Film Reviews by GI

This is epic American adventure cinema made at the time Hollywood was still trying to compete for audiences with the popularity of television. Set in China in 1926 just as the poverty stricken Chinese are rising up against corruption and foreign control into civil war and revolution. Petty officer and engineer Jake Holman (Steve McQueen in his only Oscar nominated role) arrives to join the USS San Pablo, a gunboat assigned to patrol the Yangtze River and protect any American civilians. Jake's inherent racism against the Chinese causes conflicts with the native coolies aboard the ship and when the San Pablo is sent upriver to rescue some trapped missionaries they become embroiled in skirmishes with the Chinese army and local militias. This was a huge prestige picture and it's superbly produced and directed by veteran Robert Wise, who could turn his filmmaking skills to any genre. The opening shot alone sets the film up as epic in proportion and an expensive picture. It was a resounding success and went on to gain eight Oscar nominations and gained a Golden Globe for Richard Attenborough who plays Jake's fellow sailor Frenchy, who gets into a doomed relationship with a Chinese prostitute. The film builds up to a great climax and along the way deals with increasing tensions amongst the crew as they become besieged. Richard Crenna, a veteran American actor, is also excellent as the Captain desperately trying to hold his command together. But this is McQueen's film, he's excellent here and plays the conflicted Holman with a real sense of misguided honour (despite his racism he befriends one of the Chinese workers, a decision that causes a lot of trouble and effectively drives the plot). A marvellous film of the type not made today, a serious adventure drama in a historical and controversial setting looking at the role of, in this case, the USA in the affairs of other nations. It downplays heroism in order to get its message across and Holman is a fine example of the American cinematic anti-hero that McQueen played so well in many other films. A film worthy of a modern audience.

Adapted from the epic novel by Stephen King this started out intended as a feature film then it was switched to a two part TV series before finally being re-edited for a cinema release in Europe. In that version there was scenes removed and others cut down but after a cult following developed the full length version was put together for cinema and its now available on DVD & BluRay. It's a really remarkable gothic horror film that narratively reads like a small town American melodrama. The film introduces the viewer to the quiet town of Salem's Lot with it's various inhabitants and shows us the townsfolk with all their gossip, sexual impropriety and mistrust of strangers. Into the town arrives Ben (David Soul), a novelist, who is actually returning to the town where he was born in order to write his next book. Arriving just before him is Straker (James Mason), a sinister British gentlemen who opens a small antique shop and awaits the arrival of his partner, Barlow (Reggie Nalder). Ben is obsessed with the decrepit old mansion that overlooks the town, having been plagued with nightmares about it since he was a child. Coincidentally that house has recently been purchased by Straker and Barlow. A romance develops between Ben and local teacher, Susan (Bonnie Bedelia) but soon suspicious events begin including a boy going missing. Ben becomes convinced that the old house and it's new occupants are somehow responsible. The film draws out the tension from Peyton Place style drama to haunted house tale and beyond and it is a genuinely creepy film, without the need to rely on gore or OTT violence. There is a particular chilling scene involving the missing child that will gives you the shivers! David Soul is a little limited in his acting ability and occasionally delivers lines that almost make you chuckle but this is counter balanced by James Mason who is darkly sinister and even when he is being so polite he conjures up real dread. This is an American horror film of some substance and it is really enjoyable so if you want to have a real treat check this out it's really good.

An interesting, if a little over the top, satire that delves into the misogynistic world of celebrity where a former film actress now reduced to a daytime TV show doing a keep fit section finds she is being fired for being too old and past it. The film has influences that are quite obvious such as The Fly (1986) and probably The Thing (1982) and is a modern take on Oscar Wilde's Picture Of Dorian Grey story. Demi Moore plays Elisabeth a once Oscar winning actress who has dedicated her life to her career and consequently has nothing other than her celebrity and work. When she is sidelined by the sleazy network producer (Dennis Quaid being deliberately over the top gross) she is devastated. Then she discovers a mysterious source of a black market drug that will allow a younger and fitter version of herself to emerge on a seven day temporary cycle. Taking the drug she 'births' her inner alter ego in the form of Sue (Margaret Qualley) who takes her place on TV and becomes a sensation. But being Sue becomes an addiction and soon Elisabeth breaks the rules of the drug with horrific consequences. Ultimately this is a body horror film with some interesting things to say about the modern media image of what women should look like and body objectification and it has bold performances from Moore and Qualley. It is at times though a little ridiculous and I'm unconvinced by the climax which stretches credibility somewhat but it's an interesting film.

