Film Reviews by GI

Here you have Die Hard (1988) but instead of cop John McClane we have Santa Claus who takes on a team of mercenaries. To be fair Die Hard is referenced unapologetically throughout in this adult comedy that flounders after awhile leaving an occasionally silly, overly violent story that becomes more interested in bloody fights than good jokes. In short a dysfunctional, wealthy family are gathered on Christmas Eve when a bunch of baddies arrives to steal money hidden in the family's vault. Unfortunately for them a very grumpy and disheartened Santa (David Harbour) happens to be in the middle of delivering presents and decides to intervene. There's a great Home Alone (1990) episode and if you remember all the bad Santa clichés from other films you'll find them here too. It's an average film, with a half baked plot and a mostly unfunny script indeed when you break it down Santa's presence in the story is pointless as the part he plays could be any ex-soldier type, it could've been John Wick on a visit for example!

This is considered one of Luc Besson's best films. It's an American set crime thriller with that gritty and realistic European arthouse style and vibe that makes it eminently watchable and original. In her first real role Natalie Portman is the 12 year old Mathilda whose family is massacred by a corrupt DEA agent, Stansfield (Gary Oldman), and his team. She seeks sanctuary with her strange neighbour, Léon, who just happens to be a highly skilled hitman. Under his tutelage she plots her revenge. The highlights of this film are Oldman as the psychopath agent Stansfield and Reno as the child like and emotionally stunted Léon. But, in the director's cut version, the relationship between Mathilda and Leon takes on a challenging slant and the awkward nature of it makes you perk up and take notice that this is more than a routine action thriller. Besson skirts a very fine line here but he does it skilfully and focuses the narrative on the relationship between Leon and Mathilda turning this film into something highly original and intriguing. It's a film of strange nuances from the opening sequence where Leon's skills take on an almost supernatural air to the various interactions with the main characters and these include the father/son dynamic between Leon and his boss, mafioso Tony (Danny Aiello), and the neurotic and evil force of Stansfield who corrupts all he encounters. Oldman really excels here and makes this psychopath a real force to be remembered. But it's in the beguiling play of father/daughter, mentor/pupil and finally lovers (?) of Leon and Mathilda that the film plays around with your feelings and leave you strangely unsettled but also satisfied.

John Wayne in interviews regretted passing on the role of Dirty Harry especially after he'd seen the film that cemented Clint Eastwood's top box office position and so he subsequently agreed to make two cop action films, McQ (1974) and Brannigan. They are both star vehicles with an obviously too old Wayne as different tough cops, indeed he was quite ill during production of both films. But it is Brannigan which has garnered more praise probably because of its London setting and the 'fish out of water' and culture clash narrative. Brannigan is a tough Chicago cop sent to London to bring back a mobster played with his usual slimy persona by John Vernon. Scotland Yard are supposed to have his man in custody so Brannigan is less than pleased when he discovers that his prisoner has been kidnapped. So, as you'd expect, Brannigan goes a bit rogue around London on the hunt aided by Judy Geeson as a beautiful British detective and hounded by her boss played by Richard Attenborough, who is clearly having fun but managed to never ever mention this film in interviews for the rest of his life! This is good fun, a fairly routine action thriller with the usual doses of humour that you find in Wayne films, plenty of roustabout violence including a hilarious bar fight. Of course Brannigan manages to keep a gun despite the laws of England and there's a sort of running joke throughout about it. Of course this doesn't match up to any of Wayne's best films, but it's an interesting one when considering his 70s output and his waning box office draw. His best film of the 70s, and his last, was yet to come but Brannigan, much like Coogan's Bluff (1968), brings a cowboy into the metropolis to wield his mythical prowess and viewed today, it's dated but hugely enjoyable.

An excellent gangster drama based on the infamous Kray twins who dominated the London crime scene of the 1960s. In many ways this is a star vehicle for Tom Hardy who plays both brothers in a superbly edited and constructed film. The temptation will be to assume this is an accurate biopic of real life gangsters but it's reported to be inaccurate in some key areas and indeed one major plot point and overall the film has the vibe of an adapted graphic novel with the characters sharply exaggerated and the film is all the better for it. Ronnie and Reggie Kray are two East End villains who are rising up in the underworld by taking over clubs and similar venues through threats, intimidation and brutal violence. They have to contend with the attention of the police (their nemesis being detective 'Nipper' Read played by Christopher Eccleston, although the film hardly delves into any investigation narratives and Read is a sidelined character in this depiction) and the Richardsons, a rival gang (Paul Bettany cameos as their boss). The main focus though is on Reggie and his besotted relationship with Frances (Emily Browning), who struggles with the violence she gets caught up in. The insanity of both brothers is neatly portrayed with the clearly psychopathic Ronnie who is always close to ruining their empire to the slowly revealed Reggie as an equally violent sociopath. Hardy is excellent throughout and the film recreates London in the 60s with aplomb. There's some excellent set pieces and although mostly restrained there is some brutal violence on display. A better film than The Krays (1990) which was dark and had an unpleasantness to it, mostly because of Hardy's great screen presence. Overall highly entertaining.

