Film Reviews by GI

This frantic, existential action comedy has had loads of plaudits just about everywhere especially in the US so I was intrigued to see what this was like and hence disappointed that it's a frantic yet laborious and overlong film that seems far too impressed with itself. Most of the problem is that it's so full on with effects and ideas that by about half way through you give up caring about anyone. Michelle Yeoh is Evelyn, a Chinese American woman who co-owns a laundromat with her wimpy husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Juan). Her relationship with her lesbian daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and her father (James Hong) all help her despair of her dull life. Things aren't helped by the attitude of the tax auditor Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis) who is threatening to seize their business. Something triggers the opening of a multi-verse where Evelyn gets to see various alternative lives she could have had and goes on a series of journeys culminating in a confrontation with her angry family. By the end you'' be yawning as the film never seems to end and when it finally does it's a bit disappointing. There's some gags along the way and Curtis is having a ball as the grumpy tax lady. But overall I just didn't get it.

Director Martin McDonagh's contemplative black comedy about male loneliness, depression and inability to deal with emotional issues. It's a remarkably well written film and has all round faultless performances. Set on a small island off the Irish coast in 1923 as the Civil War rages on the mainland (an allegory you'll get as the film progresses including the islanders reactions to the sound of gunfire they occasionally can hear) Colin Farrell is Pádraic, a good natured but simple chap who lives with his unmarried sister, Siobhan (Kerry Condon). His best friend is Colm (Brendan Gleeson), a more thoughtful yet depressive man, until one day Colm tells Pádraic he no longer wants to be friends and bans him from speaking to him. This revelation causes Pádraic no end of angst and he makes repeated efforts to find out why until Colm threatens shocking consequences if he persists in talking to him. Pádraic confides his feelings to Dominic (Barry Keoghan), the young son of the local police constable, who appears to be a dimwit but he proves wiser than initially thought. The breakdown in this 'bromance' has ripple effects on all the characters and often in some extreme ways. It's a clever film that deserves a couple of viewings to appreciate its subtleties. As a study of male toxicity, emotional immaturity and friendships it's a masterpiece and Farrell, Gleeson, Condon and Keoghan are all fantastic and deserve all the awards they can get.

A very clever comedy pastiche of Star Trek. Indeed to get the most out of this film you need to be reasonably familiar with that TV series because this film effectively takes the mickey out of the actors, style and storylines in great detail. The story here is that Galaxy Quest is a long running sci-fi TV series and the actors are tired of having to attend conventions and deal with the obsessive fans some of whom seem to believe its all real. Jason (Tim Allen) plays the Commander and he loves the fan adulation and hogs the limelight much to the annoyance of his colleagues especially Alexander (Alan Rickman), a classically trained actor who hates his role and what he has been reduced to by his character in the series. But an alien race threatened by a violent enemy have watched the TV series from their distant plant, believe they have watched a real spaceship in action and come to get the 'crew' to help save them. Allen brilliantly captures a William Shatner persona and the script even channels the well documented resentment the Star Trek actors had for Shatner. It's all done tongue-in-cheek and often laugh out loud hilarity especially if you get the joke and this is where familiarity with Star Trek is vital. Yes it's all a bit silly but that's the point as the film highlights the silliness of fandom that often goes too far. Sigourney Weaver co-stars as the token 'sex symbol' decrying how her boobs are all that got her the part in the first place. It's Alan Rickman that really nails the famous position that Leonard Nimoy took to the role of Spock. He's really funny here and has the best story arc. Sam Rockwell is also hilarious as the bit player who gets caught up in the action and assumes he'll be killed mirroring the famous legend of 'Trek' bit players usually security men being routinely killed in every episode.

Fury follows the trend for grittily realistic combat films that started with the release of Saving Private Ryan (1998). Indeed it's a very realistic one, at times quite harrowing and with characters that are for the most part unredeeming. At the centre of the narrative is the time honoured loss of innocence theme that litters many war films and whilst that maybe a little hackneyed it seems to fit the story here. Set in the dying days of the Second World War against Germany this follows an American tank crew led by a battle hardened sergeant played by Brad Pitt. He's like a father figure to his crew of misfits (and an unpleasant bunch they are too played by Shia LaBoeuf, Michael Peña and Jon Bernthal) and especially so when young, new recruit Norman (Logan Lerman) joins them. Norman has to be taught the brutalities of war and the loss of his morality is part of the narrative. He does seem to lose it a tad too quickly, going from reluctant killer to enthusiastic one quite rapidly. His journey, accompanied by his new 'family', includes bloody combat, casual execution, rape and a newly discovered courage as the film's climactic battle is a siege as their disabled tank fights a mass of enemy soldiers. Bloody, violent and at times very tense this is entertaining and possibly the only film that focuses on a tank crew. It's certainly a very authentic looking film and the look utilising a washed out colour palette adds to the overall grimy, unpleasant and horrific nature of the war. I'm not convinced it works thematically but it is definitely exciting.

