Film Reviews by GI

A David & Goliath underdog story that delves into the murkiness of hedge fund billionaires and Wall Street as a nerdy YouTuber manages to raise a small company's share price against the odds. This is based on a true story and has Paul Dano perfect in the role of Keith, a financial analyst and part time social media guru who correctly predicted that as the Covid 19 pandemic hit young people would be indoors playing computer games more so he invested some money in a small game store company and posted about it. People picked up on it and the share price rocketed making it a phenomenon. But some hedge fund billionaires had bet on the stock collapsing and consequently lost big time against it, causing a furore as the powerful tried to stop the ordinary investors from having their day! The film lacks the spark of similar films but it does manage to explain the complexities of system in a way that us ordinary folk can understand. There's a great cast too including Shailene Woodley as Keith's wife along with Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, Sebastian Stan and Vincent D'Onofrio as the shady and panicked billionaires. Interesting although not as compelling as, say, The Social Network (2010) or The Big Short (2015).

A compelling and at times shocking drama set in apartheid era South Africa. and one of the significant films made that exposed the racist regime and it's casual human rights violations. Ben (Donald Sutherland) is a white school teacher, a caring and gentle man but one who has routinely believed the propaganda of his government. When his black gardener Gordon (Winston Ntshona) comes to him to help find his son who has been arrested at a demonstration Ben finds that enquiries are met with a deep suspicion by the police and he soon finds his life is turned upside down as those he seeks to help turn up dead. The film has some unpleasant scenes of torture and violence including the random shooting of children by the state police but which are used to highlight the issues the film sought to raise. It was certainly a film that the South African government were keen to suppress! There's wonderful cast that includes Susan Sarandon as a journalist, Jürgen Prochnow as a ruthless police officer, Michael Gambon, and Marlon Brando as a barrister. At the time of it's release this was clearly a controversial and challenging film as the apartheid policy in South Africa was still alive and well, viewed today this remains a strong and disturbing story and a film well worth discovering if you haven't seen it.

This is a really entertaining and somewhat underrated sword & sorcery fantasy that keeps the essence of the original fairy tale (and there are some tiny homages to Disney's 1937 cartoon masterpiece) but is told as a dark adventure film. It steals blatantly from The Lord of The Rings trilogy but that actually makes it all the better and I've no doubt that without Peter Jackson's game changing films this would never have been made. The stand out here is Charlize Theron who channels the sinister and evil Queen Ravenna so brilliantly. It's a wonderful performance and shows just how good an actor she is. Having murdered the smitten king on their wedding night Ravenna imprisons his daughter, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in case she later proves useful and with the aid of her nasty brother (Sam Spruell) rules the kingdom through fear and the use of dark magic. The sets and cinematography are superbly created and director Rupert Sanders keeps the CGI down to a minimum using real buildings made for the film. Eventually Snow White escapes and the Queen hires The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to track her down in a dark forest. But Snow White is linked in some way to the land and nature and aided by a band of dwarf warriors she leads a rebellion against the Queen. The dwarfs are wonderfully cast including Bob Hoskins (in his last role), Ray Winstone, Toby Jones and Ian McShane and are reminiscent of the dwarves of LOTR, as are the dark forests, white horses, birds as friend or foe. There's monsters and mystical creatures, knights in armour and plenty of sword fighting This is a family film but with a dark edge especially in the battles and combat scenes. It's great fun, played totally seriously and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Don't be put off by the title by assuming this is a children's film, it's not, this is aimed at adults as much as teenagers. The original fairy story of vanity and jealousy is there but used only as the central core of a good fantasy film. Indeed personally I would have liked to see it as an even darker tale with more blood and guts in the battle scenes especially. Well worth checking out though.

