Film Reviews by GI

This is a really quite remarkable film and arguably Oliver Stone's best. Epic in scope this is a political conspiracy thriller that really draws you in and keeps you hooked for it's 3+ hours. The cast is impeccable from Kevin Costner, in a career best performance as New Orleans DA, Jim Garrison and including Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald (an uncanny performance), Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pesci and cameos from Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and others. After the shocking assassination of President Kennedy New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Costner) learns that the alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had connections in his city. With his team he begins an investigation where he soon becomes obsessively convinced a conspiracy at the highest levels of the US Government is behind the murder. The editing style, use of flashbacks and real footage all enhances the viewing experience. There's no doubt that there's been a tremendous attention to detail and the use of the actual locations relevant to the narrative including the 'grassy knoll' and book depository in Dallas. The complexity of the story has meant that Stone has had to rely on two lengthy expositions to explain the plot, one by Donald Sutherland as the mysterious X, a 'Deep Throat' styled whistleblower, and the second by Costner in his summing up speech during the trial scene. However both are great performances and in a film like this they work to keep the viewer fully engaged. Whatever your views on the film's claims about the assassination it has to be remembered this is still narrative cinema and in that regard it's worthy of respect as a significant American film.

The time loop narrative has almost become a sub genre in its own right stretching back to Groundhog Day (1993) and including Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and even the Happy Death Day films (2017 & 19). This one is an all out actioner with plenty of bloody gore and a video game vibe to it. It's certainly a very macho B movie and Frank Grillo as the lead handles the fights with aplomb but he lacks the charisma of a leading man. Here he plays Roy, an ex special forces soldier, who wakes every morning to the same day and where from the get go has a whole plethora of people trying to kill him. It all eventually points to some weird time shifting gizmo his ex wife (Naomi Watts) is building for the big bad guy played by Mel Gibson. As with most of these type of stories Roy spends the runtime reliving the day getting further and further on as he tries to work out why he is trapped. There's plenty of John Wick style fights and shooting and swordplay too. Michelle Yeoh has a cameo and Watts and Annabelle Wallis are woefully underused. In many ways this is a fairly typical action film from director Joe Carnahan but it's nowhere near some as good as some of his earlier films such as Narc (2002). It passes the time but it's occasionally cheesy, dips into humour then tries to be serious and the ending is naff.

Jaws is as close to the perfect film that you'll ever find. It's a perfect balance of suspense, drama and humour with family crisis, political shenanigans, psychological trauma and an age old narrative of man against nature. Essentially a horror film in the monster sub genre mode it has a fantastic episodic start with the various attacks superbly linking into one another and culminating in the final beach attack before the film shifts to the hunt section. On the surface this is a narrative similar to many where the status quo is thrown into chaos by the arrival of an outside force and then reacquired by its destruction. But the clever script sets up subtle subplots which are only hinted at here but are full on in the source novel; for example the tension in the Brody marriage which in the film is about the move to Amity Island from New York, also the honest yet naïve attitude of Brody in a town of self serving businessmen (in the source novel there are mafia connections!). But when you critically analyse Jaws taking into account the impeccable casting and performances of Roy Scheider, the incomparable Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary (immensely good in this film) and Murray Hamilton and not least too the local cast who are fantastic. Editing, music, writing and direction are all spot on with tension, shocks (the death of the little boy is really quite horrendous) and a damn good story. The much reported delays caused by a faulty mechanical shark led to the three main actors perfecting dialogue and character relationships that bring a special warmth and a real feeling for them in their plight. It's a relatively simple one too. The small island community of Amity relies on its summer tourist trade to survive. Newly appointed police chief Martin (Scheider), who has moved there from New York with his family, is unprepared when a series of shark attacks cause fatalities. The island mayor tries a cover up but events lead to Martin, assisted by a shark expert (Dreyfuss), and a grizzled and cynical shark fisherman (Shaw) to try and hunt and kill the shark which proves more of a dangerous adversary than anyone expected. This is fantastic cinema, a film to be enjoyed time and time again and one to reconsider if you've not seen it it in awhile. (Forget all the sequels they are poor)

