Film Reviews by GI

Director Luc Besson's highly stylised thriller is a real treat and it's been much imitated and spawned a TV series. It's a gritty adult thriller with rock video distorted imagery and some interesting themes about redemption and feminism. Former dancer Anne Parillaud plays the title role, she's a violent, sociopathic junkie convicted of murdering a policeman. The Government fakes her suicide and takes her to be trained as a covert Government assassin. But as she begins anew including rediscovering herself as a woman she yearns for a normal life. But trapped by her past and forced to carry out state sponsored murder she risks returning to her old ways and it's only her love for Marco (Jean Hugues Anglade) that keeps her sane. Her handler Bob (Tchéky Karyo) needs one final mission from her before he'll release her. This is a genre piece but with all the trademarks of European arthouse and the end result is a fantastically entertaining film. It's violent but never slips into gratuitousness and the appearance of Jean Reno as Victor The Cleaner is highly memorable. This is a great film and if you love a good adult thriller then check this out as soon as you can.

Director Michael Winner's films are often quite brutal and blunt with an obsession about death and this quite unusual thriller is no exception although it has some subtlety and a very compelling story. On the surface this is a period drama romance set in England at the beginning of the twentieth century in a large country house. Recently orphaned brother & sister, Miles and Flora, are under the guardianship of their uncaring uncle who sees them as a burden. He leaves them in the care of a governess, the beautiful Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham) and the stern housekeeper Mrs Groce (Thora Hird). The children become obsessed with understanding death following the sudden loss of their parents and they form a bond with Quint, the estate gardener (Marlon Brando). Soon the children slyly begin spying on Quint and Miss Jessel as they are having an obsessive and passionate affair which is tinged with sad-masochism. As this illicit relationship spirals out of control the children hatch a plan to keep the pair together. There are elements of a horror narrative here and as this story is a prequel to Henry James' ghost novella The Turn of The Screw you will understand why (That was filmed in 1961 as The Innocents - an excellent film in its own right). This is one of Winner's best films, it's eerie and tense and thoroughly well acted especially by Brando as you'd expect and Beacham is excellent in what must have been a tough role, indeed its hard to understand why she didn't become a significant star based on this. This is a really great film, highly recommended and one to seek out if you've never seen it.

A drama that charts the lives of members of a 60s motorcycle 'club' called The Vandals who operate out of Chicago. The film is narrated by Kathy (Jodie Comer), who is a young girl from a normal background who inadvertently falls into the world of the biker gang when she falls for the moody member, Benny (Austin Butler). In that sense she's very like Lorraine Branco's character in Goodfellas (1990). They marry and the film is then basically a tussle narrative as she and the gang's boss, Johnny (Tom Hardy) vie for Benny's affections. So intertwined in this three way love triangle is a father/son relationship as Johnny sees Benny as his heir apparent. Is this a poignant ode to the freedom of the biker gang who strive for a life free of many of the restrictions of American society? Or is it a look at the immaturity of men who have little future and so portray a sort of puerile masculinity to get their kicks? Either way the narrative shows that this gang basically spend their time picnicking or sitting around in a bar occasionally fighting other biker gangs. The film shows a transition as a new wave of younger members step in with a more violent and criminal agenda which begins the downfall of Johnny and forces Kathy and Benny to make some serious life changes. There is violence on show here and yet it's all somewhat restrained and the overall impact of the gang is muted in the narrative other than through the occasional monologue (Michael Shannon bringing the best of those). This is a film that left me underwhelmed. Comer is the best thing here and she delivers her mid western accent with confidence. Butler's Benny is just sulky and occasionally unpredictable but his dilemma of choosing Kathy over the gang isn't effectively played out. Hardy is his usual taciturn heavy a little like his bootlegger in Lawless (2012). The smaller characters have much more impact especially Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus as the more deranged members. An interesting film but I still think TVs Sons Of Anarchy is the more interesting and involved biker gang narrative.

