Film Reviews by GI

A suitably atmospheric ghost story with a murder mystery thrown into the narrative. Veteran American actor George C. Scott plays John, a celebrated composer, who moves into an old gothic house for some isolation and quiet in order to finish a musical piece he's been working on. He's grieving after a terrible tragedy so when strange occurrences begin at the house it's thought it's all in his mind but John begins his own investigation and unravels a decades old murder. There's some nice subtle moments especially early on in the film as the poltergeist events ramp up. The actual murder mystery is fairly routine stuff and has been seen in many similar films and the final climax is a little disappointing. But this has many fans as an effective horror tale that eschews gore and 'cattle prod' effects for a more tense and slow build up. Worth seeking out if you've never seen it.

Epic, spectacular and rich in visual detail as you'd expect with a Ridley Scott film. Indeed it's both beautiful and harrowing in equal measure with the battle scenes grittily realistic but simply riveting to watch. Joaquin Phoenix inhabits the titular role and manages to deal effectively with Napoleon as a young man through to late middle age without the need for any de-aging processes to be used. This is a full scale biopic of the legendary French military genius and self proclaimed Emperor who rose to power off the chaos of the Revolution to become a European conqueror and whilst there are extended battle scenes particularly of the recapturing of Toulon, the battle of Austerlitz and finally Waterloo. These are all executed with Scott's usual panache for the grand scale but the film becomes more intimate in its focus off the dysfunctional relationship with the aristocrat Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). Kirby is mesmerising in the part but the script shies away too much from her and concentrates on Napoleon's flawed, child like approach to love and sex. This I found left me wanting although this is clearly Pheonix' film and he dominates as the man who rose to power but was undone by his own ego. There has been the expected controversies over historical accuracy that Scott has been quick to attack and I admit some of them did rile me somewhat but for anyone unfamiliar with the actual history this won't matter but be advised there are glaring inaccuracies so this must be treated as drama based on rather than an accurate portrayal. Definitely worth seeing on the biggest screen you can as this is a film to savour for its rich spectacle and detail. Not Scott's best but a cinematic treat all the same.

This is one of the great psychological thrillers of the 1960s and it's often overshadowed by the 2004 remake, which pales in comparison to this tense, taut and wonderfully acted film from director John Frankenheimer. Frank Sinatra is Major Ben Marko, a US Army officer who returns home with his platoon at the end of the Korean War. On Marko's recommendation one of his men, Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) has been awarded the Medal of Honour for saving the platoon during an attack. But Marko begins having recurring nightmares that Shaw murdered two of the platoon in front of an audience of enemy officers. Shaw, the son of a famous politically ambitious and domineering mother (a brilliant Angela Lansbury), is now a respected journalist but he soon begins to exhibit strange behaviour. The plot twists and turns and there are some surprisingly violent incidents as the truth behind what happened in Korea and the effects on the men is revealed. Frankenheimer delivers a compelling story, a complex narrative that deals with issues of McCarthyism, political corruption and the traumas of war. It's easy to forget that there are great films like this out there waiting to be rediscovered. This is a classic and well worth seeking out if you've never seen it.

This is one for devoted horror fans only. A very gory, blood splattered film no doubt influenced by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) where a group of cocky teenagers arrive at a remote hotel only to find it's run by an inbred group of Neo nazis with a taste for human flesh. There's plenty of corpses in various states of decay and dismemberment and some quite nasty violence along the predictable journey to the somewhat ridiculous climax. Wrapped around all this is an attempt to say something about extreme right wing politics as the events are set off by huge riots in Paris caused by the election of an ultra right wing government and then you have the Nazi baddies and a holocaust imagery from the use of language, costume and the milieu of an old mine that looks like a nazi extermination camp. It's a pretentious and silly film and as I say for fans of this sort of thing only.

