Film Reviews by GI

Any of Michael Mann's films are worth your time. He has a unique style and this period crime drama is no exception. Thematically it follows other Mann films like Heat (1995) in its study of two men on opposite sides of a moral divide although Public Enemies concentrates on recreating historical incidents even though many have been fictionalised for the film. This also boasts Mann's distinctive editing and use of hand held cameras with low and oblique angle close ups. Essentially this is a gangster film set in 1933/4 during the Great Depression and follows the exploits of arch bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) who becomes Public Enemy No1 and sort after by the FBI whose boss, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) wants caught to boost his plan to get more funding. He appoints Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to head up the Chicago office to catch or kill Dillinger. There are some stunningly filmed and very well executed action set pieces of bank robberies and prison escapes and intermixed is a romantic sub plot between Dillinger and Billie (Marion Cotillard) who is a little underused in the film. But the cast is impressive including Jason Clarke and Stephen Graham doing another of his psycho criminal routines as Baby Face Nelson. There's also cameos from Carey Mulligan and Channing Tatum too. The film has a highly detailed authenticity to the times and Depp is fantastic in the role of Dillinger. Mann has chosen to use digital cameras which is a bold choice for a period film but it gives the film a modern resonance and immerses the viewer in the action. The criminal as romantic anti-hero has been a well worn character trope throughout American cinema but here Mann has taken the cinematic and interwoven it into an historical crime drama. A first class modern crime film that is definitely a film to really enjoy and to indulge in it's detail and style. A slightly flawed masterpiece.

Probably Alfred Hitchcock's most famous film but compared to most of his films made during the 1950s and 60s it's actually a quite sparse film and shot in black and white due to Hitchcock wanting to make a more inexpensive and simple looking film. Despite this it is a really well constructed film, sharply edited (a master class in film editing really) and a very tight story. If by some chance you've never actually seen this classic then it is a masterpiece of cinema and a film you should immediately seek out. Despite it's age it is a tense, unsettling thriller and for it's time it's bloody and quite daring, not least due to the nudity. Janet Leigh plays Marion who is desperate for happiness with her boyfriend Sam (John Gavin) but he won't marry her until he clears his debts from an earlier marriage. One afternoon Marion takes a desperate chance and steals a large sum of money from her boss and heads off to meet up with Sam who knows nothing of her crime. Fearful of getting caught and in the middle of a storm Marion stops off at a remote motel run by Norman (Anthony Perkins) where she disappears. Later Sam and Marion's sister Lila (Vera Miles) go in search of her, a search that leads them to the same motel. There are several very famous scenes in the film that are well known not least the infamous shower scene. The film boasts an interesting twist that even after you've seen the film several times fails to lessen the impact of the film as a whole. It's arguable which of Hitchcock's films is his best but this is certainly up there with the best of them and it is definitely a most intriguing and arguably groundbreaking one. A must see film.

Here is another viscerally immersive modern combat film that continues the trend to depict war in the most graphic way possible especially here the sheer volume of noise from gunfire, explosions and screams. Warfare is a recreation of a pointless battle in a pointless war where young men are faced with extreme violence without questioning why or indeed understanding why. This film is set during the Gulf war in 2006 and shows an episode during the battle of Ramada. A US Navy Seal team infiltrates a house and sets up an observation and sniper position to support other troops nearby. Detected by the local insurgents they find themselves under heavy attack. The film runtime almost coincides with the incidents timeline and as the wounded begin to occur we get to see and hear the awful reality of war. It's certainly a film that shocks the senses especially if you watch this in a cinema and the film does move at a fast pace after the build up of the boredom of the soldiers as they wait around. But unlike other films that have attempted to show war at it's most horrific like The Hurt Locker (2008), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Cross Of Iron (1977) and a host of others, there is no narrative here that grounds the film and hooks the viewer into the characters. For example the teams' leader Erik (Will Poulter) gets rattled and is unable to command effectively but we just have to accept this point without any attempt to grip his ordeal. Equally the Iraqi family whose house is taken over are mere bystanders and are hardly seen, nor are the 'enemy' who are reduced to computer images from drones. In this warfare is a somewhat empty experience and I have to say the decision to use credit pictures of the actors with the real participants renders the film as another flag waver.