Guy Ritchie's follow up film after the success of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) was, at the time, unfavourably compared to his debut because it was stylistically and in many ways narratively similar. But over the years Snatch has garnered its own fanbase because it's a highly entertaining caper film and has some really memorable and cult status performances. Brad Pitt as the Irish traveller, Mickey, is the one that most will instantly recall and it's anuncannily accurate the portrayal. Beginning with a jewellery robbery in Antwerp where a huge and much coveted diamond is stolen, the action moves to London where the diamond ends up and various criminals try to get ahold of it. Jason Statham moving up to the main lead after his break out role in Lock, Stock...,plays 'Turkish', a London petty criminal and illegal boxing promotor. He finds himself in the debt of the very nasty gangster, Brick Top (Alan Ford), and he becomes embroiled with Pitt's Mickey who happens to be a very accomplished bare knuckle fighter. The diamond acts as the film's 'MacGuffin' as everyone involved gets caught up with trying to find it. Vinnie Jones basically recreates his role from Lock, Stock..., and added into the mix is an early big part for Stephen Graham along with Lennie James, Mike Reid, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro and Rene Sherbedgia. The film is funny with touches of lunacy, brilliantly edited and cleverly plotted, full of cartoonish characters that are Ritchie's trademark and it's one you can return to time and time again and still enjoy. An adult, dark British crime comedy that is thoroughly entertaining and with a cleverly constructed plot.

Sneakers is a really entertaining thriller full of suspense, intrigue and humour. A neat conspiracy plot and a great all star cast and performances makes this hugely enjoyable and, if you've never seen this, it's a film I highly recommend. It has that caper style of narrative similar to the Mission Impossible Tv series. Robert Redford is Martin Bishop. He runs a small investigation company who specialise in security especially testing the systems of banks and similar corporations. He employs a crew of geeks and misfits including computer experts and ex CIA agents. Martin is blackmailed by Government agents to steal a code breaking machine or they will expose him over an old arrest warrant from years ago. It turns out that many others covet this machine and soon Martin and his crew find themselves caught up in a deadly espionage game. Co starring Mary McDonnell, Dan Aykroyd, River Pheonix, David Strathairn, Ben Kingsley and a cameo from James Earl Jones this is one of those films that keeps you hooked throughout, it's a tense story with twists and turns and also has some moments of real hilarity. lovely little film that is well worth checking out.

Director Ron Howard usually makes award tipped all American dramas with an edge of heroism usually with a likeable star. attached. With this film however we have a sort of survivalist drama set in the 1930s, an interesting and disturbing story that has a strong cast but occasionally is a bit too clunky and predictable. Believing that democracy leads to racism which leads to war on a never-ending cycle Ritter (Jude law), a German Doctor and his wife Dore (Vanessa Kirby) have left Germany as it drifts into Nazi control and live alone on a remote island in the Galapagos. Ritter shuns human society and writes about the need for change but his letters sent home find their way into newspapers and he unknowingly has a following back in Europe. This results in unwelcome visitors to the island, first come Heinz (Daniel Brühl), his wife Margret (Sydney Sweeney) and his son (Jonathan Tittel). After a frosty start Ritter comes to respect that Heinz and his family want the same as he does and they settle into an easy co habitation of the island. But then the narcissistic self titled Baroness Eloise (Ana de Armas) and her entourage of three men arrive with her claiming she intends to build a tourist hotel there. As bitterness rises between the parties and Eloise drives a wedge between everyone the primeval instincts of humanity come the fore with violence. The story doesn't get to grips with the characters and their motivations with any real sense of depth with the script being a little too flimsy, Vanessa Kirby's character is underwritten which is a shame, but overall this is an interesting drama that is like Lord Of the Flies with grown ups.

From the opening titles to the 1960s setting and the narrative structure and editing style this is clearly a film centred around director Steven Spielberg's love of Alfred Hitchcock and especially his late 50s and early 60s thrillers. To that end this is endlessly entertaining and whilst some of the plot is really unbelievable that simply adds to the sheer delight of the film as it homages such wonderful cinema as North By Northwest (1959) or Torn Curtain (1966). In a charming performance Leonardo DiCaprio is Frank Abagnale, based on a real conman, who learns from his small time grifter father (Christopher Walken) how to commit cheque fraud. he basically grows very adept at it and in addition can utilise disguise to con his way to defrauding banks and institutions from playing an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. The basic plot is a cat and mouse one as he is chased throughout by FBI Agent carl (Tom Hanks) who learns quickly how his prey operates after being fooled by him a few times. Carl runs the lowly Cheque Fraud Unit but soon identifies Frank is netting several millions by his actions. A piece of old school cinema with a great support cast that includes Jennifer Garner, Amy Adams, Martin Sheen, James Brolin and Elizabeth Banks. A Spielberg film that is worth rediscovering and possibly one that gets forgotten amongst his more celebrated and bigger films.

