Film Reviews by GI

Rather a gruesome film from director Ron Howard who is usually a bit more restrained but this western is a riveting experience. The story is a simple one but made exceptional by the performances and the character relationships which bolster the structure of the film. Cate Blanchett plays a frontier woman who has some medical skills and is often called upon to help her neighbours with ailments and injuries. She has two daughters and lives with a handsome rancher (Aaron Eckhart). One day her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones) turns up much to her consternation as many years ago he abandoned the family and went to live with Indians. But she finds she needs him when a renegade Apache (Eric Schweig) and his band kidnap her oldest daughter and other local girls. Father and daughter have to unite on the dangerous trail to rescue the abducted girls before they reach Mexico and are lost forever. The narrative adds in some interesting ideas around spiritual belief and there's the hint of the supernatural within the story. There are some great action set pieces and some nasty deaths. This is an entertaining film that deserves to find a new audience as it seems to have been a bit forgotten. With Val Kilmer in a small cameo and co-starring Evan Rachel Wood and Elisabeth Moss this is worth seeking out.

Partly written by Michael Crichton, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Jan de Bont you really can't go wrong with this action adventure with it's witty dialogue, great effects and a sort of ensemble cast led by Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt aided by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cary Elwes and Lois Smith. A disaster type movie with extreme weather as the cause, in this case tornadoes which are given their own personality to add to the menace even though the sheer size is enough. The opening tragedy sets the film up as an emotional ride as storm chaser Dr Jo Harding (Hunt) leads a team trying to get close enough to a tornado to launch a new device into its centre. Her estranged husband Bill (Paxton) shows up, who invented the device, with his new girlfriend wanting his divorce papers signed. But of course he's lured back to his instinctive passion for storm chasing and of course they're still in love with each other! Add all this together and you have a pure, adrenalin filled entertainment that is simply great fun.

With nowhere to go with the Toy Story franchise Pixar released this origin story for the iconic Buzz Lightyear with an opening credits explanation that this is the film that inspired the merchandise that so enthralled Andy, the boy from the first film, that he wanted his own Buzz toy. This is an entertaining addition to the Toy Story series even though it's limited to just the one character from the original films, it has plenty of humour although it drags on a little too long and is really for fans longing for Buzz Lightyear's return. Here, voiced by Chris Evans, Buzz is responsible for his exploration spaceship crashing on a distant plant thus stranding the 1200 persons aboard. He vows to put things right by redeveloping the fuel necessary for them to escape the planet. But in typical Buzz fashion things got awry, over and over again, eventually resulting in Buzz and some new friends having to battle a robot army. Josh Brolin and Taika Waititi lend voice duties. There's some fun to be had here but the film lacks the wit and originality of the main series.

With a Grindhouse vibe this noir thriller is great not least due to the top performance from Kristen Stewart, an actor of considerable talent. She plays Lou, the manager of a small town gym, where she has the mundane duties of clearing blocked toilets and dealing with the testosterone fuelled customers. Then into her life comes Jackie (Katy O'Brien), a gay body builder, devastatingly attractive and passing through on her way to a competition in Las Vegas. They begin a relationship and fall in love but Lou introduces her to steroids which affects Jackie in a surreal way especially when the two of them have to contend with Lou's nasty brother in law (Dave Franco) and his abuse of her sister (Jena Malone) and Lou's crimelord father (Ed Harris), a seedy gun range owner with a very bad past. This is a tale of murder, revenge all wrapped around a theme of feminine control. It goes in directions you'll not expect and is a constant joy, very often because it is firmly tongue in cheek and humorous. What's particularly great here is that whilst it goes over-the-top it also remains very subtle mostly due to the fantastically nuanced performance of Stewart.

This epic film is a visionary masterpiece. It's a long film and was savagely cut by the studio on its initial release resulting in it gaining a poor reputation. But when it was later restored to director Sergio Leone's final cut it was revealed as a masterclass in modern film making. Its a gangster film and along with some of Leone's other films it's a study of the birth fo modern America. Robert De Niro, in one of his finest roles, is David 'Noodles' Aaronson who returns to New York in 1968, thirty five years after fleeing the city. His return sparks his memories of the 1920s & 30s when he was a member of a gang of four who rise from street gang to run a powerful organised crime group during the prohibition. His close friendship with Max (James Woods), who gradually becomes more erratic and unpredictable, forces Noodles to betray him. With the narrative cleverly cutting between the various timelines and with a stunningly beautiful and realistic recreation of a period New York this is not only a really engrossing film but also one that has some staggeringly marvellous scenes. There's some sharp and gritty violence and some of it is uncomfortable to watch but overall this is an elegiac piece of film art and you'll struggle to find a movie as good as this. With Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci and others in the cast there's little to find wrong even when the film may seem a little enigmatic. If you've never seen this film then it really is one you should seek out as soon as possible.