This anti-war drama has all the more power for being set in the Vietnam War, a conflict that history has not drenched in honour or claimed as a fight against tyranny. It's a war where a major nation sacrificed its young men often needlessly in the quest for political dominance on the world stage. Having said that this ranks alongside such similar narratives as All Quiet On The Western Front (1930) and Stanley Kubrick's own Paths Of Glory (1957). Here Kubrick is concerned with the dehumanisation of young men so the State can turn them into all functioning killers by emphasising how cruelty inherent in humankind is bought forth as a terrible weapon of war. In that sense this is a harrowing war drama built around two distinctive segments. The first where young recruits are broken down and depersonalised at a Marine Corps barracks under the bullying and violence of a Drill Sergeant (R. Lee Ermey in a fantastic and highly memorable performance), the narrative focusing on two particular recruits Private 'Joker' (Matthew Modine), who just about maintains his inner moral code and Private 'Pyle' (Vincent D'Onofrio), a weak, retarded man who is turned into a psychopath by the treatment he experiences. The second segment is the combat section set in Vietnam where 'Joker' joins a squad of men and witnesses their casual and humorous attitude to death, killing and their complete loss of morality. Their emotions are enlivened only by revenge and the kudos obtained when they make a kill. There is no glory on display here even though the soldiers spout heroic rhetoric to a TV camera and each other. This is a shocking indictment of modern warfare waged by States for dubious reasons and consequently it's a film that stays in the memory. It is most definitely one of the most impactive war films ever made.

A chase thriller with a murder mystery plot that heralded a few awards which, when viewed today, seems a real surprise because the film is a fairly routine affair and even feels somewhat dated today. Based on the long running 1960s TV series this is a star vehicle for Harrison Ford who was at the height of his box office draw. The film concentrates on action set pieces including a train crash and various long chase sequences somewhat to the detriment of character and depth of story. Tommy Lee Jones is the standout as the US Marshall on the hunt and sadly Julianne Moore, despite high billing, had her role reduced to a mere cameo. Ford is Kimble, a highly respected surgeon, who is accused, convicted and sentenced to death for his wife's murder, all in a flash unfortunately, because we never get into the detail of how his conviction is secured quite so easily. It's almost as if the film wants to just get past this and into the action. In any event he professes innocence and whilst the film tries to start a did he or didn't he do it storyline it soon gives this up. Kimble escapes custody in one of the films main set pieces and he's then chased through woods, sewers etc etc and gets away of course. Eventually making it back to Chicago where he begins to investigate who did murder his wife. There's a few more close shaves with his pursuers and soon a conspiracy emerges that seems just a tidy way of concluding everything. So this is a typical 1990s action thriller, not as good as Ford's Jack Ryan films or a number of his other films in which his screen persona is better used. This is ok and one to sit through if you come across it while channel hopping the TV but otherwise a throwaway.

The second Bond film, bigger, bolder and arguably Connery's best outing, it was certainly his favourite apparently. One of the great things here is it's a good, solid action spy film, the franchise not yet teetering into comic book stylings. The basic story is close to the original novel and it has espionage with action set pieces including a brutal and quite violent fight sequence on a train. 007 is sent to Istanbul to recover a Russian decoding machine coveted by MI6 and offered by a beautiful soviet agent, Tatania (Daniela Bianchi) who claims she'll only hand it over to James Bond. He knows its a trap but the machine is tempting bait. There's plenty of double cross as the nasty SPECTRE organisation is behind everything in the form of the loathsome Rosa Klebb (Lotte Kenya). The great Robert Shaw plays a tough henchman, one of Bond's toughest adversaries, that he must battle and there's a great boat chase. Viewed today the casual violence against women may jar a tad and there's a quite uncomfortable fight between two women that is unnecessary and even Bond himself eventually stops. Overall this is one of the very best of the Bond series and worthy of rediscovery as modern day audiences who only know the Daniel Craig films can see the influences this film had on those.