This isn't really a Star Trek film, indeed apart from the occasional mention of the Federation and a very brief snippet of the theme music you'd never know. Michelle Yeoh plays Philippa, a character from one of the many TV spin off series apparently, who is some arch villain hiding out in some night club in space where she is recruited by a black ops team called Section 31 to recover a super weapon that she designed so it can't fall into the wrong hands. This cues a routine chase and fight sci-fi film that fails to bring any real excitement or thrills, is all very routine and some quite wooden performances. Yeoh gets to do martial arts, there's some weird aliens around and that's about it really. This is a very poor man's Guardians Of The Galaxy and an example of the increasing attempt by various studios to drag out the various sci-fi franchises to the point where it serves no one except extremely die hard fans. I like Star Trek but this isn't worth anyone's time.

This is a first rate cop film that has the added bonus of a great setting. Griff (Willem Dafoe) and Al (Gregory Hines) are US military police investigators based in Saigon during the Vietnam War. Their duties mostly consist of tracking down deserters in the seedy world of the clubs and brothels of the city. Then a prostitute is murdered and a witness sees a US Army officer leaving the scene and Griff and Al are assigned the investigation. They soon learn that there have been other similar killings that appear to have been covered up and as their investigation begins to lead to very senior officers they find themselves targeted. A great story, grippingly told and with two great wisecracking performances from Dafoe and Hines aided by Fred Ward as their supervisor. As a murder mystery film with good action sequences it excels and whilst there's a slight misfire with a partial romance thrown in the film as a whole is riveting. A forgotten gem and definitely one to seek out if you've never seen it. NB: In the UK this film was titled Saigon. A much better one in my view.

Former male model Jason Statham has to be applauded for the niche in hard core action films that he has made for himself. Many of his films are really sloppy and poorly made but every so often one shines out as a little gem. Safe is one of those. Of course it has a preposterous story but that doesn't matter because you know what you're going to get and that is bone crunching fights, gunplay and gritty set piece action and its dished up here in immense quantities. The Stat plays Luke, a former cop (and apparently other things too!) who has been forced into homelessness by some nasty Russian gangsters and wanders the streets of New York. One day he notices a small girl, Mei (Catherine Chan) being pursued by the same Russian gangsters. He steps in and saves her to discover she is being hunted by the Russian mafia, the Chinese triads and corrupt NYPD cops because she knows a very long unique number that is the key to.....something! It's all convoluted and the plot unravels at a nice pace intermingled with some great fights and chases that are exciting and brilliantly executed. This is an action film that is unrelentingly good fun, violent and daft but well worth checking out.

An epic melodrama and if you're a fan of the TV series Yellowstone and in particular it's prequel 1923 you will not only see how this film has narratively been an influence there but you'll find this a great entertainment. It's a story of an American family in the early twentieth century led by the patriarch father William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) who live on a vast ranch in the wilds of Montana. The main story is about the lives of his three sons, Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Tristan (Brad Pitt) and Samuel (Henry Thomas). These three are bonded together but are uniquely different characters and when the youngest Samuel brings his fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond) into their home the emotions of the three surrounding her become a source of potential conflict. But it's the First World War which intervenes into the family life as all three enlist and head off the fight in France. Their experiences there define the future of the family, their loves and lives leading to violence, tragedy and family conflict. Ultimately this is an historical romance with the spice of nature to drive the passion. It's a highly entertaining film and one that it's worth rediscovering.

