Film Reviews by GI

Disappointed as he allegedly was not to return as James Bond in 2006 when Daniel Craig secured the part Pierce Brosnan's contribution has not become very memorable in the franchise. This is mostly because he was hampered by weak, often silly original stories (Goldeneye was the first Bond film not to have some link to an Ian Fleming book, story or title) and in this, his first, outing there is a vain attempt to continue the darker edges of the two Timothy Dalton films, return to the Sean Connery days with the screen persona of 007 as playboy and also retain the comedy elements of the Roger Moore years. As a combination it just doesn't work. The Bond films that introduce the character when a new actor takes on the role are interesting to see just how the filmmakers try and do this. The remarkable thing about the Bond franchise is the way they trust the audience to accept little links to previous films while essentially saying this is all a new start. The most successful changeover in this regard is Casino Royale (2006) and the weakest is Goldeneye. Brosnan is a little too cynical and the story has him as more a special forces soldier than a spy but the film benefits from the introduction of Judi Dench as M, which she successfully carried over into the Craig films. The real trouble here is that James Bond has not developed for the modern age, the film actually acknowledges this, no doubt intended as tongue-in-cheek, but sadly she is correct when M calls him a 'misogynistic, sexist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War', and here in Goldeneye he is just that and it shows too. Bear in mind that just seven years after this film Jason Bourne exploded onto the action cinema scene. 007 missed the boat and then had to play catch up Here Bond, struggling with a change at the top of MI6, is sent to investigate the theft of a Russian weapon system that leads him to an old colleague, now turned bad guy. Sean Bean is not a convincing Bond villain and his plummy accent is really annoying. He does have a train (Bond villain's do so love their trains) and a lair where the climax to the film takes place. Bond replaces his fantastic Aston Martin for a crappy BMW and Minnie Driver has a small role. On the plus side there's a great chase sequence with a tank and lots of shooting, it's actually quite a violent film. But this is a weak addition to the franchise followed by weaker and dafter ones. I think Brosnan effectively missed the boat and was the right actor at the wrong time, so it's a pity he hadn't been able to step in a few years earlier or indeed Goldeneye may have been better with Timothy Dalton still there. We shall never know but this is one of the poorer Bond films.

Because of his long run as James Bond it's all too easy to forget Roger Moore's other films. This action drama from director Peter Hunt (who also directed a great 007 film) and adapted from the novel by Wilbur Smith is a fantastic movie. Set in South Africa during the apartheid years it was potentially controversial in its depiction of camaraderie between white bosses and black workers although the narrative does have a racist baddie. In the Sonderditch gold mine owned by a wealthy millionaire - superbly played by a curmudgeonly Ray Milland - and run by his sly son in law (Bradford Dillman) the handsome and unorthodox Rod Slater (Moore) is promoted to lead an exploration into a deep chamber believed to shield water but a new report suggests hides a rich gold seam. Moore is having an affair with Dillman's wife, the sexy Susannah York, and doesn't realise he is the foil in an international conspiracy to flood the mine and drive up gold prices. The film is action packed, exciting, tense involving mining disasters, heroics, sex and devious plots and it's all round great entertainment. A great little film which is well worth seeking out if you haven't seen it.

A science fiction action film that rolls along at a great pace and has a neat updated story. Director Gareth Edwards has effectively utilised an old, perhaps tired, movie creature feature and given it an injection of modern effects and a thrilling story making for one very entertaining movie. The cast are great and include Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the nominal lead, with Elizabeth Olsen (sadly underused), Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche although the real star are the monsters, which are brilliantly created. The story centres around the sudden destruction of a Japanese nuclear plant caused by something unknown but which produced strange seismic activity. After his wife dies in the accident engineer, Joe (Cranston) spends years trying to uncover the secrets behind the disaster much to the annoyance of his son, soldier Ford (Taylor-Johnson) but Joe is proved right when years later similar seismic activity unleashes strange, gigantic monsters that have lain hidden in the earth for millions of years. Plans to destroy them are commenced but scientist Ishiro (Watanabe) is convinced one of them has risen to reset a balance of nature and will work for mankind and destroy the others. There's some fantastic set pieces and the visuals are thrilling and really good. This is a neat action film, unpretentious and well written and I especially loved the opening credits where real footage of the atomic bomb tests of the 1950s is interwoven into the narrative of the film. Great fun, a pity the later sequel was so awful because this hits the spot.

