Film Reviews by GI

Director Duncan Jones second feature and an intricate, brilliantly constructed sci-fi thriller that races along at a great pace. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Army Captain Colter Stevens who finds himself aboard a commuter train heading into Chicago but has no memory of how he came to be there. When the train explodes killing all on board Colter awakes in an experimental capsule where he is told that he is on a special mission to find the bomber on the train by the use of a revolutionary device that enables him to be transported back to relive the eight minutes before the explosion over and over again. Each time he has to add to his knowledge to expose the killer. But there are aspects of the experiment that the controllers keep from him. With a great support cast of Michelle Monaghan (always underused in films), Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright this has an originality to it that makes it very entertaining and it remains enjoyable even after seeing it before, as you can spot the clues that are littered along the way as to what is going on. Jones has kept the film to a quite short running time packing it with a sharp story and gritty plot. This is a little gem and if you loved Jones' first film, Moon (2009), then check this out.

Thematically and visually complicated drama from director Peter Greenaway. This is an allegorical story that depicts the religious and political affect of totalitarianism and tyranny as depicted in the monstrous character of Albert played by Michael Gambon. Albert is a brutal, ignorant gangster who owns an opulent restaurant run by Richard led by French chef Richard (Richard Böhringer). Nightly Albert arrives with his entourage, terrorising staff and other customers as well as dishing out violence to those he takes a dislike to. His abused wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) accompanies him. But one night she spots another diner, the quiet book reading Michael (Alan Howard), and they soon begin an affair within the restaurant carefully protected by the chef and his staff. But when Albert finds out he responds with excessive and cruel violence but Georgina decides enough is enough. Clearly influenced by the Restoration period of English history this is film that uses colour and sumptuous sets to recreate the vision of corruption, tyranny and violence in contrast to love, intellectualism and humanity. There's a a lot to unravel here and whilst this is not an easy film it's certainly original and interesting with superb performances particularly from Gambon and Mirren. An arthouse crime drama that is unique and challenging.

A superb action/adventure drama and one of the great unsung films of the 70s. A remake of the French film The Wages of Fear (1953) although the credits indicate the source novel is what has been used for this adaptation. Sorcerer was a massive box office failure upon it's original release mainly for two reasons, firstly it came out at the same time as Star Wars: A New Hope and secondly it didn't boast any major star names even though Roy Scheider had been in the hugely successful Jaws (1975). But in recent years Sorcerer has been rediscovered, fully restored for DVD and BluRay and it's a minor masterpiece by a director at the top of his game. Four desperate men (one with an agenda perhaps) are hiding out in a South American country, each of them on the run from different countries. They get hired by a mining company to carry a load of unstable explosives in two trucks across 200 miles of hazardous jungle and mountain terrain. The first part of the film shows the incidents where the four men end up as fugitives with stories in Mexico, Jerusalem, Paris and New York and then the latter part of the film is the gruelling journey with the explosives, which are so volatile they could explode if jarred too much. It's a brilliantly filmed story and the journey especially is gritty and exciting with some fantastic stunt work as the two trucks have to navigate over fast flowing rivers and through dense jungle, it's actually one of the great thrillers of the 70s and a quite visceral experience to see on the big screen. A really great film and definitely a little gem that you should definitely look out for.

The famous story that the set of The Exorcist (1973) was in some way haunted or possessed has carried on over the years and here we have the son of Jason Miller, that film's star, Joshua John Miller, directing a horror film about a demonically possessed film set. It was probably a decent idea but what we have is a choppy and fragmented film that lacks any real depth and must have been a nightmare to edit. Starring Russell Crowe, in another of his B movie roles, it's a film that dips into various themes but never grips any of them and fails totally to produce a narrative that makes any real sense. Crowe is Tony, a once famous actor who succumbed to drink and drugs and is now in recovery, he also has a haunted childhood after abuse by a priest. He lands the central role of a priest in what seems to be a remake of the The Exorcist after the first cast actor dies in mysterious circumstances. It appears thereafter that a demon has possessed the film set and eventually infects Tony. His daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to deal with him aided by a priest (David Hyde Pierce) who is the film's advisor on all things demonic! Sam Worthington has a small role and gets to die nastily but otherwise apart from Crowe getting to play both possessed and exorcist more or less in the same scene this is a bit of a mess.