This complex relationship drama is mysterious, sensual and somewhat erotic too. It's a film that does draw you in as it opens the deep rooted issues of intimacy, love and marriage looking under the surface of these emotions and human frailties. Yûsuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a successful theatre actor and director married to the beautiful Oto (Reika Kirishima), an equally successful TV dramatist who has the habit of whispering new story ideas while they make love. The discovery by Yûsuke of her infidelity with a young actor shocks him deeply but he never reveals to her that he knows of her affair. Tragedy further pushes him into an emotional isolation. Years later he is directing a new play and is assigned a driver, the young and taciturn, Misaki (Tôko Miura). He also casts in the lead role of his play the same young actor who was sleeping with his wife. He gradually becomes close with Misaki and each confide in each other their emotional pain. The various relationships at play here are unwound in a clever, engrossing film and interlink like a cinematic Venn diagram. The film is quite moving and it deserved it's international acclaim and awards.

In 1984 Beverly Hills Cop was smash hit, an action comedy that combined gritty thriller style action with Eddie Murphy's unique fast talking brand of street comedy. It was fresh and enhanced with a soundtrack that was exactly right for the time. After two average sequels the franchise is now back with this latest film from Netflix. Essentially it's a rehash of the set pieces, scenes and jokes from the first film even the soundtrack is back. Murphy is no longer a mainstream comedic figure and to be frank it's all very tired, formulaic and predictable. Much of the original cast return to recreate scenes including Judge Reinhold and John Ashton in a story that has Detroit cop Axel Foley returning to Beverly Hills to help out his old buddies and his estranged daughter, Jane (Taylour Paige), a lawyer who is representing a man accused of killing a cop. Of course Axel quickly identifies the bad guys here led by Kevin Bacon. Fans of the first film will recognise nearly every scene repeated although there are plenty of wacky chases and Murphy tries to wisecrack his way through the film. It's all a bit stale and relies on fan loyalty rather than be a sharp film for a new age.

This is a neat, entertaining and tightly edited apocalyptic thriller with a surprise plot twist that I didn't see coming although with hindsight the clues are littered throughout. Alexander Skarsgård and Andrea Riseborough play married couple Ray and Claire who, along with their seven year old daughter (Emily Alyn Lind), have been holed up in an underground bunker for almost a year. The film focuses on their difficult life under ground in the dreary, damp and somewhat squalid conditions with the daughter especially beginning to suffer the consequences of their isolation. In a series of flashback bursts the reasons are revealed that some undefined devastating event has befallen the world and they have been lucky to have survived having discovered the bunker. There's an ominous edge as they fear someone or something that lurks on the surface and can occasionally be heard at night. There's a tense scene when the parents have to venture outside and eventually events take a dramatic turn. There's been films where people have hidden themselves in bunkers to survive an apocalypse such as 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) but this adds a nice touch in it's climax and it's definitely a film worth checking out.

This is such a beloved film it's very easy to look for faults and tempting to debunk it but whenever I watch this it never fails to impress and indeed move me. It manages very slickly to skirt the boundary between being enchanting and too saccharine and American audiences have often obsessed over issues within their own society missing that this is really a film about innocence, love and purity and it's not, for me anyway, a film about overcoming adversity or celebrating the American Dream. In many ways the film celebrates life and opens a door to view life differently, through nature, humanity and even simplicity. It's not really a story of difference even though the central character of Forrest (Tom Hanks) has a low IQ and initially as a child (played by Michael Connor Humphreys) has to wear leg braces. Those are narrative devices to highlight that Forrest is able to view the world on its most base and precious levels even when he's faced with extreme situations such as combat in the Vietnam war. At its heart it's a romance story, with an undying and loving relationship forming the motivation for all Forrest's actions. The scene where he first meets his young son (Haley Joel Osment in his screen debut) still has the power to bring tears. Hanks performance here is a defining role, one he seems born to play. The support cast especially Robin Wright as Forrest's true love Jenny and Gary Sinise as his former commanding officer and later friend are excellent. A film to sink into every so often because it's one that is truly heart warming and actually rather lovely.

Director Richard Linklater's window into the hedonistic lives of a group of High School students on their last day of term in 1976. A time when American youth were no longer distracted by the fear of the draft for the Vietnam war and were solely focused on rock 'n' roll, beer, getting high and sex. The film has no real narrative as it follows various groups of friends as they navigate around their Californian town indulging in various escapades with each other at parties and gatherings with the older students either bullying or trying to nurture some younger ones who are due to transition to the next level after the summer. As a look at a time in American youth culture the film remains entertaining and quite fascinating not least because you have some early appearances by actors who went on the bigger things not least in Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck. Viewed today its easy to begin to anticipate a tragedy forming for one or more of the characters but that doesn't materialise and Linklater just allows the film, which takes place over one afternoon and night, to play out almost as if we're watching a fly on the wall documentary. The rock soundtrack grounds the film into it's time, and if you remember the mid to late 70s then you'll see it's a great soundtrack, the rights to which are rumoured to have been a big part of the film's cost. Modern viewers will enjoy this as a typical Linklater film, and he's drawn from his own life here, and an interesting coming of age drama of a specific time in America's modern development.

