Film Reviews by GI

Often cited as the best of the 'original crew' films this is certainly an exciting space adventure film that rattles along at a great pace, is great fun and is reminiscent of naval battle films like The Enemy Below (1957). In searching for a suitable story for this, the second, Star Trek film it was quite inspired to trawl the original TV episodes and use one of them, 'Space Seed', to build a plot. The 'baddie' from that episode, Khan (Ricardo Montalban), manages to escape from the planet where he was marooned by Captain Kirk (William Shatner) fifteen years earlier and along with his followers he steals a Starship. Intent on revenge against Kirk he lures him to battle by stealing a revolutionary planet making device. The resulting conflict between them is the centre of the narrative and the seek and destroy battle of the two gigantic starships is fantastic. Shatner really gives his character some depth and here he gives one of his finest performances as Kirk, showing his self doubt about ageing and his future in the service to which he has dedicated his life. The space effects are very impressive and whilst the film is like an extended episode it works brilliantly. It has a wonderful baddie in Khan, with Montalban giving a subtle and yet very passionate edge to this psychopath. The film has a shock ending which I won't spoil if you haven't seen this and even if you are not a Star Trek fan this is definitely a sci-fi film that is well worth checking out. It's a delight.

More of a reimagining than an outright remake of the 1976 film but the basic narrative is the same as the three previous movies. First time director Bradley Cooper has made a really accomplished film here and what sets this apart from the 1976 Barbra Streisand vehicle is that he gives the two lead characters real depth and complexity far beyond the basic love/redemption story. Cooper plays Jackson Maine, an internationally renowned rock star who is an alcoholic, harbours inner demons that are linked with his childhood and he's become disillusioned by the fame taking over the art of his music. One night he discovers Ally (Lady Gaga in a topnotch performance, an inspired casting choice) singing in a drag bar and is impressed with her talent but even more by her uniqueness. As he pursues her for love he finds she is a really gifted songwriter and brings her onto the stage at his massive gigs where he is rejuvenated as an artist and a man. But when Ally rises in fame Jackson struggles and falls deeper into drugs and alcohol which threatens their relationship and her new found stardom. This has a powerful and emotionally impactive story arc and whilst it's essentially a 'Pygmalion' narrative there is also here one of the best films about the destructive nature of fame so that's more linked with films like Crazy Heart (2009) or Stardust (1974). The support cast is excellent especially Sam Elliott as Jackson's brother & manager with their relationship adding to the characters complicated stories. A first rate film, it'll bring a tear to your eye I guarantee and definitely one to check out if you've not seen it.

This classic remains a wonderful film even after so many viewings. John Ford effectively put the western genre on the map with this his first since making silent westerns. The 1930s had churned out hundreds of serial and cheap B westerns but it took Stagecoach for the genre to be taken seriously. And of course it's the film that made John Wayne a star. He'd been stuck in those serial B films for years but Ford saw the potential and the rest is history. What is especially marvellous about Stagecoach is its structure. Essentially it's about the social and emotional dynamic between the seven passengers inside the tiny passenger compartment as they travel the hazardous journey across the desert (in this case Ford's first use of the famed Monument Valley). Each has their own particular reasons for being aboard and prejudices and bigotry are rife. The fear of attack from renegade Indians is no more than a plot device to showcase the flaws and attributes of the characters on the stage. Claire Trevor (who has top billing as the established star) is the prostitute with a heart who has been run out of town, Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) the alcoholic and burned out old man who will have to refind his courage, and John Wayne as the good natured outlaw intent on a mission of revenge. The others include a banker fleeing with his banks money, a soldier's wife hiding her pregnancy and a gambler with a mysterious agenda (John Carradine here arguably the most enigmatic of the passengers). The Indian attack when it comes is exciting and full of now famous stunt work principally by Yakima Canutt and the film has a climactic gunfight to top it all off. Ford broke many film making conventions here especially with his camera use and what is often described as the 180° rule and his style of letting the action happen in front of a static camera rather than moving it works superbly here. What may seem genre cliché today was very innovative in 1939 for this is a masterclass in film story telling from a genius director who went on to make some of the most revered American films of all time. This is a film every movie fan has to see at least once. It's a masterpiece of the art form.

