Film Reviews by BG

The story branches out into three separate adventures taking place at the same time. Max Tiny Dog gets "coned", has to cope with a new baby boy his owner gave birth to, and goes on holiday at a farm where he meets a dog with dignity called Rooster, voiced by Harrison Ford. Snowball wants to be a Super Hero Bunny, rescuing a timid tiger cub from a cruel circus owner, resembling the dark one from Mad Magazine's 'Spy-vs-Spy' comic strip, who has a pack of wolves. Gidget learns how to be a cat to retreive Max's prized Bumble Bee squeaky ball from a hoard of other cats, owned by a deaf but cool Granny. All three adventures culminate in an exciting chase on a train, which I would have liked to see go on for a bit longer.

This has all been seen before in a different format. It really demonstrates Disney's paucity of ideas to keep on remaking their classic animated features in live action and CGI. Almost a kind of licensed plagiarism. At least Tim Burton didn't remake DUMBO exactly like the original, and added some stuff of his own as well as omitting other scenes. Not so much for ALADDIN, which has the same plot, songs and characters. No way can Will Smith's genie match Robin Williams' original interpretation. Jafar doesn't seem as evil, Aladdin a bit wet (literally in one scene), but I quite liked Princess Jasmine. If you haven't seen the original, you might enjoy it, but if you love that version.... Mmmmm.

Westerns are generally a marmite thing these days, and most of them go straight onto DVD relegated as B movies. Big Kill is 2 hours long, but I didn't get bored with it. The film isn't up to some of the classics, but that doesn't stop it from becoming entertaining. There is some familiarity and predictability, but I think what carries it is a good solid story and the characters. Lou Diamond Phillips is effective as a killer in a red suit, and Jason Patric is interesting as an evil Preacher dressed entirely in black. There's sympathy for the good natured accountant, Jim, and in contrast, an unhinged woman who relishes sex and violence. There's references to Silverado, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the Italian Western, with soaring trumpet themes, and close ups of faces before the shoot outs. There's also a demonstration that those early Colt pistols were not very accurate.... even at close range.

Don't read this if you haven't seen the film yet. I think the ending works on several different levels. The lone astronaut travelling through space is hallucinating might be an interpretation, but not one that I would share. When he and his teenage daughter enter "The Crocodile's Eye" I don't think will have the same effect as the previous crew member who perished horribly going through the black hole. It's possible that the ending could be pessimistic, but I would like to think not. If it means their death, then the gradual bright whiteness might be symbolic of a transition to a Heavenly status. I prefer the theory that they will be travelling into another dimension, similar to the lone astronaut in 2001:A Space Odyssey who went through the Star Gate and experienced a cosmic revelation. But of course it's down to the viewer's own interpretation.

We've had a biopic about A. A. Milne, so it was only a matter of time before we had one on J. R. R. Tolkien, the most successful fantasy writer who has sold millions of books. The film takes us through the author's life after he became an orphan, his gift for inventing languages, bonding with friends at school, his love for Edith Bratt and a brief separation, struggling to get in at Oxford and staying there, and the terrors of trench warfare in World War One. The film ends with Tolkien starting to write The Hobbit, so we don't get to see his latter years and the success of Lord of the Rings. The film may have a conventional approach that most bios contain, but there are some strong moments. The cross cutting between the war and Tolkien's early life was effective, and when he experiences the horror of battle, there are "visions" of dragons and demons. There was never any doubt that the war affected the author so that his epic Lord of the Rings was really about those terrors in fantasy dress. An effective moment sees a huge evil shape towering over the aftermath of battle... surely a metaphor for the Dark Lord himself, Sauron. Also the loss of Tolkien's two members in his personal "fellowship" was quite moving. If you have admired Peter Jackson's films, then you may find this biopic interesting.

This is the kind of film that will divide viewers. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions, so that's fine. For those who like a straight narrative with neatly tied-up satisfying conclusions will probably not like Under the Silver Lake. Viewers who prefer a more unconventional, surreal approach they like to think about and work out all the metaphors, will appreciate it. With some striking imagery, the plot has a labyrinth structure where layabout Andrew Garfield is more concerned looking for his missing neighbour he hardly knows, than searching for work and paying his overdue rent. Mind you, she is quite a lush! In what at first appears to be a Shaggy Dog Story (with actual dead dogs), the film contains various elements including searching for hidden messages in songs, murder, paranoia, casual sex, subliminal advertising, film references, etc... The ultimate message appears to be along the lines of an existence in purgatory, giving up material values, and seeking a more spiritual path. There are several clues leading up to this, one example is the voyeur with the drone who spies on a lonely nice looking girl, and instead of the expected undressing, the camera zooms onto her face as she cries... So simply, this is the film you will relish and want to see again to catch any clues or ideas you may have missed first time round, or you'll become frustrated and feel like turning it off before the end.