Perfectly edited, funny script and some cracking acting makes this a rather endearing film that keeps you watching as it goes in some unexpected directions. This is one of those narratives that follows three different storylines centred around the same set of events. All three have laughs, shocks and weirdness that will have you intrigued and constantly smiling. Sarah Polley is a stand out here as the bored check-out girl, Ronna, in a rundown supermarket who needs cash and having been approached by two partially famous TV actors after some drugs she agrees to score some for them. This entails her going with her two friends (Katie Holmes & Nathan Bexton) to the home of drug dealer Todd (Timothy Olyphant) but the 'deal' sets off a chain of events that affects these three, the two actors who have a secret behind their need for drugs, and Ronna's cocky workmate Simon (Desmond Askew) who is on a lads weekend with his mates in Las Vegas. The three stories are great and link together to form an amusing and fun film with some adult themes. Worth seeking out if you've never seen this.

Despite the sheer implausibility of this story and the slightly over written characters this is an entertaining drama about redemption and offering a story of what happens when a good person does a bad thing. Florence Pugh as usual lifts the narrative and gives a great performance even when the story goes a little too far in what its trying to achieve. She plays Allison, a gifted, popular, beautiful young woman engaged and beloved by family and friends. A moment of carelessness results in her causing a car accident in which tragedy strikes and her life descends into a hellhole of grief and opioid addiction. Her path to recovery comes from a very unexpected person. Co starring Morgan Freeman this is a film that has some fierce critics mainly for the too good to be believable plot and characters and indeed some of their actions here test the bounds of credibility but by the end I found it too be a very watchable film that is quite satisfying.

A fantastic, exciting adventure film from veteran director John Huston and starring real life friends Sean Connery and Michael Caine. It doesn't get any better than that. Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling and set in the 1880's this tells the tale of Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnahan, two ne'er do well former British soldiers who have remained in India after leaving the army to seek adventure and riches. They come up with a dangerous plan to travel north into the unmapped area of Kafiristan in search of treasure. After a tortuous journey they rally the local tribesmen into a rebel army and march on the holy palace where due to a bizarre incident Daniel is mistaken for the descendant of Alexander The Great and worshipped as a God. It's not long before this goes to his head and their deception starts to unravel. Caine and Connery are magnificent and the film is a rollicking good yarn aided by Christopher Plummer as Kipling. It's a super film and arguably one of the greatest of adventure films.

A tremendously important film and John Ford's last masterpiece. A film about the dying of the old west, about equality, freedom of the press, of law and order and the passing of the old ways. James Stewart plays Senator Ransom Stoddard, who arrives unexpectedly in the small western town of Shinbone with his wife to attend the funeral of an old man that few in the town even knew existed. His arrival sparks the interest of the local newspaper editor who demands a story. The town is now a civilised one but thirty years earlier it was a lawless frontier town. Stoddard recounts the story from his arrival as a greenhorn lawyer, his relationship with the deceased man, Tom and his immediate run-ins with the sadistic gunfighter Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), a story that culminates in Valance's death and the legendary circumstances behind it. Shot in black & white at a time when westerns were being made in glorious technicolour and normally filmed using the huge vistas of the American West this was also mostly filmed on a sound stage. As a result this film was considered a minor work but it's brilliance has subsequently been recognised. And rightly so, this is a film that highlights the containment of the west as civilisation takes a firm grasp. It should really be Ford's swansong in that it effectively deconstructs the western mythologies he had spent a career making film about. John Wayne plays Tom, a true westerner who's role is to ignite the new west by his own destruction. It's a fine performance from Wayne, full of ambiguity and restrained anger - one of his best. The film also boasts the magnificent Edmond O'Brien in a scene stealing performance as a drunken journalist. This is one of the finest American films you could ever wish to see so if it's passed you by try and get a copy and enjoy this masterpiece. It deserves a modern audience.

