Film Reviews by GI

Like any documentary about a rock band it helps to be a fan but this is a highly interesting one and it's gratifying that this one focuses almost solely on their music development and not on any off stage shenanigans. This film charts the four members early interest in music and their involvement in various musical experiences before finding each other and becoming the unique sounding heavy rock band that broke America before finding an audience in the UK. The interviews are with the three surviving members with some archive interview audio of John Bonham, the drummer who died in 1980. It's a really enjoyable and nostalgic retrospective of the band finding their sound and going all out to sell it. Led by Jimmy Page, the talented guitarist who had learnt his chops as a session musician playing on endless very famous songs including Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey. The colossal riffs of tracks like Whole Lotta Love are given a full airing here and you can't help stomp your foot along with it and you'll then be digging out those old records to listen to with a renewed ear. The film shows that these four guys were hard working musicians which paid off with a new rock sound and success. Early gigs where the audience are too old and have their fingers in their ears will make you chuckle. The film charts their years up to their huge hit second album which implies there might be a follow up of their later period. If that does come and sticks to the same focus on the brilliance of the music then I look forward to it. Until then this is the best rock documentary for quite awhile.

This is an entertaining Korean crime drama, violent and narratively engaging especially as the plot isn't always predictable. It has definitely been influenced by Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) in its tale of bloody revenge. The plot is somewhat clichéd in that variations of it litter this genre and it has those dark, neon cityscape visuals that make it very contemporary. A fixer for a big crime boss is tasked with checking up on the boss's young girlfriend to make sure she's not seeing anyone else and to kill both if it proves she is. When he shows mercy the boss has him tortured but before being killed he escapes and vows revenge. There's some gory torture scenes and the anti hero doesn't get it all his way making for a moody, bloody and interesting thriller that is well worth checking out.

One of the first and the one of the best of the disaster film cycle that arrived in the 1970s. It remains an exciting survival drama with some really gritty action and a wonderful cast. Set on board the American cruise liner SS Poseidon on its last voyage through the Mediterranean where at the end it will be dismantled. The Captain (a cameo role for Leslie Nielsen) is pressured by the owners to make haste when the ship is struck by a freak wave and turns over. The passengers are all celebrating at a New Year Eve party and after the ship rolls the survivors are urged by a senior crewman to stay put and await rescue. But one of the passengers, a maverick Catholic priest Scott (Gene Hackman) insists they make their way up towards the hull. He persuades eight others to join him, including the always brilliant Ernest Borgnine and Shelly Winters as an unlikely heroine, and the film's plot is their hazardous journey through the upside down ship. It's essentially the classic mythological narrative of the hazardous journey through the labyrinth. Apart from being a tense, realistic and compelling drama it's also a story of people struggling with themselves, about religious faith, doubt and heroism. It really is one of the best films of the 70s and well worth seeking out if you've never seen it. There was a remake in 2006, Poseidon, with Kurt Russell, which is actually pretty good too but this original tops it (Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, a 1979 sequel starring Michael Caine is a bit lacklustre and can be ignored).

Lambasted by film critics this Canadian film went onto to be a huge hit. It's probably the best of the teen sex comedies that came out in the late seventies and early eighties and whilst it might, on the surface, be controversial today it is in fact a riotous comedy and has deeper themes than at first realised. With it's roots in American Graffiti (1973) and National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) this bawdy coming of age story is set in 1954 in South Florida where a bunch of High School boys think of nothing but sports and sex. They love to play pranks on each other and dream of getting laid to the extent that they cross the county border to a brothel run by the redneck Porky who tricks them out of their money and humiliates them. They eventually decide to get revenge and this gives the film its plot. But within the narrative are themes of racism, gender politics and American post-war freedom. Some may find the film puerile and the jokes are occasionally a little old today but there are some really hilarious scenes which will make you laugh out loud and long. The cast were and still are mostly unknowns and you won't recognise many except Kim Cattrall from the Sex In The City series. Director Bob Clark developed the film over many years and scripted many incidents from his own teenage years, embellishing some but the essence of a lost youth are here to enjoy. A great comedy and one to just go with because it's marvellous fun.