A simply glorious piece of film making and one of those rare occasions where a sequel is as good, if not better, than the original. Director Francis Ford Coppola's striking recreation of the early 1900s and the 1950s and the somewhat unique structure of this film makes it a rewarding viewing experience. It's a modern cinematic art masterpiece and a film worthy of repeated viewings. It's so rich in detail that there are gems to be discovered each time you see it. The film is both prequel and sequel to the original with the two storylines intermixed creating a contrast between the rise of Vito Corleone, here played by Robert De Niro, and the continuing saga of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as he secures his empire through murder whilst claiming to be making the 'family' legitimate and having to deal with a senate hearing on organised crime. Coppola fills the screen with so much authenticity in the scenes that begin in Sicily with Vito, as a young boy, having to flee the local mafia boss who has murdered his family - a sequence that proves a key to the character's development later. The New York of 1901 and beyond where, as a young man, Vito realises that crime is the way to provide for his future sets his life on course to become the later head of the mafia family. There's some cold and precise violence displayed here although as with the first film it is restrained and whilst realistic it's not gratuitous. The intermixing of the family in Nevada where Michael rules without challenge is a story of corruption and Pacino's Michael has now transformed from reluctant crime boss to evil incarnate. His character is the epitome of the maxim 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' and we watch as he gradually turns on his own family members where he sees betrayal. Pacino is a tour de force here aided by Diane Keaton who has a more powerful role as his wife Kay who gradually comes to challenge and hate him. There's also a recreation of historical events that look and feel documentary in style especially the senate hearings and the Cuban revolution which has a key role in the narrative. A wonderful film, a family saga, epic and melodramatic and one of the finest films ever made.

There's little that can be said about this masterpiece that hasn't already been said many times over. It retains it's brilliance after many viewings and it's influence is so widespread, indeed it remains a surprise that director Francis Coppola was reluctant to direct it and the studio did not have high expectations expecting a small gangster film and yet what we got was a genre and era defining film, a saga about a close knit family who we see in all the normalities of their lives except they deal in murder and violence. This is so casually dealt with throughout the narrative that the film feels like melodrama rather than a crime film. When violence is shown it comes suddenly and shockingly although viewed today it's a remarkably restrained film. It's not gratuitous but depicts the violence as cold and businesslike. One of the most graphic killings in a small restaurant is described by the killer as 'business, not personal'. This is also the film that brought Al Pacino forward as a major league star. He's unrivalled here and the narrative is chiefly focused on his character arc from reluctant family member to ruthless crime boss, and he becomes very dark and foreboding in look and attitude. It really amplifies how good he is. Of course he's aided by a brilliantly scripted story, faultless direction and a cast that all perform superbly. Most remember of course Marlon Brando as the titular Godfather, Vito Corleone, the head of a family he dotes over and whose business he controls with cunning and insight. James Caan, too, as the heir apparent and hotheaded eldest son who is clearly doomed and has the bloodiest death. These are aided by Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Richard Conte and many others. But it's the women characters that often get overlooked, possibly with the exception of Diane Keaton', Kay, who is the one who begins to challenge the world she joins. The others are all complicit pretending to not hear or see the violence that provides for them. It's an ensemble piece in many ways and the script joins them together in this tale of organised crime brilliantly. Coppola mixes in the issues of culture, Catholicism and greed that makes them complicit in the vendetta way of family life. The Godfather remains one of the finest motion pictures ever made and it's worthy of rediscovery by modern audiences.

A romantic drama that could have been absolutely riveting but feels a bit short changed although it's a nice little film to curl up and watch on a rainy evening. The story switches between modern day as journalist, Ellie (Felicity Jones), comes across a series of love letters from the mid 1960s in her paper's archives and decides with the help of a nerdy colleague, Rory (Nabhaan Rizwan) to investigate their background; to the mid 1960's where Jennifer (Shailene Woodley), the wife of a rich businessman is recovering from a car accident in which she has lost her memory. Jennifer therefore has no recollection that she was having a passionate affair with Anthony (Callum Turner) and was on her way to run away with him when the accident occurred. The film delves into the misconceptions and quirks of fate that ruin the love affair whilst in the present day Ellie, herself a bit of a fuck up, begins to fall for Rory. This is all a bit Mills & Boon, but Jones is always watchable and Woodley plays the injured, physically and mentally, Jennifer with real earnestness. Unfortunately neither of the two love affairs covered by the narrative are told with any real depth and Turner especially is a bit one dimensional. The real tear jerk bit comes at the predictable ending. (Nice to see Ben Cross in one of his last roles before his sad death from cancer)