A rather ridiculous title which I suspect was chosen as a sort of link to Charles Bronson's earlier and more successful, and interesting, film Death Wish (1974). Beyond the use of the word Death there are no other similarities. Indeed Death Hunt is more narratively linked to Bronson's 1972 film Chato's Land, another far more entertaining film. Based on a true story although this deviates from the real event in many ways, this is essentially a western although set in the far northwest of Canada in 1931. A trapper, Albert (Bronson), upsets some roughneck locals and in self defence kills one of them. This starts a manhunt led by local Mountie, Millen, a hard drinking, cynical and grizzled cop played by Lee Marvin. From this basic and much used scenario you have a series of stereotypical characters including the naive rookie who gets to learn a bit about life to the pointless female character, an underused Angie Dickinson. There's plenty of violence and bloodshed, a boring and somewhat cheesy script and a predictable ending. Effectively the same film emerged a year after this one and was far better. That was First Blood (1982) only the place and time is different. Death Hunt hasn't aged well, it's a B movie masquerading as a main feature.

This surreal fantasy satire is both light hearted, often very funny yet riddled with dark menace and close to a psychological horror film. It's really a study of the dangers of instant social media fame, that alluring need to be someone but the frightening reality when it actually happens. Nicolas Cage, in one of his more 'out there' roles, plays Paul. He's a suburban married man and father who is a professor of biology at the local university. Outwardly he's a nerdy, boring man forever wearing an anorak and a complete frustration to his two daughters. But inwardly he's a frustrated and somewhat angry man due to his anonymity as he wants to be recognised for his academic work relating to animal behaviour. He's take aback when people, including family, friends, his students and random strangers report that Paul has been appearing in their dreams as a passive character simply watching whatever events are occurring. The fact he's an unimportant and in the background in these dreams is a source of frustration for him even as his celebrity grows due to the phenomenon occurring wider and wider around the country. Then he meets someone who reports Paul is an active participant in her dream and soon people are reporting their dreams involve Paul attacking and torturing them leading to him becoming a social pariah. The modern parable here is revealed when Paul tries to get a book deal and money based on these dreams of which he has no control. It's that scenario where one yearns for fame only to find its dark consequences. This is certainly an odd film although quite interesting for the most part. It's supposedly Cage's 100th film and one he has declared to be his last. We shall see as he's a prolific film actor.

A moderately entertaining espionage thriller that has the icing of a gritty Bourne/Mission Impossible style but the actual cake is tasteless and thoroughly implausible. The Amateur in question is nerdy CIA computer cryptologist, Heller (Rami Malek), who is bereft when his beloved wife is killed by terrorists (he does spend a lot of the film still hallucinating about her though!). Finding his boss, a stereotypical bully (Holt McCallany), won't do anything about it Heller effectively blackmails him (because he's found out about illegal black ops) to train him as a field agent so he can go on a revenge trip around Europe. Malek is unconvincing as the man who isn't a killer (this is emphasised a lot) but manages to do so in some imaginative ways as he globetrots with ease finding professional terrorists also very easily. The film helpfully tells you what city he moves to even giving very helpful longitude and latitudes references in case you want to look them up! There are a couple of interesting set pieces but really this is all far too daft for its own good and the finale is almost laughable as he confronts the big baddie (Michael Stuhlbarg). Laurence Fishburne costars as the tired, overweight CIA trainer eventually sent to stop the hero. I did spot Marthe Keller in a cameo which was a nice touch as she appeared in a 1981 version of this story and Jon Bernthal has a small, equally pointless role. Overall this is a film that fails to convince. The hero, despite apparently being totally out of his depth the field manages to succeed without much effort and all the intelligence agencies around the world can't seem to stop him. Unfortunately the action, what there is, fails to make up for it. Malek just doesn't convince I'm afraid even in the emotional moments when he has to remind himself, and us by the way, why he's killing people.

Brutal, violent, mystical and a damn good film. This is an absolute joy of a film set in 1880 in the Australian outback. Ray Winstone is the local Police Captain, Stanley, who finds himself desperate to end the reign of terror of the Burns gang led by Arthur (Danny Huston, mesmerisingly brilliant here) after a respectable family are massacred. Stanley captures two of the Burns brothers, 14 year old Mikey (Richard Wilson) and older brother Charlie (Guy Pearce) and makes a deal with Charlie that he will hang Mikey on Christmas Day unless Charlie kills his big brother Arthur. This plan goes awry for both men in a very neat plot, beautifully written by Nick cave, who also did the soundtrack. This film is a revenge story but it boasts some stunning cinematography of the Australian desert, the harshness and beauty of the land being a strong theme highlighting the plight of the aborigines and the futile attempts at white settlers to bring their social conventions into an unforgiving environment. Emily Watson as Mrs Stanley exemplifies the purity her husband is obsessed with trying to protect. The late, great John Hurt supports as an eccentric bounty hunter. You will not find a finer motion picture. It has some shocking scenes of violence but they fit the narrative perfectly. This is a modern masterpiece and a film to savour. If you've never seen this then I urge you to do so.

