Film Reviews by GI

An American small town drama centred around a contest to win a truck where the contestants have to keep one hand on the vehicle. The last one standing wins. There are some other rules but suffice to say the contest highlights the desperation and personal issues of the characters to some degree. Sadly the film delves too little into them instead concentrating on Kyle (Joe Cole), an unemployed man with a wife and baby to support and Joan (Carrie Preston), an employee of the dealership who oversees the competition. As the hours and days drag on the competitors become more catatonic through lack of sleep and tempers get frayed leading to some bizarre events which may or may not be hallucinatory. There's a narrative twist that kinda works but by the time it occurs you'll probably not care because as the characters become more dozy so will you! It's a watchable film but lacks depth as we basically spend the near two hours watching people sort of worshipping the truck by simply standing there hands on.

Walter Hill's directorial debut and fairly typical of his output through the 70s and 80s. Like all of his films it's a genre piece, in this case a contemporary western set in the 1930s, although it lacks the unique European style he bought to his later and better films. Charles Bronson, an unlikely star if there ever was one, plays a drifter, Chaney, who arrives in Louisiana and is looking to make money as a bare knuckle fighter. He teams up with Speed (James Coburn), a local fixer and soon proves he's a tough fighter especially when he beats the previously unbeaten local champ. But Chaney is soon embroiled in Speed's problems as he is in debt to big hoodlum and Chaney is forced to fight a super tough Mob fighter from Chicago to get Speed out of trouble. The film is well produced and it's a solid drama focusing around two or three big brawls all of which are predictably won by the laconic Chaney. Bronson's wife Jill Ireland has a small and insignificant role as a love interest and Strother Martin is underused as Speed's partner in crime. The fight set pieces are reasonably well done but the film lacks any sense of itself and suffers by deliberately keeping the lead character of Chaney as just a drifter with no back story. It's entertaining in it's way but definitely a 70s film and shows it.

Poorly conceived thriller that has a narrative that's been done much better in earlier films, Breakdown (1997) comes to mind, as here we have a routine disappearing wife scenario and an innocent husband who frustrated by slow police action heads off on his own investigation. It's all very tame and the main protagonist, Will (Gerard Butler) does some inexplicable things that stretch credibility even in a thriller such as this. In short Will and wife, Lisa (Jaimie Alexander) are having troubles so he reluctantly is taking her to her parents for a break, they stop to refuel and she goes missing. The police delve into their marital troubles and come to suspect Will may have done her in. We, the audience, know differently from the get go so there's no mystery here and as the thin plot unravels it's all a big stretch for any imagination. Will basically tracks her down and rescues her! That's it. Fortunately it all wraps up pretty quickly and you can comfortably forget this even quicker.

Even if you don't like The Beatles or think they are no longer of any relevance this is still an important film and it remains hugely enjoyable. Richard Lester created a zany comedy that captured the phenomenon of 'Beatlemania', showed a sort of snapshot of the daily lives of the band and more importantly delved craftily into the divisive nature of British society of the mid 1960s with the teenage generation conflicting sharply with the 'establishment'. There's no real plot as such and the film is mostly the Beatles being chased by fans and/or the police and Richard Lester basically filmed them doing whatever they wanted. Their individual personalities are neatly captured though and there's a host of British comedy actors supporting including Wilfred Brambell of Steptoe & Son fame playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather. Mostly of course you get a great collection of songs that are still magical today and everyone knows them whatever your age or taste.

A great British classic comedy in the mould of the Ealing Comedies and the St Trinians films, indeed the British class based private school system was a launchpad for comedy in film, literature and comics. Indeed you can see how films like this later influenced the early Carry On movies and later comedy such as TVs Fawlty Towers. But this is a cut above because of the fantastic lead actors in Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford (often forgotten British treasures). It's basically a farce centred around the restrained attitudes to sex and gender politics and one or two aspects may seem out of place to a modern audience. Set in the comedy gold world of a public school Sim plays Wetherby Pond, a pompous headmaster who fawns around the parents and Governors in the hope of advancement. When a Girls School is boarded with his boys it's more the gender mix of the teachers that causes such a hullabaloo rather than the pupils. This is a gloriously funny film and portrays a nostalgic picture of post war rural England.