Adapted from James Jones' celebrated novel this Hollywood classic drama set at an Army base on Hawaii in 1941 is a fantastic, intense and highly satisfying film. Considered very raunchy for it's time the narrative has two central romances. Burt Lancaster is the cynical 1st Sergeant who runs the whole show whilst having a very passionate affair with the Company Commander's wife played by Deborah Kerr. But the central story is of Montgomery Clift's 'Prew' a private soldier who refuses to box for the Company team and is bullied ruthlessly on the Commander's orders. He finds solace in the arms of a beautiful prostitute played wonderfully by Donna Reed. The film climaxes with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, mixing real footage of the attack with models work. With Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine and a host of familiar character actors this is a story of forbidden love, loyalty and courage. It won a load of awards not least eight Oscars including best film. It's a film that deserves a modern audience, it's most definitely one to seek out if you've never seen it.

The inevitable and thoroughly pointless follow up to the 2018 reboot/sequel or whatever it was. Directly following on from that film this is basically one long series of gory killings with a vigilante mob roaming around, rather ineptly, attempting to track down and kill Michael Myers.....BIG PLOT SPOILER HERE.... they fail! Hence No.3 film en route. Once again Jamie Lee Curtis, who gets top billing, does her mad woman thing looking again like a bag lady, only this time it's all grimaces and doom laden prophetic speeches. Janet Greer gets a bit more to do here but ultimately this is the waste of a talented actor. Will Patton shows up but is a mere cameo and the whole thing is just a way of stringing out the story from two films worth to three. John Carpenter's 1978 original remains the only Halloween film worth your time.

Seeing the warm and cuddly Hugh Bonneville as a nasty killer is a bit of a treat and he's the only real reason to give this thriller a go. Sadly though its a suspense yarn that lacks any real suspense and the basic narrative has been done a few times before and often a lot better. A poorly cast George MacKay plays Toby who along with his best mate, Jay (Percelle Ascott) break into the houses of rich people and daub their houses with graffiti saying 'I Came By' as a token anti establishment attack. When Toby breaks into the house of retired judge, Hector (Bonneville) he finds the a dark secret and soon goes missing much to the worry of his mum, Lizzy (Kelly Macdonald) who along with Jay begins her own investigation into Hector. There's nothing very believable here and at times it's all a little daft with the supposedly very clever Hector surprisingly stupid at times. When the police keep searching his house he still continues with his crimes. MacKay's performance is jarringly silly and it's a gift that he disappears fairly quickly because it's Bonneville as the odious Hector that holds the film together. The end is bafflingly underwhelming too so this is one to watch for the treat that is Bonneville but afterwards it's forgettable.

Written by Quentin Tarantino this could be mistaken for his direction style too. It's full of QTisms and is an adult, action comedy that intermixes genres in sudden and surprising ways. Really the film shouldn't work especially the transition to horror in the last quarter but bizarrely it does and it's a riot from start to finish. It begins as a contemporary western as we are introduced to brothers Seth (George Clooney) and Ritchie (Quentin Tarantino - in a brave role as a rapist and murderer) who have carried out a bank heist, taken a woman hostage and are heading towards escape in Mexico. There's quick gunplay violence and a witty script as they encounter a lawman in a liquor store. The film then moves into a road movie with a family drama intermixed as the two brothers force the Fuller family (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu) to get them over the border in the Fuller's motorhome. There's tension here and a strange bond forms between the five of them as they finally reach the strip bar in Mexico where the brothers are to meet their Mexican saviour. But this is where the film takes a very sharp, unexpected and riotous turn into horror. I won't give any spoilers in case you've not seen this but it is a humorous development. There's no let up on the violence and gunplay (reputedly toned down in the final cut) and there's no doubt everyone is having a ball in making this film. There's great special effects, brilliant soundtrack and Clooney is superb as the violent criminal who reveals a little heart at times. This is just good all round adult fun and certainly a film to sit back and enjoy simply as pure spectacular exploitative cinema.