A love triangle romantic drama set in the world of pro tennis with some nice comedic moments thrown in. The film is dominated by Zendaya who gives a grounded and interesting performance here of a woman with very conflicted feelings. She plays Tashi a once up and coming tennis star forced out of playing by a nasty injury and turned to coaching. Her sole 'client' is her husband Art (Mike Faist), who she has groomed to champion level but he is on a losing streak and Tashi finds this is affecting her feelings for him. She encourages him to get his mojo back by playing in a lower league competition but they are both horrified when Art's former best friend and Tashi's ex lover, Patrick (Josh O'Connor) is also playing. The discomfort intensifies when Art and Patrick find themselves facing off in the final which both are intent on winning. The narrative here plays out in various flashbacks structured over the film that shows the earlier bond between Art and Patrick, a bromance really that is highlighted in the 'threesome' scene that really brings Tashi into their lives. Her arrival, as they both fancy her and quickly fall for her, disrupts their bond and she is the element of chaos that splits the two friends. But Tashi has also very conflicted emotions with both these two which all culminates in the final tennis match. Tennis as a game has been a difficult one to film and achieve the crushing exhaustion and determination that comes with the game. But here director Luca Guardagnino has really nailed the gripping, fast paced and sheer excitement as the two duel it out. He splits the game up into sections with past events interwoven to complete the story of the complex lives of these three including the threesome scene I mentioned earlier. This is a quite funny scene and the one where we see the absolute love between the two guys that is so cheekily disrupted by the beautiful woman they both covet. All three of the main protagonists give excellent performances in this film that has laughs, drama and compulsive romance. I enjoyed it.

Great White Shark's don't cut the mustard in movies today, now we get giant prehistoric sharks, Megladons and that's what this creature feature has pootering around harassing an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The film's title is also a euphemism for oil of course as there's a daft interwoven theme here around unscrupulous oil companies damaging the environment and in this case invoking the wrath of said giant shark. Josh Lucas plays Paul, an oil rig inspector, sent by his company to do the annual inspection on a rusty old rig. Paul takes his family with him for a bit of a holiday only they find themselves stranded on the rig that has no comms, only two surviving workers and lots of body parts floating around. Every so often the creature comes patrolling looking for its next meal and Paul must work out how to get everyone to safety, which of course involves killing the shark. There's the inevitable and a bit too obvious homage to Jaws (1975) with a line from that classic. The budget was obviously a little tight and the creature is mostly glimpsed in the dark, murky waters very briefly. The theme of oil companies being very, very bad for the environment is slapped on a little too heavily after all this is a giant shark narrative and not a climate crisis drama. This has a degree of entertainment value and one or two great moments but think about the plot too much and you'll soon begin to groan.

After 25 years since this lovable character hit our screens we now have a rather poignant and more subtle fourth film that eschews the pratfall comedy (for the most part) and this time around deals with a variety of modern issues such as grief, loneliness, parenting and finding love again. The film cleverly includes nearly all the beloved characters from the previous films albeit often too briefly in some cases and I was left with the feeling that some parts of the film have been edited out (an early scene with Isla Fisher is never fulfilled and she is never seen again in the film for instance). However we join Bridget (Renée Zellweger) four years after her beloved husband Mark (Colin Firth, seen in Bridget's grieving imagination) has been killed while working overseas. Living on the idyllic edge of Hampstead Heath and with two primary school children who she is trying to nurture as a single parent, but who yearns for some comfort from a possible relationship although she feels guilty about trying to find one. She does eventually get a fling with the super handsome Roxster (Leo Woodall), and Rock Star being the obvious play on words here. He's a lot younger, she has great sex but knows it's never going to amount to much. Woodall here is the objectified male body required to get his shirt off a few times, often while wet as a sort of homage to D'Arcy from Pride & Prejudice and the link of course to Firth. Eventually romance blossoms for Bridget in the form of her children's science teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) following a school trip to the Lake District. Along this journey the film deals with the children's reactions to their father's death, although it's soon revealed it's Bridget who is coping less well with this. The heart of the film comes from her friends, the 'gang' who have supported her over the years and from Hugh Grant's Daniel, the womanising cad who is given a real grounded character here and is almost the soul of the film with a heart wrenching scene where he lays out his connection to Bridget. This is not an especially complex or sophisticated film it's more like a reunion for the characters and for us the audience to catch up with these lovable, flawed group and see how they are all getting on. But in that sense it's a joy, a gentle comedy of manners vibe with laughs, tears and plenty to smile about. And a final shout out to Emma Thompson who is a real treat here as the no nonsense gynaecologist who gets to advise Bridget routinely throughout the film.

