Film Reviews by GI

A somewhat wearisome thriller that puts little new on the table and is full of the standard by-the-book clichés. Set in the woods of Minnesota, all wet and eerie, where Rayburn, a lonely drunk runs a huge wildlife sanctuary named after his missing daughter. He spends his days chasing off poachers and putting up missing posters in the hope his daughter may yet be found. Then the body of another young girl is found and cop, Gustafson (Annabelle Wallis) is on the case. She acts all dedicated etc but has a wayward junkie brother who she looks out for just a little bit too much. Eventually Rayburn spots a girl in his woods fleeing from a man camouflaged in some weird outfit and the hunt is on for a serial killer!! There's attempts at a surprise twist or two but none of them work well and the killer is obviously one of the characters it's just a matter of guessing who. It's not hard. A routine film that offers nothing very original, it'll pass the time adequately but is instantly forgettable.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable and a good ol' no-holds barred action flick. Scripted by Sylvester Stallone and starring Jason Statham it offers nothing overly original but it's all done in a mean, lean and exciting way. Statham has made a career in action films and many have been just B movie exploitation and/or missteps but some have become cult favourites. This is one of his better films, mainly due to it's high production values and a simple story of an ex cop with some 'special skills' who while trying to live the quiet life comes up against local rednecks and sorts 'em out. State is Broker, a former DEA agent and recently widowed who retires with his young daughter to the backwoods of Louisiana. When a playground bullying incident gets out of hand Broker finds himself up against the local drug trafficker, Bodine (James Franco) and some bikers with connections to his past. The fights scenes are gutsy and neatly violent and all the right people get their come uppance and whilst you have to look past the daft plot at times it rattles along at a great pace. There's a great support cast of that includes Winona Ryder (somewhat underused here), Kate Bosworth and Clancy Brown. Check it out, it's great stuff.

Henry Hobson owns a respected Bootmakers shop in Salford in the 1880s and uses his three daughters to run the shop and look after him. He tries to constantly assert his authority over them and finds his only solace is in the local pub. When his trusted oldest daughter Maggie announces she's leaving to set up on her own with Henry's highly skilled boot hand, Will Mossop, Henry is less than pleased. This is one of the greatest of British comedies, it's a real classic and absolutely hilarious. David Lean directs this lovely comedy of manners and really recreates a very realistic nineteenth century northern England at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Better known for his big epics it's great to see one of his more intimate films that are often forgotten. Charles Laughton is the centre of the film as the patriarch Henry who is losing control of his world and his performance as a drunk has never been bettered. When you add in the great John Mills and a host of British character actors you have a little gem of a film and one that deserves a modern audience.

This falls fairly and squarely in the traditional British underdog comedy genre, it's cheerful, funny and every character is a stereotypical one found in every other film of this type. But of course its a charming story based on a true one although heavily fictionalised of Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear), a Burnley businessman who is a rag-to-riches millionaire due to his motorhome sales business but has never forgotten his working class roots. In the 2008 banking crisis he begins lending money to his struggling friends and local people and eventually comes up with the idea to open a local bank in order to offer an alternative to the high street banks. But he faces opposition from the pompous banking world represented by Hugh Bonneville who go out of their way to stop him. He employs London solicitor, Hugh (Joel Fry), who reluctantly takes on the case. Of course it all ends totally predictably and romance for Hugh warms him to the north of England which he initially sees as a foreign country! The inevitable jokes about the north/south divide with accents etc are a little hackneyed but still make you chuckle. Kinnear gives the role his all and fits it perfectly. As long as you don't believe everything you see here as true this is just a nice gentle comedy that makes you smile.

