Film Reviews by GI

A witty, humour filled and yet serious drama from writer, director and star Jesse Eisenberg that is clever, moving and a real treat. Basically a road movie that hovers between the trivialities of modern day problems and the horrors of history in this case the Holocaust. This is the story of two American cousins, the introverted David (Eisenberg) and the free spirited Benji (Kieran Culkin) who were very close as children but have since grown apart. David has a secure job and a family whereas Benji has a more laid back life still living in his parents basement. They have reunited on a tour to Poland basically to honour their recently deceased grandmother who was a Holocaust survivor and to find her childhood home. The tour is an organised one with a small group of tourists, led by a tour guide (Will Sharpe), who David hesitatingly tries to be a part but Benji embraces with full on intensity of personality in a tour de force of uncontrollable personality flitting between mood swings of emotional bonding to sharp anger. The narrative cleverly explores the real issues that lay deep within these two especially Benji who harbours demons that gradually reveal themselves. It's not explicit but Benji certainly has serious anxiety as he borders on alienating his fellow travellers but seems to unite them too whilst David cringes in horror at his mood swings. This character driven part of the story is intertwined with the experience of the Holocaust tour and highlights the American experience of trying to come to terms with the horrors that a previous generation preferred to keep silent about. The script is a masterclass of understatement and yet is has a strong message that resonates throughout the entire film. Culkin gets the funny lines and he dominates the film but rightly so as this is about his journey. His child like reactions and switch to fierce anger is a cleverly written and performed character. There's a lot to enjoy in this film, it's sort of arrived without fanfare but it deserves to be recognised for the sheer cleverness in its easy nature and moving story. The ending is a tear inducing one.

This is a little gem that arrived without any hype back in 2000. A science fiction thriller where a merchant space craft crash lands on a desert planet with only eleven survivors including a convict, Riddick (Vin Diesel) being escorted to prison by Johns (Cole Hauser). Riddick is a notorious murderer and as the survivors try to work out what to do they also have to worry about what he might do to them! In any case their fears are doubled when they discover that the planet is home to large nocturnal beasts and when it's realised a month long eclipse is about to happen they have to work out how to get off the planet very quickly. This is Diesel's first big starring role and he's suitably menacing and interesting as Riddick, a criminal with adapted eyesight. The cast includes Radha Mitchell as the ship's pilot and Keith David as one of the surviving passengers. Visually striking this film has originality even though the story has elements of Alien (1979) to it but there's enough freshness here to make this a fantastic sci-fi film and certainly one I recommend if you've never seen it. There have been a couple of ambitious but disappointing sequels but you can ignore those and just enjoy this great little film.

A thoroughly predictable and extremely implausible science fiction film that warns of the dangers of AI. It's another robot narrative that is schlocky and daft and tries to play in the themes that hugely better films have done before such as Blade Runner (1982), Ex Machina (2014) and The Stepford Wives (1975); there's even a Terminator scene thrown in for good measure. This is set in the near future where very human-like robots called SIMS are freely available as workers, servants etc etc. When humble construction manager Nick (Michele Morrone) is faced with looking after his two children as his wife is hospitalised he buys a SIM which he names Alice (Megan Fox). Despite the fact that he can afford what should be a highly expensive piece of kit it also happens to be a very sexually alluring model! Eventually of course he fucks Alice and fails to act when it begins to offer some disturbing behaviour. When Nick's wife comes home Alice proves to be rather dangerous for reasons that are not really followed through in the narrative. There's some huge gaps in this image of the future, indeed apart from robots that are basically indistinguishable from humans (more human than human as a better film once said) there seems to be nothing else much different. There's even a lack of basic CCTV allowing the plot to have a crime that would be easily resolved today let alone in a few years time! In short you can pull holes galore in this and despite some horrific violence it's a film that could have been great but is sadly a throwaway.