This is a comedy/horror misfire, a film that is trying to be a teen coming-of-age comedy and a Heathers cum Beetlejuice (both 1988) horror spoof all at the sometime and effectively being mediocre at both. I found the film a bit of a bore to be frank. Lisa is an introverted teenager mostly due to her mother having been murdered by a mad axe murderer and now she's growing up with her father and new stepmother (Carla Gugino) who is an acid tongued cow! On a fateful night Lisa has her party drink spiked by a nasty schoolmate and a violent storm reanimates a 19th century corpse in a nearby cemetery. Lisa befriends the corpse (Cole Sprouse) and decides to help him regain his lost body parts and help him to full restoration via a faulty tanning machine. It's all rather silly and haphazard in tone and pace. It's certainly nowhere near the great comedy/horrors that have been made.

A typical British underdog story that bears similarities to The Dig (2021), a much better told story, where an amateur battles with the establishment. Based on real events although with some controversy as the actual persons involved have criticised the way events have been portrayed here. This is the story of amateur historian Philippa Langley's (Sally Hawkins) dogged determination to find the remains of Richard III, eventually uncovered in a Leicester car park. Into this story we are given the family drama of Langley and her collapsing marriage to husband, John (Steve Coogan, who also wrote the screenplay) and her battles with mental illness. These are used as devices to highlight her struggles to get a search organised by the University of Leicester and the established archaeological and historical academics. Where the film takes on a thread of ridiculousness is in it's putting front and centre that Langley is driven by feelings and hunches rather than research and these feelings are given to her by her hallucinating that Richard III (Harry Lloyd) is visiting her and giving her clues. I suspect this is where Coogan has attempted to give the story a vague comedic slant. Whatever the reasons it makes the film seem daft and despite the solid central performance by Hawkins I'm left with the view this story would have been better served by a more serious script. Additionally the clichéd characterisations of some of the establishment, for instance Lee Ingleby's University representative as a misogynstic, condescending individual, is unnecessary when showing the scepticism that Langley no doubt faced. A film that is a bit of a let down.

A charming comedy drama from writer/director John Carney that follows a theme he's pursued in other films namely that music can be a transformative power. With Eve Hewson giving a magnificent and quite nuanced performance as Flora, a Dublin based single mum, who had a baby as a teenager and has regretted it since. Her son, Max (Orén Kinlan) is repeatedly in trouble with the law for shoplifting and they have a confrontational relationship. Flora rescues a damaged guitar from a skip and has it repaired for Max's birthday but he rejects it so she decides to learn herself. This decision brings her into an online flirtation with Los Angeles based guitar tutor, Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who teaches her about the power of music. Soon she and Max begin to bond over his passion to for electronic music and their lives begin to take on a new beginning. Jack Reynor costars as Flora's ex husband and Max's father. This is a simple, straightforward story with a soft centre and whilst it has it's flaws it's an entertaining film with an undeniably star lead actor in Hewson and it's well worth your time.

This humble, low budget gem of a film will warm the cockles of your heart. Set in Dublin it's a romantic, humorous drama about a young busker (Glen Hansard) who has a talent for songwriting but doesn't know how to get a music career going. Then one day he meets a young Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová) and she encourages him to play, write and record his songs with her help. They slowly and gently fall in love during their journey together. Director John Carney shot using long lenses for the street scenes so ordinary people were caught up in the everyday drama. The music by Glen Hansard (of the band The Frames and who also had a small part in 1991s The Commitments) is fantastic and the songs essentially tell the story of the love that blossoms between the two main characters. This film has been much admired by the likes of Steven Spielberg for its simplicity and beautiful story and it really is a delight. There are some wonderful moments that are very subtle and watched carefully you can see where the these two young people begin to fall in love. What a little cracker of a film, there was even a stage show based upon it after it's reputation grew. If you've never seen this then I highly recommend it.

This remains one of the finest of American motion pictures notable for introducing Marlon Brando's genius to the screen. He plays Terry Malloy, a low level dock worker who once had a chance at a major boxing title but being under the control of corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) cost him his chance. When Terry inadvertently lets Friendly's thugs find and murder Joey, an informer, Terry's conscience is awakened. When he begins to fall for Joey's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and his brother Charlie (Rod Steiger) is also murdered and influenced by a local priest (Karl Malden) Terry agrees to testify against Friendly at risk to his own life. This is ahead of its time for a Hollywood film, a story of corruption and social injustice and a crime/social drama that it's difficult to top. A gritty realistic portrayal of organised crime, the ineffectiveness of the justice system and the story of the small man rapped behind a culture of violence and suppression. A key American film and a must see. All the performances are topnotch and the film won 8 Oscars including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

A drama about conceit, grief and ultimately revenge with Richard E. Grant having the time of his life being let loose as a subtle yet monsterish diva. This is an amusing story with much to applaud and the film pulls you along in the knowledge there is something to be revealed. Ultimately it may feel a little bit of a let down but the journey is definitely worth your time. Grant plays Sinclair, a renowned novelist, who lives with his art collector wife, Hélène (Julie Delpy) and their teenage son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) in a large country house with extensive grounds and a lake. The family are consumed with grief over the death of their eldest son and Sinclair has retreated into a moody isolation supposedly to write his next bestseller. Bertie is a morose, introverted lad and his parents employ Liam (Daryl McCormack), an aspiring author in awe of Sinclair, to tutor Bertie through the entrance exams for Oxford University. But Liam begins to see another side to the family and not everyone is telling the truth. The story feels like an Agatha Christie mystery at times and certainly the scenario of the country house with the butler and a dysfunctional set of inhabitants lends itself to that vibe. The film isn't like that in plot although there is one. This is more a study of awful people, who believe they amount to more than they actually do. Intriguing and very watchable.