Another Marvel Cgi fest' and another trip into the 'multiverse' (I think by now most of the Marvel superheroes have had a dabble in there but I maybe wrong). This is a genial high energy fantasy film with Benedict Cumberbatch having the time of his life as the weird hero who is pining for his lost love (Rachel McAdams). Whilst at her wedding to someone else he has to deal with a big one eyed monster thing that is chasing a young girl who it turns out has the power to open portals into the multiverse, where Dr Strange gets to meet some other versions of himself as well as some superheroes that have taken on a different aspect to the ones we all love here in our universe! There seems to me to be the influence of the Harry Potter films in this and it drifts around toying with a superhero film mixed with some science fiction and supernatural horror (we get a zombie version of Strange at one point). It's another one for fans, and whilst it rattles along at a neat pace, it's still a little too long and is essentially a series of huge punch ups. Elizabeth Olsen is good as Wanda , an ubër witch that covets the young girl's power. Strong support cast includes Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Patrick Stewart, Hayley Atwell, John Krasinski, Lashana Lynch and Charlize Theron shows up in a cameo in the inevitable mid end credits sequence that signposts the next film. It's ok I suppose but nothing here that we haven't seen before.

A sentimental and dull contemporary western from director Clint Eastwood who also stars. The trouble with this film is that it never gives anything remotely interesting and the main plot has holes galore and the central relationship is a predictable story that's been done before and better. Eastwood plays Mike, a former rodeo star who ended up as a ranch hand for his boss (Dwight Yoakam) who in the films' introduction fires Mike essentially for being past it. Indeed Eastwood was 91 years old at the time of this film and looks it so believing he's a competent horse ranger is a real stretch. His age becomes an issue as the film continues because a year after his dismissal the boss inexplicably recruits him to go to Mexico and 'rescue' his 13 year old son from a drunken mother.So Mike heads off, finds the boy and heads back home with him where on the way they bond and Mike teaches the angry and street wise kid some life lessons. The bonding part of the narrative is a gentle affair but nothing much else happens. Eastwood relies on scenes of the Mexican sunsets and landscape to interest the viewer and provides little else. The mother sends a henchman after them but he's mostly incompetent but Eastwood seems to be a big hit with the Mexican ladies! That is the biggest implausibility here and it's clear the part was for a younger man and casting himself seems a strange choice. Unlike some of his previous films where he's played an older grump such as Gran Torino (2008) Cry Macho is a tame, uninspiring film.

An intense and somewhat esoteric relationship drama that can divide audiences from director Bernardo Bertolucci, who clearly loves eroticism. The Dreamers is a complex, mostly plotless, character study of three young adults; American shy and naive student Matthew (Michael Pitt) and twins Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel). The setting is Paris in 1968 a time of political upheaval and social unrest. Matthew is studying French there and meets the twins through a shared love of cinema. They invite Matthew to move in with them at their parents large apartment while the mother and father are away. Matthew soon finds that his love for Isabelle binds him into the twins bizarre relationship with each other that emotionally transcends anything he has experienced before. As a sexual relationship begins with Isabelle Matthew struggles to understand their view of life and future. The three leads are first class here in portraying the complexity of the three way sexual awakening that occurs once Matthew becomes part of their lives but he cannot understand why he cannot break fully through the bond that the twins have developed. This is a film to admire even though it is one that forces you to question the issues of sex, love and turmoil that the three start to learn from each other. This is certainly an interesting study and a film that possibly requires a couple of viewings in order to really appreciate.