Adapted from the great Cold War spy novel by John Le Carré this is a bleak suspense thriller about espionage involving double cross and convoluted loyalties. This is no James Bond type narrative, here we are shown the uncomfortable and unromantic aspects of the profession. Spies are "seedy and squalid bastards" as the lead character says. Set in the early 60s at the height of the Cold War Alec Leamus (Richard Burton) is a burnt out and alcoholic MI6 agent based in West Berlin. When his agent is killed trying to cross the border Leamus, feeling responsible for the death, returns to London expecting a desk job but he is asked by the head of MI6, Control (Cyril Cusack) to take part in one final mission where he has to pretend to defect. But Leamus is not told the full extent of the plan nor of Control's intentions to use someone very close to Leamus to achieve success. Burton displays perfectly the seething anger, disappointment and stress of Leamus, a man on the edge of breakdown but who proves perfect for the devious plan that Control as devised. Claire Bloom, an often forgotten yet superb British actress, Oskar Werner and Peter van Eyck add support and the film boasts an appearance from Bernard Lee who had already appeared as M in the Bond films. This is also the first occasion where Le Carré's iconic spymaster character, George Smiley, makes as appearance here played by Rupert Davies. The depiction of a cold, damp London not only induces the nostalgia of a bygone Britain but perfectly reflects the squalid and run down nature of Leamus and his world of little hope. This is a superb British spy film, thoughtful, clever and very intricately plotted, there are hints of Hitchcock in its structure and suspense and it's most certainly a film to seek out if you've never seen it.

With a contemporary western look and style this dark comedy is a polarising vision of modern America. A satirical look at a society conflicted with conspiracy theorists, racist and gun obsessed people divided by liberalism and extreme right violence. It's certainly unsubtle to say the least and offers little new to say in the Trump era, and yet it's bizarrely riveting and compelling whilst making itself obvious to the point of ridiculousness in what it's trying to say. Joaquin Pheonix stars as Sheriff Joe Cross of the New Mexico town of Eddington. It's 2020 and the height of the Covid 19 pandemic and the town has it's share of sceptics about the disease, including Joe, which sets him against the hispanic Mayor Ted (Pedro Pascal) who has laid out policies around the wearing of masks and distancing which Joe challenges. Their rivalry culminates in Joe deciding to stand for Mayor in the forthcoming elections. Ted and he are old adversaries due to Ted having many years ago dated Joe's wife (Emma Stone), a hysterical and depressed woman. Tensions in the town rise causing protests and public disorder all of which leads to violence by some to resolve their personal issues disguised as political struggle. Director Ari Aster just about includes everything he can think of into the narrative to get his point across and this makes the film a bit of a hammer to crack a walnut but as I said it's a strangely watchable film even for a viewer who watches the daft state of American division from afar.

Like the best of films that have covered true events in investigative journalism Spotlight is a gripping drama with an ensemble cast that creates throughout provoking and occasionally shocking revelations as the narrative, like a mystery story, unfolds. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning work of the Boston Globe newspaper that uncovered systematic child abuse by catholic priests in Boston and the cover up that occurred for decades by the church' hierarchy. The team responsible were called 'Spotlight' and the four journalists are here played superbly by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Brian D'Arcy James and supported by Liev Schreiber and John Slattery as the bosses. It's a fantastic and disturbing story of what amounts to an international scandal that has never really been exposed properly but like All The President's Men (1976) or Frost/Nixon (2008) this film really gets to the heart of the issue and the stoicism required by the journalists in getting to the truth. A riveting film, brilliantly acted and directed and highly recommended if you've not seen it.

One of the great action films of the 90s, a hi-octane thrill ride from start to finish and a film that cemented Keanu Reeves as a movie star. He plays Jack, a hotshot LA cop who, with his mentor/partner Harry (Jeff Daniels) foils a plan by psycho bomber Howard (played with relish by Dennis Hopper) to blow up a group of people he has trapped in an elevator. But Howard has other plans and plants a bomb on a bus that will explode if its speed drops below 50mph. So Jack has to save the day aided by plucky passenger Annie (Sandra Bullock). The film rattles along at a grand old pace and has some fantastic stunts many of which Reeves reputedly performed himself. He and Bullock have a great screen chemistry and like all good action films it's not over even when you think it is. If you've never seen this then seek it out it's wonderful and if you have then time to have another look, you will not regret it.

