Film Reviews by GI

A fantastic, tense and thoroughly entertaining drama based on the real event that captured the attention of the world in 1970. This tells the tale of the ill fated Apollo 13 mission to the moon, which took place at a time when public interest in the missions was waning and there was increased criticism of the money being spent on the US space program. If you've never seen this film or are unfamiliar with what happened then this will be a real exciting treat. The cleverness of this film is that if you've seen it and know the outcome it remains a real thrill ride. Tom Hanks plays astronaut Jim Lovell, an experienced man who had been on three former space missions and was assigned to command Apollo 13 and his first trip to the moon. With his fellow crew members of Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) they are unprepared when a routine check on board results in a small explosion and the ship crippled. The film follows the attempts by the ground crew led by the flight director (Ed Harris) and an astronaut, grounded with suspected measles, (Gary Sinise) to safely get them home. This is a superbly well told story, a tale of courage, ingenuity and devotion. It has some excellent visuals and intermixes archive footage with the action to create a very realistic reconstruction of the events. Hanks as usual nails the dedicated professional and family man who carries the weight of command with calmness and skill. A wonderful film and great family viewing. If you have children who know nothing about this event then this film will educate as well as be a treat.

Apocalypse Now remains one of the finest motion pictures I've ever seen. It provides an experience that is rare in film watching, a sense that you are watching something very special and a film that is much much more than what is on the surface. Set during the Vietnam War this is not really a war film although it has combat scenes, for example the helicopter attack on a small village which has reached iconic status in cinema annals, this is a a story that skirts along the edges of fantasy and mysticism questioning along the way humanity's need for war and conflict and the role of a man's soul. Based on Joseph Conrad's novella 'Heart of Darkness', which is set in Africa and not a war story, this is a story of a journey and concerns burned out special forces Captain Willard (Martin Sheen). Desperate for a mission he is sent on a small river patrol boat, with the four man crew, up a river through hostile territory illegally into Cambodia where he has to find and assassinate the rogue American Army Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). The journey is hazardous in ways unexpected as the men involved have to deal with their inner demons as well as the enemy and the land. There are basically three distinct cuts of this film available, the original Theatrical release, a fuller cut called the Redux version in which all scenes removed for the former cut were reinserted and the Final Cut. It is this last one that is the one to watch. Director Francis Ford Coppola carefully re-edited the film into this cut and in doing so created the film he always intended. It is truly remarkable. As the boat journeys deeper up the river the film takes on elements of a surreal, fantastical story culminating in arriving at Kurtz' 'kingdom'. Coppola's use of light and shadow, colour and mood shakes you into not really knowing what sort of film you're watching. As a consequence it's highly rewarding as it challenges you to understand the themes going on here. In so many ways this is a masterpiece and leaves a deep impression. It's exciting, haunting, enigmatic and quite beautiful. The cast are impeccable. Sheen carries the film, it's his best performance and he's aided by Harrison Ford (in a small role), Albert Hall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms and a young Laurence Fishburne. But the stand outs are Robert Duvall as the crazy Colonel Kilgore, who leads the attack helicopters, with his love of Wagner, surfing and the smell of napalm; and Marlon Brando as Kurtz, a mesmerising performance and one that you'll not forget - "the horror, the horror". A cinematic masterpiece unequalled since it was first made. A film to savour time and time again and, if it affects you like it has me, a film you'll want to see again and again. It is truly a work of art.

Ambitious low budget scifi thriller that rips off Alien and The Thing, a little too obviously at time, but has some entertaining moments even if it's all a bit lame by the end. The film looks good and for the most part is well directed but let down by a sloppy script and poor characterisation. Hermione Corlfield plays Siobhán, a marine biology student, who joins a fishing trawler run by couple Gerard (Dougray Scott) and Freya (Connie Neilsen) so she can look for anomalies in fish stocks. The crew treat her with some suspicion due to the bad omen of her red hair. But Gerard desperate to get a good haul takes the boat into an excluded area where they encounter a strange parasitic creature that infects the boat. As members become gruesomely affected by this the survivors fall out with one another and rely on Siobhán to find a way to deal with the 'thing'. This falls on the age old cliché of man versus nature and the short running time means the story is rushed to a disappointing conclusion. For anyone who loved Life (2017) or similar then this may amuse as a piece of late night viewing but it's instantly forgotten.