Director Neil Marshall tries to be a Guy Ritchie wannabe with this cockney crime drama that suffers from a painful script, very obviously staged fights and set pieces and a lead actress with a limited range of facial expressions of acting ability in Charlotte Kirk, who happens to be Marshall's girlfriend. This is a silly, violent crime/revenge thriller with Kirk as a street wise London pickpocket who catches the eye of a bent diamond smuggler and ends up as the love of his life. He introduces her into his violent world and gaining the nickname Duchess the film charts her rise in the criminal world. The film is littered with pointless slo-mo, usually of Kirk emerging from a swimming pool, voiceovers like Ritchie's early London crime films. Stephanie Beacham cameos as a nasty bitch and Colm Meaney makes an appearance that is for no reason other than to say he's in the film! Sean Pertwee co-stars and is the only redeeming thing about this film. It's sequel friendly ending is a worry though so hopefully we''l be spared that. It's utter tosh.

A typical John Wayne vehicle from the mid 60s and made just after he had had major surgery as part of his cancer treatment. It's a mildly entertaining western that doesn't try and do anything with the genre other than allow Wayne and his cast to have some roustabout punch ups, some comedy thrown in and a climactic shoot out. It's essentially the age old story of the old west coming up against the new west. When their mother dies four brothers reunite for her funeral and find she has been conned out of her land and money by a rich businessman who probably also murdered their father. Wayne is the reputed gunfighter, John, Dean Martin the second brother who is wanted for murder and Earl Holliman and Michael Anderson Jr the two youngest. The age difference between them is obvious and unrealistic but this is just a film that is designed to be nothing more than a bit of fun and a release for the then highly popular Wayne. Henry Hathaway directs but he utilises Fordian styles in the presentation and in many ways this is an example of the western as it was starting to fade in popularity and just as the spaghetti western phase was beginning as the genre began a key revisionist period. It's all good fun but not Wayne's best by any stretch.

Director Jonathan Demme's 80s romcom that breaks the conventions of the genre and becomes something else entirely and for that, in many ways, it's a unique film for its time. Basically it's a boy meets girl story on the surface as boring, yuppie Charlie (Jeff Daniels), newly promoted at work, craftily attempts to leave a restaurant without paying in a personal act of societal rebellion but is challenged by the sexy and erotic Lulu (Melanie Griffiths), who basically takes him on a short road trip of sex and risky episodes as Charlie effectively becomes Lewis Carroll's Alice and on a crazy whim jumps down the rabbit hole with Lulu as a temptress who will alter the course of his life. But when she takes him back home to her small-town and a high school reunion pretending they are married they have to contend with her psychopathic ex-con husband Ray (Ray Liotta - in his first major film role). The film then turns into a cat and mouse game as Ray claims Lulu back for himself but doesn't bank on Charlie's uncharacteristic reaction. The film's climactic violence is a stark contrast to the somewhat whimsy of the first half of the film making this closer to, say, Blue Velvet (1986) than a traditional romcom. Daniels is superb as the rabbit caught in the headlights of Lulu's sexual charm and her wayward, wild lifestyle. Griffiths is nuanced and sexy and Liotta quietly menacing. It's a film worth rediscovering and an 80s film that sometimes gets forgotten.

One of the great American comedies and still a riot with a fantastically witty script and very memorable lines and arguably some interesting things to say about sexuality. It's essentially a farce with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two down-on-their-luck musicians in Prohibition era Chicago. When they inadvertently witness a mafia killing they are forced to flee the city. Disguising themselves as Josephine and Daphne they join an all girl swing band making their way to Florida. Soon 'Josephine' finds himself attracted to one of the girls, Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) and 'Daphne' finds a rich millionaire has taken a fancy to him. This obviously sets the narrative up with some hilarious cross dressing antics including a famous Cary Grant impression by Curtis. The subject of cross dressing and the slightly implied gay attractions that occur between both men and women was boundary pushing for the late 50s and did give the film a controversial reputation but it soon became a big hit and it's one of director Billy Wilder's best films amongst many great ones. The cast are impeccable and despite stories of her on set shenanigans, not knowing her lines and her limitations as an actor Monroe is a charm and I think this is one of her best performances. George Raft and Pat O'Brien have support roles resurrecting their gangster film personas from yesteryear. A cinematic masterpiece and definitely one of those films everyone should see at least once.