A rich, compelling and enigmatic science fiction film from director Nicolas Roeg. This is one of the great science fiction films of the 1970s and often underrated due to its complex structure and narrative. Perfectly cast, David Bowie is Thomas Jerome Newton an alien from a planet dying through drought. Having left his family behind Newton has travelled to Earth in order to take back precious water supplies. To do this he builds a multi-billion dollar corporation that he then attempts to use to build a spacecraft for the return home. He is thwarted by a shady organisation trying to protect the economy of the world from the dominance of Newton's company and it's power but also by his exposure to human vices especially alcohol and sex. The story unfolds through Newton's relationship with Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a humble hotel valet who becomes his lover and introduces him to drink and debauchery. There's lots to observe in this film which, on first viewing, will baffle and confound, and I always advise first timers to just go with the film and not try to unravel it's sub-texts and meanings as many will remain a mystery. This is typical of Roeg and many of his films are complex and defy easy analysis. But The Man Who Fell To Earth is a powerful film with themes of corruption, human greed and vice. It has some quite extreme sex scenes for it's time and the big reveal of Newton's true form remains a quite horrific and unsettling scene. With Rip Torn as a scientist who works for Newton and begins to suspect what he really is and Buck Henry as the lawyer who helps him set up the corporation this is a great film. It won't be what you'd expect from a normal science fiction film but it will leave an impression.

Despite lots of accolades especially on the festival circuit I found this coming of age comedy to be excruciating and dull. It's dark, bizarre and mostly in bad taste to the extent that I couldn't find anything in it at all funny. Talented young graphic artist, Robert (Daniel Zolghadri) who longs to work in comic books shuns his comfortable life with his parents and heads off to squalor and an entourage of misfits on the idea that he has to suffer for his art! This brings him into contact with some truly disgusting people including the weird Miles (Matthew Maher) who he eventually takes home to his parents with disastrous results. As an indie comedy I'm sure this will have fans but it did nothing for me mainly because it dwelt far to hungrily on grotesques and nerds to the detriment of a decent story and script.

This sequel to the first in what became a huge franchise is really more of the same as the first without the charisma of Vin Diesel. Essentially the hero Brian (Paul Walker) now an ex cop and living in Florida is recruited to infiltrate the bad guy played by Cole Hauser's drug empire and bring him down. There's a beautiful woman in the form of Eva Mendes to lure him along although they never end up together. To be honest this stereotypical and average plot is really the medium to showcase lots of flash cars racing around. It's a film for the teenage gaming generation, nothing particularly memorable and even the stunts aren't that exciting.

A fantastic action thriller from director Tony Scott who is often overshadowed by his older brother Ridley but who has made some cracking movies. This has his trademark jump edits, fast action and a gritty realistic look. Denzel Washington plays Creasy, a washed up former soldier and CIA agent who is haunted by the killings he has perpetrated in the past and is now a borderline alcoholic. Unable to find a job or indeed a purpose in life he turns to his old comrade Rayburn (the always brilliant Christopher Walken) who secures him a job as a bodyguard to the young daughter of a rich businessman in Mexico City. Despite himself Creasy begins to bond with the charming girl played with sheer delight by Dakota Fanning. But when the girl is kidnapped Creasy is moved to determined vengeance on all involved. The plot has some great twists and turns, there is a disturbing satisfaction to be had in watching Creasy exact his revenge on the various people he discovers linked with the crime and whilst the film is violent it never slips into gratuitousness. The excellent cast is rounded out by Radha Mitchell, Giancarlo Giannini, Rachel Ticotin and a bizarrely cast Mickey Rourke as a lawyer. This is a clever film and well worth a re-evaluation if it's been awhile since you've seen it. As a small piece of trivia this is actually a part remake from a film of the same title made in 1987, starring Scott Glenn and set in Italy, also worth checking out if you've never seen it.

Rightly considered a classic western it is actually a bit of an oddity. Its narrative doesn't fully fit into the standard plots of westerns although it is clearly an 'outlaw' story. Gary Cooper, arguably much too old for the role, plays a reformed outlaw who happens to be on a train when his old bunch rob it and by a quirk of circumstances he finds himself stranded with a couple of other passengers, including romantic interest Julie London, and forced to rejoin the gang, led by psychopathic Lee J. Cobb, in order to survive. The dynamics between Cooper's former killer with a conscience and the clearly homicidal gang is what drives the narrative with London as the character he vows to protect. Indeed the sexual violence that is pervasive throughout was ahead of its time including a tense scene where London is forced to strip for the gang. There's a drawn out fist fight that is quite violent for its time and a climactic showdown in a desert ghost town. The film is marked by the tension that is ever present and never lets up as the characters all simmer on the edge of explosive violence and the director, Anthony Mann, never allows you to guess where and from whom its going to come. The seeds are here of the more grittier direction the genre took in the 1960s and beyond with directors such as Sam Peckinpah. Cooper is an interesting western anti-hero and much like his Will Kane in High Noon (1952) here he's a man of shades, some dark and some light, his gun skills are negligible and he lacks the dominance of, say, a John Wayne character. This makes for a more interesting, psychological edge to the narrative and a film of real interest as you never know if he's going to win or lose. This is a filmwell worth rediscovery and if you haven't seen it then it's worth your time.

