Film Reviews by GI

Director Pablo Larrain's biopic of the last days of opera diva Maria Callas is his third in a loose trilogy of biopics of famous women, following Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021). With Maria he has directed what is a rather strange film with a committed performance from Angelina Jolie in the title role. The narrative follows Callas in her last days in Paris in the 1970s, addicted to the hallucinogenic sedative Mandrax, trying to recover her declining voice and possibly wanting to make a comeback; all the while she hallucinates the drug is a journalist (Kochi Smit-McPhee) to whom she shares her past sadnesses and regrets. At times the film is rather laborious and whilst Jolie is rather good with her facial subtleties and calm put downs of fans who approach her it's the overall story of the woman's failing health and inability to take the advice from her faithful retainers and doctor that is all a bit aimless. The film has a sort of over theatricality to it that reminded me of the expressive performances of the past such as Gloria Swanson. Jolie's commanding performance is worth your time with this film and of course the music is superb as most is actual Callas recordings so you get to hear just how good she was in her heyday.

This pilot TV movie heralded the iconic and classic British TV series The Sweeney which ran from 1974 to 78. This film set the standard for the series with it's location filming, violent depiction of the London underworld and the realism of the police in the 1970s. John Thaw in the title role is a Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad, he finds modern team working practices difficult as he's used to following his own instincts. When one of his men is brutally murdered Regan is determined to find out who did it despite being ordered to leave it to the Murder Squad. He seeks out his former Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman) to help him and soon they are embroiled in an organised gangland takeover where loyalties change very rapidly. For anyone who loved the TV series or who remembers the 70s well this is a great nostalgic film, very realistic, brilliantly written and a film that deserves a modern audience.

One of the great westerns and a film that effectively certified John Wayne as an actor of ability and range leading him into bigger and better roles. It's also the film that led Montgomery Clift to stardom. The film balances history with mythology, the key mixture that cemented the western as the signature American genre. Historically the film sets itself on the Chisholm Trail, a famous route by which cattle herds were driven from Texas to Kansas, just after the American Civil War. Wayne plays Tom Dunson, a cattle baron who has built his empire from nothing with the help of his adopted son Matthew (Clift) and his friend Groot (Walter Brennan). To survive they have to move their 10,000 head of longhorn cattle north but Dunson plans on Missouri as his destination not believing that the Kansas railways yet exist. It's a more hazardous journey and he becomes obsessed and more tyrannical along the route. This eventually leads to a mutiny led by Matthew and Dunson vows to kill him as a consequence. Essentially the story is the same as Mutiny On The Bounty and in the hands of a master director like Howard Hawks it's an epic film, filled with great scenes of the drive, one of the key themes for the taming of the frontier, and also a tale of revenge, another theme that has filled the genre. This is a key American movie and definitely one to make sure you see but it is also a majestic, beautiful film with plenty of great characters, action and setting. Admittedly I find the ending a little disappointing but it's hard to beat a film of this quality.

Alfred Hitchcock's dark and sinister adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's fantastic romance novel (well worth reading). Filmed in black and white deliberately creating the sense of dread that looms over the story. Joan Fontaine plays a young, timid and naïve woman who by chance meets the domineering, wealthy and aristocratic Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier). After a whirlwind romance they marry and she is thrust into the life of a rich socialite for which she is totally unprepared. Maxim takes her back to his ancestral home, Manderley, in Cornwall. But she finds that Maxim's first wife, Rebecca who drowned in a boat accident, has a dominant presence over her life not least perpetrated by the cold and manipulative housekeeper, Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson), and Maxim harbours a dark secret. For what is essentially a romance this plays out like a gothic thriller and in Hitchcock's hands it has a sense of evil attached making it a really compelling film. Fontaine is suitably meek but eventually finds a steely resolve and Olivier plays Maxim as rather chauvinistic and at times quite unpleasant but the reasons soon reveal themselves. This is a masterwork and a classic of cinema, I definitely recommend you see this if you've missed it.