Taika Waititi's follow up to 2017s Thor: Ragnarok and more of his tongue in cheek humour and Chris Hemsworth relaxed and having an absolute ball in the title role. The previous film lifted the Marvel film franchise out of the doldrums, along with the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy (they make a brief appearance here too) and gave it a much needed injection of good natured humour. This latest does the same but with less originality and what you have is a fairly standard MCU film, indeed superhero film, with plenty of huge effects, monsters, strange worlds and punch ups (don't they always end up with one?). Here Christian Bale has been lured back to the genre as the chief baddie, who has a grievance with the Gods and sets about annihilating them. Thor teams up with his old girlfriend (Natalie Portman) who much to his surprise now wields his hammer, to battle him. MCU fans will love this and will be able to link the various characters from other films and there's a great cameo from Russell Crowe, who does a bizarre but hilarious accent as the top god, Zeus. Entertaining as far as it goes, nothing much new, and just maybe the franchise has chased itself up a dead end as further films may well be very tiresome.

This is best described as the Australian Red Dawn (1984), which itself was remade in 2012, where a group off bored teenagers in a small Australian town go camping in the bush for a weekend and whilst they're away the country is invaded by a foreign power. The story follows their initial discovery of the invasion, their attempts to avoid capture and eventually becoming guerrilla fighters. It's a reasonably entertaining drama with a couple of decent set pieces including a big chase sequence although the whole thing is totally full of plot holes and at times daft. The inclusion of some romance that is more like a teenage high school drama slows the film down which lacks the action needed to make it really good. Apparently there were plans for sequels which were shelved when this failed to find an audience. Overall this is watchable but hinders possibly by budgetary restraints.

Ridley Scott's dark, adult fairy tale film sits a little strange in his oeuvre and for that reason it's an intriguing film even if you consider it an oddity. Set in a mythical fairy tale land the Lord of Darkness, a massively impressive performance by Tim Curry, plans to bring eternal darkness to the land and to do so he must kill the last two unicorns. To thwart him we have Jack, a young Tom Cruise and a Princess, played by Mia Sara. Into the mix there are elves, dwarves and sprites and so it's all influenced by Tolkien and Grimm fairy stories and Scott has incorporated some very dark images. It does seem however that he hasn't been able to make up his mind whether to make a very adult film, a family film or a childrens film and so what resulted is a hybrid that occasionally becomes annoying whilst watching it. As you'd expect with Scott its visually very impressive and his own Blade Runner (1982) is an influence on the set designs (this was the film he made directly after Blade Runner). There are in fact several versions of the film around and each has different scenes, script and soundtrack. The Director's Cut is the one I'd strongly recommend. It was considered lost for several years but rediscovered and is both Scott's and Cruise' preferred version. Compared to the European Theatrical cut it's a longer, more coherent and introduces themes of jealousy, lust, love and vanity much more directly. Definitely a film to seek out if you've never seen it, it will bemuse some and intrigue most.

An entertaining and atmospheric horror film that draws its influence from It Follows (2014) where an evil entity stalks a victim until it's passed onto the next victim. In this case it's by committing suicide! The film has the usual moody light and dark shadows and sudden cattle prod shocks mixed with some gore and grotesque deaths. Rose (Sosie Bacon) is a doctor in an emergency mental health ward who is disturbed by the suicide of a young woman during a therapy session with her. Just before killing herself she exhibited a malevolent smile. Rose is then haunted by strange visions and disturbances including seeing people with the same smile. It appears she has become the entities next victim unless she can find out how, why, what etc etc. There's a theme emerges around facing one's own guilt and past traumas (Rose has a horrible history) and the film has a solid pace and tension. It's a genre piece, well made and will certainly appeal to horror fans.

This is a nostalgic British heist film about a group of former and disaffected Army officers who plan and execute a bank robbery. There's a mild comedy feel to script and the great array of stalwart British actors, Jack Hawkins, Roger Livesey, Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough and Terence Alexander will be familiar to those of a certain age - keen viewers will also spot a very early appearance of Oliver Reed as a gay actor. Overall it's a wonderful story though, well scripted and with, for its time, a gritty robbery set piece at its heart. Hawkins is the leader who brings together a group of ex soldiers who all have financial problems and a history that makes them susceptible to committing the audacious crime. This is an enjoyable and interesting film, not only for it's nostalgic value, but also as a classic British crime film that is well worth seeking out.

It's been many years since I last watched this B movie sci-fi heavily influenced by Blade Runner (1982) and possibly The Terminator (1984) and certainly styled like the films of John Carpenter. It's become a bit of a cult favourite despite its obvious cheapness and shoddy acting, effects and plot. Tim Thomerson plays Jack Deth, a cop from a dystopian future who is sent back in time to the Los Angeles of 1984 to hunt down the bad guy who turns people into obedient zombie like followers called Trancers. Helen Hunt is the girl who helps him and in whom he falls in love. It's all complete nonsense and follows the mode set by Blade Runner of the classic hard boiled detective genre crossed over into science fiction. No one is taking any of it seriously and it did spawn a couple of sequels. But it hasn't aged well.