With this thriller we're in Fargo territory as Emma Thompson nails the Minnesota accent. She plays Barb, a kindly woman freshly widowed who heads out to a remote lake to scatter her husband ashes at the fishing site where they had their first date. But losing her way she stops at a remote cabin and disturbs a bizarre couple who have kidnapped a young girl. Without a phone signal and limited resources Barb decides she has to help the girl. This leads to a series of events as the nasty pair played by Judy Greer and Marc Menchaca try to deal with Barb as well as carry out their macabre plan involving the girl. It's an entertaining thriller with a first class lead performance from Thompson and whilst there are some plot holes this is a film that rattles along at a strong pace, has an alarming and twisted plot and a distinct chilly atmosphere. It's outrageously good fun.

This is an explosive, comic, action crime film that utilises the style of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) with its fast paced, multi stories and razor sharp editing. It's certainly a highly entertaining, violent film with a great cast and it rattles along at breakneck speed. Set in Las Vegas it concerns a seedy entertainer Buddy 'Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven) who has big mob connections but has decided to turn informer for the FBI and is hiding out in a plush hotel. The mafia have a massive contract out on him which attracts a host of top killers. FBI agents Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds, are also on their way to remove Israel into protective custody. When they all converge on the hotel mayhem ensues. The plot is very clever here too involving an FBI undercover operation from the 1950s and the relationships between various characters creates some neat twists. The cast includes Alicia Keys, in her first film, Andy Garcia, Ben Affleck, Joel Edgerton and Jason Bateman. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan this is great fun and well worth checking out if you've never seen it.

A zany, darkly humoured and violent crime flick from director Darren Aronofsky, which is very entertaining and filled with bizarre characters. Austin Butler stars as Hank, a washed up former baseball star whose fall from grace is told in a series of flashbacks. The only good thing in his life is his girlfriend played by Zoë Kravitz. His life takes a very nasty turn when his mohican haired English neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to look after his cat, which leads to him getting seriously beaten up by some Russian gangsters. As events around Hank get worse he has to find some resolve to fight back. And events really do go in some very unexpected directions. Brilliantly plotted and with some laugh out loud moments this is weird, fun and gloriously gonzo. I did find Hank recovered a little too quickly from a major tragedy during the events of the story but with it's great cast that includes Liv Schreiber, Carol Kane, Vincent D'Onofrio and Laura Dern has a mid end credits cameo this is a recommended film to check out. Surprisingly good.

A really entertaining mystery thriller that despite being set almost entirely in one room works very well and keeps up the tension even though the plot is obviously very contrived and occasionally fails to push itself in certain directions. Meghann Fahy plays Violet, an attractive single mum to Toby (Jacob Robinson). The film opens with Violet being attacked, an incident that becomes relevant to the main plot. She has, after many years, decided to go on a first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar), whom she has met only online. This takes place in a high rise, posh restaurant. Henry is a handsome, amiable chap but Violet begins to receive anonymous texts that indicate her son is being threatened and that she is being constantly watched. The texts tell her to do certain actions including murder or Toby will be killed. This one of those plots which focuses on who is controlling the 'game'. Several suspects are put forward during the film, and sometimes these are not followed through satisfactorily but overall this is a well directed thriller that uses its limitations of location very well. Eventually it moves into action territory as everything unfolds. Good, solid thriller and very enjoyable.