It opens with a torture scene and doesn't let up from there. This is a full on macho ultraviolent action film and it is really great fun as it rattles along at breakneck speed. When Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to films after his stint in politics he found his style of action movie was on the wane and films like the Expendable series, the Stallone throw away Escape Plan (2013) and starring roles in The Last Stand (2013) failed to make any impression. Then Sabotage came along and it sort of tapped into what we expect from an Arnie actioner but still feeling quite fresh. He plays Breacher, the head of an elite DEA tactical team. After a large amount of drug cartel cash goes missing during a raid Breacher and his team fall under suspicion of having stolen it. With no proof of their guilt they are returned to duty but then, one by one, they start showing up dead. The murders are investigated by Olivia Williams' Homicide detective and the cartels are suspected but soon she thinks the evidence implicating them may have been planted. If you like gunplay, chases, and gritty realistic action then this is one to check out. Good support cast too with Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard and Mireille Enos - particularly good as a full on nasty piece of work! It's what you expect from a Schwarzenegger film and whilst there's big flaws in the story and possibly the ending is a step too far this is worth checking out.

A grand epic love story told amidst the tumultuous times of the Irish uprising and the First World War. Set in 1916 on the wild and windswept west coast of Ireland it's an example of how the big cinematic epics made in the 60s partially to compete with the popularity rise of TV were now falling out of favour with the viewing public. Director David Lean certainly has made a visually impressive film with strong intermixed themes of forbidden love, religious intolerance and tortured emotions along with historical reminders of the trauma of the trenches and the growing Irish resentment of English occupation. This is the story of Rose (Sarah Miles), a young woman who dreams of better things, she's passionate and wayward and foolishly feels that the the older local school teacher Charles (Robert Mitchum) is the man of her dreams. After they are wed she is quickly disappointed because Charles is steady, devoted but ultimately boring and fails to sexually satisfy her. Then the local Army garrison gets a new commander, the highly decorated but PTSD suffering Major Doryan (Christopher Jones). Rose and he begin an affair, a situation that affronts the strictly Catholic society and brings to the fore the division between the local IRA and the British Army. The narrative plays out over a long run time that does test the patience somewhat although the drama is well scripted and the performances, for the most part, are exceptional. Trevor Howard as the all seeing local priest with a strong streak of humanity is especially good here and should have been awarded for his performance. John Mills as the village idiot and totally speechless throughout did get an Oscar and arguably deservedly as his devotion to Rose, who loathes him, is subtly and well performed. Mitchum is an interesting casting choice too, possibly miscast although he is reported to have thought this his best role. He portrays the gentle and ordinary school teacher rather well I thought. Miles carries the film and is an interesting choice here. Sometimes she appears to be somewhat bland and others very impetuous it's an interesting mix and a performance that is probably just right for the role. Overall this is an epic story, a little laboured at times, and certainly not Lean's finest film by any stretch but he's an important film maker and consequently this is a film worth seeing.

This is a good solid courtroom drama/ thriller that rattles along at a fantastic pace, has a great twist and turn plot, two great leads in John Cusack and Rachel Weisz and when you have Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, in their first film together, you know you're onto a winner. Adapted from a John Grisham novel this is set in New Orleans and Nick Easter (Cusack) is selected for jury service. The case is a civil one bought by the wife of a man murdered in a mass shooting against the firearms company who made the gun used in the massacre. The all powerful gun lobby company hires Rankin Fitch (Hackman), a professional jury consultant, who believes "trials are too important to be left to juries", to help select the right people from the jury list. It soon becomes apparent that Nick is up to something on the jury and Fitch and the lawyer representing the widow (Hoffman) receive calls from Marlee (Weisz) offering to swing the verdict for a price. There's obviously a massive message about American gun laws and the 2nd Amendment but overall this is just a wonderfully plotted and riveting film. There's nothing here that you won't enjoy and I highly recommend this if you haven't seen it.

The Rover is a really interesting post apocalyptic dystopian thriller that has an enigmatic central character who appears to have lost all connection with his humanity which drives him obsessively on a quest that appears to have little meaning. It's a journey of rediscovery as he starts, albeit briefly, to find again some faith in his fellow man when he is forced to unite with a wounded criminal. It's intense, gripping and has a top class performances from Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. Set in the Australian outback ten years after society has collapsed and law and order has broken down he plays a man on the road who has his car stolen by three criminals on the run. Obsessed with getting it back he relentlessly pursues them and on the way captures the wounded brother (Robert Pattinson) of one of them and they form a strange bond. The film is not only a post apocalyptic road movie but also a tough thriller, violent and visually impressive. Whilst the basis of the collapse is never given we get to see how people are surviving in shanty towns, with limited supplies and a patrolling military presence. There's the influence of Mad Max (1979) especially in the use of vehicles that is only truly realised in gritty Australian cinema like this. I found this to be a quite remarkable and intense film that creates a future that feels real and worryingly prophetic. Highly recommended viewing.

