Film Reviews by GI

A disturbing and yet vibrant crime drama that recreates the true story of the FBI's infiltration of the Black Panther movement in the late 60s in order to bring down the charismatic head of the Illinois chapter, Fred Hampton (David Kaluuya). This is a revealing look at a sad chapter of the USA's battle with civil rights and the film attempts to show the true ethos of the Black Panther movement and the extremes to which the authorities, here epitomised by J.Edgar Hoover, creepily played by Martin Sheen, and Agent Mitchell (Jesse Plemons in a subtly menacing performance). Mitchell forces petty criminal Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stansfield), on threat of imprisonment, to join and rise up in the Black Panther movement and supply intelligence on Hampton. The story is the struggle of O'Neal as he becomes torn between his role as informant and his growing relationship with Hampton. It's a tragic story that ends in a state approved murder with O'Neal playing an intregal part. The film is cleverly constructed and the performances are all really good especially Kaluuya, who reminded me so much of Keith David in his mannerisms here, and Stansfield, who captures O'Neal's complex position and emotions. The core of the film is their contradictory relationship. However, it is a very speech ridden film and at times I found this was wearing on my attention span. There's no doubt the story is an important one but the film is a bit labouring at times which makes for a viewing experience that tests ones patience. Worth checking out though.

Whilst an interesting story from an historical perspective and despite the all star cast this is an over talky Second World War drama that has that air of Colonel Blimp about it. It seems that the core of the story wasn't enough so it's been puffed out to include love affairs and personal jealousies in side plots that peter out and go nowhere. This is the story of a British covert intelligence operation in 1943 to have the Germans find a dead body that is carrying secret documents alluding to a panned allied invasion of Greece instead of Sicily, which is the real strategy. This is dreamed up by Naval intelligence officer Ewen (Colin Firth), whilst dealing with marital problems, aided by RAF intelligence officer, Charles Cholmondeley (now there's upper class British name for you!) (Matthew Macfadyen). Of course they have trouble getting the higher ups to agree, in the form of a grumpy Admiral (Jason Isaacs) until good ol' Winston (Simon Russell Beale) backs it personally. The tense nature of the plan is told mostly through lots of hand wringing in smoke filled offices while Ewen and Charles moon over their assistant Jean (Kelly Macdonald). This love triangle is distracting and lessens the more interesting story as the discovery of the body by the Spanish doesn't always go to plan. Thes tory has been told before in The Man Who Never Was (1956) and the core of the idea was used in North BY Northwest (1959) but as a modern war story it's a bit of a lame film that fails to lift itself beyond a passing interest.

A long winded drama that would probably have been better if it had been made as a six or eight part TV series. In a two and a half hour film it both drags and yet seems to whizz by important aspects of the story leaving the viewer a bit bewildered at times and even when the finale arrives we are denied a satisfying conclusion properly edited. The film boasts a good cast but not even Nicole Kidman's assured cameo lifts the film beyond the odd interesting moment. This is the story of Theo, who as a young boy is at a museum with his mother when a terrorist bomb kills her and leaves him traumatised. At the moment of the explosion they are looking at a famous painting, The Goldfinch, and in the aftermath Theo impulsively takes the undamaged picture and keeps it into adulthood, it becoming a symbol of the mother he lost. However the painting links his later life into crime in various episodes. Jeffrey Wright and Sarah Paulson are both good here and Oakes Fegley and Ansel Elgort as the young and older Theo respectively try really hard with the drawn out script. This is one of those films that gets to a point, about halfway through, when you want to give up, it does pick up from there but ultimately leaves you disappointed.

Another big, brash fantasy epic from the Marvel Universe that boasts the directorial skills and uniqueness of Chloé Zhao but unfortunately despite some flashes of her indie director style she seems to have been restrained by the sheer weight of the MCU machine. The film is entertaining enough for fans and has all the usual CGI set pieces and offers a story that doesn't rely on the usual run of Marvel characters. Devotees of MCU will be able to name the links to some of the other films. The story is based around ancient gods and here they are a race of alien immortals called Eternals who were sent to Earth 7000 years ago by a supreme power to protect humanity against a predatory alien monster species called Deviants. Having defeated them the Eternals are left lingering on Earth until the present day when the Deviants return and the Eternals find they have been misled and have a big battle on their hands. There's the usual punch ups and the Eternals have a variety of somewhat silly powers to fight with. The cast do their best including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie and others. The usual end credits sequences (there are two - one right at the very end) signposts the inevitable sequel. I don't know about you but I'm finding these films all a bit tiresome now.

