Film Reviews by GI

Highly impressive British gangster film that almost defies categorisation but is essentially a redemptive love story. It's a very unique narrative falling into various genres including crime, heist, romance and even horror with some of its more surreal moments. It's certainly a visionary film from a very talented director in Jonathan Glazer. Ray Winstone, in a stunning performance, is 'Gal' Dove, a former London criminal who now lives in happy seclusion in Spain with his wife, Deedee (Amanda Redman) and their two friends Aitch (Cavan Kendall) and Jackie (Julianne White). They form a sort of small family unit and live a contented existence in the sun. Then, without warning, Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) arrives to recruit Gal for a big robbery back home. Gal refuses the offer but Don is a psychopath and won't take no for an answer. Kingsley is very memorable as the mad and unhinged Logan, he's one of the great screen psychos and quite frightening as you can imagine that there's a real Don Logan out there somewhere! Glazer has constructed this film in a wonderfully refreshing style, with images and scenes designed to express the very deep love of Gal and Deedee and how they have found redemption from their previous lives together. Into their idyllic world comes the destructive force of Don Logan, his arrival is foretold in the film's opening scene and in various dream sequences. The central heist of the film is also exciting with a gang led by the dark, depraved and sinister Teddy Bass (Ian McShane). The film is littered with great moments, it's funny, shocking and highly entertaining. James Fox also has a cameo. This is a top end British crime film that I guarantee you'll enjoy. If you've never seen this then it's a must see. Highly recommended.

Ultimately this is a disappointing film that juggles the facts with often ridiculous side stories that effectively undermine this story. The biggest issue here is the performance of Rami Malek, An actor who always seems to play everything the same way and here he's faintly ridiculous and almost cartoonish, with the script attempting to make his character a moral hero with silly side plots. He plays Douglas Kelley, a US Army psychiatrist who is drafted in to interview the high ranking Nazis captured at the end of the Second World War and to nominally assess their ability to stand trial but really to discover what defence they may put forward at what will be the biggest trial of the times. The film focuses on his relationship with Hermann Göring played deliciously by Russell Crowe. Göring is a clever manipulative character who uses Kelley to plan his strategy to outfox the prosecutors. However the film drifts off into a plot where Kelley disobeys orders and seeks out Göring's wife and passes letters between them as he begins to feel they have developed a friendship. A friendship he is forced to betray. The film plays fast and loose with the actual events and it's very focused on American attitudes and assumptions. This is a shame as it lets the story, a potentially much more interesting one, slide. History shows Göring committed suicide before execution and this is portrayed in the film as a cause of huge rage to his American captors who feel they've been robbed of the chance to hang him. But in some unpleasant revenge of the film maker the film can't help but show the deeply nasty execution of another prisoner, a scene that is entirely gratuitous and unnecessary. Equally the film's coda gives Kelley a speech that is blatantly designed to send a warning to modern Trumpian America. All this weakens the film and makes it one that is disappointing. There is the inevitable focus on the Holocaust with some unpleasant real footage and in this the film omits other issues that were directed at the Nazis on trial. Crowe gives his role everything and is strangely very good casting. Michael Shannon also excels as the lead American prosecutor aided by Richard E. Grant as his British deputy. Overall a film that doesn't fully deliver and one that is spoilt by Malek's twitchy, over played performance.

A cliché ridden and disappointing biopic of Alan McGee, the famed Glaswegian record producer who had bands such as Oasis, Primal Scream and The Jesus & Mary Chain on his books. Ewan Bremner plays the drug addled and alcoholic McGee as the film tries to be one long and ultimately frustrating music video sadly concentrating more on McGee's addictions and his hallucinations that it fails to get across his talent for spotting exciting new bands. It's there but lost somewhat in multiple scenes of wild and mood driven tantrums. There's an attempt at comedy but it's just not that funny as it potentially tries to repeat the originality of 24 Hour Party People (2002) which hit all the right comedy targets. There's no doubt this is an interesting story and fans of the Briut Pop revival of the 90s will possibly enjoy the story of McGee but ultimately it's a bit of a let down as a film.