What this sequel to 2004's Night Watch lacks in originality and horror tropes it makes up for in fantasy action and sheer entertainment. There's huge action set pieces and stunts that appear to be there for no other reason than to include them but you can forgive this because they are such a delight. Like many sequels the impact of the original film is now lost so it has to make up for it by being more spectacular and the reason this is a worthy follow up is because it neatly ties up the storyline from the first film. The uneasy truce between the forces of Light and Dark hangs by a thread especially as it appears that two 'Great Others' have appeared, one for the light and one for the Dark. The trouble is Night Watch 'Other' Anton is in love with one and the other is his son. This creates the conflict of the narrative which is essentially a fantasy romance with some themes about family, parenting and the break up of the Soviet Union and the rise of western values in Russia. At the end of the day this is just great fun and if you enjoyed the Night Watch then this is a must see.

Films adapted from gaming media tend to come up against the hardcore geek fanbase surrounding these games and ultimately fail. I'm not a gamer and so consequently look at this entirely from its value as a narrative film. Having said that I'm sufficiently aware to recognise that the set pieces here run as if it's the game. Whether this is to keep the fans happy of just the only way adapt this I don't know but it leaves the impression that it's just a game adapted to a film! With heavy influences of The Princess Bride (1987), the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Jurassic Park (1993), the Game Of Thrones TV series and even Monty Python this is a fantasy film set in a magical land of sorcerers, creatures, swords and warriors dosed heavily with comedy aimed at young teenagers and a script that relies of modern American wisecracks making it a shallow and forgettable film. Despite that it is a lively and brilliantly conceived film that fans will no doubt love. Chris Pine leads the cast as a thief who abandons his wife and child to go on an adventure where he teams up with a female warrior (Michelle Rodriguez). Escaping from prison he wants to redeem himself and find his daughter, now in the hands of the slimy baddie (Hugh Grant), and needs a couple of magical gizmos to help him sort his life out. This cues a rather long film of fighting monsters, wizards and things through various labyrinths or strange underworlds etc etc....you get the idea I'm sure. The end result is a rather average fantasy adventure that is aimed at a certain age group but doesn't offer much you haven't seen before in better films. The title suggests a new franchise but I suspect that won't happen based on this.

A first class drama, rock biopic and romance story and one of the best narrative films that charts part of the history of The Beatles. Starting in 1960 and gifted young artist Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff) and his best mate John Lennon (Ian Hart) are members of an up and coming rock 'n' roll band. They're on their way to Hamburg to play as the resident band in a strip club. Stuart has recently sold a painting and John has convinced him to buy a bass guitar with the proceeds. He can't play it but is drawn to the charisma of John who believes the band can make it big and agrees to be a part of what is Lennon's dream. Once in Hamburg Stuart meets the quiet and beautiful Astrid (Sheryl Lee) and they soon fall in love much to John's consternation. With the story spread over two years and ending in tragedy this is a quite accurate depiction of the Beatles time in Hamburg but focused on the three way relationship between Sutcliffe, Lennon and Astrid. It's a compelling drama, scripted rather well and telling the story of a talented young man who is often unknown in the Beatles history but was a remarkable painter. It's also a tender story of love built around a time of anger and change. Hart is excellent as the dedicated and focused Lennon, not adverse to voicing his anger, and Dorff has really captured Sutcliffe's persona with the real Astrid as an adviser on the film remarking how accurate his portrayal. The other band members are all good at their various roles especially Gary Bakewell as Paul McCartney. This is a well made, well acted and very moving and interesting drama and a film worth checking out whether you are a Beatles fan or not.

Originally intended as a TV mini series this is a fantastically original horror film, stylish and exciting, and one of Russia's most popular films. It begins with a great battle, centuries ago, between the forces of Light and Dark (a battle scene very Tolkienesque in style). This sets the scene for a world where living among normal people are 'Others' who have supernatural powers, some are witches, wizards or shape shifters or even vampires for example. As the forces are equally matched an ancient truce is in place and to prevent breaches of the truce each side has a sort of police force that investigates violations, the Light's force is called the Night Watch. Every 'Other' can freely choose which side they want to join but an ancient prophecy says that one day an 'Other' will emerge and whichever side he joins will then dominate the world. Anton (Konstantin Khabenskiy) is a Night Watch 'Other' who is trying to prevent a young boy from being killed by a Dark 'Other' but he soon finds that the Lord of Dark has designs on the boy. The special effects are amazing and the plot is unusual, original and really clever and the setting of the action in Moscow lends the film a gritty realism that would have been lost if this was a Hollywood movie. Thematically the film delves into the grey area between good and bad and like all really good horror films it makes for a variety of interesting readings. I cannot recommend this enough, it's really very, very good.