Roger Moore's first outing as James Bond 007 and in fact the oldest actor at 45 to play him. This remains Moore's best film in the role and it is a worthy introductory film for the long series he went onto make. Many attribute The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) as the pinnacle of Moore's Bond movies but I disagree because I think it's here that the cross over from Connery (and not forgetting George Lazenby) was very cleverly done. Moore had an extra lightness to his predecessors but the dark edges of the Bond character remained and the overuse of wacky gadgets had yet to take hold where the franchise slipped woefully into spoof mode. This is a full on Boy's Own Adventure style narrative and the espionage theme is more or less dispensed with making it very comicbook and at times you just have to go with it. Here Bond is sent to the USA to liaise with the CIA into an investigation into the murder of three British agents. He discovers a link between a New Orleans based drug dealer and the leader of a small Caribbean island and sets out to bring down the entire organisation. Yaphet Kotto is a good villain with the usual lair that 007 must infiltrate to bring him down and Jane Seymour is a particularly beautiful woman who has to be seduced. This film has some exciting set pieces not least the chase sequences and especially the central speed boat chase through the Louisiana rivers. Like a lot of the Bond series there are some really daft plot lines and the climactic death scene of the main villain is silly. Viewed today Live and Let Die is controversial with it's racial stereotypes and language, and the idea that a whole black American community would be complicit in conspiracy to murder even under duress is pushing things way too far. But that aside this is a notable addition to this enduring franchise not least as Moore's debut as 007, but for it's sheer entertainment value, the removal of many of the Bond tropes (many would later return), a beautiful 'Bond girl' in the form of Jane Seymour and the only Bond film that has a narrative with the supernatural element.

It's become somewhat fashionable to cite this as ones favourite James Bond film but I have to say not only is it mine (the first one I saw) but it's also the best film in the franchise. This is because it's a superbly constructed action spy film with a balance of action, tragedy, romanticism and drama. George Lazenby, in his one performance as Bond, added vulnerability (he shows fear and cries!) and toughness and the film has one of the most moving endings of any film let alone a Bond film. British Secret Service agent James Bond has gone missing in Europe searching for the hideout of Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas), the leader of SPECTRE, a huge criminal organisation. On his travels he meets the beautiful Tracey (Diana Rigg) whose father is a mafia leader. With his help Bond tracks Blofeld to a research lab in the Alps and goes undercover to find out what he's up to. There's plenty of chases and shooting but also a neat blend of espionage and thriller aspects. Lazenby is very good in the role despite his reputation of being a poor actor. The fight scenes are realistic and tough and the story is really a thrill ride (it's actually the closest adaptation of a Bond book out of all the series), there's a fantastic John Barry soundtrack including a great song from Louis Armstrong, a dark yet very moving ending and here you will see the seeds of the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig Bonds. It's great stuff and worth watching again if it's been awhile.

This strange, surreal musical written by the Mael brothers, aka Sparks, has had a few plaudits especially as the director Leos Carax is much admired, but I found it an impenetrable, overly weird affair with songs that would be better applied to a concept album rather than a cinematic musical. Adam Driver is no doubt exceptional in his performance going from challenging stand up comedian to obsessed lover to controlling svengali in a story that, if you're like me, will have you pulling confused faces. He plays Henry, a performer whose career is on the wain, but who is in love with opera diva, Ann (Marion Cotillard), a much celebrated performer (so a bit of A Star Is Born narrative going on). They have a strange child together presented as an elf like marionette which they name Annette. When tragedy strikes Henry discovers the tiny Annette can sing like her adult mother and he devotes himself to her career, a path that leads to violence and destruction. All of this is presented in a nightmarish narrative with lyrically minimalist set of songs that are downright dull and watching Henry perform oral sex on Ann while singing 'we love each other so much' is, to be frank, odd. It's a film that I'm sure Film School students will rave about but for us mere mortals it's a pretentious load of tosh!

Fantasy films such as this would bring sheer joy to me as a child. Full of magic, danger and darkness they were made for the family to enjoy together. This is one of the finest films based on greek mythology, the story of the search for a magical Golden Fleece which is guarded by monsters and titans and involves a perilous voyage full of treachery and danger. Above all in these days of CGI where everything has to be so realistic or it gets dismissed as unworthy it's great to see the wonderful work of Ray Harryhausen, the master of stop motion. In this film there are two particularly good set pieces; the first is the very scary sudden awakening of Talos, a gigantic bronze statue and, secondly the now very famous fighting skeletons sequence. Both are amazing to watch and children today would love this film. Admittedly some of the acting is very pantomime and the script occasionally daft but who cares this is sheer fun and a great piece of film history.