Based on a real 'Bush Ranger' or Australian outlaw and filmed in the typical revisionist style that Hollywood had applied to the western in the 1970s, and I suspect influenced by Sam Peckinpah and even Clint Eastwood's westerns of the time. It's a rather disjointed film with some narrative aspects not properly followed through and in the end it's structure is of the outlaw riding around robbing or befriending folks chased by the police until they inevitably confront one another. Indeed the final climax, long in coming, is disappointing to say the least. There's some pointless and gratuitous violence often amateurishly portrayed in an attempt to emulate Peckinpah but the film lacks any sense of his poetry or keen eye. Dennis Hopper, never a strong leading actor, is fairly uninspiring here and rumour has it he was mostly drunk during filming thinking he was getting closer to his character! In the end it shows as he's not nearly enough interesting to make the central character anything but a shoddy thief. Australian cinema can be extraordinary and in the right hands makes that great link between the land and the characters, that is attempted here and there are some great scenic visuals especially with David Gulpilil, the ubiquitous native Australian actor who adds a sense of realism to this and all his films. This film has its fans but ultimately it's of its time and cannot compete with similar genre pieces from then.

A gory horror reminiscent of the 80s cycle in this genre here mixing body horror with demented serial killer narratives. The main issue is the dodgy pacing of the film that almost reaches the depths of tedium before revving up for a reasonably interesting finale. With a prologue set in a medical research facility where someone or something has been 'a naughty boy' we are the fast forwarded in time leaving the opening unexplained and unexplained for too long really. In any event the main story follows Madison (Annabelle Wallis), who is pregnant after three previous miscarriages but fearful of her abusive husband. After a violent assault by him Madison begins to have visions of gruesome murders which turn out to have actually happened. The police think she's bats but can't quite answer why she knows so much about the killings and consequently she becomes a suspect. The final reveal is a good one and unexpected making up for the time it takes to get there. But overall if you're a horror aficionado then you'll love this but for the rest of us it's an entertaining horror thriller but somewhat uneven and at times copycat and derivative utilising too many genre tropes for its own good.

A dark gothic murder mystery set in 1830 at the prestigious US West Point Academy. Christian Bale is renowned detective, Landor, a heavily drinking man grieving for his daughter who has gone missing. He is summonsed by the Academy top brass (Timothy Spall and Simon McBurney - both excellent as expected) to investigate the strange death of a cadet found hanged but whose corpse is later violated and the heart removed. Like all films of this genre it's an atmospheric, moody film with dark shadows, swirling mists and an ominous soundtrack. The plot twists and turns as the body count increases and whilst it's all vaguely preposterous including the whole thing turning on a big coincidence, it does keep you hooked in. There's a good, solid cast including Toby Jones as the Academy doctor and Gillian Anderson as his hard nosed wife, and Lucy Boynton as their disturbed daughter. Harry Melling, of Harry Potter fame, plays Edgar Allen Poe who as a cadet helps Landor with the case. Robert Duvall has a cameo as an expert in the occult. It's a little slow in places and ultimately a bit unfulfilling but it's worth checking out.

This is an erotic, passionate, twisted and compelling drama set in 1930s Korea whilst under the Japanese occupation. The story is an intricately plotted one and nothing is as it appears, the gradual unravelling draws you in and constantly keeps you hooked. It's also beautifully photographed and in the grand visuals lies a tale of depravity, double cross and intense love. Young Sookee (Kim Tae-ri) arrives at the large house of a wealthy, eccentric man who collects books. She is to be the new handmaid to his niece, Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), who is under her Uncle's control as she is the true heir to all the property and wealth. But Sookee has been sent there by a conman known as The Count (Ha Jung-woo) who has a convoluted plan to steal Hideko's wealth. The film is told in two parts in which the plot is slowly revealed and the various loyalties and motives of the characters are revealed. There's a clever use of the interchanging language between Korean and Japanese which is easy to follow via the subtitles. Overall the perfect structure of the film is what most impresses and it's edited in such a way that nothing is revealed until exactly the right time. This is a highly impressive film with a fantastic story. I recommend the Extended Version which has more detail and a complete story.

A very watchable drama that spoils itself by being too self serving and latching itself heavily to the #MeToo movement unnecessarily because a half sharp viewer would get it without it being so obviously explained just in case you missed it! In any event the story has a tension and mystery that builds into something unexpected. Ani (Mila Kunis) is a successful magazine writer, engaged to a handsome chap and living a prosperous lifestyle. But when she's approached by a documentary filmmaker to recount her experience in a high school shooting massacre when she was a teenager the traumas of her past are bought back affecting her life. The traumas are also more than expected and involve events that lead to the shooting and her involvement which is crucial to the narrative as another survivor has alleged she was partially behind the killings. Ultimately it's a drama about empowerment and the focus is not about the American problems of gun control as you might expect. The massacre is only the catalyst for later events. Anyway it's a well made film and whilst the psychology of the characters is often skimmed over there is a powerful story here that is worth watching and quite compelling.