When mild mannered family man Tom foils a robbery at his diner and kills two criminals he becomes a local hero and headline news. But soon afterwards three sinister men arrive claiming Tom is really a former mobster and they've come to take him back to atone for past deeds against the 'family'. Tom insists they have the wrong man but soon his wife begins to have doubts that Tom isn't who he says he is. A really great crime thriller that exhibits Viggo Mortensen's acting range. It's a tough, occasionally brutal film with some really graphic violence and the controversy comes from what you interpret director David Cronenberg's intention is here. Where violence erupts in the narrative it seems to produce result satisfactory consequences. Tom's killing of the two psychopath's who rob his diner saves others and rids the world of two quite horrendous people, equally though Tom's son, Jack (Ashton Holmes) reacts violently to school bullies and we applaud his actions even though he is told of the likely reactions by his father. There's a scene where Tom violently threatens his wife during an argument which results in her becoming sexually aroused. The film is asking questions about the nature of violence and its consequences whilst being wrapped in a very entertaining thriller narrative. In many ways an interesting look at the part played by violence in the modern world. Maria Bello, Ed Harris and William Hurt round out a great cast in this film that, for the most part, keeps you guessing with some neat plot twists. Well worth revisiting if you haven't seen this in awhile and definitely one to check out if it's passed you by before now.

A powerful and heartfelt family drama that is marked by superb performances all round. Set in Miami it follows an African/American family focusing on the two siblings Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and Emily (Taylor Russell). The narrative settles quickly into following the self congratulatory life of Tyler, a successful school athlete who trains hard pushed by his dominant yet well intentioned father (Sterling K. Brown). Tyler has a girlfriend with whom he is infatuated. But behind the veneer of happiness and success Tyler has demons including an untreated shoulder injury for which he steals his father's medication for pain relief and when his relationship with his girlfriend sours his life begins to spiral out of control. Just when you think the film has reached a conclusion it shifts focus to Emily, who has been sidelined in her father's affections, recognised only by her caring stepmother (Renée Elise Goldsberry). Emily has to cope with the fallout from her brother's actions. There's some big emotions at play here and you are forever expecting more disaster and crisis so the film constantly keeps you hooked. The ripples of actions and decisions and their affect on the family are the core of the story here intermixed with the 'waves' of emotions triggered by events. It's a really quite wonderful film and definitely one to see.

The director, Sion Sono, names Wild At Heart (1990) as a key influence for this weird post apocalyptic fantasy and East/West hybrid film. I'm guessing that's all about Nicolas Cage because I saw nothing in in this that remotely made me think of David Lynch's film. This is more a daft Escape From New York (1981) and Mad Max series rip off and frankly it's all style, and little of that, over substance. Cage is a criminal in this strange land of samurai warriors and cowboys. He's nameless to give him an extra moody edge, as if he needs it! He's released from jail by the corrupt leader of 'Samurai Town' who fits him into a leather suit primed to explode in five days unless he returns from Ghostland with a missing woman (Sofia Boutella). So off he trots to get her. This cues over rehearsed fight scenes, some blood fountains, some disfigured crazies, Cage can even keep Kung Fu up just after blowing one of his own testicles off and pretty dull it all is too. It's certainly colourful and follows a typical and predictable B movie story arc that drags a good twenty minutes too long. One of Cage's throwaways.

There is so much wrong with this film it's often difficult to justify why I am still in love with it after all these years. I'm not going to detail all the errors here suffice to say there's continuity errors throughout, crewmen on show, obvious stuntmen, visible wires, story mistakes, casting mistakes etc....I could go on. Highlander is, for all that, highly entertaining, it has Sean Connery in excellent form, it has sword fights in modern day New York, a great soundtrack by Queen and the germs of a great fantasy film idea. The story is rather a good idea. After becoming a suspect in a homicide when a decapitated body is discovered in the car park of Madison Square Garden, antique dealer Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) attracts the attention of forensics expert Brenda (Roxanne Hart). She discovers Nash is not who he says he is and is indeed a 400 year old scotsman who is immortal and that there's others like him who can only be killed by decapitation. They are all seeking a prize available to the last one left alive and one of them is determined to be the winner, the psychopathic Kurgan (Clancy Brown). If there was one film that deserves a creative and thoughtful remake it's this one, and dare I add it needs an epic treatment. It's rumoured one is on the way! I'll keep my fingers crossed. For now we can watch director Russell Mulcahy exercise his pop video credentials with what is essentially one big pop video, a lot of style, some splashes of magic and a cult favourite. I just have a soft spot for this even when cringing at some of its daftness and childish mistakes.