It could be argued that after the originality of the A Quiet Place (2018) and its 2020 sequel there would be little left to add to this story. But here's a prequel that adds a disaster movie vibe, a great lead performance and actually nicely sets the scene for the events of the original film. In that one the survivors of the alien invasion have learnt how to live in silence whereas here the sudden arrival of hordes of predatory alien creatures that hunt by the slightest sound but are blind, means survivors have to adapt very, very quickly indeed. This is set in New York and follows terminal cancer sufferer Samira (Lupita Nyong'o), who is caught in the city when the aliens arrive. Managing to escape the initial onslaught she meets Eric, a shy British man, and they both travel through the city trying to survive the constant presence of the creatures, which have a nasty habit of creeping right up to your face in their hunt for you. This is not the only similarity you can spot to Ridley Scott's iconic Alien, there's also Samira's service cat which senses the creatures. Indeed the cat is a plot device a little overused here but this is a small niggle because this is a well made, gripping science fiction/horror/survival film that entertains throughout and fits nicely with the other two. Dijon Hounsou has a support role linking this with the later films. If you liked the first two then this is worth your time.

The Omen remains a genuinely unsettling and riveting horror film. It rattles along at breathtaking speed with great characters, it's essentially a mystery thriller with dark religious based plot. Gregory Peck, who at the time had been retired for a few years and whose presence here lends the film extra gravitas, plays Robert Thorne. He's an American diplomat married to Kathy (Lee Remick) who is desperate to have a child and is a bit highly strung. When their son, born in Rome, is stillborn Robert decides to prevent undo heartache for Kathy by agreeing to unofficially adopt a baby whose mother has died the same night. He keeps this a secret from his wife who believes the child is hers. Five years later and Robert is now the US ambassador to Great Britain when he gets a visit from a bizarre priest who warns him that his son, Damien, is not what he seems. After a series of violent deaths linked to Damien Robert, with the help of a photographer (David Warner), sets off to find out where Damien really did originate from. Director Richard Donner cleverly decided to have nothing supernatural occur so the horror comes from atmosphere, dark shadows and the soundtrack is very spooky (although the deaths are very shocking). The supporting characters are fantastic especially Billie Whitelaw who plays the sinister Mrs Baylock and Patrick Troughton as Father Brennan. This is a film that is one of the best horror films about satanic worship and it's up there with The Exorcist (1973) and it's definitely one to see if you've never had the chance. It was pointlessly remade in 2006 so if that's in your mind forget it, this original is topnotch. The sequels are all average so forget those but see this if you haven't already.

Another marvellous Dickens adaptation from director David Lean after Great Expectations (1946). The use of dark shadows creating a dingy vision of the 'dark satanic mills' of Victorian London, the film deviates from the novel only in so much as to avoid story complications and too much exposition but for the most part it's an accurate adaptation. The film is probably remembered most for the fantastic performance by Alec Guinness as Fagin, a role from which he was later accused of anti-Semitism forgetting of course that the almost comic book character is a direct lift from Dickens. It is a great portrayal and aided by Robert Newton as Sikes who always could play baddies so well despite his acute alcoholism. It's story of young Oliver who is raised in the draconian world of the workhouse, who runs away to London where he gets mixed up with a gang of thieves led by Fagin and Sikes. But his past holds a secret which leads him to danger and ultimately salvation. It's actually a dark tale of repression, murder and death and like the novel is a study of class and poverty. This version by a master director is a must see film, a classic British picture from a time when British cinema was at it's height. A film that is simply excellent.

This was the first film Sean Connery made after his last 007 outing in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and quite a departure it is too. A compelling, tense British psychological crime drama that really shows what a fantastic actor Connery is. It's also a very realistic depiction of the British police in the 1970s and an intricate and involved study of post traumatic stress. After a series of rapes of young children the police are struggling to find the culprit. When another girl goes missing Detective Sergeant Johnson (Connery) is part of the search party and finds her abandoned in woodland after being raped. When Kenneth Baxter (Ian Bannen) is bought in after being found drunk in the town and suspected of being the rapist, the years of dealing with death and the aftermath of violent crime push Johnson over the edge with dire consequences. Director Sidney Lumet uses an interesting timeline to show the change in the characters with the centre piece being Johnson's interrogation of Baxter and the subsequent interview of Johnson by Superintendent Cartwright (Trevor Howard). You may find these a little long but this is a film based on character so don't expect an action film although it does have some disturbing images and Lumet edits to create key links between the players and their motives. It really is a first class film and an example of top British 70s filmmaking.