A stupendous Roman epic that never fails to entertain even after seeing it many times. It's a stirring story with a really touching love story at its heart, a fantastic huge battle scene and a tearjerker ending. This is a cinema at its most spectacular and if you ever get a chance to see this on the big screen then I urge you to take the opportunity. With a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, who at the time was blacklisted for his communist sympathies, you'll find allegory to the McCarthyist witch hunts that plagued Hollywood in the 1950s. This film's success effectively lifted the blacklist once and for all. Kirk Douglas plays the title role in the story, set in 73BC, of a Roman slave who gets trained as a gladiator and leads a slave revolt which escalates across Italy forcing the Roman senate to send an army to destroy his slave army. This is led by Crassus, played by Laurence Olivier in a fantastic performance and the film has acting support from Peter Ustinov (who won an Oscar for his performance), Charles Laughton, Tony Curtis and Jean Simmons. There's wonderful Cinematography and the big set pieces are wonderful not least the climactic battle which for its time is quite realistic and bloody. There's political intrigue, romance, humour and gritty action in a wonderful epic of a film that everyone must see at least once. Brilliantly restored a few years ago with some lost scenes reinserted, including the infamous 'oysters and snails' conversation, this is a must see film. This is simply fantastic.

After battling aliens, herds of mercenaries and even Batman I suppose the devil was all someone thought was a big enough adversary for Arnold Schwarzenegger. With the obvious influence of The Omen (1976) this is basically a shoot em up action film combined with a horror narrative. It's really a very cheesy script and with some daft ideas even though Schwarzenegger gets to try some different character flaws as here he's a grieving father and husband, an alcoholic and depressive suicidal ex cop all rolled into one tough guy. He's Jericho Cane (it doesn't get any more biblical than that) who now works for a private security company in New York. In short after a failed assassination attempt on a client he gets caught up with the hunt for an innocent girl (Robin Tunney) who has been coveted by the devil, in the form of Gabriel Byrne, who must copulate with her before in the last hour of 1999 to bring about the 'end of days'. Armed with a veritable arsenal of weapons and with more or less everyone else as either a devil worshipper or a crazy priest of Cane sorts it all out. The devil is basically a sex addicted suave corporate type, so easily despised; the girl is young, virginal and beautiful, and everyone else is a basic staple of the two genres. The wisecracking partner (Kevin Pollack), the wise old priest (Rod Steiger), and the faithful devil worshippers (Udo Kier & Miriam Margolyes). This is a silly film really, it has some entertainment value but it's nowhere near the best of Schwarzenegger's action films.

This is best described as a psychological drama although it flirts around in the dark comedy arena, and not always successfully, so it's difficult to categorise and ultimately it makes it a strange and unfulfilling film. Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) is a timid, repressed young woman who cares for her alcoholic, abusive ex cop of a father (Shea Wigham) and works as a filing clerk at a local young male prison. The setting is the 1960s and we watch Eileen have various fantasies highlighting her sexual and occasional violent escape fantasies. She becomes emotionally excited by the arrival of a new, glamorous psychiatrist (Anne Hathaway) who begins to show an interest in Eileen. A sexual encounter seems on the cards as the relationship follows a similar one as seen in Carol (2015) but the narrative switches into a more sinister direction. This is a solemn and intense film that has its moments and the performances are watchable but you're left feeling a little baffled by it all.

The middle film in planned trilogies are notoriously difficult for the makers whose audience is aware this is not the conclusion of the story. However here director Nia DaCosta has triumphed with a horror film that is entirely unique and audacious and is tonally different and in that sense extremely compelling. Following on from 28 Years Later (2025) this zombie film feels different and fresh from the very beginning and like many films (and indeed TV series) in this sub genre it explores the horror in the survivors reactions and actions over that of the zombies. Young Spike (Alfie Williams), who left the security of his island fortress home in the previous film, has fallen into the gang run by Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell). Jimmy is a deranged psychopath who believes he's the son of the devil and on a mission to purify survivors through torture and death. Spike wants to escape and finds an ally in another of the gang. Meanwhile Ian (Ralph Fiennes), a former doctor, still survives and continues to build his monuments to the dead out of their bones. More importantly he's begun to study and relate to the 'alpha' zombie in the area. He calls him Samson and believes that there still might be some remnants of his humanity buried within. But when Jimmy and his gang come across Ian a bizarre interaction begins. This is a hugely clever horror film, the gory violence is quite shocking but this never tips into gratuitousness, it just adds the ingredient of violence to the inevitable conflicts that the film studies. The vision of the land returning to a pastoral wilderness contrasts brilliantly with the horrors that lurk all around. The 'infected' are still around and when they do appear it's jump scare time, although the most interesting take is in the development of the Samson character which lends a new side to this genre. There is always tension created when Samson is on scene but with an added sense of caring and emotion. This is where this is a superbly crafted film and it will be considered one of the best in the series. The coda sets it nicely up for the concluding film yet to come.