If you've ever doubted Alfred Hitchcock's credentials as a master of the suspense film then you haven't seen Rear Window. Shot completely on one set this is a classic Hollywood thriller with two top quality stars in James Stewart and Grace Kelly. He is L.B. 'Jeff' Jeffries, a renowned magazine photographer (consequently a snoop!), who has broken his leg and over a hot New York summer he's confined to a wheelchair in his apartment. Out of boredom he watches his neighbours going about their everyday business. Then one night, during a thunderstorm, he sees a man who lives opposite him acting suspiciously and after awhile Jeff begins to conclude the man has murdered and dismembered his nagging wife. As Jeff puts his pieces of the 'crime' together he also manages to convince his socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Kelly) of the murder but the police aren't so easily convinced and decide Jeff is fantasising. Hitchcock keeps you asking yourself did a murder happen or are all the clues innocently explained creating some great tension and with a twist surprise ending which I won't spoil in case you've never seen this wonderful film. With its look at the moral issues of voyeurism and privacy the film was ahead of its time and quite raunchy for an early 1950s film. Stewart is really good here, an actor of great range and proving it here in a role that requires mostly close ups and little movement. A must see film, a true masterpiece of the thriller genre.

Historical drama filmed in an epic style riveting owing to the acting performances which are simply perfection. The cast are so impressive and deliver this rich tale of royal plotting and petty rivalry in a story that despite being confined to castle rooms is richly written and utterly compelling. Peter O'Toole plays Henry II who, aged fifty in 1183, is under pressure to name his heir from his three sons, Richard (Anthony Hopkins, in his first full length film role), Geoffrey (John Castle) and John (Nigel Terry). All three covet the throne and all look to their sly and cunning mother, Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn) for help in persuading the temper tantrum prone Henry to pick them. There are no trappings of wealth seen here and the period is accurately portrayed as dirty, damp and draught riddled and the plot plays out in a grimy castle. Hepburn and O'Toole are at the peak of screen acting here and deliver a charismatic battle of love, hate, respect and loathing for one another throughout. It's a long film that a modern audience may find daunting especially as this is not a film of spectacular set pieces but one that is more Shakespearean in style and delivery. Timothy Dalton also impresses as the visiting French King who slyly manipulates all three sons. Award winning this is historical drama at its best. A film to discover.

This is an unusual and interesting horror film from British director Antonia Bird. Set in 1848 Army Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce), having been decorated during the American/Mexican war is sent to Fort Spencer in the Sierra Nevada mountains. He is racked by guilt and trauma over the battle in which he was declared a hero. His new posting only has eight other soldiers and trackers until on a dark winter night Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle) stumbles into the camp and once revived tells them how he's survived in the wilderness after his party was stranded and forced to cannibalism and murder. Colonel Hart (Jeffrey Jones) orders his men search for survivors but Colqhourn isn't telling them the entire truth and soon things quickly go awry. Whilst this fits into the horror genre there's an originality to this one. Not only in its setting and time but in the hands of Antonia Bird it has fun, scares and a really unpredictable plot, and it certainly twists in unexpected directions. Once you've seen it you can see the clever use of some horror film tropes and it plays on the familiar theme in horror based on insatiable hunger, a theme that drives the vampire film for example and is here used in a unique setting and on a subject that has none of the romanticism that the vampire film holds. Cannabilism is a truly horrific subject and whilst the zombie film indulges in freely here we have rationale humans struggling for survival and yet this is a hugely enjoyable film with a great cast. Bird, now sadly no longer with us, was a highly talented director and could turn her hand to any genre and her other films are worth seeking out. However, even if you aren't normally into horror films try this one it will really surprise you. A fantastic little film, really entertaining and one I guarantee you'll enjoy.

