Film Reviews by GI

Visually spectacular in places this science fiction film entertains because the screen charisma of star Ryan Gosling, who carries this film which drifts into silliness at times so it lacks the gravitas the narrative implies, the saving of the Earth. Gosling plays Grace, a brilliant scientist who has been sidelined by the scientific community for his theories on the origins of life and resorts to being a humble school teacher. This is a role he loves though so being recruited by icy Government scientist, Eva (Sandra Hüller) to be part of a team trying to save the world ends up with him being a very reluctant astronaut. The film begins with Grace awakening from a deep coma aboard the space craft with no memories. He soon gets them back though and the reasons are told in flashback sequences which helps break up the story especially where it risks becoming a bit dull. Ultimately this is a story of friendship, tolerance and difference centred around Grace's relationship with a strange alien that he encounters who is on the same mission for his planet. Nicknamed Rocky, due to his rock like appearance, they bond and resolve the problems, obviously. Rocky is a bit ETish and occasionally the comedy injected into the film is tiresome and only just manages to keep the film from farce because of Gosling's persona. He is eminently watchable as a screen star and carries this film only occasionally drifting, for me, too far into slapstick. There's a charm to the main storyline though and the film doesn't try for awe or tragedy making it more of a family space adventure than a serious save-the-world epic.

Although it spawned a series of films this, the first and original, is still an important and utterly entertaining science fiction action thriller. It cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger as a major star and opened up the future for director James Cameron. Viewed today the sharpness of the editing and the completeness of the story shine out. It is a brilliant conceived plot and as time travel narratives go it is well thought out. Even the obvious model work is extremely well done and doesn't detract from the films look nor its achievements. There have been a few films that place humanity against machines or AI that include such classics as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Blade Runner (1982) The Matrix (1999) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) each exploring slightly different themes. Here the story commences in 2029 after a nuclear war and intelligent machines have risen from the war intent on destroying what remains of mankind. To do this they send a killing machine back in time to 1984 to murder the mother of a future resistance leader. To try and stop this the human leader sends back a soldier to protect her. What follows is a really exciting action film with Linda Hamilton playing the naive teenager suddenly finding herself pursued by a relentless and unfeeling killer and finding help and eventually love in her protector, Reese (Michael Biehn). Terminator 2: Judgement day (1991) broke new ground in special effects and is often cited as the best in the Terminator series but this the first is still a key science fiction film and is equal to the sequel for it's audacity, vision and superb story. It's an important film in the genre and TechNoir sub genre. Worth checking out again to remind yourself just how good it is.

A faultless, riveting and brilliantly conceived mystery thriller with a beautiful love story at its heart. François Cluzet ( the French equivalent of Dustin Hoffman - he even looks like him) is Alex, a paediatrician, who still grieves for his wife Margot who was murdered by a serial killer eight years ago although for a time Alex himself was a suspect in her death. When the bodies of two men are discovered close to where Margot was killed the police reopen the investigation and soon Alex finds himself under suspicion again. When he receives an enigmatic email that suggests Margot is still alive Alex finds he's caught in a conspiracy where everyone has a secret about the past and he is forced to go on the run. This film never misses a beat, the plot hooks you in and keeps you guessing throughout and it rattles along at a marvellous pace. It's shot in a stunning series of pastel colours that make the whole thing rather wonderful and I challenge anyone to find a finer thriller than this. With a support cast that includes Kristin Scott Thomas and Marie-Josée-Croze this is about as good as you can get for a modern genre piece. And to top it all there's a romantic thread that binds the whole story together in a rather magical way that will leave a tear in your eye. Highly recommended if you've never seen this.

A solid seafaring adventure story set in during the Napoleonic Wars starring Alec Guinness as the firm but fair Captain of a British warship that sets sail to join the fleet in the Mediterranean. He's beset by problems from the sadistic martinet second in command (Dirk Bogarde) and the slow build up of a disgruntled crew tired of the poor conditions and routine punishments in His Majesty's Navy. There's some swashbuckling action along the way although this is mostly a well performed character study with first class performances. Anthony Quayle plays the head of the mutineer crew. It's an entertaining British film from the early sixties with a plot that has been done before but if you have a fondness for such films it's worth rediscovering.

