Film Reviews by GI

Robin Hood has been an enduring film character from the silent film age and into the 21st century. This is an interesting addition in that it takes the legendary story and tells us what happened after those events ended. Director Richard Lester showed in his 'Musketeers' films that he had a unique style in the historical adventure genre with his roustabout humour and a modern twist in presenting the narrative. This film isn't as funny nor as enjoyable as the Musketeer ones but it is still a solid romantic adventure with a top cast. Robin (Sean Connery) returns to Sherwood twenty years after his outlaw days fighting the Sheriff of Nottingham. He's aging and tired having been in the army of King Richard (Richard Harris) fighting in France. On his return he finds that the Sheriff (Robert Shaw) still commands the area and his old flame, Marian (Audrey Hepburn) is now a nun. But soon events force Robin once again to take on the tyranny of the Sheriff in defence of Marian. The film is beautifully shot and has some muted fight scenes but overall it's an enjoyable adventure film with Nicol Williamson, Denholm Elliott and Ian Holm as support. It's a quite clever idea to tell a story of these protagonists and lovers as they've become older and utilises some aspects of the ancient legends to weave a good story.

An interesting British film especially for it's setting in the early 80s and notable as the film debut of Gary Oldman. It's a social drama that follows a group of young Royal Navy seamen who are due to go on a six month tour and are spending the few days before departure in Plymouth and in particular a notorious club and bar area where they encounter violence, rivalries and grapple with their relationships with each other, their parents and the locals. It's recently been restored and made available and is styled similar to the work of Alan Clarke and Ken Loach. Gritty, coarse and with a documentary feel this is a film worth discovering and it boasts Timothy Spall in an early role and several actors who later made their name on British TV. A tough drama that really nails the time.

Saoirse Ronan is absolutely mesmerising with a powerful, even fierce performance as an alcoholic struggling with recovery amidst a dysfunctional family and an almost overwhelming desire to return to the happiness that she found in drinking. The film's title refers to the name given to any area of coastal farmland in the Orkney Isles that is barren due to the extreme weather conditions. It is a metaphorical reference to the violent and destructive themes that run through the film as well as the possibly pain and invigoration that healing brings too. Either way this is a compelling study of addiction with Ronan really delivering especially with her ability to reveal the hedonistic drunkeness contrasted with the blankness she feels as she realises she has to part ways with a lifestyle that gives her joy. She plays Rona, a post graduate student living in London with her caring boyfriend (Papa Essiedu), but her increased drinking results in violent episodes and she loses him and friends and is forced to return to her home on the Orkneys in order to try and deal with her alcoholism. Her parents are living apart but still run a sheep farm on the islands, her father (Stephen Dillane) being a bi-polar drinker prone to episodes of emotional withdrawal from everything around him and her mother (Saskia Reeves) has turned to christianity. Getting a small job with the RSPB Rona has to try and survive her desire to drink and find the joy again that it brought to her by being isolated and involved in the wild and lonely island wilderness. This is a sobering addiction drama, disturbing, frightening even and utterly superb.

There is an element of 'marmite' about this film, you either love it or hate it. It certainly was a massive box office hit back in 1991 and as everyone probably remembers it spawned a huge No.1 hit for Bryan Adams for its love song (only heard over the end credits). A song that is remarkably good but it stayed so long at the No. 1 spot it became increasingly tiresome! Anyway, Kevin Costner, at the time, a huge star, is Robin and controversially he kept his American accent for the part which still causes some consternation in England but really it doesn't matter because the film is actually great fun. It's a fantasy Hollywood retelling of the legend of Robin Hood and adds some great humour, some dark magic and plays fast and loose with the myth. It adds the muslim character, Azeem (Morgan Freeman) (actually stolen from the BBC TV series), and creates a different back story for Robin. The film is best remembered for the outstanding, comic performance of Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham who apparently ad-libbed many of the now famous lines. In this version Robin is a nobleman who escapes capture in Jerusalem and with his new friend Azeem returns to England, discovers his father has been murdered and that tyranny reigns under the evil eye of the Sheriff. Declared outlaw Robin meets a band of peasants hiding in Sherwood Forest, decides to lead them in rebellion and falls in love with the beautiful Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who is also coveted by the nasty Sheriff. There's plenty of great sword fights and battles, a good support cast of Christian Slater as Will Scarlett and Sean Connery pops up in an uncredited cameo. This is a great matinee adventure film and in the 4K UHD BluRay release scenes have been reinserted that were removed against the director's wishes in order to get to a more family oriented film. Even back in this is still good family entertainment and it will make you laugh and it's a worthy addition to a film character story that has endured for decades.