A serious and well intended romance/relationship drama that has an interesting narrative structure and a sincere elegance but lacks the passion needed to really light it up. It follows couple, Tony (Tim Roth) and Chris (Vicky Krieps), a film director and his screenwriter partner, who travel to the Swedish island of Fårö, the home of famed film director Ingmar Bergman where his home is preserved and there is a museum and tours showing the locations used in his movies. Chris is eager to share her ideas for a new script but Tony is distracted and this is having an affect on Chris' and her relationship with him. Eventually Tony agrees to hear her new story which is then shown as a romantic film within a film story about two former lovers who reunite at a wedding where they are guests. This is the more interesting part of the film as we follow Amy (Mia Wasikowski), who becomes besotted by Joseph (Anders Danielsen Lie). The imaginary drama is clearly linked with Chris' own feelings. Overall the film just starts to become a little tedious when it perks back up in the central sequence. It's watchable and Wasikowski is excellent but I felt that Roth was a little miscast here and played Tony as too distant. This is a film with much going for it but ultimately it's a little too empty and unrewarding.

There's little doubt that this remains a film that its fans from the early 80s still feel really very nostalgic about. That's ironic considering that it's a film about nostalgia or at least about regret. A life affirming tale about that moment when the dreams and aspirations of youth are overtaken by the reality of adulthood and life in general. With its brightly talented cast and superb soundtrack this is a film you'll either love or if it's your first time may feel it's a bit dated. Either way it's an interesting drama about a group of thirty something former college friends who reunite at the funeral of one of their old group who was their brightest and favourite but who has committed suicide. After the service they congregate at the house of Harold (Kevin Kline) and Sarah (Glenn Close) to grieve and where past emotions and connections are revisited. There's little story as such as this is about the discovery of your past and accepting the naïvety of your youth. Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Tom Berenger, Mary Kay Place and JoBeth Williams are the former friends along with Meg Tilly as the dead friend's girlfriend. The script is cleverly structured and the performances are nothing short of brilliant. It is a film to appreciate a few times to get its nuances but everyone can see that lost dreams from the excitement of youth are lost in the humdrum of later life.

The fourth James Bond film and arguably Connery's last decent one is a bigger and more spectacular film than anything previously and it was hugely popular. As an action adventure film it's as entertaining as ever and even though it will possibly make modern audiences cringe somewhat it's a worthy addition to the franchise although it's not as good as the first three films. It also marks the moment when more slightly silly gadgetry began to be the norm and here we have a jetpack as well as the return of the famous Aston Martin DB5. The enemy here is SPECTRE who will go on to dominate the missions of Bond for sometime to come. They have stolen a couple of nuclear missiles and are blackmailing the world but 007 is soon on the case which centres on the Bahamas. Bond essentially manages to have sex with just about every woman he encounters sometimes by his own unique blackmail methods! There's a spectacular underwater speargun battle which it takes all your concentration to keep track of who is who but it all works in exactly the way you'd expect. You can see the budget has grown with ever more expansive sets and there's more explosions and destruction. The support cast are mostly forgettable and chief baddie Largo (Adolfo Celi) is a tame villain by Bond's standards. For fans this is a Bond film that still does what you'd expect and Connery, although tiring of the role now, is still on top form.

This is fast becoming my favourite Tarantino film. It's like a fine wine, it just gets better and better every time you taste it! Full of his great trademarks especially the camera angles which are endlessly entertaining this is also his most brilliantly plotted film and, of course, his only film that has an independent source namely Elmore Leonard's novel, Rum Punch. The plot is full of twists and turns and the entire structure of the film remains original and entertaining even after several viewings. And what fantastic performances from an innovative cast; Pam Grier nails it as the titular Jackie, clever, manipulative and devious but you can't help root for her; Samuel L. Jackson, fun yet evil in his best role for QT; Robert DeNiro, who is casual until he shows his true colours as Louis. Then the great Robert Forster, given a fresh break in being cast here and getting an Academy nomination to boot. Rounding out the impeccable entourage are Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda and Chris Tucker. Jackie is a air hostesss who sidelines by smuggling illegal cash into the US for Ordell (Jackson), a paranoid gangster who will casually murder any of his crew if they get caught to prevent them doing a deal with the authorities to nail him. When Jackie gets busted she knows what Orell will do but she proves cleverer than either he or the police realise. This is one of those crime thrillers, full of dark humour, that made Tarantino such a refreshing filmmaker and I wish he's get back to films like this. This is a modern masterpiece and a film to really relish time and time again.