This low key crime drama, based on real events, is a quite intense and vivid story with a remarkable central performance from Imogen Poots. It tells the story of Rose Dugdale, an English debutante from a wealthy, aristocratic family, who rebels against her privileged upbringing, is radicalised at Oxford University and becomes an activist prepared to use violence in the name of her causes. The main one of these is her support for the IRA which she joins and is then instrumental in the planning and execution of a daring robbery of an Irish stately home where pricelsss paintings are stolen and held for ransom. The draw of this film is that the events are not given an embellished cinematic thrill ride, and in many ways it's a biopic of Dugdale. She is portrayed here as a contradictory character, sometimes a gentle, conscience ridden woman and at others ruthless and prepared to kill. Her struggle with these contradictions is where Poots excels in showing Dugdale as partially naive and immature and partially a very professional terrorist. There's a scene where Dugdale visits her partially blind and elderly neighbour who may have worked out who she is and she sinisterly considers murdering him. It's a quite unsettling scene. The film has a structure of mixing events and timelines that highlights the contradictions in Dugdale's motives and personality. This is a drama that draws you in and keeps you hooked and, in the main, it's Poots performance that holds the film together, she is very good here. This is a film that is well worth checking out.

Stylised to appeal to the violent gaming fandom, which I assume is teenage boys, this ultra violent, buddy cop movie is an example of the tedious big budget rubbish that Hollywood still churns out. There's nothing in the story that's particularly memorable as it all seems so clichéd and ultimately boring. Full of shoot 'em ups, wisecracking between the two leads and typical baddies in a routine script there's nothing very interesting or different here. Admittedly I've never seen much in any of the previous films in this tired franchise as they're light on the comedy and heavy on the usual implausible action and effects. Here the two buddy cops played by Martin Lawrence and Will Smith have to find the bad guys who are trying to allege their late boss was corrupt so as to divert attention from the real corrupt cops. If you're a fan then this is more of the same and if not then this might pass the time but it's absolute tosh.

The title signposted that a sequel was always intended if not the series that eventually arrived. And what a disappointment that series turned out to be when this first film is such great fun. A swashbuckler fantasy film that was very original in its concept and much of the sparkle and originality comes from Johnny Depp's characterisation of the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, reputedly inspired by Rolling Stone Keith Richards. Any follow up film was always going to struggle once the audience knew this character and so they relied more and more on the spectacular whereas this film had some very good character emphasis. Ok there are extravagant effects but they work so well to create a family fun filled film that has monsters, sword fights, romance and a great story. As a child Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the daughter of the British Governor of a Caribbean island chain, comes into possession of a strange gold medallion. Years later this medallion is sought after by a band of ruthless and cursed pirates led by Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). They kidnap Elizabeth for nefarious reasons and are pursued by Will (Orlando Bloom) and Norrington (Jack Davenport) both of whom are in love with her and they are aided by the notorious Jack Sparrow, a pirate with his own agenda. Marvellous fun, similar in style to The Mummy (1999) and the Indiana Jones series, this has laughs, excitement and is brilliantly written. Forget the sequels and just enjoy this as a stand alone movie.

This incredibly moving drama has a very dark undercurrent. Based on the book by journalist Martin Sixsmith it tells the story of how, during the 1950s, the Roman Catholic Church systematically abused young unmarried mothers in Ireland, forced them to work and sold their children to wealthy Americans. Written and produced by star Steve Coogan who plays Sixsmith, having recently been sacked from his job with the Labour Party becomes depressed and aimless. Until he finds out the plight of Philomena (Judi Dench), a woman who yearns to find her son who was forcibly taken from her by the nuns of an Irish convent. Martin reluctantly takes on the story which leads the two of them to America. On the journey trying to track down her son Philomena and Martin bond together especially the cynical Martin who becomes more angry at what he discovers went on. The film intentionally highlights the international scandal of the Church's actions and the thousands of women who are still trying to track down their lost children today obstructed by the Church and it's minions. Coogan plays Sixsmith with a weary cynicism and humour and Judi Dench is as excellent as ever as the lovely yet thoroughly sad Philomena who can't bring herself to be angry at what happened to her and her son. But I challenge any viewer not be enraged by the story. A moving and quite heartwarming story and a film I highly recommend.