Director Ridley Scott's visually spectacular sword and sandal epic is still a marvellously entertaining watch even after loads of viewings. It has all of Scott's stunning attention to detail from the bleak forests of Central Europe to the sun drenched deserts of Africa and the magnificence of ancient Rome. The cityscapes with the Coliseum recreated in all its glory at its heart are spectacular cinema at its best. This is arguably Russell Crowe's best film and certainly his most famous and with a cast that includes such greats as Richard Harris and Oliver Reed the film was destined to be a big hit. I'm not surprised at all that it remains a firm favourite of many because it's a great story, a simple one of a hero overcoming oppression and tyranny against a nasty bad guy through bloodshed and against the odds. Joaquin Pheonix is suitably horrible as the corrupt megalomaniac Caesar Commodus who has his father's favourite General sentenced to death so he can control Rome how he wants. But unbeknownst to him the General, Maximus (Crowe) escapes, is sold into slavery and trained as a gladiator and returns for revenge. It's an age old narrative that still has that romanticised heroism to it that audiences love and in Scott's hands this is big, bold cinema that reminds you of similar greats such as Ben-Hur (1959) and Spartacus (1960). With a moving musical score, plenty of action it is simply great fun. The battle scenes are gritty and gruesome, the gladiatorial fights too are bloody and exciting and there's no real romance to divert the hero's attention. A film to make sure you see if you, by some weird chance, missed it and to watch again for the treat it brings.

Director Edgar Wright's twisted psychological thriller that recreates the sleaziness of Soho in the 1960s and whilst showing the razzle dazzle he steadfastly keeps clear of a romanticised view. This is also a fantasy horror story where a window to another time drives the narrative, in many ways it's a sort of violent Tom's Midnight Garden (1999). Ellie, a naïve country girl, earns a place at a London fashion college and heads off to the big city. She's obsessed with all things 1960s, the clothes, the music etc etc and finds a great bedsit owned by a landlady played by Diana Rigg (in her last role). But alone in her room at night Ellie begins to have visions of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a wannabe singer, and her descent into prostitution under pimp, Jack (Matt Smith) back in the mid 1960s. These hallucinations begin to affect her life and when she comes to believe that Sandie was murdered she tries to get justice for her. Wright keeps the story a mystery and it has twists and turns and some key clues if you keep a close eye on things. It's a clever film that is less scary and more mildy tense but with intrigue and some great support casting including Terence Stamp and Sam Claflin. The 60s soundtrack is great and the film looks fantastic. It's a good plot that keeps you watching throughout and features Wright's typical stylisation.

The 2009 Swedish adaptation of the bestselling novel was a fantastic film and introduced the world to Naomi Rapace who gave a momentous performance as the unique Lisbeth Salander. But it has to be remembered that that version was actually made for Swedish TV and the two subsequent sequels form part of a six part series which was later re-edited for cinema distribution in the rest of Europe. Their success paved their way for a purely cinematic vision of the story to be made and in the hands of David Fincher it proved a very good idea indeed. Essentially a murder mystery/detective story set in Sweden and Fincher was right to retain the setting resisting the temptation to move it to the USA. The titular girl (Lisbeth) is in fact not really the focus here with the story centred on disgraced journalist Mikael (Daniel Craig), who having lost a libel case is left jobless and penniless. He therefore has little choice but to take on an investigation for aging former industrialist, Henrik (Christopher Plummer) who hires him to look into the unsolved murder of a beloved niece who was killed in the mid 1960s. Henrik believes one of his nasty dysfunctional family was responsible so Michael sets out on his research but needs an assistant. This turns out to be an aggressive, possibly disturbed but the brilliant Lisbeth (Rooney Mara) who soon becomes indispensable. Fincher creates the dreary, wintry landscape of northern Sweden with washed out tones creating a dark atmosphere for the tale of murder which proves more ghastly than Michael originally perceives. Craig, in between 007 duties, plays a vulnerable yet dedicated investigator constantly surprised by events but quick to grasp opportunities too. Mara is superb here in a role she would have known would be compared to Rapace's performance in the Swedish version and she plays 'The Girl....' as more withdrawn, less angry unless harmed or threatened, and with hidden depths of warmth and love. It's a subtle performance within an unsubtle character and she should be applauded. It's a shame she was unable to continue the role in versions of the the sequels. In any event this is an engrossing mystery story, gripping, dark and at times very shocking and with some intense sexual violence that is uncomfortable to watch. The support cast are impeccable and include Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Joel Richardson and Geraldine James. A first class crime story for adults and well worth a fresh look if you haven't seen it in awhile and if you unfavourably compared it to the earlier films, you maybe surprised at just how good it is.

