhile.

This is an entertaining Korean crime drama, violent and narratively engaging especially as the plot isn't always predictable. It has definitely been influenced by Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) in its tale of bloody revenge. The plot is somewhat clichéd in that variations of it litter this genre and it has those dark, neon cityscape visuals that make it very contemporary. A fixer for a big crime boss is tasked with checking up on the boss's young girlfriend to make sure she's not seeing anyone else and to kill both if it proves she is. When he shows mercy the boss has him tortured but before being killed he escapes and vows revenge. There's some gory torture scenes and the anti hero doesn't get it all his way making for a moody, bloody and interesting thriller that is well worth checking out.