Here is a relationship drama, a coming of age drama, a social introspective all rolled into a scathing vision of American privilege. Set in the early 1970s this follows the dysfunctional, bored and hypocrisy of two families where sexual repression dominates their dull lives. The Hood family of Ben (Kevin Kline) and Elena (Joan Allen) is one of deceit, as Ben is having an affair with Janey (Sigourney Weaver) of the Carver family. The two families are friends although this weak connection highlights that hypocritical need for social interaction that is entirely based on lies. The Hood's children, Paul (Tobey Maguire) and Wendy (Christina Ricci), are exploring sexual awakenings to various degrees with Wendy, experimenting with both the Carver children (Elijah Wood & Adam Hann-Byrd). Drugs and alcohol blending into their world of jealousies and confusion. Into this melting pot of angst the adults lie to one another, are lured to a swingers party, with various highly charged results, whilst the their children interact behind their backs with tragic results. The climax occurring during the titular ice storm. This is an interesting and convoluted drama, very well written, and a sharp condemnation of that strata of American east coast society that hides it's falseness behind money, religion and status. An interesting film that holds a relevance today.

For those that grew up with children's favourite TV series such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the like should absolutely love this. This uproariously funny 'puppet' film takes Gerry Anderson's 60s TV shows that used 'supermarionation' and adds adult humour in a political satire of the 'War On Terror' ripping into the heart of America's arrogant foreign policies and it's deluded sense of itself as the country that has a duty to save the world. Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited into Team America who cover the world rooting out terrorists and WMDs. He has to infiltrate terrorists and kill them aided by their super computer called I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. But the team soon discover they have been betrayed by the Film Actors Guild (F.A.G.) who are in cahoots with North Korean dictator Kim Jong IL. This is really funny stuff and occasionally pushes the comedy boundaries that'll either have you rolling in the aisles or really cringing. There's a puppet sex scene, there's puppets dying bloody deaths and a highly funny and quotable script. Homages to other films can be seen throughout with Star Wars being particular favourite and you'll forever say Matt Damon's name in a certain way. With some great songs this is a highly original comedy and a film to return to again and again to spot all the jokes interwoven into the story. It's a riot and definitely one to see if you've never seen it.

One of the definitive American films of the 70s with a mesmerising lead performance by Robert De Niro. He plays Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle. Suffering from PTSD, he has insomnia and takes a job driving a New York taxi on the night shift where he witnesses the degradation and sleaze of the city night life. Pent up, bigoted and steadily slipping into psychosis Travis attempts to find normality in his life but socially inept and uneducated he cannot relate to others. He tries and almost succeeds in a relationship with the beautiful Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a campaign worker for a local politician. But when this collapses Travis decides a different path which involves trying to 'rescue' 12 year old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from the clutches of her pimp (Harvey Keitel). Travis decides his only route to salvation is through the catharsis of violence. Taxi Driver is a key film in the 70s 'cinema of loneliness' that incorporated works from eminent directors such as Arthur Penn, Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman. It's a study of the toxic and destructive American masculinity in the post Vietnam War era and a very powerful one at that. With a score by the legendary Bernard Herrmann that is both ominous and reminiscent of 40s and 50s Hollywood and some key moments from the opening slow motion scene of the taxi emerging from the city smog to De Niro's improvised "you looking at me" soliloquy, this is an important film that every film fan needs to see and see again. A study of the perverted product of American society that leads to unprecedented gun violence. It's a masterpiece of modern cinema.