If a lost handbag is found on a subway train, to return it to its rightful owner is the Good Samaritan thing to do, but in GRETA it is the worst case scenario. Soon New York waitress Frances finds that she is the obsession of a disturbed older woman, and her life slowly becomes a nightmare. This has a familiar ring to it, but if you like films such as PLAY MISTY FOR ME, FATAL ATTRACTION and MISERY, you might enjoy GRETA. Not that I'm saying it is as good or better. Neil Jordan certainly builds up the tension, but there is a misstep or two with some obvious plotting, i.e: what will happen to a private eye, and who Greta's final visitor really is. However, a double dream-vs-reality is effective, and I liked the two main performances. Isabelle Huppert is suitably creepy in the title role, who gradually becomes more obsessive, and her highlight scene is dancing to Chopin after committing murder. Chloe Grace Moretz goes from a sad Boston girl mourning her dead mother, to a trusting person who needs a friend, to a terrified creature fighting for her life. There is also a scene that demonstrates that mobile phones with good photo reproduction can be quite scary...

Rex is Top Dog at Buckingham Palace, being the Queen's favourite corgi, until a jealous rival gets rid of him. Rex ends up in a pound, meets a nice female, gets involved in Dog Fight Club (with a bully called Tyson), then escapes with his new mates to reclaim his 'throne'. Titbits of familiarity : Aristocrats (Posh cats in a similar situation to Rex), Lady and the Tramp (a dog pound with slinky female dog singing), but the film contains scenes that Disney would never include. I saw this in 3D, and once again Belgium animator Ben Stassen proves he is a master of that format. But any film that has Donald Trump being hit hard in his 'crown jewels' has got to be worth seeing!

There are similar themes lurking here in films like The Full Monty, Calendar Girls, and Brassed Off; a small group of British people who have certain problems and are determined to rise above it all and finally get media attention through talent and a lot of luck. Despite the unlikely premise that fishermen can score a big hit with Sea-Shanties, and the familiarity and predictability, this is still a feelgood film. I liked the main characters, and there's a good dig at astronomical London food and drink prices. £53 for a round in a pub!?... There's also a sly poke at the music industry. This is an unpretentious "Boy Band", who put their job first, and don't need fancy cars and toys.... Just a drink and a sing-song at their local.

If you aren't keen on country music, the film shouldn't be a problem because there isn't too much of it, and the focus is on Rose herself, with a good performance from Jessie Buckley. She does start out as a "Wild" character, quite self centred, but she grows as a person, learns the Truth about herself, and follows her dream while still becoming aware of her responsibilities.

I hope this animated feature isn't "missing" next to some of the big studio productions. Self-centred explorer Sir Lionel Frost goes to America to discover "The Missing Link"... No, it wasn't Boris Johnson, but a friendly, lonely soul who dreams of finding his own Shangri-la in the himalayas with kindred spirits of the Yeti. Along with a feisty Spanish woman, the three set out on a big adventure, but there are some bad guys who want them to fail.... Charming, funny, good characters, nice animated style, and a sweeping adventure spanning several continents. The moral of the tale is not to be too self-centred, value true friendship, and to accept that perhaps all your dreams and goals might not be as you hoped they would be. Like everything in Life really.

If you are a dog person, you might like this. Bella the dog loves her owner, but they become separated, so she sets out on a 400 mile journey for over 2 years to get back home. Her adventures include encounters with wolves, a friendly cougar, other dogs, a lonely tramp, cold weather, a busy highway, and a grumpy guy who should never own a dog. Mostly filmed with real animals, and we hear Bella's doggy thoughts rather than have CGI tricks of her actually speaking. If you have seen Disney's THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY, then you have an idea what this film is like.

The underlying theme is wanting to be loved and belong to someone. Great to see the old characters again, and some new ones. They have even made a character out of a plastic fork. Since DEAD OF NIGHT, ventriloquist dummies have always been scary, and here there are four of them. And they all look like Jimmy Carr!

The film is fast, funny, and beautifully made. I'm glad they didn't stop at 3 films if they are as entertaining as this. If they can keep up the inventiveness, why not go further? Woody and co. are immortal.

The premise for this horror film has a few parallels with the Irish thriller THE HOLE IN THE GROUND, which concerns tunnels beneath the earth and doppelgangers, but had a few nice touches. The ending might appear illogical, but there's a reference to ALICE IN WONDERLAND, with a white rabbit and going down the burrow. Also some black humour (no pun!) when a dying woman crawls to her dead husband, and the music system plays "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. When she tells the system to call the police, it plays another track instead... One that is derogatory to the police, but would mean a swear word! Horror films usually deal with the fantastic, so viewers shouldn't be too put off by what might appear to be an nonsensical premise. This is well made with an interesting idea and lots of tension.

If you are looking for something a little off-beat, far away from formulaic Hollywood, you might go for this. Tina is a customs officer who has a talent for literally sniffing out suspects. She encounters a strange person who leads her onto a road to discovery about her true self. Looking like something out of a Roald Dahl book, Tina used to think of herself as a misfit, but a subplot reveals that there are other "monsters" in society of a different sort. It might not be to everyone's taste, but you'll be rewarded if you want a break from the familiar and predictable.