Highly derivative but somewhat absorbing zombie film that riffs on similar films such as 28 Days later (2002), Annihilation (2018) and the Tv series The Last Of Us and utilises amnesia as a narrative tool in a similar way to Memento (2000). This Canadian production tries to take the virus induced zombie narrative and add an interesting twist. A young man, Ethan (Douglas Smith) wakes up in a crashed car but has no memory of how he got there only that he was with his girlfriend Emma (Kimberley-Sue Murray), who his now missing. He finds he's in a post apocalyptic countryside and is taken in by Mae (Carrie-Anne Moss), a confident woman who has survived. But heading off, despite her advice, to look for Emma he discovers there are corpses that have intertwined with trees and plants roaming around needing human flesh. Only Mae can give him the answers he needs. There's a cleverish twist that you'll probably work out before it's revealed but the film lacks any real shocks, horror or nastiness despite an attempt to deliver a different type of zombie albeit The Last Of Us is a clear influence on this. It's a B movie horror flick that has some entertainment value but overall it's a film that doesn't take the genre much further.

A compelling and indeed quite haunting drama that combines musical, courtroom and crime all in a film that feels rather unique from director Lars von Trier. Björk, with an award winning performance, plays Selma, a Czech immigrant working in a metalworks factory in Washington State, USA. She has a young son and cleverly hides a degenerative eye condition that is gradually making her blind and which she suspects her boy has too. She's a gentle, naive and kind hearted woman who finds her happiness in Hollywood musicals. In times of stress she daydreams she is part of a musical dance with these scenes played out for us, the audience. In many ways the representation of Selma's inner thoughts as musical dance numbers encapsulates how film musicals represent the emotions of the characters in it's purest form. Her life is ruptured when her landlord, Bill (David Morse), the local town sheriff, steals her savings that she has for an operation to cure her son's failing eyesight. When she confronts him the situation deteriorates leading to Selma facing a trial. This is a moving story and whilst the trademark handheld camera work that von Trier uses and the improvised nature of the script may be a bit jarring the film is enhanced by the realist styling that this provides. The cast are excellent and include Catherine Deneuve and Peter Stormare in an unusual but interesting and riveting film. The film's climax is both shocking and slightly surreal.

This second spin off film in the Star Wars saga is far better than any of the hackneyed and overdone final trilogy and like Rogue One (2016) it utilises story aspects from the original trilogy to make an exciting, adventure science fiction film. Admittedly you have to be very familiar with the Star Wars saga especially episodes 4 to 6 but the decision to look at the early life of Han Solo is a sound one, he is arguably the most charismatic and interesting character from the SW world and Alden Ehrenreich manages to channel Harrison Ford's mannerisms nicely to give the character some warmth, humour, combined with great action all within a good story. So the film starts with Solo as an orphan under the control of a nasty gangster and along with his lover, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) he plans to escape to become a pilot. But their plans go awry and Solo gets away but Qi'ra is trapped. Years later Solo, still yearning to find Qi'ra, joins a criminal gang led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and after a robbery goes wrong they have to steal a shipment of hyper fuel for top baddie Dryden (Paul Bettany) and need a very fast ship to do so as the journey requires speed and daring. Here we get to see how Solo meets Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and how he acquires the iconic Millennium Falcon, all presented in a grungy set of worlds that makes the film dark and mysterious. There's plenty of great set pieces especially the attempt to steal a shipment from a hi-speed train but what's especially good about this film like Rogue One before it, it doesn't need to bring in the tired old Star Wars stuff like Jedi warriors etc. The support cast are brilliant including Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a droid, Thandie Newton and Warwick Davis has a cameo. Great entertainment, an underrated Star Wars film that deserves re-evaluation and well worth checking out again.

A powerful and gripping Second World War drama and one of the best films about resistance fighters. It's based on a true story and memoir although the names have been changed and some characters condensed. It's also one of director Paul Verhoeven's more interesting Dutch films and if you only know his work from his famous USA made films like Robocop (1987) and Total Recall (1990) then this will be a real treat. Set in Holland the story follows a group of university friends who find their education cut short as the Germans invade. Each of them gets mixed up in different ways with the resistance until, as the war progresses, some of them escape to England for training and are then sent back on covert missions. The story mostly follows Erik (Rutger Hauer), who is at first reluctant to get involved believing the war will end quickly but as friends are killed he soon becomes embroiled in the conflict until he finally gets to England. The film is a gritty and realistic story with some splashes of violence but there's also love and above all friendship. This is the main theme of the film as it's a story of loyalty and honour and shows how close friends were forced to take different paths during the war. Susan Penhaligon and Edward Fox have supporting roles in what is a first class war film that you should check out if you've never seen this.