Here we have a reasonably entertaining science fiction adventure that could have been exceedingly good but is somewhat spoilt by the course of the narrative that opts for a rather daft romance over interesting tensions and rivalry. The set up here is good fun if a little derivative and it reminded me of Annihilation (2018), a far better film, with influences of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island and some Aliens (1986) vibe thrown in for good measure. Miles Teller is Levi, a former elite army sniper now on the skids and haunted by his kills, who gets recruited by a shady spook in the form of Sigourney Weaver. His job is to guard a mysterious fog covered gorge somewhere in the world for one year. He has to prevent whatever is in the gorge from getting out. On the other side is his Russian counterpart guarding that side and both have strict instructions not to interact with one another (for reasons unexplained). But as the Russian turns out to be Anya Taylor-Joy soon romantic sparks across the gorge do fly eventually resulting in Levi finding a way to get across for some nooky. And yes you guessed it events conspire to ensure that they end up in the gorge where they find some very strange and nasty things. It's the romance that actually spoils this film. It never rings true and is actually unnecessary even though we get a Bourne Identity type ending. Whilst this is entertaining and the film ramps up nicely once we get into the gorge itself it's one of those films that could have been very interesting indeed. What's here is ok though, it just lacks the vital ingredients to to great.

Poltergeist remains an impressive horror film because it manages to look and feel like a family film but delivers on all the things a good and creepy horror film should. Firstly it taps deeply into the heart of the family and the home where safety and comfort are accepted and expected, subverts and corrupts those expectations and uses children as the victim as the horrors unfold. These were similar aspects to The Exorcist (1973) and are why both films are particularly unsettling. Director Tobe Hooper had impressed with the more violent The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) but Poltergeist feels much more like a Steven Spielberg film and whilst he is the producer here you can see and sense his influence all over the film. JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson are married couple Steve and Diane who live in a new housing development built by the company Steve works for. They have three children including five year old Carol Anne and they are a happy, comfortable family. Then Carol Anne begins to hear voices in the TV and soon strange things start to happen in the house. The narrative very cleverly taps into those childhood fears of thunderstorms, of something under the bed and how innocent things in the daylight take on some malevolence in the dark. This is a wonderful film, and a quite heartwarming story of family with the mother as its heart. Its also scary and worrying with some very good effects for its time. This is well worth seeking out if you've never seen it (I'd ignore the sequels though they were not necessary)

A stylish and effective thriller that draws on the high profile cases of uber rich men taking advantage of young women to the point of sexual assault and depravity. This is a film that fits into a group of film narratives such as Get Out (2017), Saltburn (2023) and Triangle of Sadness (2022) and is the debut directorial film of Zoë Kravitz who also co-wrote the screenplay. Naomi Ackie is Frida, a humble cocktail waitress, who dreams of better things and who gets the attention of Tech Billionaire Slater (Channing Tatum) who invites her and her friend to join a party at his paradise island retreat. Once there Frida enjoys a time of frivolity in luxury surroundings and Slater is obviously attracted to her but soon Frida begins to feel uneasy but can't really pinpoint what is causing her to suspect all is not right. The narrative here is obviously plugged into the case of Jeffrey Epstein and the wider #MeToo campaign and for the most part it's an effective thriller but some of the signs of what is going on are a little too unsubtle with the final climax feeling bit too contrived but overall this has a neat build up and a solid plot. The cast are great and include Alia Shawkat, Adria Arjona, Geena Davis, Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment and Kyle MacLachlan.

This very belated sequel to Tim Burton's second film, Beetlejuice (1988), is as eccentric as the first and would be a rather silly and pointless effort without Michael Keaton reprising the title character role. This comedy/horror has that same vibe as the reboot of the Ghostbusters series and the jokes are as intermittent as the Men In Black series too. In other words I just don't understand who these films are actually aimed at. There are some funny moments in this, not least a wedding sequence which had me laugh out loud a few times, yet overall it's a varied affair that showcases Burton's carnivalesque visions and Keaton's zany comedy persona. Winona Ryder returns now with her own daughter played by Jenna Ortega who gets into scrapes with ghosts and has to be rescued using Beetlejuice to get her home. Justin Theroux, Catherine O'Hara, Willem Dafoe assist in various roles along with Monica Bellucci and a cameo from Danny DeVito. A film you have to question as to why? It passes the time but overall it's all a bit lame.