This is one of Clint Eastwood's most underrated films as a director. It's a multi-layered crime drama set in Texas, 1963. Kevin Costner stars as 'Butch' Haynes a career criminal who escapes from the State Penitentiary and a manhunt begins led by Clint Eastwood's cynical lawman, Red Garnett. Forced to take hostage 8 year old Philip (T.J. Lowther), Butch takes to the road and a bond forms between the boy and the criminal, he becomes the father figure that Philip has never had. It's a relationship that is very touching and as the story plays out other connections are gradually revealed along with some of Butch's past. There's so much to admire in this film. It has humour, gritty action pieces that are suitably restrained and fitting and a good support cast including Laura Dern as a young criminologist who recognises what motivates Butch and respects his intelligence. Eastwood wisely takes a supporting role and doesn't actually have any scenes with Costner until the films climax. One of Eastwood's best films as a director and one that reveals more every time you watch it. It's a marvellous movie and definitely one I recommend if you want to see Eastwood at the top of his game.

This is gloriously good fun, a horror comedy that doesn't hold back, has great chemistry between the cast and throws in buckets of gore and a great plot. Dan Stevens seems to relish every role he's given and here he plays a ruthless ex cop criminal who nominally leads a gang who have been recruited by a mysterious man calling himself Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito). Their job is to kidnap the daughter of a notorious gangland leader, hold her for 24 hours in an old country house until an enormous ransom is paid. Unfortunately for the team things aren't all they seem and what appears an easy route to big reward soon turns into their biggest nightmare as the girl, Abigail (Alisha Weir) may only be 12 years old but she's no pushover! It's no spoiler to say that this is a vampire film, a gloriously over the top one at that. Weir as the ancient vampire child (reminiscent here of Kirsten Dunst in 1994s Interview With A Vampire) is guttural, mischievous and thoroughly monstrous as she reveals her power. Melissa Barrera, Kevin Durand and Kathryn Newton support as the crew that struggle to deal with their situation and Matthew Goode as a great cameo. It's all played for bloody and gory laughs without becoming silly although the final quarter of the film pushes the boundaries a bit but overall this is a blast.

This is what a good action thriller should be like. A great story, exciting set piece action sequences, car chases, two charismatic leads who don't have to get it on with each other for the film to work. This film rattles along at a breakneck speed and it's thoroughly great entertainment from start to finish. The plot centres around the theft of nuclear bombs involving a dissident Russian General and a Croatian terrorist. The Americans save the day with nuclear expert Dr Kelly (Nicole Kidman) aided by maverick military intelligence man Devoe (George Clooney - proving his action star credentials). The story flits around Europe, has a fantastic Bondian car chase in Vienna, a helicopter attack sequence and climactic and tense hunt for the terrorist in Manhattan. Yes there's plot holes and if you stop to think about it too much it's all way over the top but it doesn't matter because it's a really good action movie with some very memorable scenes including a night time attack on a train with the red eyes from the night vision goggles of the thieves that you'll remember for ages afterwards. If you've never seen this then check it out you won't be disappointed.

This is an effective and entertaining home invasion/slasher/horror thriller that has some plot twists that are a little obvious but that aside the film rattles along at a good pace and has all the gore, tension and surprises that this sort of film needs. Set in a remote country house of a wealthy couple who have invited their family to join them for an anniversary celebration and to help heal some family rifts. The various siblings all arrive with an assortment of boyfriends and girlfriends and as the family sit down for their first evening together they find they are attacked by a group of scary masked men intent on killing them. But one of the girlfriends, Erin (Sharni Vinson) turns out to be no pushover! The house allows for lots of creeping and stalking through the corridors and rooms and there's some influence of Straw Dog (1971) on show. Director Adam Wingard is adept here at keeping the film feeling fresh despite the genre being quite well used. This is better than a lot of films of this story type and its well worth checking out.