This revenge thriller is perfectly watchable although it's mostly incoherent when it's not being implausible to the extreme. Blake Lively is Stephanie, a woman grieving for her family after they are killed in a plane crash. She's turned to heroin and prostitution but a freelance journalist tells her the plane was downed by a terrorist bomb which sets her off on a trail of revenge aided by a rogue MI6 agent (Jude Law). Her heroin addiction miraculously disappears as she tracks down the bad guys and clumsily bumps them off. Some of the action set pieces are well managed including a car chase but overall this feels a bit messy and it's structure has some pointless chops and changes to try and make it look cleverer than it is, the opening for example does nothing for the narrative because it quickly jumps back to the start of her story and then we have a straight forward linear storyline. It's not a dead loss but leaves you feeling a little disappointed by the end.

A good, solid British golden oldie from director Roy Boulting tapping into the, usually American, fear of communist fifth columnists attempting a takeover. A series of explosions at dockyards that is clearly sabotage brings in a wily Scotland Yard detective (Liam Redmond) and MI5 who soon start to build a cache of suspects. The film has a neat suspense building narrative with police surveillance and subtle visits to cause fear amongst the conspirators. They target a weak link who ends up getting kidnapped by his erstwhile friends and the clock begins ticking as the bad guys plot to blow up a power station. There's a gritty gun battle in the films climax and a smarmy politician gets his comeuppance. There's a quaintness to the images of the police use of telephone kiosks, morse code and rooms full of card indexes in this modern day and yet the film retains a good thriller narrative. Today it's an example of British film making when there was a fully established and world wide respected industry that produced such great entertainments as this. Worth checking out for the sheer nostalgia of the experience.

Clint Eastwood's second film as director is heavily influenced by the style of Sergio Leone especially A Fistful Of Dollars (1964) and there are similarities in a few scenes both from a story perspective and theme, and it's one of Eastwood's most violent films. This includes some questionable depictions of sexual violence and this has resulted in the film being dismissed today as gratuitous. Even taking Eastwood's mysterious stranger as a western anti hero it is a shock when he carries out a brutal rape in the early stages of the story. But this is a very original take on the revenge western and Eastwood, almost solely, has made big efforts throughout the 70s and beyond to keep the western alive and in High Plains Drifter he added the most interesting element of the supernatural although he has always denied the main character is in anyway supernatural but he's deliberately sidelining the strong images and narrative clues that lead the viewer to this interpretation. The opening and closing shots of the drifter appearing and disappearing are the most famous but there are other significant hints, not least the drifter's ability to remarkably guess what various other characters are about to do. In the small gold mining town of Lago a mysterious stranger arrives one morning and threatened by the three town bullies quickly despatches them demonstrating he's a gunfighter of exceptional skill. But the town has a dark secret that's connected with the release of three bad guys from prison who are expected by the townspeople to arrive and reek revenge on them. They hire the stranger to protect them but he too has a sinister agenda. Above all this is a tremendously entertaining film with the great Geoffrey Lewis as a sadistic outlaw and a host of actors that Eastwood used in many of his films. This film is also a fine example of Eastwood's ability to make a film on a small scale, it is tightly shot and edited with some great western vista cinematography, this is a cut above other films from this period. A great example of a 70s revenge western and an important film in the genre.