I have to admit to leaving the cinema somewhat underwhelmed after seeing this on its initial release. Then I was persuaded sometime later to watch the released 'Director's Cut' on BluRay and I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. With 15 minutes of extra footage the film managed to gain a grittier feel and the decision to mix more history and forsake the perhaps tired old myths of the Robin Hood story actually works very well. Ridley Scott is a master at the grand epic historical drama and he lets rip here with the huge battle scenes, the spectacular rendition of medieval England and whilst there's restraint in the violence (the extended cut is bloodier) it is still a film made for adults. As the oldest actor to have played the title character Russell Crowe sort of channels his Maximus persona rather well and derision over his accent is all very well but who cares, this is a Ridley Scott film and you just have to immerse yourself in it. Robin is an archer in Richard The Lionheart's army battling in France. When the King is killed the army disperses and Robin and his friends make their way to the coast coming across an ambush of Sir Robert Loxley carrying the King's crown. Robin assumes Robert's identity to get a ship home and the ruse becomes the main plot device as he meets Robert's wife Marian (Cate Blanchett) and his father (Max Von Sydow). The story is actually rather well thought out and the blossoming romance between Robin and Marian is quite touching. A good support cast including Mark Strong as the principal baddie, Oscar Isaac as King John, Matthew Mcfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Danny Huston as King Richard and William Hurt and Léa Seydoux add support. Visually spectacular this is a film worth rediscovering. A pity that the expected sequel has been abandoned but if like me you were unimpressed the first time then try again it'll be worth it.

Whilst this is a confidently made film it's all a little disappointing mainly because the set up never delivers a satisfying conclusion and it's build up of shadows, mists and the threat of something lurking seems to drag despite the short runtime. This is set 45000 years ago and a nomadic band have crossed the sea to a new land which is wild and barren. Getting increasingly hungry they find themselves stalked by some unseen menace and are forced into a dark forest. All the tropes of a horror film, ie a monster story, are then in play but the finale as various gory deaths occur is much more obvious and there's a hint of the thematic inclination of humans learning early to destroy each other due to difference and suspicions. Partially interesting it's ultimately a bit of a letdown.

A strange, enigmatic and almost experimental film marked by the directorial debut of Nicolas Roeg who shared the director's chair with writer Douglas Cammell. Very controversial at the time due to the graphic sex and the drug taking it's rumoured the studio was expecting a sort of Rolling Stones version of A Hard Day's Night (1964) and held back the release for a couple of years over the weird narrative and graphic nature of the images. Viewed today it's a bizarre film with James Fox playing an East End crime enforcer who falls foul of his mob bosses and goes into hiding. He ends up as a lodger to a bohemian rock musician (Mick Jagger) and his two girlfriends (Anita Pallenberg & Michèle Breton) who introduce him to a new experience of drugs and free love. Story wise it's a weak film and is more appreciated for its striking pop art imagery and off kilter narrative. Various British character actors better known for their TV work pop up in various roles too but this is mainly a film to see out of interest that anything else. You'll either by absorbed by the whole thing for quickly dismiss it as an interesting experiment of the time.

Sam Mendes second feature film as director is a gangster film that has a central theme of love between a father and son. It's a rather beautiful film even though it is based on a life of violence. It's also something special to see Tom Hanks in what is essentially a bad guy role although the narrative blurs the moral lines and he is the character we end up rooting for. However it is a compelling performance and as a killer he has the screen gravitas to really hold his own. Based on a graphic novel and loosely based on a true story it's set in 1931 at the height of the Great Depression and the time of Al Capone. Mike Sullivan (Hanks) is an enforcer for Irish mobster John Rooney (Paul Newman in his last live action role). He's a family man with a wife and two sons but when his eldest son (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses Rooney's volatile son, Connor (Daniel Craig) shooting another gangster their lives are thrown into disarray. Connor fearing that the boy will talk murders Mike's wife and youngest son forcing Mike and the eldest to go on the run. This then becomes a road movie, a coming of age themed story and ultimately a revenge tale. The violence is strong but neatly restrained by Mendes who's use of rain and the sea to signify death is present here and often seen in his other films too. There's some stunning set pieces especially a showdown in the pouring rain with the sound muted and with Hanks emerging from the shadows. This is a film that when you dwell on it can take your breath away it's rather wonderful. Great support cast too including Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law as a rat like, seedy hitman. Top class filmmaking and a film I urge everyone who hasn't seen it to check out.