A really quite typical 1970s western that pushed the envelope for screen violence and gained itself a reputation as a result. The trouble with Soldier Blue is that in there is a decent film trying to get out and in the hands of a better, more nuanced director it could have been a masterpiece but Ralph Nelson litters the film with blood squib violence sometimes with slow motion added all rather pointlessly and the films structure at times feels clumsy and childish. But where the film works well is in its central narrative which is a surprisingly tender romance mixed with a survival story. Candice Bergen, in what is probably her most famous role, is Cresta, a former Cheyenne captive, 'rescued' by the cavalry and who is now being escorted back to her fiancé, an army officer. Her escort is massacred in an exciting set piece battle and she escapes along with Honus (Peter Strauss), a naive and prudish soldier. They have to make it across hostile wilderness pitted against the land, Indians and a nasty Indian trader (Donald Pleasance in a wonderful performance) and of course they eventually fall for each other, rather surprisingly actually as they are thoroughly ill matched in every way, and their love changes Honus' attitude to the Indians who he has previously viewed as violent savages and his comrades as noble and morally sound soldiers. The eventual final massacre is the controversial one with the US Army attacking a peaceful Indian village and murdering women and children and dismembering bodies in a blood frenzy. It's clearly an allegory to the Vietnam War and reported American atrocities but the scenes of violence here, designed to shock, are so poorly edited and structured that any emotional impact is lost. Besides the film was heavily cut and that too has weakened its intent. On a more positive note this is an important addition to the revisionist westerns of the 70s despite its controversies. Today it's worth watching for its attempt to reposition the Native American in a genre that has made them nearly always the villain even though other films have done this far better. There's an absolutely marvellous theme song and in the final analysis the film does highlight the genocide of Native Americans more so than any other film I can think of. Worth seeking out if you've never seen it and rewatching if you just remember the nasty bits and have forgotten the overall story.

An absurdist character study of a quite unpleasant chancer wrapped up in a film that could be mistaken for a sports movie but which doesn't go down that line at all. There's no doubt the performances here are exemplary and potentially award winning especially Timothée Chalamet in the title role and Gwyneth Paltrow as a former movie star (a shout out to for Abel Ferrara in a cameo role that is quite sinister too). Marty Mauser is a shoe salesman in the early 50s New York who has a talent as a table tennis player. It's not a popular or well known sport in the US but Marty sees his chance for fame and glory within it and totally believes in himself. But when he's runner up to a calm and brilliant Japanese player in the British Open Championships Marty sees that he has to find a way to get into the World Finals in Japan and beat his nemesis. To do this he will con and manipulate his way through friends, girlfriends and various relatives with little, if any, conscience. This includes his married girlfriend who is carrying his baby and famous actress Kay (Paltrow) who he cons into his bed and her rich, but ruthless, businessman husband (Kevin Leary) who gets his revenge on Marty in a quite sadistic way. This is a frenetic film that comprises of a series of set piece incidents that show Marty as a deeply narcissistic exploiter out for his own ends. There's nothing redeeming about him at all despite an apparent attempt by the end of the film to sort of show he has finally found something worthwhile other than himself. There are some quite shocking scenes that are wrapped up in a slapstick style story that is very authentic looking but which leaves you a bit empty. You'll either think the pure craziness of this film is a marvel or that you've watched a film about a very unpleasant young man who deserves the tears he feels at the end despite the poignancy with which the final scene is delivered. Interesting film with great performances and no doubt it will be on the award circuit but I was left a little underwhelmed by it.

A unique vision of a post apocalyptic near future from director Bong Joon Ho. Set in the 2030s and the Earth has become a frozen wasteland with all life extinct except for a few surviving people who are on an ark. This is a massive train that circumnavigates around the world completing one circle every year. For seventeen years the train has been perpetually moving while those aboard have become divided by the privileged at the front sections and those at the rear sections who are fed a protein jelly and kept in their place by armed guards controlled by the sinister Minister (Tilda Swinton). But Curtis (Chris Evans) is planning a revolt and intends to take over control of the engine but the journey to the front of the train will prove to be a hazardous one. This is an exciting story and with a superb cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, John Hurt and Ed Harris. It's full of action and tension and with a clever vision of a dystopian, fascist state evolving on the train. The images of the frozen wasted planet outside are stunning and the film has some very keen plot twists that keep it rattling along at a great pace. A narrative that explores the twists and turns of human political history, it's both thought provoking and highly entertaining. It spawned a TV series but as a dystopian futuristic film this has a unique vision.