It was in the 90s that Harrison Ford really cemented his action film credentials and the two films he made playing Jack Ryan are really good and hold up as solid and entertaining action films. When Alec Baldwin bailed out of reprising the role after The Hunt For Red October (1990) Ford stepped in and has become the best remembered actor to play him. Ex CIA analyst Jack is on holiday in London with his wife and daughter when he steps in and foils an attempt by an IRA team to kidnap a member of the royal family. In the process Jack kills one of them and his brother, Sean (Sean Bean) vows revenge. He manages to escape custody and the plot is his obsessive attempts to murder Jack and his family. Jack is lured back into the CIA in order to lead the hunt for the terrorists. There's some gritty action scenes and a remarkable sequence of the SAS attacking a terrorist camp viewed via satellite images. The film rattles along at a great pace, with a gripping detective style plot and the cast are excellent including James Fox as the targeted royal, Patrick Bergin and Polly Walker as terrorists and Richard Harris has a cameo as an old IRA man. It's always worth returning to these films because they are well made, solid entertainment and unpretentious.

To yearn for the historic moments in music history is arguably a symptom of getting older and looking at the past through rose tinted spectacles. This film will appeal hugely to fans and anyone who lived through or at least near to the events that are here portrayed, whether the appeal will find a younger audience we'll have to see. I suspect though that the electric performance of Timothée Chalamet's as Bob Dylan seals this as a very entertaining, interesting and absorbing music biopic. It charts the early rise of Dylan as he arrives in New York in 1961 as an unknown and under the guidance of veteran folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) his songwriting and unique singing voice soon finds a big audience and music industry interest. In fact the film skirts quite quickly through anonymity to fame via Dylan's relationships with early girlfriend Sylvie (Elle Fanning) and then already famous singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). Chalamet plays Dylan with a vague sinister, seductive, often funny whilst with a smirking and/or scowling persona. As Baez says in the film "You're kind of an asshole Bob" and that's often how this complex character comes across. The narrative climaxes with the infamous Newport Folk Festival performance of 1965 when Dylan played a short electric set to the consternation of the folk music nerds although it does play a little loose with real events. But this is not a documentary and this is a rather good biopic of a singer who is very difficult to nail down and therefore to portray on screen. In this film it surpasses itself in that regard. This is also unusual in that this isn't a standard rise and fall story, it's all rise here, really of a music messiah and the christian references are clear to be seen here. But this is Chalamet's film, an assured, complex and damn good performance and his singing is very, very good.

In some ways you could describe this bawdy British comedy as the UK M*A*S*H (1970) although this film, based on a successful novel by Leslie Thomas, is more in the Carry On vein. It does portray the life of young men, mostly just boys, on National Service, thrust into a strange country, poorly trained, bored and obsessed with sex or more accurately losing their virginity. Set in Malaya in 1951 where the UK was attempting to re-establish its colonial empire after the Second World War but facing armed rebels intent on securing their independence. The British army is made up of conscripted men who spend their time trying to find ways out of duty, in one sequence four of them ask for circumcision hoping for an extended period on sick leave for example! The narrative focuses on one young soldier, Brigg (Hywel Bennett) and the equally bored and sexually frustrated daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major (Nigel Patrick) played by Lynn Redgrave. The array of characters get into various scrapes and try to buck the rules until they are thrown into combat with the rebels and soon see the consequences of battle. It's an interesting film in it's bold, for the time, take on prostituton, STDs and homosexuality. The film feels a little dated today but it's an interesting take on the issue of conscription that formed a big part of the lives of young British men in the 1950s. There's a host of familiar faces who went on to become big names in film and/or TV in later years including James Cosmo and blink and you'll miss him but David Bowie has a very small walk on part as a soldier.

With obvious references to The Wicker Man and Don't look Now (both 1973) this British folkloric pagan horror is an interesting and absorbing film that could have drifted into silliness if it hadn't been for the forthright and sincere central performances of Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. They play married couple Richard and Juliette who have moved, with their young son, to the old remote house on the moors that was once Richard's father's house. The time is the 1970s. He's an archaeologist and has started a dig on the land following the writings of his father about an ancient tree and site supposedly there. When tragedy strikes the couple's lives are thrown into emotional turmoil and Richard's discovery of some ancient bones leads to strange happenings. There is a sinister and mysterious aura to this film that does draw you in although opinions may divide over the specifics which may stretch credibility a little too far but I found the film a rather intriguing and thoughtful horror story. It's not a specially frightening or scary film but it has an unsettling element and, for me, it worked well. British character actor Sean Gilder supports in a role that hints at menace.