Well there's certainly a lot of actual howling to be experienced along with a very jarring soundtrack to try and give you the odd jolt. Having recently been released in an upgraded 4k UHD edition this horror cult favourite is worth checking out if you've never seen it. It doesn't seem to have aged as well as An American Werewolf In London (1981), which has the comedy to give it some flair. Both were lauded at the time for their special effects by Rob Bottin for The Howling and Rick Baker on the other. So here you get the usual werewolf transformation scene which has interest from a horror film history perspective but it a curiosity today rather than a very scary scene. This is a fairly typical Avco Embassy production, exploitation cinema with dollops of sex and violence, designed to shock but nowadays are pretty tame. The story is a simple one, famous TV show host, Karen (Dee Wallace) is used as bait to trap a serial killer who the police shoot dead. Traumatised Karen and her hubby head off to the recovery retreat of Dr Waggner (Patrick Macnee) which happens to be in the heart of some creepy woods and inhabited by a troop of weirdos. They turn out to be a colony of werewolves (as was the original serial killer who shows back up). This cues lots of howling, paganistic campfire bonking, and werewolves roaming around. The presence of western film icons John Carradine and Slim Pickens is funny and I can't help feel they must've needed the money! Overall it's an average horror film, a bit laughable today but a good example of the sort of film that grew popular in the 80s just as the video rental boom was beginning.

Adapted from the first novel by John Le Carré, Call For The Dead, this is a slow burning espionage story with a top cast but one which dillies and dallies around too much making it a bit of a grind at times. This is a shame because it has a superb cast led by James Mason. He plays Charles (in the novel this is George Smiley, the name had to be changed because another studio owned the rights to it), a British Intelligence officer who carries out a routine security check on a foreign office official who the next day commits suicide. Feeling himself being blamed for the death Charles begins an investigation with the help of a police detective, Mendel (Harry Andrews) and uncovers a sinister spy ring working in Britain. He also has to cope with his young philandering wife who looks set on leaving him for his old friend, Dieter (Maximilian Schell) Like Le Carré's novels this attempts to be a realistic look at modern espionage and the plot has some interesting twists and turns. It's not an action film but more like a mystery story where the truth is gradually deduced and revealed. Unfortunately director Sidney Lumet lingers a little too long over some scenes that make the film slow down even more although you can see that he's attempting to mirror the Shakespearean tragedies that are taking place in scenes within a theatre. If you're a fan of Le Carré then this is an interesting adaptation and Mason is a George Smiley very much like the character of the novels and later TV and film appearances. Worth checking out if you've never seen this.

An interesting, entertaining if fairly routine prison escape drama based on a true story. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Tim Jenkin, who along with a friend, are arrested after detonating a series of 'leaflet' bombs (these basically just blow lots of leaflets into the air) as part of an ANC campaign in late 1970s South Africa. Given harsh prison sentences they meet up with other political prisoners and clever Tim spots that the doors are all controlled by well worn locks and keys and he cleverly manages to replicate them in wood. The film has all the usual tense scenes of the escapees tiptoeing around avoiding the patrolling nighttime guards but unfortunately this tension is watered down by the very title of the film as we know what the end result is. But that aside this is a competently told and well acted drama that is worth checking out.