This is bittersweet romance drama that has a slightly nasty edge to it based on the initial narrative set up. It's a misogynistic tale set in San Francisco in 1963 where a group of young Marines on their last night before being shipped off to Vietnam have a party where they each are tasked with bringing the ugliest girl for a wager. They think it's an hilarious game and four friends indulge readily including Eddie (River Pheonix) who manages to persuade a young coffee waitress, Rose (Lili Taylor) to be his date. Rose is a gentle, music loving girl who is hurt when she discovers the real reason Eddie invited her. Eddie realises he's been very cruel and that he has enjoyed Rose' company so he sets out to make things right with her. Eddie's motives here can be read in a variety of ways including that he has started to fall in love with Rose. Or indeed that he feels such remorse for his actions that he pursues her out of guilt. He certainly lies to his friends about who he has spent the evening with. I did not buy the falling in love theory. Whichever way you read the text here the film ultimately goes for a predictable ending, one where, again, you can read it in different ways. I certainly do not see that Eddie is redeemed after combat and the PTSD he suffers at the end by seeking out Rose who he agreed to write to but never did. In my mind he makes a cowardly choice. This film has its admirers and arguably has gained more because of Pheonix but I didn't enjoy it.

Recently restored and released onto 4K UHD Francis Ford Coppola's slow burning drama cum thriller and said to be his favourite of his films remains, for me, a bit to slow burning for its own good. Admittedly it's been many years since I last watched it but despite the central performance from Gene Hackman the film is one that you have really have to concentrate on and it leaves a feeling of unfulfillment by its conclusion. Whether intended or not you can't help connecting the Watergate scandal's effects in this story of a surveillance expert who specialises in bugging conversations for clients. Harry (Hackman) is known as a master of his trade and his latest job entails cleverly recording a conversation between a young woman and a man in a busy plaza. Harry doesn't bother himself with what is aid only in getting the recording for the client (who is played by Robert Duvall in an uncredited cameo). But whilst delivering the tapes he spots the couple at the building of the client and decides not to hand them over later suspecting there is a plot to kill the two targets. Hackman plays Harry as a withdrawn, lonely and suspicious man who shuns the attention of his admirers in the trade. It is a clever performance but the narrative feels all a bit lacklustre. Harrison Ford co-stars in this celebrated film that just doesn't entrall me.

Although considered a defining British film this is actually a US/German production mostly filmed in Munich but narratively set in England. Viewed today this tragic drama has an interesting theme especially when considered with something like the recent British TV series Adolescence. There's a bleak vision of England at the end of the 1960s shown here as a 15 year old school leaver, Mike (John Moulder-Brown) begins his first job as an attendant at the local baths (at this time this was typically a swimming pool and also private baths where the public came to wash as many homes didn't have there own bathroom in this period). Mike is fresh faced, good looking, naive and a virgin and is soon embarrassed by the attention, often bizarre, that he receives from the customers. He becomes obsessed with the confident and pretty Susan (Jane Asher), his co-worker, who enjoys teasing him. As his longing for Susan increases Mike embarks on a campaign to sabotage her two relationships, acts which both annoy and yet amuse her. But his obsession will push the boundaries of his emotions to dire consequences. A sexual awakening story and a story of the loss of innocence that is both dark and has an odd surrealistic vibe to it. It's a film that reveals a side of English society at this time that was open to easy sex and porn even for the legally under aged. An interesting drama, compelling and a bit strange that has recently been restored. It's well worth your time if you haven't seen it.

A short nostalgic trip while watching this film as it scared the bejesus out of me as a boy. Viewed today it's a Hammer Horror style film notable as one of Boris Karloff's last films. Made in England it taps into the pagan and gothic vibes of village England where an American science student, Stephen (Nick Adams) arrives to visit his girlfriend, Susan (Suzan Farmer). She lives in a fog shrouded stately home on the edge of a quaint village where the locals shun the new arrival and his attempts to find the old house. Once there Nick discovers that strange goings on are occurring led by Susan's crippled father (Karloff). Based on a H.P. Lovecraft novel this film is typical of the B movie style horror films that were abundant in the 60s. Indeed much of it is rather cheesy today and you'll struggle not to emit the odd chuckle. But it is a good example of the gothic old house narrative with the added bonus of a science fiction element. From a film history perspective this is worth checking out due to the reasonable production values and use of matte overlays to create some interesting effects. The story was filmed in 2019 as Color Out Of Space with Nicolas Cage, an interesting adaptation that is also worth a watch.