A fairly routine revenge western with the usual, at times gruesome, violence and a slightly anti-climactic ending. January Jones is a former prostitute now living with her Mexican husband on a small farm. Their nearest neighbour is a sadistic religious cult leader played with obvious relish by Jason Isaacs who casually murders anyone he finds distasteful including Jone's husband. Into the mix rides an eccentric lawman played by Ed Harris who is looking for the killer of two brothers. It all ends in a bloody trail of gunplay, predictably and as I said a little disappointingly but it's entertaining in it's way as a simple genre piece.

Originally to be directed by Guy Ritchie this still has the hallmarks of the style of British crime film he laid down in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999). But director Matthew Vaughn gave this his own particular vision and the end result is a smooth, humorous and grittily realistic London crime drama that really rocks. A plot full of twists and turns and some brilliantly conceived characters not least the unnamed main character played by Daniel Craig who not only secured the James Bond role on the back of his performance here but he does a small Bond homage in the film which even in hindsight is very funny. Aided by a cast including Colm Meaney, Sienna Miller, Ben Wishaw, Tom Hardy and others who have all gone onto bigger and better things. Craig is a sophisticated drug dealer operating at the top of the business where he works for an uncouth crime boss (Kenneth Cranham). He survives in the violent world by following some simple rules and has a plan to get out of the business. But when the boss asks him for two favours, to find the daughter of a friend and to find a buyer for a large consignment of ecstasy pills, his plans are thrown into disarray and he is forced to ignore his rules! This is a great film and deserves to be recognised as one of the best of the new style of modern, British crime films.

This is one of those magnificent movies that makes you realise why you fell in love with cinema. It's a masterpiece, epic, stunningly beautiful, brilliantly scripted and directed and keeps at it's heart an intimate character study of a diverse historical figure. Set during the First World war it tells the story of T.E. Lawrence, an eccentric young British army officer who is sent by his superiors to act as liaison to an Arab prince to encourage the Arabs to fight the Turks. The British, of course, have designs on Arabia but Lawrence against the odds and to the surprise of his British High Command unites the warring Arab tribes and secures unprecedented victories against the Turkish army at personal cost to his beliefs and perhaps his sanity. There are some very famous scenes to be enjoyed here and a story that is really interesting and brilliantly told. Peter O'Toole plays Lawrence to sheer perfection aided by a stellar cast including Alec Guinness, Omar Shariff, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains and Anthony Quinn. The film garnered seven Academy Awards and they are richly deserved. A magnificent, beautiful film and one every film fan must see and watch time and time again.

A deeply unsettling drama based on the true story of Martin Bryant, a mentally disturbed man who carried out Australia's bloodiest massacre in 1996. The film charts the life of Martin, nicknamed Nitram at his school, and his dysfunctional family life with a weak father and shrill, hard-nosed mother, who has long since despaired of getting any love from her son and is acutely aware of his mental instability. Caleb Landry Jones plays Nitram as a belligerent young man whose behaviour lacks normal boundaries. He is befriended by a reclusive and wealthy woman, Helen (Essie Davis) and moves into her somewhat ramshackle large house. When she is killed in a road crash Nitram inherits her wealth and has access to enough money to begin collecting an arsenal of guns. Director Justin Kurzel stays away from showing the actual massacre which takes place at the film's end and off camera. This is arguably a good decision and one that prevents the awful events from becoming glorified although other film's that have depicted mass killers have included the event with positive and deliberately shocking results such as 22 July (2018) and Polytechnique (2019). This is a descent into madness narrative with a disturbing central performance and three other great ones from Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia as the parents and Davis as Helen. The film leaves open questions as to the whether Bryant was evil or just behaviourally ill and it's interesting to discover at the film's end that he didn't commit suicide like many mass killers or killed by the police but remains in prison to this day. The key message delivered though is the issue of gun control and ownership. From the scene where he is allowed by a gun dealer to buy weapons without the necessary licence to the quick decision by the Australian Government to restrict gun types and ownership after the killings. A strong, compelling character study, worth checking out.

This is a deeply moving, slightly sad but compassionate drama set in Ireland in the early 1980s. It's a gentle and beautiful film with stunning cinematography and wonderful performances. Cáit (Catherine Clinch), is the ten year girl of the title, introverted and shy she is one of a large dysfunctional family who run a failing small holding. Her mother is yet again pregnant and her father is a lazy drunk. One day, without telling her, her father takes Cáit to spend the summer with her mother's cousin (Carrie Crowley), who along with her husband, Seán (Andrew Bennett), run a farm. Thrust into this strange environment Cáit is bewildered but receives attention and affection she has never before experienced and soon she begins to blossom. This is a sort of coming of age scenario in that Cáit begins to grasp the world of adults, something she has previously only observed in her immature and withdrawn way. The film beautifully captures the the child's eye view of the world and Clinch is simply wonderful in the role. The film has a constant atmosphere that something awful is going to happen and yet it's a very moving and tender film that I found quite charming. This has all the hallmarks of becoming a classic.