Film Reviews by GI

This British scifi horror film was treated as low budget B movie on it's release and much derided by critics and the public alike but over the years it has gained a cult following and is now regarded as an interesting addition to the science fiction/horror genre hybrid. A space mission to study Halley's Comet as it passes close to Earth discovers a massive object hidden in the tail of the comet. The crew investigate and find the remains of an alien species and three human bodies which they return to their spaceship. But the ship is later found burnt out and the crew all dead although the strange bodies have survived the fire and are taken to Earth by a rescue ship where they awaken and unleash an ancient evil. The film is a great story and although the special effects may appear a little old fashioned by today's standards they are mostly shot in camera and are quite exciting. It's a violent film and occasionally gory and has a notoriety because French actress Mathilda May spends most of her screen time totally naked. The cast includes Steve Railsback as the Commander of the spacecraft, Peter Firth as an SAS Colonel and an early screen role for Patrick Stewart. This is one of my guilty secret films, a really entertaining piece of hokum from the Golan-Globus Productions (Cannon Films as it was to become) and well worth checking out as there's a restored BluRay version with two cuts of the film, the theatrical cut and a longer International version.

This is a first class crime thriller with an interesting structure and a great central performance by Terence Stamp as Wilson, a hardened London career criminal who travels to Los Angeles to look into the circumstances of his daughter's death supposedly from a car accident. It's a tough, gritty film with bursts of violence, a creepy and cowardly villain played by Peter Fonda and his tough security chief played by Barry Newman. This is one of Steven Soderbergh's often forgotten films and underrated films especially considering his use of time swings to reveal his story through the eyes of Wilson which opens up interesting questions about the narrative. Stamp's character is much more nuanced than the over exaggerated cockney persona that dominates and gives the film some humour (his interaction with Bill Duke's DEA agent is really funny). But it's a much more complicated character here which Stamp cleverly reveals in small facial expressions and scenes where the camera lingers on him as a lonely figure highlighting a life of regrets and one reading could be a life he imagines rather than actually lives. However you analyse it this is a remarkable character study, with a slight but clash of culture theme that is not overdone. A film to check out and certainly if you weren't impressed the first time.

A formulaic and poorly scripted musical biopic of the legendary singer. You're better off watching the documentaries about Houston that have been released in the past couple of years if you want to know any details of her life (even those films were hampered by legal issues). What you have here is a whistle stop tour of Whitney's rise from teenage gospel singer to mega star that skirts over any issues and fails to nail its colours to a mast. Everything is just touched upon, the jealous and domineering mother (Tamara Tunie), the greedy and embezzling father (Clarke Peters), the best friend with the 'was Whitney gay?' or not and finally to her drug laden and stressed marriage to Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders) and motherhood. None of these major parts of Houston's life are given any depth. There's a scene where her mentor (Stanley Tucci - the best thing about this film) tells her she needs rehab', as a viewer you will, if like me, be surprised and think 'Does She?' because up to that point the drugs issue has hardly been evident. Naomie Ackie does a reasonable job as Houston, lip synching the iconic songs and performances, but the script never allows her to give the character anywhere to really show the despair that she felt. A weak biopic.

A truly original horror film from Sweden. It's teen love story, a bully revenge thriller, a serial killer story and a monster film all wrapped cleverly into one modern masterpiece. It's a gloomy, lugubrious and nightmarish film set in Stockholm during the heavy winter and tells the story of ruthlessly bullied 12 year old Oskar, who lives with his mother. Friendless he meets his new neighbour Eli, also 12, and they quickly bond. She encourages him to face his tormentors but when a series of ritualistic murders occur in the neighbourhood Oskar soon begins to believe his new friend and the deaths are connected. The clever, indeed original, use of a familiar movie trope makes this a really intriguing and rather brilliant film. Adapted from a bestselling novel it's a film to discover and admire.

A film very rooted in it's time, the mid 90s, so much so in fact that it hasn't aged well and can't remotely survive a re-evaluation nor be valued as a film that's 'so bad its good'. It's just a failure on so many levels. Firstly the themes that director Paul Verhoeven attempts around the exploitation of women in the world of Las Vegas entertainment, the links with prostitution and the accepted rape by celebrities is given the veneer of sordid soft pornography as he obviously relishes getting as much naked flesh on screen as he possibly can. All the characters are simply unspeakably horrid and especially the main character of Nomi played by Elizabeth Berkley, whose career this film no doubt ruined. Nomi is a former prostitute (although her past is held back as some sort of justified reveal near at the film's concluding scenes) who arrives in Las Vegas hoping to achieve fame as a showgirl dancer. She's clearly talented but is forced into lap dancing to earn a living eventually realising that the only way to the top is by being a nasty bitch. Berkley's performance is all anger and exaggerated movement making Nomi an unrealistic and petulant figure. The worst part is the viewer has no sympathy for her as she sulks, fights and manipulates her way to the starring role in the show. The rape sequence that is meant to be some peak of the journey loses any of it's intended impact because by the time it arrives you are in the position where you couldn't care what happens to anyone even though the the rape victim is the one character with any sort of morality. The vengeful woman sequence that immediately follows is almost laughable and certainly anti climatic. When you consider Verhoeven's major films, both his European and American, and those of writer Joe Eszterhas who penned this, you wonder what went so wrong. It has to be that the entire concept is ill thought out to the extent that Verhoeven's usual and successful excesses in violence have no part when it comes to female exploitation and misogyny in the American system where he relies on titillation as a means to push boundaries. This remains a poor film and whilst it will have its fans it cannot be remotely admired.

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.