This is a really fun B movie style comedy thriller that has the influences of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino all over it. It's neatly paced, slightly unpredictable and with little nods to other films woven into it, the sugar in the coffee scene from Sudden Impact (1983) for example. A slightly bumbling kitchen knife salesman (Jim Cummings) is forced to stop at a remote Gas Station to fill up only to find that the local fuel delivery is late and he has to wait for an hour in the next door Diner run by Charlotte (Jocelin Donahue). But when two on the run bank robbers with a bag of stolen cash also stop a hostage situation soon begins which grows more intense as a few more customers show up. As the tensions mount violence looks likely to break out. This has great dollops of well written humour, a well written narrative arc and is simply entertaining throughout. It's a little gem well worth an evening's viewing.

An interesting British police procedural with a noir vibe and influenced by a real crime but adapted from an American novel. The title reflects the slow and painstaking building of the investigation to find the killer. A routine case leads to the discovery of a woman's dismembered body hidden in a trunk inside a rented seaside house near Brighton in 1962. Detective Inspector Fellows (Jack Warner) leads the investigation which means lots of telephone calls and tedious enquiries. There's no doubt the film follows the police modus operandi in murder cases of the time and it has the risqué aspects of extra-marital sex which would have made it a bit of a shocker back on its release. Warner is as steady as ever as the copper, a role he made his own for much of his career starting with The Blue Lamp (1950) and culminating in the TV series Dixon Of Dock Green. There's an ensemble cast of recognisable British actors from TV, stage and screen and whilst the film has obviously dated it has that nostalgic feel of days gone by.

This true life drama based on a bestselling book is a warm, very British story of a couple who are evicted from their farm after hubby Moth (Jason Isaacs) has made a dodgy investment and learnt he has a terminal brain disease. As the bailiffs bang on the door they sort of spontaneously decide their only option is to go walking. So off they set along the south coast path with hardly any money, just what they carry on their backs as possessions and living in a small tent along the way face kindness, intolerance and a life affirming experience. It's a gentle film that is a little slow but is led by Gillian Anderson and Isaacs who have a lovely onscreen chemistry as the couple going through dire straits that ultimately leads to a happy ending. It's a watchable film that leaves a nice feeling but it sometimes seems to lack the courage of it's convictions in highlighting the 'hidden homeless' and the idea that getting back in touch with nature is something we all should do. It never quite nails its colours to the mast so to say.

Dustin Hoffman had the showy role as an autistic man thrust into the real world by his selfish brother but it's Tom Cruise, as that selfish brother, that takes this film. His performance here shows a depth of emotion that marks him as a significant actor and it's a shame he is overshadowed by the attention given to Hoffman in this film. A road movie drama that has laughs, tears and plenty of heartbreaking bromance vibes to make it a favourite of many to this day. Cruise plays Charlie, a self centred luxury car dealer whose business is on the rocks. He's a fast talking schemer who has oodles of self confidence believing he can get by on his wit and charm. But his world is turned upside down after the death of his estranged father and the discovery that his father's wealth has been left to an older brother Charlie never knew existed. The brother is Raymond (Hoffman) who is an autistic savant, and who lives by a carefully nurtured routine in an institution. Charlie craftily takes Raymond onto the road initially to figure out a way to get half the inheritance but, of course, despite the frustrations that Raymond's condition brings out in Charlie, he inevitably begins to discover aspects of his past through his brother and they bond. It's more a journey of Charlie than Raymond. His close proximity to his very disabled brother helps Charlie find his humanity and reinstatement of the moral compass he lost years ago. It's still a moving film and arguably one of Cruise' best performances before he decided he needed to be the most elderly stuntman in Hollywood!