Star Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut is a return of his Adonis Creed character from the spin off series originating with the Rocky films. It's a highly polished but soulless boxing drama that follows the same format of most films in the genre and indeed this series. Now retired and a successful trainer and businessman as well as a happy family man Creed is thrown by the sudden return of an old friend from his teenage years. Damian (Jonathan Majors) has just been released from prison for a crime that partially involved Creed and now despite a warm approach has a dark agenda to get even with Creed. There's a couple of big boxing set pieces including the finale where Creed and Damian are the adversaries and these include the usual slow motion and ups and downs until the predictable conclusion. This is one for fans of the series and/or boxing films in general but overall it's routine stuff.

A needlessly incoherent and contrived psychological drama that fails to grip its plot and leaves you with a totally unsatisfied feeling. It seems to be a real jumble of ideas wrapped in a convoluted script that arguably needed some sorting out. The cast do their best but the characters, as written, are incomplete and as the viewer it's difficult, if nigh impossible, to get a handle on what is the film trying to actually say. Julia Roberts is Alma, a Yale University professor, up for renewal of her tenure. She is apparently idolised by one of her students, Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), whose very wealthy parents make donations to the University. Alma's husband (Michael Stulbarg) thinks Maggie has a crush on his wife. After a party at their house at which Maggie attends, Alma's colleague (and possibly ex-lover), Hank (Andrew Garfield) gets drunk and takes Maggie back home. Subsequently Maggie accuses Hank of sexual assault, which he denies, and creates a dilemma for Alma as to who to believe. With this basic storyline the pieces are in place for an in-depth look at this all too frequent scenario but this film drifts laboriously into complexity and ambiguity and results in a bit anticlimax. For added annoyance is the soundtrack which is not only intrusive but for some reason has a bomb like ticking bomb on it which doesn't increase any tension but simply cons you into thinking the film is heading somewhere and its a nuisance too! I can't help but feel this was a wasted opportunity considering the talent on offer and the nature of the story.

Unashamedly a soppy and very contrived love story designed to highlight that movie romances are simply fairy stories. It references and homages An Affair To Remember (1957) and in doing so it's a throwback to the classic romantic comedies of yesteryear. But none of this is a criticism because Sleepless In Seattle is a lovely, heartwarming American romcom with two charismatic leads who have real charisma even though they share very little screen time together. Tom Hanks plays Sam, who having lost his beloved wife to illness, moves with his 8 year old son Jonah (Ross Malinger) to Seattle to start a new life. Jonah, sensing his Dad's loneliness, one night calls a radio station asking for a new wife for his dad and inadvertently starts a nationwide story which is picked up by journalist, Annie (Meg Ryan). She begins to feel a strange connection with Sam despite never meeting him and which brings her own relationship into question. The course of their two stories drives them towards each other in a lovely story that defies all sense of reality but this is movie world and it all works a treat. Although this is not a Christmas film it sort of feels like one so it's a great film for that season. the support cast are excellent including Hanks real life wife Rita Wilson as well as Carey Lowell, Bill Pullman and Rob Reiner.

This is a riotous adult sports comedy that follows the antics of a failing American ice hockey team, the Charleston Chiefs. They are on a huge losing streak and consequently the team's mysterious owner is losing money and there are rumours the team is to be closed down. Veteran player/coach Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman in a performance that will be a big surprise if you've not seen this film) attempts to stall this by spreading false rumours the team is being sought after by a Florida buyer. But then the manager (Strother Martin) brings in the weird Hanson brothers, Jeff, Steve and Jack, to play on the team. Their style amounts to nothing more than fighting on the ice and as the crowd relishes the violence Reggie encourages the others to go all out with fights too and they begin not only to win but also to attract a huge following. But soon Reggie regrets the loss of a good sporting contest and winning by skill. This is really very, very funny and for it's time it's very profane and trying to say something about violence in art and media especially relevant in in the mid 70s when cinema was pushing the boundaries of screen violence and the exposure of it to young people. Viewed today it's a a great sports comedy, entertaining throughout and good to see Newman clearly having the time of his life (he often cited this as his favourite film). If you've never seen this then check it out it's great stuff.