Director Zack Snyder's reboot of the Superman story is essentially a remake of Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) but sheds the pure comic book styling and comedy of those two beloved favourites to concentrate on a darker origin story as a full on science fiction film. For the most part it works well with a washed tone look and gritty set pieces. The film opens with the story of the fate of Krypton enhancing the story from the 1978 film's opening and with Russell Crowe as the father. There's a nice complexity to Krypton and the conflicts within that world that introduce the film's big baddie General Zod played with his usual full on malice by Michael Shannon. The introduction of Superman takes awhile but we then get a very enjoyable back story told with flashbacks and get to see the future Superman as he hides amongst humans but occasionally is forced to use his powers to help out. Henry Cavil really nails the part and arguably he's the best screen Superman we've ever seen. What Snyder does well is bring to the fore that Superman is actually an alien, hiding out on Earth and the narrative grows into a basic alien invasion scenario once Zod and his gang show up. Amy Adams makes a plucky Lois Lane, much more professional and serious than the ditzy characterisations we've seen before. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane have supporting roles as Superman's adoptive father & mother and the cast is rounded out with Laurence Fishburne as Perry White. Don't look for Jimmy Olsen or Lex Luthor they're not involved here! The film takes a bit of a downturn towards the end when Snyder opts for huge CGI destructive battles that seem to go on and on and whilst he has Superman commit the ultimate anti-Superman act in a rare attempt to remain on the dark side, his decision to release this film in 3D meant he went for a final battle that is too much (In 1980 Superman used his wits to defeat Zod rather than brute force - a wiser choice ). So the ending aside this is a valiant attempt to bring the Superman story up to date and for the most part it's entertaining and exciting stuff. What a shame everything in the DC Universe since has been such awfulness!

The 1950s were the 'golden age' of the American western, many of the greatest westerns were made in this decade and this is one of them. Director Anthony Mann made five westerns with James Stewart and this is the last of them. It's epic in scale, shot in beautiful technicolor and blurs the edges of genre convention. Ostensibly this is a revenge narrative but this has film noir overtones and the good guy/bad guy tropes are blurred and conflicted. Stewart plays Will Lockhart who rides into town with a team of wagons and stores for delivery to Barbara (Cathy O'Donnell) the local store owner. But Lockhart has another darker agenda, he's searching for the man responsible for selling rifles to the Apaches who are still running amok and are an ever present threat to the area. Lockhart's brother was a trooper massacred by Apaches with these guns and he's determined to kill whoever is responsible. This is where Stewart exhibits the light and greys of his screen persona. He's all Mr Nice Guy one minute and then seething with repressed anger the next. Soon he comes up against the Waggoman family, run by rancher and patriarch Alec (Donald Crisp), Alec's psychopathic son Dave (Alex Nicol) and the ranch foreman Vic (Arthur Kennedy) and the seeds of Will's investigation begin to take root. There's a pointless love interest with Barbara thrown in and even though by today's standards it's tame there is, for the times, some hard violence including a deliberate wounding of Will and a scene where he is dragged by rope. The narrative follows the classic plot line often found in myth and legend and utilised many times in the western. An outside 'force' arrives to unsettle a community, causes disruption in unraveling evil and then restores the stars quo, riding off with little reward if any. Stewart's Lockhart is the outsider who disrupts the status quo and forces the bad guy out into the open causing everyone's lives to be disrupted but ultimately left for the better. He leaves with no personal gain, in this case not even the love interest. There's much to admire in this film and it's worthy of close viewing to appreciate just how sharp and interesting it is.