It may have allegedly achieved some kind of cult status but this is simply a silly and puerile 80s teen comedy that is so overloaded with slapstick jokes that it becomes increasingly tiresome. It's as if the director, Savage Steve Holland, thought that was what a comedy needed. There's no sense of subtlety or even any well written comedic set pieces, it's just an onslaught of utter childishness. John Cusack is Lane, a high school student who becomes depressed when his girlfriend dumps him for the school hunk. He has some suicidal thoughts as he tries to deal with the rejection until he meets Monique (Diane Franklin), the French student staying with his awful neighbours. There's not even any attempt and anchoring the issue of teenage love and loss within the comedy. It's a complete load of tosh.

The films of Ingmar Bergman are very celebrated and this one is possibly his most famous. It's a moody, dark and brooding film that visually shows the influence of the films of Akira Kurosawa. There's complex mix of ideas here about the meaning of death, the questionable influence of religion and has a range of perspectives driven through the various characters. Set in the 14th Century during the Black Death and a knight (Max Von Sydow) and his squire (Gunnar Björnstrand) are travelling across Sweden on their way to the Knight's castle in a journey of return from the Crusades. The Knight encounters the Grim Reaper (Bengt Ekerot), who has come for him, and challenges him to a game of chess which if he wins he can live on. As their journey across country continues they are joined by an entourage of fellow travellers and witness death, suffering and all the range of human emotions until the chess game is finished and all their fates are then decided. In many ways the themes outlined here are timeless and the allegorical structure of the film makes it contemporarily significant so it's worth seeking out if you've never seen it.

This is a real action epic with a driving narrative energy even though it's a very long film and considering when it was made. The story has taut pacing, an innovative editing style and cinematography utilising multiple cameras, a sharp sense of humour and swift, violent action. It's a real masterpiece of film and one that you should see at least once. Set in the sixteenth century in feudal Japan and a humble and poor farming village is plagued by a bandit gang who annually rob them of their precious food supplies. The village elder implores them to hire samurai warriors to protect and fight off the bandits. But the villagers have little to pay and are suspicious of samurai who they don't trust and have murdered in the past. Some of the villagers recruit Kambei (Takashi Shimura) after they see him rescue a child held hostage by a thug and he agrees to help them. With his guidance they set about hiring six more and these seven help train the villagers to fight a battle with the bandits who have the advantage of numbers, horses and guns. This film builds gradually but surely towards the climactic battle fought out in torrential rain and mud splattered streets. It is an exciting film and tempered with a sense of melancholy and there's a poetic serenity to the story even when it explodes into action. Akira Kurosawa uses some slow motion to emphasise the lyrical nature of his story at moments of violent death. Well ahead of its time and much applauded since this really is a fantastic film, shot on location and featuring Toshiro Mifune who is probably one of Japans greatest actors. The theatrical acting style may appear unusual when viewed today but look past this and you'll see some fantastic characters. A real treat and highly recommended if you've never seen it. Many will of course recognise the story as it was remade by Hollywood in 1960 as The Magnificent Seven.

Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are excellent in Yorgos Lanthimos' conspiracy surreal thriller that taps deep into the plethora of zany conspiracy theorist ideas that litter the world and in particular the USA; from flat earthers to scientologists to deep state, it's all sort of referenced here in subtle and in some obvious ways. This is a dark comedy that explodes in shocking ways and concludes in a way you'll either have guessed, be surprised by or reject completely. Stone plays Michelle, an icy CEO of a big Pharma corporation who has a self focused regimented life and is one day kidnapped by two has beens, Teddy (Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis), with Teddy especially convinced that Michelle is an alien and is responsible for the fate of his mother (no spoilers!). They shave her head believing hair is the way she communicates with her spaceship which is due to arrive in a few days. Teddy is a beekeeper and believes Michelle's species are responsible for their decline and hence the slow death of the planet. But Michelle is very clever and to escape her predicament plays her own mind games against her two abductors. The film is a little laboured in the middle section as the main protagonists verbally spar with each other but in many ways the wait is worth waiting for if you can deal with how the film plays out. There is though little doubt that this is a really interesting and original film that fans of this director will be familiar with. I'm sure a second viewing is required to seek out the clues that are no doubt littered throughout.