Big spectacular effects laden science fiction actioner that is as daft as a brush and rushes headlong into a story that is rather pointless as it's all about getting to the big stunts and Mark Wahlberg getting his shirt off. It's all very Bondian with Wahlberg as a normal guy (!) plagued by strange memories he can't explain until it transpires that we're all constantly reincarnated through the ages but some very gifted people can remember all their past lives and any skills they had in them. Wahlberg's character can make samurai swords and wield them too. He also holds a secret to the location of a special thingy that the good guys need to prevent the bad guy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) getting his hands on as he wants to kill everybody using it. Clearly influenced by Highlander (1986) this is silly cinema for young teenagers.

Director Sam Peckinpah had a passion for Mexico with many of his films either set there or featuring in some way. The Getaway continues this passion as his protagonists head for freedom and bliss over the border. This is a first class 1970s American crime film and should be ranked alongside the best of the genre from this period. It has many of the themes that Peckinpah included in his major works, for example of the outlaw born in the wrong time. Here Steve McQueen is the classic American anti-hero, an outlaw whose escape from justice is the story and the drive of the narrative. He's 'Doc' McCoy, an expert bank robber who is freed from jail by a corrupt politician (Ben Johnson) and in return has to commit a heist at a small Texas bank. The robbery goes awry and faced with double cross McCoy and his wife, Carol (Ali McGraw) head off to El Paso for their final escape into Mexico. They're chased along the way by the law, the politicians henchmen and by a vengeful ex partner (Al Lettieri). The journey is not an easy one not least by the fracturing relationship between the McCoys. The climax is reached when all converge on a grubby hotel where the guns come out. Typically Peckinpah uses slow motion in the action shots especially the final shoot out although the violence is mainly restrained. The film has a great visual style and Peckinpah is a genius at character motivation drawing contradictions and violence through a poetic narrative. The film has three main flaws, firstly McQueen had final cut and allegedly utilised takes that showed him in the best light so, to my mind, there's no doubt Peckinpah would have cut the film far more interestingly; secondly McGraw is a weak actor and it really shows here, her performance lets the character down and a stronger actor would have strengthened the story, after all Carol McCoy is a violent criminal. Lastly the film has an awfully jarring music score by Quincy Jones which replaced one by Jerry Fielding, again McQueen's choice. So whilst The Getaway remains a key 70s crime film in a western frame I would love to see a Sam Peckinpah cut even despite McGraw.

Dark and sinister with little dabs of humour and an overriding stab at American society this horror/thriller is a remarkable piece of work from writer and director Jordan Peele. Long before the media hype around this film I had seen it and sensed that this was something clever and special. Peele nails his horror flag to the mast from the opening scene, a clear homage to past classics of the genre like Halloween (1978) or even the films of David Lynch with their subversive look at American suburbia. Overall the film sits into the group of horror films that can best be described as an innocent person stumbles or is lured into the midst of a cult with evil on their minds. Here Daniel Kaluuya, in a stunning performance, is Chris who accompanies his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams) to a weekend party at the home of her wealthy parents. Dad (Bradley Whitford) is a renowned surgeon and Mum (Catherine Keener) a psychiatrist. Being a young black man Chris is immediately uncomfortable in these white privileged surroundings despite being made welcome but he starts to sense something is very strange especially as the family has some black servants who act very peculiarly. It quickly transpires that he has been lured there for a very dark purpose. Peele effectively critics American racist attitudes even amongst the strata of society who would deny being racist. The film is frightening and builds a tension that is palpable even though it's restrained with the subtle performances being the aspect that makes the viewer uncomfortable. Keener, Williams, Whitford and Caleb Landry Jones, as Rose's brother, being exceptionally good here. This is one of the best horror films of the decade, shunning gore and violence for a more creative presentation of terror that thematically condemns hypocrisy in modern day America.