The first and the best of the Indiana Jones franchise and even if there had been no sequels this would still stand out as one of the great Boys Own action adventure films of all time. Because it's so familiar it's often a film that gets overlooked when considering some family viewing but it really is so good it will continue to excite and enthral for years to come even those that have seen it many times. Although intended by writer and producer George Lucas to be reminiscent of the Saturday serials he enjoyed as a child and to be enjoyed by all ages it is a surprisingly bloody film with blood squib gunshot wounds and some very brutal fistfights and director Steven Spielberg included some horror film style deaths to really up the ante. A short recap: Adventurer archaeologist Professor 'Indiana' Jones (Harrison Ford) is hired by US Intelligence to try and acquire the Ark of The Covenant before the Nazis get ahold of it. Along the way he reunites with his old flame Marion (Karen Allen) and has to go to some desperate measures to get it. The film has some really iconic scenes not least the opening tomb raiding in South America, the chase sequence with the truck and the death of the sabre twirling warrior in the Cairo market. The film has magic, comedy and a nice romance chucked in. It's still a masterpiece and if you only watch one from the series then make it this one.

This is a very entertaining period drama, funny, sexy and at times a little challenging. Set in Napoleonic France in an insane asylum run by a young and idealistic Abbé (Joaquin Phoenix) who believes that care and compassion is what is needed for his patients. One of whom is the notorious Marquis de Sade (Geoffrey Rush in a tour de force performance) who has been committed for depraved acts with young servant girls. When some very saucy novels, suspected to be the work of the Marquis, begin circulating around Paris the prudish and nasty Dr Royer-Collard (Michael Caine in a juicy bad guy role) is sent to deal with the culprit. But despite restrictions placed on him de Sade continues to write his sexy stories and smuggle them out of the asylum with the help of Madeleine (Kate Winslet), one of the servants. Royer-Collard is determined to stop them but the Marquis is equally determined and very resourceful! Based on a stage play this is brilliantly acted, raunchy, clever and whilst it plays fast and loose with real events it is based on a true story. A period drama/dark comedy that circles around perversions in a really entertaining and fun way. It's a film that deserves a reissue and rediscovery.

An erotic drama with Nicolas Roeg's usual strangeness that marks his film's as very original and here with the addition of a brave performance from Mimi Rogers, an American actor that deserves more recognition for her work than she often gets being more remembered for her brief and inconsequential marriage to Tom Cruise. Full Body massage will probably be more remembered for Rogers nude scenes, indeed she spends much of the film undressed and being very intimately massaged. The narrative concerns Nina (Rogers), a wealthy yet bored art dealer who is home awaiting her usual masseuse to arrive. She dreams of the previous massages as they have skirted beyond the professional line but she is taken aback when Fitch (Bryan Brown) arrives as a new masseur. He's a challenging individual who then spends the remainder of the film's runtime discoursing with Nina over various aspects of their lives, character, views on spirituality etc etc all the while massaging her in a very overtly sexual way. Ultimately the film is dull despite the intense script and the all pervading increase in sexual tension. A film that is more of interest as a Roeg film than anything else but it's certainly not one of his better films.

Another in the prequel series that hopefully is building to the events originally portrayed in the 1968 film with Planet Of the Apes. This one is set 300 years in the future since the last War For The Plant Of the Apes (2017) and I suppose sets the scene for the divisions and tyrannies within the ape culture that were evident in the original story. This new blockbuster is impressive to look at with its visions of the future jungle world with the old human civilisations now ruins in amongst new forests. But the story is all a little anti-climactic and it certainly begins to drag due to its overly long runtime. Here we have an ape colony attacked by an another led by a villainous gorilla who enslaves apes for his own ends. In fact he's trying to get into an old human bunker where he can hopefully access human technology and weapons. Humans are now just grunting scavengers. A young ape, Noa (Owen Teague) wants revenge on the bad guy and finds a strange ally in Mae (Freya Allan), a human who can talk and think and is out to stop access to the bunker at all costs. Really this doesn't take the franchise anywhere and it's an appeal to fans only. A decent remake of the original story seems to be coming to fit into and conclude this series but we will have to wait and see.