A witty and clever light situation comedy that has three wonderful lead performances. This is one of those pleasant little films that leaves you with that warm and contented feel by the end because it's about love and tenderness but also the power of truth. Iris (Emily Blunt) offers her depressed best friend Jack (Mark Duplass) her family's lakeside cottage for a weekend so he can spend some time alone having recently lost his brother. Jack takes her up on the offer but on arrival is very surprised to find Iris' sister, Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), is there, she having just broken up with her long term partner. After a drunken night together they end up in bed but both are very surprised when Iris arrives the next morning and the next few days will test each of them as secrets and emotions come flooding to the fore. There's a natural and touching vibe going on here and as much of the script was improvised you can see how the three actors really find the characters, with Rosemarie DeWitt particularly wonderful. This is a funny, dramatic and easy going story that is far more convoluted than it appears and the fact it's so relaxed is down to the direction and to these great performances. A film well worth checking out.

Mediocre horror adaptation of the Stephen King novel and a remake of the 1989 film. I'm not sure why this was selected for a remake because this new film is a pretty tame affair, rather clichéd and most definitely unscary. Louis (Jason Clarke) and Rachel (Amy Seimetz) move from busy Boston to a remote, forest surrounded country house in Maine with their two children Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and Gage (Lucas Lavoie). In the forest is a spooky pet cemetery and the locals indulge in some weird ritual when burying their dead pets! Local man Jud (John Lithgow) tells Louis its all part of an ancient Indian mystical legend and when Ellie's beloved cat dies Jud tells Louis that there's a way of resurrecting the cat. Yes, and Louis, a doctor, buys this pretty quickly and the story rapidly escalates, after a tragedy, into Louis deciding he can return people from the dead. All totally daft with massive areas left unexplored including the strange pagan ritual practised by the locals and Rachel's backstory with her sister. Admittedly we get to see a lot of this bit but it never seems to fit into the narrative properly and is almost as if there's two films going on at the same time. Either way this turns into a malevolent child story, there's nothing remotely original here and apart from a bit of body horror thrown in periodically there's nothing very impactive (evil family cat just isn't a worry, it could have been despatched pretty quickly). Very disappointing

Like all of Clint Eastwood's directorial efforts this is a competently made film with a couple of outstanding performances but ultimately it's a by-the-numbers, underdone movie with some missed opportunities and at times a dose of silliness. Based on real events, although there's some very overt departures from them, this is the story of sad, nerdy security guard Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), a wannabe cop, who discovered a suspicious backpack at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic park, herded the crowd away against the advice of the police he revered and saved lives when it exploded. Unfortunately for Richard the FBI focused their investigation on him as their chief suspect, leaked this to the media and he became the target of a trial-by-media campaign. Hauser as Richard is the best thing about the film infusing the character with sympathy, sadness and the right degree of idiocy to make the viewer as frustrated as his lawyer (Sam Rockwell). He is aided by Kathy Bates as his gentle, loving mother who fiercely defends her son. Rockwell is amusing here but is playing another angry, slightly comedic character who we never really get to know properly but its in Olivia Wilde's reporter Kathy Scruggs and John Hamm's FBI agent where the film goes awry. Scruggs (a real life person now deceased) is shown as a morally corrupt overly ambitious hack who seduces Hamm to get information, and Hamm is wooden and boring as the agent who obviously does no real investigation other than leak info, sleep around and harass Jewell. To this end the film is unconvincing. In here is an interesting, although thoroughly inaccurate account, of the huge danger of media trial but it's a routinely told story that lacks depth and focus.

A powerful romance story following a relationship from its very beginning through the unforeseen traumas of life. Elena (Laia Costa), a spanish emigré living in Glasgow, meets the fresh faced Jake (Josh O'Connor), a PHD student, on New Years Eve when they both agree to share a taxi. A passionate relationship very soon begins with Elena acutely aware she is 10 years older than Jake and reluctant to admit this as she harbours a fear his youth will eventually be their downfall. But Jake's forceful declarations of love and his commitment to them as a couple convinces her especially when Jake openly wants them to have a baby. However when she fails to conceive tensions begin between them and she agrees to IVF and tests. Their relationship will be tested to the full. This is a film told with a refreshing honesty in its depiction of a relationship and the nature of love. The way a relationship subtly changes is presented through two great central performances. The difficulty in Elena conceiving is the issue that bears the burden of the story and how it affects both of them in different ways. Jake, for example, has an idealised view of how a relationship should be which he has based on his parents but during the film his father (Peter Wright) reveals some home truths! Overall this is a neatly realised story of love and longing and it highlights, as the title suggests, that with love can also come loneliness. Worth checking out.