A stunningly enjoyable film both visually, musically and ultimately because it's really clever. This is a thriller with a dashes of humour and a film that is about time, chance and cause & effect. It looks at how small things can change outcomes and how our everyday lives inadvertently affect those of others often by simple quirks of fate. Lola (Franka Potente) receives a frantic telephone call from her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). He has managed to lose a bag containing a lot of money that belongs to a very nasty gangster. He has just 20 minutes to find the money or replace it and he implores Lola to help him. She certainly tries her best! Without giving anything away this is a film that explores the events repeatedly but with each telling of the story something happens to change the outcome. It's intriguing and brilliantly edited and constructed with the use of different colours to signify various thematic ideas. Potente, who will be familiar from The Bourne Identity (2002) is fantastic as Lola. This is a German film and needs to be watched in German with English subtitles because it's infamous for having very bad English dubbing. I highly recommend this it's a real gem.

A science fiction space exploration film that delves into the 'inner space' trauma of isolation and paranoia. It's a somewhat laboured film for at least the first hour with its character based build up and closeted scenes that lack the wonders of any special effects scenes that the genre usually delivers. But it is a film that is worth sitting through as the narrative unfolds. The story is a simple one. A mission to explore Titan, one of Saturn's moons, is underway. The three man crew spend months at a time in hyper sleep, awakened at certain periods to check on the ship and building up to a momentous and dangerous moment when they have to 'slingshot' the ship around Jupiter in order to reach their destination. However the powerful drugs they are given to induce hyper sleep cause disorientation, confusion and gradually paranoia. This is increased when the ship appears to have been impacted but the computer indicates this hasn't happened. The stoic Captain (Laurence Fishburne) is all for carrying on but Nash (Tomer Capone) is emotionally against this. Johns (Casey Affleck) is torn between the two and begins to have visions of his girlfriend (Emily Beecham) and starts to lose his grip on what's real and what is imagined even believing he's actually alone. Affleck is superb here as he gradually deteriorates into madness and his emotional repression takes hold. This is a low budget but effective film that explores the idea that space exploration isn't the ultimate in awe and transcendence but a struggle with with the inner self; a theme that can be recognised here with other films such as Ad Astra (2019), Interstellar (2014) and Moon (2009). This is worth checking out.

A rather brutal and at times uncomfortable film about a punch drunk cage fighter who is forced into one last fight to pay off a debt and to buy back the home of his beloved foster mother. Aaron Eckhart plays Jack, a washed up and damaged fighter who has achieved some notoriety for his fights around the Mississippi Delta. He's trying to give it all up but bad luck besets him at all turns until a young fairground worker (Bella Thorne) crosses his path and by a very huge coincidence changes his focus. The climactic fight is brutal and takes too long in coming but the film has some entertainment value even though it's a bit drawn out and overall has no redeeming characters.

David Fincher's drama about the invention of Facebook and its controversial creator Mark Zuckerberg is a modern parable about greed, self interest and betrayal. It's a sorry tale really of how low people have fallen in having only a focus on self entitlement and the pursuit of wealth above all human emotional goodness. Jesse Eisenberg is excellent as the socially dysfunctional Zuckerberg who is driven by his own sense of genius, which manifests itself in jealousy. The narrative told in a mixture of flashbacks that intertwine with Zuckeberg's days at Harvard University where with his best, and mostly only friend, Eduardo (Andrew Garfield, also excellent), they create a website allowing for students to interact cleverly recognising that what drives the connections at Harvard is who knows who, who is attracted to who and who is having sex with who. The irony being that Zuckerberg can't fully relate to any of those human connections. The trouble too is he is alleged to have stolen the idea from two brothers (both played by Armie Hammer) who late sue him and he betrays Eduardo effectively sidelining him out of the business after it's success really rockets, resulting in a second lawsuit. The hearings identify the themes of the drama. It's a superbly acted and directed film but it's an unpleasant story that really condemns the state of modern America and probably the wider world too.