With some complex themes that take a bit of unravelling this is a film that has the hallmarks of a contemporary erotic thriller but leaves you questioning whether it's hit the marks. There are some 'thriller' vibes although this is best thought of as a drama that tries to key into the sexual passiveness of a woman who has fallen into the role of simply pleasing her husband. Nicole Kidman plays Romy, a very successful executive of a major company, married to Jacob (Antonio Banderas) and with two teenage daughters. She is confident and successful but is sexually unfulfilled even though her and Jacob have regular sex, after which she scurries off to the bathroom to masturbate. Romy is drawn to a new intern at her company, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), who may have an agenda, but he certainly manages to tap into her needs and they begin a bizarre affair, with him occasionally hinting at the power to expose her if she doesn't play his game. That game is the film's disappointment in that we never are given any confirmation of what he is actually about. In the final analysis Samuel disappears from the story while Romy picks up the pieces of her life at work and home. Where the film really slides is in the lack of menace and sense of danger. There is the affair of a female boss having an affair with a young employee, a situation she is acutely aware is a risk for her, but the film hints that that risk is all she needs to be sexually fulfilled and while Samuel is a manipulator it's left unclear what he gets from the encounter other than getting an older woman to lap milk from a saucer! Kidman brings her usual sophisticated performance to the role and Dickinson excels too but the narrative is doesn't deliver the thrill and danger that the film implies. 

This has all the visual style you come to expect from director Guillermo del Toro and the gothic is turned up the maximum in his passion piece and new take on the Mary Shelley novel. There's no high foreheads or neck bolts here and taking other versions of the creature here we have possibly the closest idea to the novel, a creature that represents the main theme of what it means to be human. Sadly though the film drifts too much into melodrama and anyone expecting some horror maybe in for a disappointment because it's lacking here. I also didn't quite buy into the invulnerability skills of the creature, (he has Wolverine type healing powers!) an invention by del Toro, and which leaned the story into the comic book superhero mode a little. Here though Oscar Isaac plays Victor, the scientist bereft at the death of his mother and determined to outdo his tyrannical father (a cameo by Charles Dance) who manages to put together a creature from body parts saved from a battlefield (cue some gory bits). When the creature falls short of his expectations he tries to kill it but 'it' has other ideas. Jacob Elordi is excellent as the creature who gets to tell his own story, which works well here. Overall though the film felt lacking, it's entertaining for the most part and has a great look. Mia Goth as the love interest is sadly underused but you do get Christoph Waltz as Victor's benefactor. Worth a look but I still think the 1973 TV film with James Mason takes a lot of beating.

Brian De Palma's 80s neo noir psychological thriller has gained a bit of a cult following in more recent times, maybe because Quentin Tarantino is on record as a fan, but it was a box office failure on release and reputedly damaged it's star's future. Actually John Travolta is the best thing about this thriller which is clearly influenced by the style of Alfred Hitchcock, in some places a little too obviously which gives the film a bit of a dated feel and the soundtrack is at times too domineering. But the narrative follows a well worn path in mystery stories of this kind and De Palma adds the sleazy aspects of the world of prostitution and exploitative horror movies to add some spice for an 80s audience. Travolta plays Jack, a movie sound engineer, who is out one night recording various bits and pieces when he inadvertently records a car crash that kills a presidential candidate. He rescues a young girl from the car (Nancy Allen) but later discovers he recorded a gunshot and becomes convinced he witnessed a murder. He then finds that he and the girl are targets. There's a bit of an exaggerated climax that needed a bit more subtlety but overall this is a solid 80s thriller with an added serial killer vibe.

This is a quirky coming of age social drama set in a rundown housing estate in Kent, England where 12 year old Bailey is a young girl living with her dairy but affectionate father Bug (Barry Keoghan). They live in a squat which attracts an assortment of weirdos and criminals including Bailey's half brother who runs a violent gang on the estate. Bailey is a child who is readily suspicious of strangers instantly filming anyone who gets too near to her but she's drawn to nature and in particular the freedom she sees in birds. Her mother (Jasmine Jobson) lives nearby with an assortment of Baileys young siblings but she's controlled by a nasty bullying boyfriend. Bailey meets an enigmatic young man who calls himself Bird (Franz Rogowski) who seems to watch over her and they bond as friends. He's an odd chap, poetic and an outsider who dresses peculiarly and seems to be seeking his parents who used to live in the area. Bailey agrees to help him. There's a transitional point in the film that is somewhat predictable and it's one you'll either accept as the emblem of Bailey's dreams and emotions or it'll be a step too far. It certainly adds to the film's overall absurd vision of life especially for a young girl in modern Britain. It's a strangely compelling film and has superb performances throughout bolstered by the boisterousness of Keoghan as the Dad who imports toads from some far off land for the hallucinogenic affects of their sweat! An interesting film, if a little strange.