A great, classic Hollywood romcom that was very risqué at the time it was made delving, at times with a quite serious tone, into the nature of marriage and infidelity. Ultimately though it's a delightful love story. Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a somewhat hapless insurance office worker who dreams of promotion but lacks the drive and ability to get it. However he attempts to ingratiate himself with various of the bosses by hiring out his apartment for their adulterous affairs. Managing the demands of his 'customers' is almost a full time job. When the top boss, Mr Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) wants to use the apartment C.C. thinks he'll now be in for that longed for advancement but he's in for a shock when he discovers Sheldrake is having an affair with Fran (Shirley MacLaine), the girl C.C. secretly loves. The film attacks the casual misogyny and attitudes of the men towards women, sex and the their reliance on the power of money and uses some dark turns of the story including attempted suicide, the exploration of vulnerability and emotional blackmail to expose these issues. But actually the film is a delight with Lemmon and MacLaine a sweet couple who, of course, find each other at the end. Fans of films like this will recognise where some aspects have been homaged in later romcoms (e.g. When Harry Met Sally - 1989, Sleepless in Seattle - 1993). This is a much respected film and one that is worth checking out if you've never seen it. The serious themes here are cleverly wrapped in a light comedy film making it quite a surprise when you see what it's trying to say about American society.

This is a weepie, a heartbreaker that is deeply moving, frequently funny and very insightful that charts the story of a middle aged couple who have to deal with the shock of a cancer diagnosis. Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson are note perfect as Joan and Tom, a couple who have been married for many years, share the grief of a lost child, and now live quiet, loving and contented lives. Then Joan discovers a lump in her breast and the film follows their struggles in coping with this and the medical interventions that follow. This is a film of wit and subtlety and highlights the trauma, stress and worry that has to be dealt with by both the person with the illness and their partner, both of whom suddenly have to accept an unknown future. I won't reveal the arc of the story suffice to say it isn't predictable so assuming how it plays out won't work. The performances are flawless and particular credit has to go to Lesley Manville who captures in the smallest of expressions her fears, sadness and her love. Surely she deserves recognition for the wonderful actor she so clearly is. Neeson too excels here and puts aside his action hero persona to really nail the loving husband whose emotions are exposed in ways he finds difficult to share. This is a film that also has a joy so it's well worth checking out. Recommended.

An unnerving, compelling and very intelligent science fiction thriller adapted from a best selling novel and utilising themes from Stalker (1979) and H.P. Lovecraft's story Colour Out of Space (recently filmed in 2019 with Nicolas Cage). SciFi fans will also spot the influence of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). Natalie Portman plays Lena, a biologist mourning her soldier husband (Oscar Isaac) who disappeared on a mission a year ago. When he suddenly turns up with no memory and rapidly falls seriously ill Lena is unprepared when they are both whisked off to a secret military controlled installation. She is told by scientist Dr Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) that he is the only person to have returned from a strange zone that has begun to form around an abandoned lighthouse after a small meteor crashed there three years earlier. Calling the zone 'The Shimmer' all attempts to study it have proved futile and it's slowly growing in size. Lena agrees to join another scientific expedition into The Shimmer to find out what happened to her husband. The team are unprepared for what they find as all the known laws of nature have been subverted inside. This is a bold, intriguing and thrilling film. There's some really original ideas at play here and some big shocks along the way. Portman is excellent as the hardened academic who is determined to discover what is happening. There's some neat effects, some horror, and the visuals are wonderful. There is a lot going on in this film but it never feels overdone or too complex, indeed this is what good scifi should be, intelligent, slightly mystifying and capable of leaving an impression. A first rate film that deserves to be checked out.

A coming-of-age and sexual awakening tale that involves obsession and passion set during a balmy Yorkshire summer. Mona (Natalie Press) is a bored, lonely teenager who lives with her elder brother Phil (Paddy Considine), a reformed convict who has turned to religion. One day she meets the equally bored but cynical and narcissistic Tamsin (Emily Blunt), a spoiled rich girl who lives in a nearby large manor house. They strike up an unlikely friendship which soon turns sexual. But Mona is unprepared for both the reaction of Phil to this relationship and Tamsin's own agenda. This is a slow burning tale and has a mystical, hazy atmosphere to it as the two young women spend time in the local forests and engage in various antics against those they see as their enemies. There's a tension that builds in the narrative giving the film a sense of a crisis building and certainly the latent violence in Phil is always there simmering away. But the complexity of character especially in Tamsin is the centre of this story and Emily Blunt is superb here in what is her breakout film role. A rather delightful film, a romance but one with some added twists and complexity that is well worth checking out if you've never seen it.