A disposable action thriller that is another where a burned out ex-soldier with a 'special set of skills' heads off to danger and redemption. Here there's an attempt to give it all gravitas by setting it in the run up to the US invasion of Panama in 1989 and attempting to interweave political intrigue with real footage, a bit of unnecessary slo-mo and plenty of sex. It adds up to nothing much and Cole Hauser doesn't come across as particularly awesome in the lead role. Mel Gibson as his mentor does what he always does of late which is very little. This is a throwaway and hardly worth your time.

Inspired by real events this is a powerful socialist drama with a western feel to the style and look. It boasts the screen debut of Chris Cooper who here plays Joe, a union man sent to the small West Virginia town of Matewan to pull the exploited mineworkers together into a cohesive force to challenge the greed of the mining company. They in turn bring in a bunch of gunmen given pseudo legality to suppress the miners by violence if necessary. It's a classic tale of the repressed against the establishment and here it's richly filmed with a real sense of authenticity for the time and the plight of the miners. When the company attempt to replace the workers with black and Italian miners there's the ever present of racism endemic in the southern USA. The fact that Joe unites all the workers despite the cultural bigotry lends the film a heroic narrative edge and the entire drama culminates in a famous gun battle. It's a brilliantly told story and the cast are impeccable throughout with James Earl Jones, David Strathairn and Mary McDonnell supporting. The soft, almost hazy photography lends the film a sense of realism supported by the bluegrass soundtrack and the spot on accents. This is a film of betrayal, conspiracy and the strength of the underdog. It's a real treat and well worth checking out if you've never seen it.

The original slasher movie and one that has risen to cult status. Director John Carpenter utilises Hithcockian style tension here and similarities with his Psycho (1960) are inevitable but Carpenter effectively defined the slasher sub genre with Halloween and whilst its not as nasty as it's reputation suggests it may seem full of genre clichés when viewed today but back in 1978 this exciting stuff. This is Jamie Lee Curtis' breakout role and with the great Donald Pleasance, who has top billing but has a smaller part. It also boasts the fantastic Nancy Loomis who was in a few of John Carpenter's films and always stands out in her performance. This is the story of a child psychopath, Michael Myers, who inexplicably murders his sister when he's just six years old and and is incarcerated only to escape fifteen years later from the asylum where he was being studied by Pleasance's Doctor. He returns to his hometown where he begins a killing spree targeting teenage babysitters. Viewed today the film may raise up the odd laugh as it all seems a little dated and silly and yet it's a classic narrative that set a standard that has been much imitated and even parodied. In any event it spawned sequels and a more recent series but none of the latter films has had the same impact as this original. Carpenter is a much lauded cult director who has made as many duds as brilliant independent films. This is up there with his best.

This paganistic, gothic horror thriller is quite a tense and at times exhilarating film that goes in some surprising and quite unexpected directions. The first hour is built as a potential Wicker Man scenario but it then moves into something much more interesting and shocking. Set in 1905 and opium addicted Thomas (Dan Stevens), who is nursing some inner demons from his past, is implored by his wealthy father to rescue his sister from the clutches of a weird religious community that inhabit an isolated island. Pretending to be a convert he joins the sect to try and find her. The community run by Malcolm (Michael Sheen) suspects there's an interloper and they have a very dark secret to hide. Not a film for the faint hearted as this has torture, gore and bloody violence. But it's quite enthralling and has the style and feel of a Hammer horror film such as Die Monster, Die (1965) for instance. The island's location isn't specified but it's like a lush, forested place that hides some dark force. The support cast are excellent including Lucy Boynton and Mark Lewis Jones especially. The film exudes elements of originality making it a compelling watch and whilst it's open to different readings and fans will spot the influences it's definitely one to check out.

A wacky romcom that plays out like a screwball comedy and with two likeable leads that give the film a warm feel good feeling after its over. It's also really funny too. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani play Leilani and Jibran, a couple who four years into their relationship find it deteriorating and they constantly bicker. On their way to a dinner party they inadvertently become embroiled in a murder conspiracy and decide to try and prove their innocence. This gets them into some really bizarre situations including entry to a secret society meeting that is clearly based on the Eyes Wide Shut (1999) sect where orgies are the order of the day. As the couple skitter from one farcical situation to the next they constantly banter with one another and argue over the funniest things including a great scene where given a choice of which torture to endure they disagree on each's choice!. The two leads have a nice chemistry which is the heart of the film, it's not a film that is ever going to be a classic of particularly memorable but it is one that will make you smile.