America's cinematic New Wave that began in the 1970s is never more obvious than in the presentation of the classic crime thriller. A more gritty realism was evident in the mid to late 60s in films like Bullitt (1968) for example and this realism developed especially with the depiction of violence especially. Director William Friedkin took the genre one step further with The French Connection, making a European arthouse style police procedural thriller, almost looking and feeling like a documentary and loosely based on real events and showing the squalid and seedy side of police work. There are no police heroes here, indeed quite the contrary. Set in New York (with a sideline in France) this follows two narcotics detectives as they stumble upon a drug trafficking case that, for one of them, becomes an obsession. The police here are depicted with their cynicism, general racism, casual oppressive use of violence and as deeply flawed in character and personality. Gene Hackman plays Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle, a dedicated but unpleasant cop and Roy Scheider is Buddy, his partner. Doyle's whole life is around his work and his reluctance to go home sees them inadvertently come across Sal (Tony Lo Bianco) and discover by hours of tedious surveillance his arrangement to buy a large consignment of heroin from Charnier (Fernando Rey), a suave French businessman and clever criminal. The film set new boundaries in its open depiction of drug use and the the use of violence by the police. It's a gripping story that shows the routines of police surveillance with a tough and realistic chase sequence in the centre of the film. This film effectively changed the face of crime cinema and opened the door for such films as Dirty Harry (1971) and Serpico (1973) to follow. It's one of the great American films of the 70s, with it's sinister music soundtrack, enigmatic final ending and gutsy action. A modern masterpiece of cinema.

Based on the Disney theme park ride this has the obvious similarities to the Pirates Of The Caribbean series and most glaringly to the The Mummy (1999) too, as well as Indiana Jones copycat moments and ideas. It follows the usual children action type mode for the most part but soon drifts into an aimless and rather dull film that lacks any originality. The characters are clichéd and don't really work and forgive me but Dwayne Johnson maybe all muscles and action but please no romance and especially not with an English rose like Emily Blunt. So basically this is in 1916 and Lily (Blunt), a plucky adventurer and her hapless brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall - annoying to the extreme here) head to the Amazon to find a legendary tree that has magical healing powers. They team up with roguish yet good hearted Frank (Johnson), a river boat 'skipper' who doubts said tree exists but takes their money in any event and off they set. The tree is also coveted by an evil German prince (Jesse Plemons) and some ghostly conquistadors led by Aguirre (Edgar Ramírez). There's animals and sword fighting and ancient booby traps etc etc and even a U-Boat! The biggest travesty is the homages to The African Queen (1951), which is sacrilege! Anyway, overall if you're six years old you'll probably love this (if your parents let you watch it - its certificated as 12 in the UK) but for the rest of us it's pants.

A reboot, remake, part of the series? Who knows? This is another in the cycle of the vengeful ghost films that have never surpassed the Japanese original. The trouble here is, whilst there's lots of gore, maggoty corpses and nasty ghosts emerging from the shadows, none of it feels particularly scary. Andrea Riseborough tries her best in the lead role but ultimately this offers nothing but the expected bathtub death that seems to be a franchise trademark and an interesting timeline structure. The story starts in Tokyo, perhaps more as a homage to the original, and then zips quickly to the US where a decomposed body is found in a car and Detective Muldoon (Riseborough) investigates. She finds there are links to a house where a woman killed her family and then herself and which Muldoon's partner has issues. These events are all caused by a vengeful, curse ridden ghost that attacks anyone who enters the house. As said the events never amount to much that's scary other than the discovery of corpses in various states or decomposition or with horrible injuries, and it just goes for cattle prod jump scares and why oh why does everyone have such dim houselights!! A bit of a disappointment really and certainly not a film that will appeal to any other than fans of horror.

Seriously cool action thriller, and very reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs (1992), from director Ben Wheatley. Set in a deserted Boston warehouse in the 1970s a four man IRA group, led by Chris (Cillian Murphy) have arranged, through intermediary Justine (Brie Larson), to meet gun runner, Vern (Sharlto Copley) and his team to buy assault rifles. The deal is overseen by Ord (Armie Hammer) but things go awry when one of the IRA guys has had a beef with one of Vern's gang the previous evening and soon things spiral out of control. Darkly humorous, pacy and violent this is brilliantly edited into one very long and hugely entertaining shoot out. There's double crosses and plot twists and a very funny script. Everyone is obviously having great fun in what is a bloody, gripping and downright great film. There's a topnotch soundtrack and the support cast are all on great form including Jack Reynor, Sam Riley, Michael Smiley and Noah Taylor. It's very Tarantinoesque in style and is one of those action films that is not meant to be taken seriously but one to just sit back and have a rollicking good time.