Reminiscent of Tom's Midnight Garden (1999) and even, in many ways Back To The Future (1985) this is a childhood fantasy, fairy tale that looks at the way children perceive their parents. Eight Year old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) travels with her parents to the isolated forest located house of her recently departed grandmother in order to clear the house of her possessions. Nelly's mother Marion is struggling with grief and has a history of sadness that Nelly is very conscious of. Overcome Marion returns home leaving Nelly and her father at the house. Playing in the woods one day Nelly meets a girl of the same age building a den just like her mother once did as a child and coincidentally also named Marion. As they bond in friendship Nelly becomes convinced that her new playmate is her mother somehow the past and present having fused together. This is a gentle, calming story about childhood and the realisation that your parents were once children and had the same worries and fears that we have all experienced. There is something a little spellbinding about this film making it one to check out.

This wonderful romantic comedy is so original, funny and touching, it's the definitive romcom for anyone going through any form of reflective life crisis. Based on the book by Nick Hornby the action is moved from England to Chicago, there's a great soundtrack and Jack Black has never been funnier. But this is John Cusack's film, he really nails the thirtysomething man who is forced to reflect on his life by making Top Five lists including his break-ups when his girlfriend leaves him. He plays Rob, the owner of a cool Record Store with its two assistants who drive him crazy. He's a depressive man always unhappy with his lot so when his girlfriend, Laura (Eben Hjejle) leaves him because their relationship has become stale he has an existential crisis which includes tracking down some old girlfriends to ask them why they left him. Is he doomed to be abandoned? is his big worry. Of course the film looks at life is what you make of it and often the things that make us happy are already within our grasp. One of the funniest films to break the 'fourth wall' and brilliantly directed by Stephen Frears this remains one of my very favourite films. Superb support cast includes Lisa Bonet, Tim Robbins, Catherine Zeta Jones and Joan Cusack. And there's an awesome soundtrack. A treasure and a must see film.

Ken Loach's political thriller about the murder of an American Civil Rights lawyer investigating torture by the British security forces in Northern Ireland at the height of 'The Troubles' certainly divided audiences especially in the UK. It's loosely inspired by the 'Stalker Enquiry' with Brian Cox playing a top UK detective, Kerrigan assigned to investigate the murder but who finds himself out of his depth in the convoluted politics and twisted morality of Ulster during this time. A small international group of civil rights lawyers led by Paul Sullivan (Brad Dourif) and his partner, Ingrid (Frances McDormand) is preparing a report on the use of torture and a possible 'shoot to kill' policy by the British Intelligence forces. He is given a recording by a disaffected soldier (Maurice Roëves) that he claims has evidence of high ranking politicians in a major plot that includes bringing down the Government. When he is murdered Kerrigan is sent to investigate but finds he is up against an obstructive police force and may himself become a target. Loach makes no attempt to hide his assertion that the security services and British Government were engaged in a dirty war involving a shoot to kill policy. Cox is superb here, a no nonsense copper who faces a crisis of faith in what is a very sharp thriller, with double cross and murder at the heart of the well written story and although director Ken Loach's films are unapologetically political in theme and narrative this is a topnotch British film.

This comedy crime thriller is well worth checking out especially for the very adept central performance by Olivia Cooke as the title character. It's Irish setting adding to that feeling of tough yet funny situations. There's an element of Tarantino mixed with the film style of something like In Bruges (2008) or The Guard (2011) here and added all together makes for a really enjoyable film. Pixie is the step daughter of a local gangster (Colm Meaney), who dotes on her but her step brother (Turlough Convery) hates her. Pixie's mother died in mysterious circumstances and she's determined to get to the bottom of it and take revenge. She uses her natural beauty and sassiness to control the men around her including two hapless locals (Ben Hardy & Daryl McCormack) who inadvertently get embroiled in her plans when they gain possession of a large quantity of drugs coveted by all the big baddies including a criminal gang of Catholic priests. It all rattles along at a nice pace and has plenty of big laughs along the way and there's some bloody violence thrown in to put it on the dark side of comedy. Alec Baldwin has a small cameo but offers little other than some star presence but overall this is a joy.