A compelling, outwardly disturbing true story set in Brazil in the early 1970s when a military dictatorship took over the country. The drama recounts the emotional plight of the Paiva family centred around the mother, Eunice (Fernanda Torres, in a dominating and focused performance). With her husband, Rubens (Selton Mello), they have five children and live in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Rubens is planning the building of a new house for them all and was previously a left wing politician. One morning agents of the regime ask him to go with them to make a 'deposition' and he is never seen again. Eunice, herself is arrested and tortured, but eventually released she focuses on protecting her family, remaining stoic and protective while she tries to find out what has happened to her husband who the authorities deny they have arrested. This is a story of courage, intelligently told and centred on a mother's protective instincts in the face or real terror, especially as the family are kept under constant surveillance. The performances are excellent, with Torres superb and the children are all flawlessly played. I did feel however that the film shields itself and the audience from the full extent of the horrors of the regime especially in the narrative decision to focus on Eunice's aim to retain normality at home including her resolve to never cry in front of the children. This focus on Eunice doesn't allow the film to really display the effects of the countless miseries the regime inflicted. We get a glimpse occasionally as the children, especially the eldest, tries to probe her mother for answers. But this is a minor criticism in many ways because this is a first rate drama deserving of the accolades it has received.

Sequel? Reboot? It matters not this is a Scream/Scooby Doo (without Scooby) slasher type mystery horror that is cheesy, full of clichés and offers absolutely nothing new to this somewhat tired genre. Five spoilt twenty somethings cause a road crash where a man dies and decide to keep it quiet that it's their fault. A year later a mysterious killer with a meat hook begins offing them and their friends one by one. Plot holes galore, in fact a plot that is daft and makes little sense but has apparent references to the 1997 original film and some characters return here including the one played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, oh and Sarah Michelle Gellar gets a cameo in a dream sequence. There's a couple of gory deaths but for the most part this follows standard tropes for this type of narrative. It seems to me this has been rushed out following the success of the Scream reboots and it's more of the same. Dull and pointless.

A flimsy, poorly scripted dark adult fantasy set in some kind of post apocalyptic future world where human survivors live in a hellhole city with a Queen but controlled by a religious cult. Based on a George R.R. Martin story it's about a witch played unconvincingly by the director's wife, Milla Jovovich, who heads off into the CGI wasteland to steal some power from a werewolf, all the time chased by the religious nutcases trying to stop her. She has the help of a gunfighter (David Bautista) who appears to be the lover every female character yearns for in this world! There's a train, lots of shooting and grimacing. It really is a load of tripe, with little tension, no real sense of action and a daft ending, that definitely looks like they hope to make a sequel!! It's a nonsense film and hardly worth anyone's time.

A typical big budget mid 60s action adventure, made when Hollywood was worried about the increasing rise of TV and the fall in cinema box office receipts. It remains entertaining and fun today with a big cast and a stirring story of derring do, Cold War espionage and survival. Rock Hudson is the main star as a the captain of a US nuclear submarine sent on a hurried mission to the Arctic to save the crew of a US weather station after there's been a fire. But he soon realises there's more going on when he has to take along a British Intelligence Agent (Patrick McGoohan) and a Soviet defector (Ernest Borgnine). It all surrounds a typical movie 'maguffin' and director John Sturges, by this time a master of the epic big production, thrills us with taut scenes of the submarine navigating dangerously below the arctic ice and whilst the studio bound sets are a little false by today's standards this is a great film for a Saturday afternoon.

Tarzan films have been churned out since the days of silent cinema and into the 70s and included the wonderful 1960s TV series starring Ron Ely. A shame that attempts to reintroduce this heroic screen character in recent times have failed possibly by trying to take the stories too seriously (2016s The Legend Of Tarzan was a mediocre affair). Producer Sy Weintraub resurrected the films in the late 50s with Gordon Scott as Tarzan in six wonderful adventure films of which this is probably the best. It certainly has an astounding cast including veteran actor Anthony Quayle and a pre 007 Sean Connery. Admittedly they may appear a little B movie cheap today in the use of stock animal footage, studio sets, back projection and some shoddy continuity but they are great fun and solid family entertainment - I certainly loved them as a young boy. This beautifully coloured film has some quite gruesome deaths including quicksand and nasty spiked traps and of course the stock fight with a rubber crocodile but who cares these were simple yet thoroughly exciting films. In this one four men led by the psychopathic Slade (Quayle) commit murder to steal boxes of explosives and head up river to a lost diamond mine. Tarzan begins to hunt them hindered by having to rescue a damsel in distress along the way. There's everything you want in a Tarzan film with none of the 'Me Tarzan, You Jane' nonsense. This is a quite gripping yarn made by a veteran director. Fantastic fun.