Deeply controversial in the USA to the extent its release was delayed by two years. Viewed today it fits into the cycle of disaffected youth narratives that stretch back in cinema to the days of the Dead End Kids in the 1930s and continue into the 80s. These films are always the ones that seemed to push boundaries and often gave the film censors a headache or two. This one has plenty of drug taking, petty crime especially vandalism and is trying to say something about the construction of 'perfect' townships that take no account of the needs of young people who then become anti-social, violent and utterly animalistic. Sex fails to rear its head here though! To that end it's a film that is a bit weak. This is set in the late 70s in the newly constructed town of New Granada, made up of posh new houses, apartment blocks and business premises but there's nothing for the kids except a half baked youth club which is constantly visited by the cops. The kids smoke dope, drink and generally, out of boredom, get themselves into trouble which culminates in a tragedy. The story is told through the eyes of one young man, Carl (Michael Eric Kramer) who actually never seems to do much wrong except be a bit rude to his parents and the police although by the end he is seen as the ringleader in a youth rebellion and gets sent to reform school. Interesting from the point of view of seeing a film that Kurt Cobain raved about and for Matt Dillon's film debut but it lacks impact today.

One of the great classic gangster movies of the 1930s and which caused such a furore over the 'hero' status given to criminals resulting in the Production Code insisting such films didn't give the main character a good ending. Indeed this film takes the hero worship theme and uses it as the centre of the story. James Cagney, an actor forever associated with the gangster genre although he strongly regretted it (he was in fact a very accomplished song & dance performer), plays Rocky Sullivan, a violent racketeer. The narrative follows the lives of him and his best friend Jerry (Pat O'Brien - he made nine films with Cagney). As boys Rocky is caught pilfering whilst Jerry manages to escape resulting in their lives going in two opposing directions. Jerry becomes a community priest while Rocky rises through the ranks of the underworld. Years later when Rocky returns to his old neighbourhood Jerry hopes to turn him away from crime but the local street kids begin to look up to Rocky and Jerry is forced to turn against him. This is quite a hard edged film, violent for its time and looking critically at the issue of glorifying criminals in American society. It's also a story of friendship, community and corruption with a deeply moral ending that even today raises questions about whether Rocky finds redemption or is revealed as a born coward. Either way this is a superb film, a real classic and very entertaining, exciting and with a brilliant reconstruction of New York in the 1920s. With Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart and George Bancroft in supporting roles. A film every film fan should see at least once.

This is a quirky melodrama that never quite nails its colours properly and despite a gallant effort from Jake Gyllenhaal this film is muddled and a bit empty. He plays Davis, a successful investment banker married to his boss' (Chris Cooper) daughter. When she is killed in a car accident Davis' emotions are sent spiralling out of control as he tries to grieve like others around him and begins to question his whole place in life. This manifests in his continual need to break things or at least take them apart, including his house! He finds friendship, in the most unconvincing way, with Karen (Naomi Watts) and her wayward son, Chris (Judah Lewis) to help him re-establish his life. You're never quite sure where the narrative is going though and by the end you'll not really care either because it veers about and concludes rather mawkishly and disappointingly. Watts is underused and indeed disappears for a large section of the film making her casting seem wasted. Cooper is always good as the no nonsense father figure baffled by his son in law's attitudes and actions. But other than that this has the kernel of a good idea, the script is a bit odd at times, and overall the film is disappointing.

Craig Fairbrass, whether playing good guy or bad guy, has that persona that he's always simmering on the edge of volcanic violence. In Rise of the Footsoldier (2007) he erupted with frightening regularity, here, in Muscle, he is just as menacing but there's an equally scary restraint to his character. This is the story of Simon (Cavan Clerkin), a Londoner who has relocated with his wife to Newcastle, where he has a boring job and a dull life. He decides to join a local gym in an effort to add some change to his life. There he meets Terry (Fairbrass) who offers to train Simon, who is wary but eventually feels he has found a new friend. When Simon's wife leaves him and returns to London he hesitantly allows Terry to move in as a lodger. But Terry soon inveigles his way deeper and deeper into Terry's life, taking over the house and holding depraved sex parties and Simon is at a loss of how to get free of him. Shot in bleak black and white to simulate Simon's bland life this is a strange crime drama and the testosterone fuelled characters are all frightening and unpleasant. This actually makes the film an unrewarding experience and whilst there's complexities to Fairbrass' Terry he is when boiled down just another violent thug character. There is also some very explicit sex on display here in an orgy scene which actually adds to the grimy, disgustingness of the film. Overall this is worth a look but I found it all too unpleasant to enjoy.