Director Joe Carnahan makes old school action genre films that are entertaining if somewhat unsubtle. The Rip is no exception but benefits from the big budget, a solid and clever script and that it stars two skilled dramatic actors with immensely strong screen charisma in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Based on real events this is an American action cop drama that you need to stick with to get full satisfaction because it takes awhile to bed in and it's important to concentrate early as everything is relevant. Damon is Dane, the commanding officer of a Miami based narcotics squad, and Affleck plays JD, the tough sergeant. They have an apparent frosty relationship which is exacerbated after the murder of their boss and the apparent slow progress on finding out who killed her. Dane gets a tip about cartel cash stored in a small house and he gets his team to raid it. What they find is far more money than they imagined and tensions begin to form within the squad over the money. Then they find they are suddenly under attack but is there more going on than is realised? Some neat action set pieces, solid performances and a conclusion that's more like a mystery whodunnit. This is like a 70s cop thriller and an entertaining potboiler. It's certainly a great thriller for a Saturday night viewing.

From the late 70s to the mid 80s Walter Hill made some really entertaining films, full of action and violence, the sort of B movie style that are great fun and exciting without being over pretentious. Strongly influenced by Sam Peckinpah, although without his poetic edge, Hill's films are usually about people struggling in a wild environment so they often have a survivalist theme. Southern Comfort is one of very best, and whilst he denied it, it's a blatant allegory of the Vietnam war and a sharp condemnation of American militarism and bigotry. Set in Louisiana where a squad of National Guardsmen (weekend soldiers!) are sent on an exercise into the swamps. What should be a simple task soon goes awry when one of them pulls a stupid trick on some local cajun hunters. The squad soon find themselves lost, leaderless and being hunted by the cajuns. It's gripping stuff and utilises the presence of a section of American society that live a separatist lifestyle away from mainstream society so in the sense this is narratively similar to Deliverance (1972). There's no romance or male bonding going on in this film it's a story of a real struggle for survival against nature and a very hostile enemy. With a great cast of Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward and a wonderful soundtrack by Ry Cooder this is a fantastic gem of a film and if you've never seen it then you're in for a real treat.

A genuinely captivating film, a romantic fantasy that has been adapted from a novel and imagines that William Shakespeare wrote his most famous play, Hamlet, as a consequence of his grief over the death of his young son. The film begins in a languid, almost ethereal way as it follows Agnes (Jessie Buckley) beginning with her sleeping foetal like at the base of two trees with co-joined roots. She is a child of the forest with a reputation as a 'forest witch'. Her beauty attracts a blossoming poet, Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), and they become lovers and then marry with Agnes already pregnant. Later they have twins, one of whom Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) is the apple of his father's eye. As Shakespeare's writing gains more fame he spends more time in London and whilst away tragedy strikes at home. Agnes reacts to William's subsequent return to London with anger but she discovers he's been expressing his deep grief in a new play. It has to be stressed this is not a historical biopic but it's a powerful fictional study of human connection, of loss and anguish. Buckley is captivating with every look, gesture and word expressing a deep emotional presence that makes the film heart wrenching at times. Mescal is also equally superb here portraying the male reluctance for outward emotion but bringing the depths of his pain in every nuance of his performance. This is a beguiling and beautiful film with two of the most talented actors of our time. A must see.

It's something to debate as to whether the memoir on which this based was ripe for a 21st century reimagination or not. The infamous 1974 film was basically a soft porn film that explored the relaxation in the depiction of cinematic sex that arose at that time with Sylvia Kristel portraying the title character as a naive and sexually inexperienced young woman who is lured mostly by exploitative others into bizarre sexual encounters. In this new version Noémie Merlant plays her as a more mature business woman on a troubleshooting mission to a luxury Hong Kong hotel ostensibly to get evidence to allow her bosses to sack the manager (Naomie Watts). But that storyline is by the by because the central narrative is on Emmanuelle as an aloof, somewhat moody woman who is seeking some hedonistic pleasure in sex with strangers. At the hotel she becomes intrigued with an enigmatic guest (Will Sharpe) who appears to have no desire for her. The trouble here is that this is a cold film, it fails to be one thing or another. Its erotic scenes are somewhat unsexy although Melant is a beautiful woman she portrays the main character as almost unable to gain any satisfaction from her encounters. The film lacks a sense of direction and its slow, languid feel in place and speech, leaves it a tiring experience. It's shame really because a modern take on this story could have been something original and interesting. Sharpe proves he's an actor of diverse talent playing the strange Kei as the most intriguing but it's the pacing and story arc that leaves his presence as almost boring. An average erotic drama that deserved better.