A captivating and memorable drama. A fulfilling film that has Robin Williams giving one of his best performances. Set in 1959 in an American Preparatory School for Boys. Focused on tradition, discipline and conformity this is a school where wealthy Americans send their sons to prepare them for university and future careers often chosen for them by their parents obsessed with status. A group of senior boys return for their final year including Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) and shy Todd (Ethan Hawke). Neil walks in fear of his domineering father (Kurtwood Smith) who controls the activities his son participates in and stops anything of which he disapproves. They are therefore unprepared for their new English Literature teacher, Mr Keating (Williams), who has unconventional teaching methods and focuses on bringing out the passions and potential of the boys. Neil especially is motivated to pursue his love of acting against the wishes of his father. The boys begin to find a new zest and excitement in life and the future following Keating's encouragement to "Carpe Diem. Seize the day, Boys. Make your lives extraordinary" but tragedy will affect them all. A beautiful film, a coming of age story that utilises the wondrous colour palettes of the New England Autumn and Winter. It's a tale of love, ambition and joy and whilst there is sadness it's also an uplifting film. A must see.

A stupendous revenge thriller by British director Shane Meadows. Cleverly nuanced with a real emotional impact this is a film I highly recommend as it goes far beyond a standard revenge narrative and it captures a very realistic vision of a rundown Midlands housing estate and the sort of petty criminal characters that inhabit them. Paddy Considine plays Richard, a disaffected soldier, who returns to the dilapidated Derbyshire housing estate of his youth to seek out the gang of petty drug dealers that abused and assaulted his younger brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell), who has learning disabilities. The gang is led by the nasty bully Sonny (Gary Stretch), who runs his drug dealing business with the aid of a small group of drug runners. They quickly realise they are in serious jeopardy as Richard begins a campaign to humiliate, threaten and terrorise them. The film harbours a major plot twist, and even if you know what it is the film remains a powerful and heart wrenching story that is worth revisit if you've only seen it once before. Considine is excellent as the borderline out-of-control avenger who stalks the streets and fields of the area in search of his prey but it's Kebbell as Anthony who is the most memorable and his performance may leave a tear in your eye. This is a dark, gripping and tense thriller set in the heart of middle England, a film that leaves an impression.

Whilst the acting is strong and the basic themes of female empowerment and highlighting society's dual standards in regards to the actions of men and the actions of women are clear this drama glibly deals with the main area of the narrative, prostitution. This is the story of Alice (Emilie Piponnier), a happily married wife and mother of a young son. When her credit card is one day declined she discovers she is penniless and deserted by her husband, François (Martin Swabey) who has spent all their funds, and left her in extreme debt, due to his prostitution addiction. Alice takes the desperate step of becoming one herself via an escort agency and is shown the ropes by Lisa (Chloé Boreham) who becomes her friend. Alice finds a new strength and determination with this new direction until François returns wanting to start their relationship afresh. The main issue with the film is the simple veneer with which it deals with the risks to the woman engaging in sex work. Alice's clients are shown as mostly lonely if occasionally a little weird and it glosses over the refusal to wear a condom issue. This makes the film somewhat passé overall and disappointing. The main theme that the man's use of prostitutes is less an issue for society than a woman becoming one to save her home is dealt with quite well. Worth checking out though.

The revenge thriller has a strong history in British cinema with films such as Get Carter (1971) and Dead Man's Shoes (2004) and this brilliantly conceived film from director Paul Andrew Williams, who also wrote the story & script, fits into that group. Neil Maskell, an actor often found playing criminal hard men, is the titular Bull, a London gangland enforcer who works for Norm (David Hayman) and is married to his daughter Gemma (Lois Brabin-Platt). They have a young son on whom Bull dotes. But Gemma is a heroin addict and when the marriage sours Norm sides with his daughter over custody of the boy. Ten years after Norm believes he's rid of Bull he suddenly returns intent on revenge and in finding his son. There's some unrelenting and shocking violence and the story has suspense and surprises as it rattles along at a great pace. The story unfolds with a series of flashbacks that gradually reveal what happened to Bull whilst in the present he rampages around dealing with everyone that was involved. Whilst the revenge thriller has been done many times before this new one has a panache and interesting twist that you'll either go with or reject entirely, either way this is a gritty take on this type of story and well worth checking out.