Hailed as a masterpiece of British crime cinema this is a key 1970s film, a cult classic. Viewed today it might be a surprise at how impactive this film was when initially released. It's minimalistic, sudden and cold violence, it's delve into the criminal world of pornography and it's bleak and dreary visuals of northern England along with it's depictions of the life involving grubby pubs and betting shops were all very shocking at the time although much copied since. Additionally this is a surprising role for Michael Caine, a major star by the early 70s and here he was playing a thoroughly nasty gangster, and very brutal he is too. Jack Carter is an enforcer for a pair of London gangsters. Against their wishes he travels to Newcastle ostensibly for his brother's funeral but also to discover how he died as he suspects the death wasn't the car accident claimed by the authorities. Soon finding he has the unwarranted attention of local top criminals and pressured to return to London Jack goes on the rampage uncovering the truth behind his brother's death. With a great support cast including Ian Hendry (who coveted the lead role and lost out to Caine who he then resented) and playwright John Osborne along with a cameo from Britt Eckland, there's also a host of British character actors to spot too. There's no heroes in this film, it's a story about corruption and violence told through the eye of social drama, it remains a powerful film and one of Caine's most iconic roles. British cinema at its very best.

I described Justice league, released in 2017 and taken from director Zack Snyder and botched by Joss Whedon, as a sloppy mess and utter tosh. So I approached this fan-demanded new edition by Snyder with trepidation. It is certainly an improvement by a long shot and it's not hard to see how Snyder has been able to produce a film that probably is far more than what he originally intended back in 2017. For a start this is nigh on 4 hours long! That makes it a bit of a trudge. There's new characters, new scenes and the usual surreal, dark world that represents the DC Comic world. It's obvious this is an attempt to compete with the MCU Avengers series but it lacks the punch and fun of those films and, dare I say, the DC superheroes don't fit together, they inhabit a cinematic (and comic book) world where they exist in isolation. Bringing them together seems ridiculous whereas the MCU heroes are a natural fit in one world. In any event here we have the basic same story as the 2017 version with an evil alien race intending an invasion but need three special boxes that are hidden and protected by various 'metahuman' races. With Superman (Henry Cavill) dead Batman (Ben Affleck) unites a group of superheroes - Aquaman (Jason Samoa), Flash (Ezra Miller), Wonder Woman (Gil Gadot) and some Cyborg guy called Victor (Ray Fisher) - to fight the baddies. Eventually they find they need Superman so they dig him up and basically do a Frankenstein job on him. This is a big epic superhero film, with added violence and some bad language, it's a fan film with a mythic grandeur to it but ultimately it's another overly long, huge effects ridden comic book film that is all a bit tiresome and never seems to end at the right time. There's loads of big names in cameos many with too little screen time (Amy Adams, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg and others) and a vain attempt at religious iconography especially around Superman. If you're a geek for these things then it'll appeal and there's an interest in the comparison with the botched earlier version but ultimately it's nothing new.

This is a new adaptation of the celebrated novel by Erich Maria Remarque (in other words not a remake of the brilliant 1930 film or the largely forgotten 1979 one, both of the same title). This is a powerful, conscientious and at times harrowing film about the horrors of war, the loss of innocence of Paul (Felix Kammerer) a young student, who caught up with idealistic and patriotic fervour, joins the German army in 1917 along with some friends. They look forward to an heroic march into Paris but are quickly thrust into the maelstrom of bloody combat in the trenches. The film effectively portrays the wrenching futility of war epitomised by the scenes of politicians and generals attempting to negotiate the armistice while young men die violently. This is a substantial and serious war film that adds the poignancy of lost friendships and centres on Paul's relationship with the older and more experienced soldier, Kat (Albrecht Schuch) and there's a tender scene as Paul reads the illiterate Kat's letter from his wife to him and learns of a family tragedy. These small moments that humanise the characters contrasts with the industrialised chaos of the slaughter. The First World War has not resulted in as many films as the Second, probably because the latter lent itself to adventure in many different scenarios whereas the the Great War has no romance and no sense of an adventure, it was just pure hell and this film captures that very well indeed.