Despite it being a huge box office flop Road House has over the years harnessed a big following and many cite is as one of their favourite films and somewhat surprisingly it's very popular with women viewers considering the women characters are for the most part just big boobed bimbos there for men to gaze at. But its the appeal of Patrick Swayze that is a main ingredient in making this so entertaining. The film is basically a western reset into the contemporary world of American clubs and the bouncers representing town taming gunfighters. Even most of the characters have names you'll find in western mythology and history - Dalton, Garrett, Doc, Wesley etc. Swayze is the aforementioned Dalton, a much sought after club bouncer who is known for his honesty and ability to clean up Clubs that are plagued by troublemakers. He's hired by Tilghman (another western name) played by Kevin Tighe, a club owner, to help him turn his dive of a place into a money making venue. Dalton trains the bouncer team but makes enemies along the way including the corrupt town bigwig Wesley (Ben Gazzara) but finds solace in the arms of Elizabeth (Kelly Lynch) and gets the help of bouncing legend Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott). The fight scenes are great fun, the music soundtrack is fantastic mostly from Jeff Healey and his band who have small roles in the film. Admittedly it's all daft and the last twenty minutes or so goes way over the top but it's still great fun. The rumour is the film was heavily cut and we lost Wade's back story, at least one big fight and various other scenes so it would be nice considering the film's current popularity if one day we get a film with those scenes restored. But in any event Road House remains an enjoyable action film and worth digging out and enjoying again and again.

A touching true life drama that tells the extraordinary story of a humble London stockbroker who rescued 669 refugee children, mostly Jews, from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938/39, an achievement that had gone unnoticed for many years after the Second World War. Anthony Hopkins plays Nicholas Winton, an elderly retired man who is nagged by his wife (Lena Olin) to clear away the hordes of clutter he has accumulated over the years. By doing this Nicholas concentrates on an old scrap book he has kept for years but has sort of dreaded re-examining due to the emotions it may rekindle in him. The book contains the photographs and names of all the children that he battled British government bureaucracy and the fear of Nazi intervention to bring to safety in the UK, all of whom would probably have died in the extermination camps. Winton is played by Johnny Flynn as the younger man in flashback scenes to 1938 where the tensions of waiting for the trains, which have to pass through Germany and could be halted at any time by the Germans, to arrive in Britain are wonderfully created. Getting the foster families organised, raising the money and getting the visas all adds to the complexities of the task. Winton does all this out of nothing more than his own extraordinary kind heartedness and anxiety over the plight of the children. His mother, played brilliantly by Helena Bonham-Carter, is the powerhouse who fights the stiff bureaucrats at the Home Office. Winton is haunted by the last train which was intercepted by the Gestapo and never arrived and he his scrapbook has blank pages where the children's names and photographs would have been added. This will move you to tears. This story came to light after Nicholas Winton's achievement came to light in the 1980s and the BBC convinced him to appear on the magazine programme That's Life where they covertly filled the audience with the now adult children who had been rescued. This event is recreated wonderfully and if you watch the actual clip (it's on YouTube) you'll see how Hopkins has captured Winton's reaction absolutely perfectly. The film is moving, some may find it overly sentimental, but it's a remarkable story, brilliantly portrayed here with a great cast including Alex Sharp, Romola Garai and a cameo from Jonathan Pryce. A lovely film.

Writer and director Mia Hansen-Løve has admitted this is a semi autobiographical film based on her own experiences with her father. It's a very moving and rather compelling film with Léa Seydoux, stripped of any glamour, excelling in the central role of Sandra, a widow with a young daughter, who is managing the pain of helping her ailing father, a former philosophy professor who has a neurodegenerative disease. Sandra has all but shut herself off emotionally in order to cope as she juggles her professional life as an interpreter, with motherhood and worrying about arrangements for the care of her father. Then, by chance, she meets an old friend of her late husband, Clément (Melvil Poupaud), and they embark on an illicit affair (he's a married man and father). The film charts Sandra's life as she tries to deal with the highs and lows of visits to her father as he increasingly doesn't recognise her and the passionate time with Clément knowing that she will not be able to keep either man in her life. Seydoux really sparkles here in this poignant drama. Her fears, sadness and realistic expectations are all depicted so beautifully and the chemistry between her and Poupard and Pascal Greggory as her father makes this a rather wonderful film.