This tightly written and directed film has gained an unfair reputation. It's a highly entertaining action thriller with a great mystery at the centre of the narrative, a wonderfully conceived central character and a plot that rattles along at a great pace. Tom Cruise may not fit the description of the character as portrayed in the potboiler book series but who cares. He's a mean and moody Jack Reacher, he fits the role as the anonymous drifter who takes interest in events where he chooses whereas the literary Reacher stands out like a sore thumb. In any case this is an arbitrary argument. The film can be judged on it's own merits. The story is a fairly straight forward thriller narrative. Five random people are gunned down by an apparently random sniper and the police quickly identify the suspect from masses of evidence found at the scene. He's a disaffected former soldier with mental health issues. The DA thinks he has a cast iron case until former Army investigator Reacher shows up to muddy the waters. There's the great cast; Rosamund Pike as a lawyer whose relationship with Reacher almost bubbles over into romance or at least sex but is neatly restrained and carried brilliantly by the two actors. Then there's Richard Jenkins, David Oleweyo, Robert Duvall and finally Werner Herzog who brings a Bondian baddie to the story, a first class piece of casting. Admittedly there's flaws, as usual Jai Courtney as a heavy is one dimensional and there's a few plot holes but overall this is a superb thriller, a great central car chase, some brutal violence and plot twists to keep the viewer interested. If you dismissed this the first time then give it another chance. Great fun.

This is the quintessential comedy caper movie and a fantastic British film to boot. Michael Caine is the cockney criminal who plans a gold heist in Turin stealing '$4million through a traffic jam'. Caine is Charlie, a cockney criminal fresh out of jail who adopts a plan by an old friend, murdered by the mafia, to carry out the audacious heist. He needs the financial support of Bridger (Noël Coward), a Queen loving crime boss who is in jail where he's treated as royalty. The gang are all lovable rogues and none of them have counted on the local mafia trying to stop them as well as the police. The film is a cult favourite and rightly so, full of quotable lines including one used by Caine impersonators ever since, and with a car chase involving three Mini Coopers. There's a host of British character actors who will be recognisable from TV throughout the late 60s and 70s as well as famous comedian Benny Hill and Noël Coward who was very ill at the time the film was made. With it's famous ending this is exciting and very, very funny and definitely a film to enjoy time and time again. Forget the 2003 remake it's awful but make sure this one is in your collection.

A psychological horror that is tense, eerie and a really simple premise but which works fantastically. The style is clearly that of 70s and 80s horror and you can especially see the influence of John Carpenter's films; Halloween (1978) being the obvious one. The intricacy of the plot with its twists and unexplained bits and pieces makes it so interesting and the allegory to teenage angst, emotional problems and the fear of sex and disease are obvious but cleverly done. The story follows Jay, a nineteen year old with a new boyfriend. When they casually have sex he then reveals that he has passed on a curse to her and that she will now be relentlessly pursued by an entity that takes different human forms but is walking towards her wherever she goes. It will kill her if it catches up but she can pass the curse on by having sex with someone else. Unfortunately getting rid of it isn't as easy as that! This is edge of your seat stuff and all without being gratuitous or overly shocking. It certainly is one of the most original and fascinating horror films of recent times.

This is a thoroughly engrossing drama set on one very busy night in a plush restaurant. The use of the one shot take doesn't feel at all like a gimmick and doesn't distract from the great performances and the clever way little character traits are revealed as the night spirals towards it's calamitous end. Stephen Graham stars as Andy, the head chef, whose life is falling apart and his late arrival at work signals the stress that he and his team are already under. As the evening begins the cacophony from the rogues gallery of customers unleashes the drama. We have the bullying man on Table 7, the group of drunken men wanting food that is 'off menu' and a couple who highlight that one of them has a nut allergy. To top it all the arrival of the passive aggressive celebrity chef, Alastair (Jason Flemyng) who has a famous food critic with him puts Andy and his team under extra pressure and he and Alastair have deeper issues as will be revealed. I just didn't know if I'd enjoy this especially as the one take film has often felt too contrived to me and detracts from the narrative but in this situation it worked seamlessly. It's a first rate drama that draws you in totally making for a very enjoyable film.