A satirical horror comedy that is a 'cabin in the woods' narrative which gets better as it goes on and indeed funnier as it skits on the sub genre while addressing racial stereotypes in a Trumpian USA. A group of old college friends meet up at the cabin for a reunion where small rivalries and past wrongs are bantered and joked about until the group find themselves trapped and forced to play a game as they are stalked by a masked baddie with a crossbow. It does have some laughs but it didn't really retain any consistency and at times came across as a little too silly. There's a bit of gore and the cast are either screaming or making asides at each other. It entertains but is instantly forgettable.

This is one of several collaborations by Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, a political thriller directed by John Frankenheimer who has made some real classics. Whilst he's a director that can turn out some superb action sequences this is a more contemplative film and some might find it a little too 'talky' for their taste. But it's an acting tour de force especially from Lancaster and Frederic March who plays the US President. It's also a great story too. The President has a pacifist agenda and is seeking a nuclear disarmament treaty with the USSR, this has divided public opinion but more importantly made him unpopular with the military. General Scott (Lancaster), who has political ambitions of his own, has begun to make plans to ensure the treaty doesn't happen. His aide Colonel Casey begins to suspect Scott is preparing a coup d'état and there's a race against time to foil Scott's plans. Ultimately this is a film that challenges the nuclear proliferation policies of the 60s and the futility of the Cold War. It's an interesting film viewed today and everyone is really good here including Edmond O'Brien and Ava Gardner. The extended scene between Burt Lancaster and Frederic March where the President challenges Scott is some fantastic screen acting. It may seem a little dated today but it's certainly a film worthy of rediscovery and one that you should seek out if you've never seen it.

Se7en is one of the darkest and harrowing serial killer crime films, a study of sin and a police procedural narrative that reads and flows like a horror film. It creates a world that is drenched in wickedness and for the viewer it's a surreal and tense journey to the infamous climax. Set in an unspecified US city that is dingy and crime ridden with imagery very reminiscent of Blade Runner (1982) with its rain sodden, bleak streets and where there is no redeeming features. Ambitious, young and tempestuous Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) arrives at a new precinct to take over in the Homicide squad from thoughtful and wise Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who has a week before retirement. On his first day Mills and Somerset are sent to investigate a death and soon find that the victim has been murdered by being force fed until his innards have ruptured. This death sparks a chain of gruesome killings and a pattern behind the murders that match the 'seven deadly sins'. This is a very dark tale and the performances, cinematography, sound and the plot combine to create something unique in crime cinema. Only the presence of Mills wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) brings a ray of sunshine to the world of the film, and Paltrow gives a performance here that is important to the story and often overshadowed by the three male leads which includes Kevin Spacey as the killer. Director David Fincher, a director with a keen eye for detail, managed to modify and renew this sub genre into a new post-modern interpretation whilst maintaining that element of noir that roots the film back into the classical Hollywood period. A remarkable film, compelling, shocking and utterly brilliant.

A powerful political thriller that shows the same 18 minutes from different perspectives as a nuclear missile is suddenly detected heading for the USA. In those minutes we get to se the reactions and actions of the various teams and groups of the American military and political machine as they try to unravel what, who and why and how to deal with the very real situation of a nuclear strike on a major city. In typical Kathryn Bigelow style this is a gritty and tense drama that oozes authenticity and leaves a real sense of dread that the reality of the nuclear war threat is that it may start through the actions of one unknown belligerent. The film suggests all sorts of scenarios as to who and why the missile has been launched but more importantly that the systems that cost billions and billions of dollars to prevent such an attack and to stop it are randomly successful at best. The action all plays out in the various situation command and control rooms with Rebecca Ferguson as an Intelligence expert in one, Tracy Letts as the gung ho general who is all for a full counter strike on all the USA's enemies, Gabriel Basso as the stressed but thoughtful Security Advisor who advises caution, Jared baker the Secretary of Defence who realises his daughter is in the targeted city of Chicago and Idris Elba the US President who is left with the awful and frightening decision as to how to respond. The stakes are never going to be higher! Bigelow wants us to see how such an event may start and what the processes will be and she avoids showing the public or even the effects on them of the attack. This is about the protections that are relied on by humanity and placed as the responsibility of political masters is deeply flawed and potentially ineffective. A strong film that is quite riveting.