The ultimate hi-octane thriller and one of the best films of the 90s. For some bizarre reason this was remade in 2015, pointlessly and stupidly because this film is a modern classic, a cult film that fans absolutely love. The remake is mediocre at best. Keanu Reeves is Johnny Utah, a rookie FBI agent who joins the LA Robbery squad partnered with the maverick and grumpy Pappas (the always brilliant Gary Busey). The squad are investigating a series of bank robberies committed by a gang calling themselves the Ex-Presidents on account of the masks they wear. Pappas believes the gang are linked to the surfing community so he sends Johnny undercover to learn surfing and to try and identify the bad guys. Johnny meets Tyler (Lori Petty) who teaches him to surf and she introduces him to Bodhi (Patrick Swayze in one of his best roles), an adrenaline junkie, and yes you guessed it, this is the very man he's looking for. Plot wise the film is fairly standard and it actually rests on an extraordinary coincidence that if you think about too much you'll groan loudly but narratively its about two men on opposite sides of the moral divide but who are closely linked. The film is overflowing with subtle homo-eroticism and the action set pieces are stunning and exciting, with chases, shoot outs, and gritty fights, although the James Bond moment is a little OTT. It's a wonderfully entertaining piece of cinema and always worth watching. Director Kathyrn Bigelow was emerging as a significant filmmaker with this movie.

The dark, period gothic style is very Hammer films in structure and feel with the addition of Alien (1979) clearly having been used as a key narrative source, even the main character's name is Clemens, a name used in Alien 3 (1992). This takes a chapter from the Dracula novel by Bram Stoker and fleshes it out into a full story. I found myself liking it the longer it went on and I especially liked the depiction of Dracula here, as a somewhat desperate, feral creature that needs food. The creature design is based on the vampire from Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror (1922) and Salems Lot (1979) rather than a distinguished Christopher Lee type. The story is that on his journey from Transylvania to London Dracula sleeps in boxes of his sacred soil on board a ship, The Demeter. But at night he awakens and needs to feed, carefully killing the crew one by one. As fear and suspicion on board grows the ship's doctor, Clemens (Corey Hawkins) and the Captain (Liam Cunningham) try to find the cause and discover a young woman (Aisling Franciosi) on the ship who was to be Dracula's blood supply but now rescued warns the crew about the monster they are facing. Those familiar with the book and various Dracula film adaptations will know the end of this story but it's told here with a few neat twists, some scary moments and a great creature barely glimpsed for most of the film. The epilogue is especially clever here. This is not ever going to be the greatest vampire film but it's a great addition to the Dracula story, entertaining and certainly better than the recent Nosferatu (2024).

This is a solid, violent, well directed crime thriller based on real events although at times it drifts into glib territory and has a climax that seems very contrived and perhaps a little daft. Jude Law plays a weary FBI agent. You'll recognise the type of character as one who has seen it all, has emotional/relationship problems and a history that has resulted in his posting as the lone agent in a small Idaho town in the early 1980s. He begins looking into a series of violent robberies and explosions suspecting that the culprits are not normal criminals but a band of ultra right wing white supremacists. They are led by Bob, a cold fanatic played by Nicholas Hoult, who has broken away from a mainstream group which he views as all talk/no action in order to build up to an insurrection. This overarching plot plays into the current issues in the USA and indeed there's a post credit reference to the 2006 Capitol Hill events. This film has some great set pieces including a bold highway armoured car robbery and a gripping chase sequence. Unfortunately there are some slip ups along the way including the final stand off that pushes the boundaries of credibility a little too far. Hoult is good here as the unsettlingly bland Bob as is Law as the agent hunting him. Attempts to draw emotional parallels between the characters is a mistake but can be forgiven. Tye Sheridan as a young cop recruited to help the FBI does solid work as he's caught up in the violence but the women characters are a little underused. Overall this is an entertaining crime thriller with a nice blend of story and action and it's well worth watching.

This is a somewhat strange film, a period drama cum comedy that was based on a stage play and feels like it too. Set in Depression era southern USA in a small hick town where the eccentric Amelia (Vanessa Redgrave) runs the local store, dishes out homemade remedies as well as moonshine. She's both feared and loathed by the community for her strange ways. The town is most surprised when a diminutive hunchback (Cork Hubbert) arrives claiming to be her cousin and that she takes him in and seems to dote on him. His influence has her convert her store into a cafe where the locals enjoy dances, food and liquor and all is merry until Amelia's estranged husband (Keith Carradine) returns leading to big tensions. Directed by Simon Callow, indeed his only film as director, this runs like a play and its plot seems very forced and at times faintly ridiculous. There's no doubt Redgrave in particular gives solid performance and the presence of Rod Steiger as the town priest is interesting although he has only a cameo role. This is not a film I enjoyed particularly but its recent return to BluRay might make it a film people want to check out.