The Road is such a fascinating film, a bleak survival story that manages to recreate the sheer poetry of the source novel by Cormac McCarthy (a fantastic novel and highly recommended). Set in a post apocalyptic world where an unspecified event has caused the world to die. All plant and animal life has perished and the sky has become grey and dull smitten with storms flash fires and an apparent dying sun. A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are on the road travelling south in the hope of finding a warmer climate and possibly food supplies. On the journey they scavenge what they can and must avoid roaming bands of other survivors who have resorted to cannabilism to survive. It's a perilous journey and the man is desperate to protect his son who has only known the dying world but also retains a sense of human goodness. There are cameos from Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Molly Parker in this exceptional film with its quite original vision of a near future with the focus on the child as the hope for mankind. Both Mortensen and Smit-McPhee are excellent as the father and son and their plight is really tense and yet very emotionally moving too. The creation of the dead environment is truly remarkable with some awesome cinematography. This is a first class film and definitely one I recommend if you've never seen it.

One of Francis Ford Coppola's smaller, passion piece films also made after the trauma of Apocalypse Now (1979) and an attempt to recoup some money. This is his homage to the romantic musicals of the classic Hollywood period of the 50s and early 60s. To that end it's a strange film which for the first half or so is a relationship drama about Frannie (Teri Garr) and Hank (Frederic Forrest), a couple who have lived together for five years. On one fateful 4th July night they have a major row and begin to wonder whether their relationship is over. They individually head off into town for the celebrations and both of them hooks up with someone else. It's in this section that the film bursts into a full on fantasy musical complete with slightly clumsy dance numbers. The film was entirely filmed on Coppola's soundstage and boasts a soundtrack by Tom Waits but it's a self indulgent film with Coppola trying to recreate a film style and genre that by this time had little to attract a modern audience. Even despite a recent 4k UHD restoration it's still a bit of a trial although Teri Garr impresses in her performance as the girl with dreams.

For an American remake of a celebrated Japanese horror film, itself based on a Japanese novel, this is remarkably good. With it's dark, gothic, washed out colour palette and an overriding sense of foreboding throughout this is a very unsettling horror film even though the studio made big cuts to reduce the trauma on audiences and to get a lower classification. Even so the originality of this ghost story with an extremely vengeful spirit and the mystery plot centred around a strange videotape makes this a very interesting film. Naomi Watts plays Rachel, an investigative reporter, who starts to enquire into the strange deaths of four teenagers, one of whom was her niece, and finds they are linked to a videocassette tape. Her investigation finds the tape on which there is a bizarre series of surreal and disturbing images and there's apparently a curse that anyone who sees it will die within seven days. When Rachel's young son, Aidan, sneaks a look and begins to have visions of a strange girl she is forced to get to the bottom of the mystery very quickly. There's some really eerie stuff going on here and the story rattles along at a wonderful pace. Veteran British actor Brian Cox pops up in a cameo, along with Jane Alexander. A very entertaining and thrilling horror film that is well worth checking out if you've never seen it, and for those not normally into horror this is something quite different and one to try. I would love to see the original cut which apparently has Chris Cooper in a bookending cameo. Who knows perhaps one day it will get a release?

A silly film that shamelessly cashes in on the success of Jaws (1975) and forms part of a cycle of increasingly shoddy films that pit some animal or other against man. Here we have Richard Harris as fisherman Nolan (think Quint and you'll be close to what the character is trying to be), who inadvertently kills a female pregnant killer whale and finds he's ruthlessly pursued by her mate out for vengeance. The whole set up is thoroughly daft but even worse it has a series of poorly thought through episodes usually resulting in a death. The film is pitched at family audiences and so there's little scares or gore even though Bo Derek (in an early role) has her plaster cast leg bitten off! Indeed literally whenever anyone dangles over the edge of a boat or a harbour they die. Really it's laughable. Charlotte Rampling costars as whale expert (or in other words the Richard Dreyfuss character) who for no reason I can properly explain joins Nolan as he's forced out to sea pursued by the whale. Keenan Wynn has a cameo as a grizzled first mate to Nolan's skipper. Despite a recent restoration to 4K UHD the film does not hold up well today.