One of the great crime thrillers of the 70s, a real classic of the genre. When a New York subway train is hijacked by four men armed with sub machine guns police Lieutenant Garber (Walter Matthau) begins the negotiations with the hijackers. These are led by a man using the codename Mr Blue (Robert Shaw) who demands $1million dollars or he'll begin killing the hostages and he soon proves he's not bluffing! The Mayor agrees to pay as he wrestles with his falling popularity but Garber wrestles with how the men are planning to get away and how to catch them. This has a tense plot that never lets up and whilst it's a film of its time it remains a first rate thriller. There's a casual racism and sexism throughout the film that may jar a modern audience somewhat and the portrayal of the police, subway controllers and politicians as all highly stressed and forever angry is, at times, a bit strange but it creates a realistic portrayal of a city under strain - the Mayor is more concerned with votes and bases all his decisions on that! This is a favourite of Quentin Tarantino who copied the colour codenames of the bad guys when he made Reservoir Dogs (1992). There was a couple of pointless remakes the most notable in 2009 with Denzil Washington and John Travolta but it has nothing on this original. This is gripping, exciting and full of suspense and worth seeking out if you've never seen it.

A load of daft tosh from start to finish with writer and director Robert Rodriguez mixing The Matrix (1999), Inception (2010), Memento (2000), The Truman Show (1998) and even possibly Trancers (1984) into some big pot, boiling it up and out came Hypnotic. Ben Affleck plays Danny, an apparently grieving cop whose daughter was abducted awhile back. He's on the edge, you know the sort of cop I'm talking about. Anyway during a bank holdup Danny chases a mysterious man (William Fichtner) who seems to be able to control people. Danny discovers the man was after a photograph of his daughter from a safety deposit box. Yes it's all implausible and weird but basically nothing is as it seems as really there's a strange agency that looks after people with special powers and everyone is looking for the cop's daughter including Alice Braga playing street hustling spiritualist....or is she?? It matters not as this is just a preposterous film that has the odd moment but is really a lot of scene chewing nonsense and once seen can be instantly forgotten.

A hefty and very enjoyable final instalment of the great TV series in what could be classed as an extended episode but given a cinematic film look and class. Admittedly you have to be familiar with the storylines from the six TV series to understand the convoluted plot at play here and if you are then this will not disappoint. There is a great story about Nazis and counterfeit currency but at its heart this is a climatic story of the turmoil that's Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy). The setting is 1940 with Britain almost on its knees from the German blitz. The Peaky Blinders gang are still operating in Birmingham and with impunity and led by the wild and violent Duke Shelby (Barry Keoghan) who even has the Chief Constable in his pocket. He steals armaments meant for the military from the bombed factories and shrugs off the contempt shown by the locals. Meanwhile his father, Tommy, lives isolated in his run down mansion haunted by remorse and grief and writes his memoirs. He is lured back to the fray by the sister of Duke's gypsy mother who warns Tommy of his son's wayward ways and the need to reign him in especially as he's about to embark on a conspiracy with Tim Roth's nasty Nazi. Rebecca Ferguson is the sister of his erstwhile lover who seduces Tommy and warns him to get back in charge. There's plenty of set piece action and gunplay, and Murphy is brilliant here as the conflicted Tommy who is a mix of ruthless gangster, guilt ridden father and Svengali like leader. The Romany family link allows an aspect of spiritual even supernatural aspects to the narrative led by Ferguson's beautiful yet devious Gypsy Witch character. Stephen Graham assists as a Liverpudlian gang leader who comes to Tommy's aid. The depiction of a war torn Birmingham is fantastic, all mud, dreariness and rain amongst which Tommy Shelby arrives on his black horse. Great fun and a brilliant conclusion to this great series.