A rather over complicated espionage drama that relies on a complex structure of flashbacks that tests one's viewing patience. Based on a best selling novel (scripted by it's author Olen Steinhauer) and all very much in the vein of John Le Carré the scene is set in Vienna when a terrorist plane hijacking operation goes awry resulting in a lot of civilian deaths. Eight years later CIA agent Henry (Chris Pine - sporting a variety of very bad haircuts!), haunted by those past events, is contacted by his old Vienna station chief, the hardbitten Vick (Laurence Fishburne) and told that the reason the op went sour is they had a mole who was tipping the hijackers off. Henry is tasked with seeking out his past colleagues and trying to find out which one of them it was. This includes the shady Bill (Jonathan Pryce) and Henry's former lover, Celia (Thandiwe Newton), now quietly settled in California. The majority of the film is set in a plush restaurant where Celia and Henry talk about their past together as Henry tries to unravel if she is the traitor. It has some twists and turns and you'll probably figure it all out well before the film tells you. Overall its a film that is trying to be a serious espionage mystery but it just didn't quite have the tension it was so desperately seeking.

A film of remarkable depth and originality. Independent filmmaker and director Jim Jarmusch has made some really interesting and unusual films and Dead Man is probably his finest work. It's a bizarre, surreal and engrossing story and an allegory for a journey to hell and back again. Set in the late 1800s and meek, mild mannered and slightly effeminate Bill Blake (Johnny Depp) uses up all his meagre savings to travel across America to take up a job as an accountant with a metalwork company owned by the maniacal Dickinson (Robert Mitchum - in his final film). On arrival Blake finds the position has been filled and he is left stranded. Spending the night with a prostitute he ends up killing Dickinson's son in self defence and, badly wounded, he flees into the wilderness. Pursued by three psychopathic bounty hunters Blake is helped by a strange Indian who calls himself Nobody (Gary Farmer). The journey becomes a spiritual one littered with dangerous and grotesque characters and with each encounter Blake finds violence is the easy way to continue his journey. This film reads as an anti-western, it's a really engrossing and clever movie and has a strange, dreamlike beauty to it. The support cast are exceptional and includes John Hurt, Lance Henricksen, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Jared Harris and Alfred Molina. Essentially an odyssey story, structured like a Greek mythological tale, full of mysticism and atmosphere. It's a film that will leave an impression I guarantee.

A poignant drama with an excellent central performance from Joanna Scanlon. She plays Mary, a British woman who converted to Islam years before in order to marry her beloved husband Ahmed, a Pakistani man who is an officer on the cross channel ferries. They live a quiet life of domesticity with Ahmed often away due to his work. When he dies unexpectedly Mary finds herself a little lost amongst the muslim community she has become part of. But her life is thrown into emotional chaos when she discovers Ahmed had a secret life in France. She decides to go there in order to uncover it. This is a story of secrets and lies and a study of people caught between culture and personal identity. All the characters are seemingly leading double lives which causes anger and questioning of what people actually stand for. It's a subtle yet powerful story, wonderfully acted. Worth checking out.

A vibrant and quite funny animated adventure film that homages a load of other films (The Matrix, I Robot, Tron etc etc) but is ultimately a story about family and in particular about parents relationship with their teenage children. The weird and somewhat dysfunctional Mitchell family are struggling mainly due to the relationship between Dad (voice of Danny McBride) and teenage daughter Katie (voice of Abbi Jacobson), who is soon off to college. Dad tries too hard and yearns for the bond he used to have with Katie when she was a toddler. He's also hopeless with modern tech and hates the kids always being on their phones and laptops. As a way to reconnect he decides the family will have a road trip taking Katie to her college. She is horrified by this especially as she'll miss the first week of her new college. On the journey a big hi-tech company releases it's latest invention, domestic robots, but the program controlling then, PAL (voiced by Olivia Colman), takes control and decides to send all humans into space. Only the Mitchells stand in the way. There's plenty of big laughs to have here as the family join together to defeat the robots and in the process rediscover their family love. The film gets into the difficulty of modern family life and the generational gap whilst managing to be a funny rehash of all those sci-fi films you'll quickly recognise. Kids will love this and adults will have a great time too. Good family viewing.