What a great action/adventure film this is. Set in 1916 during the Mexican revolution and a rich Texas landowner, Grant (Ralph Bellamy) hires four mercenaries to rescue his wife who has been kidnapped by a Mexican rebel. This is a story of loyalty tinged with selfishness that was unusual in American westerns like this at the time it was made. With fantastic battles against the harsh desert and set piece gun battles with bandits this is not a film about honour as much as about earning living. It's a classic example of where the American western did away with it's traditional codes and replaced them with violence for money. Lee Marvin plays the leader of the mercenaries, a man who sticks to his contract, aided by Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) an explosives expert, Ehrengard (Robert Ryan) a skilled horse wrangler and Jake (Woody Strode) an expert tracker who all naïvely go on their mission for the cash even though the criminal is an old friend and comrade in arms, Raza, played here against type by Jack Palance in a rare romantic part. The prize is Claudia Cardinale, one of the most beautiful women to ever grace a cinema screen. One of the wave of 'professional' westerns with a touch of Sergio Leone's style of his 'Dollar Trilogy' about it with emphasis on the harsh land as the enemy to be beaten or joined. This is an example of the type of western that abandoned the legends and myths of a John Ford style for a more stark, violent and realistic vibe. This is a fantastic film and well worth you seeking out if you've never seen it, not only for the great cast but it's a tightly controlled story with some wonderful cinematography and great action. It's a forgotten gem.

This is one of those crime thrillers that not only has a great plot that goes in unexpected directions but it's also one that has you thinking about just how clever it is long after its over. It has all the hallmarks of a Hitchcock film with its whodunnit nature, its changes in direction and its flawed characters. Director Denis Villeneuve constructs the film in a way that makes you immerse yourself into the film and gets the viewer to start questioning what is going on and it opens up discourse on what exactly is happening and why. In this it's a very intricate film and makes it an immensely enjoyable experience. When two young girls go missing from their neighbourhood the police, in the guise of Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal, in a really very clever performance), soon arrest a suspect, Alex (Paul Dano) but have to release him for lack of evidence. But Keller (Hugh Jackman), the father of one of the girls, is convinced of Alex' guilt and desperate to find his daughter decides to take the law into his own hands forcing him into confrontation with Loki. On the face of it this is a rather simple plot but Villeneuve then slips in developments that constantly keep you hooked in. The story is a disturbing one but its also quite restrained in what is depicted avoiding any clichéd gore or gratuitousness in a film that deserves seeing again if you have already and definitely one to seek out if you've not. The support cast is great too: Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello and Terence Howard.

This slow burning frontier western from writer, director, actor and composer Viggo Mortensen is rather an intriguing film. All the tropes of the western are present, revenge, violence, corruption, but delivered in a narrative that has a gentle rather beautiful arc, all delivered with a great visual eye and wonderful characters many of whom are also typical, such as the weasly Town Mayor (Danny Huston), the corrupt land baron (Garret Dillahunt), and the psychotic violent son (Solly McLeod). However this is a story of French Canadian immigrant Vivienne (Vicky Krieps), a fiercely independent woman who breaks off a relationship with a wealthy man to take up with Olsen (Mortensen), a Danish immigrant who takes her to his small shack in Nevada where they live in relative peace near the local town dominated by the Jeffries clan (Dillahunt and McLeod). When the Civil War breaks out Olsen heads off to war leaving Vicky alone and where she receives the unwelcome attention of the younger Jeffries. The ingredients of the western are all here but they are presented in a structure that weaves between different time lines that may jar at first but soon fall carefully into place. Mortensen presents the wild violence of frontier life in the 1860s but weaves the unique romance of the two main characters into it in a story that inevitably heads for tragedy. In that sense this is a rather compelling western made by a filmmaker who's self effacing nature leads to a fulfilling film.

A well crafted Tony Scott thriller led by two great actors going head to head and wonderfully containing all the elements you need for a tense and exciting submarine story. A US nuclear submarine heads out to sea during a time of heightened international tension with Russia and the threat of war imminent. The Captain, Ramsey (Gene Hackman), is a well respected, tough and experienced commander but his second in command is the new and relatively untested Ramsey (Denzel Washington). Receiving orders to launch their nuclear weapons Ramsey doesn't hesitate but a comms breakdown and action against an enemy sub makes Hunter cautious to ensure the orders to launch are correct. The ensuing conflict between these two forms the centre of the narrative. As loyalties shift in the crew and danger from attacks and damage grows the conflicts on board threaten everyone's lives. The cast here are excellent and include Viggo Mortensen and James Gandolfini with a cameo from Jason Robards. The film is well written (with contributions apparently from Quentin Tarantino) and there's a subtle racism theme in the script. The claustrophobia of the submarine is captured wonderfully as the plot unfolds. The only real issue is the ending which undermines the build up of animosity between Ramsey and Hunter that is deliberately built throughout the film and nearly tips over into bloody violence. A shame really but it can be forgiven I suppose considering the film is thoroughly entertaining otherwise.