Film Reviews by GI

A 'David vs Goliath' story, based on a real one and with an award winning performance by Julia Roberts. She plays the title character, a sassy, street smart single mother who struggles financially while trying desperately to get a job without any qualifications. She eventually finds a job as a clerk in a small LA law firm owned by lawyer Ed (Albert Finney). But unpopular with the other staff because she's very direct and dresses provocatively Ed allows Erin to look into what he sees as a small property case involving a big power company. But Erin, who is extremely smart, uncovers a scandal where the company have dumped a cancer causing poison into a small town's water supply and are trying to hide their culpability. This soon turns into the biggest lawsuit case Ed has ever been involved in much to his consternation. Not only is this a great character piece but it's also a fascinating and uplifting story of fighting a massively rich company whose corruption knows no bounds. There's sadness here and also anger that in the land of the free this casual disregard for human life to secure profit really happened on such a scale. Roberts plays Erin as a larger than life charismatic person but who hides her demons. This is played out at just the right pitch in her new and gentle relationship with biker George (Aaron Eckhart). The film ensures that whilst Erin is the focus of the narrative she never overrides the drama of the victims in the story. In that sense this is a first class story and a film that deserves rediscovering.

The Predator franchise hasn't been very successful, after the stunningly brilliant original film (1987) came a series of dafter and unfulfilling sequels that have never been well received. But now we have a new film and it's a corker too. Returning to the essence of the original film and some neat links to it we have a prequel set 300 years before the first film. A young Comanche woman Naru (Amber Midthunder) is an expert tracker and keen hunter, she joins her brother's hunting party despite their attitudes to her being just a woman. But an alien predator is also in the forest and so begins a battle between them. This has everything a Predator movie should have, it's tense, neatly gory and essentially a battle of wits as the Indian warrior has to learn how to defeat this incredible enemy. The effects are good and there's neat details for the Predator fan to check out. Some of the script's lines reflect back to the original film and there's also links to Predator 2 (1990). It's a real pity this has not been given a cinema release and you'll have to check it out on Disney+ in the UK. Thoroughly enjoyable and exciting.

A great prison escape drama based on real events and the last collaboration between Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel. Typical of both star and director it's a film that doesn't waste anything, it's a taut, well told story with an occasionally clumsy script moment and interestingly it isn't structured as a star vehicle considering Eastwood's box office pull in the 70s. Shot on the actual Alcatraz island this tells the story of the escape by three men, Frank Morris (Eastwood) and the Anglin brothers (Fred Ward & Jack Thibeau) who managed to burrow out of their cells and with makeshift life rafts disappear into the San Francisco Bay. Not only is their plans for the escape create the usual tense drama as discovery is always potentially possible but Siegel also has time to deviate away to reveal the sort of life at Alcatraz as a maximum security prison was for the prisoners. To ensure the film sides with the escapees (and to some extent the prisoners in general) the story creates a fictional head warden played with delicious nastiness by Patrick McGoohan. His casual coldness to all things exemplified in his crushing of the emblematic flower which is part of the narrative centring on the character of Doc (Roberts Blossom) who acts as the films heart. Interesting story in a lean and well made film and a solid Eastwood performance. Definitely a film to seek out if you've never seen it.

Director Ron Howard has the straight forward story telling ability to draw tension, stress even, from stories where the viewer already knows the outcome, Apollo 13 (1995) for example. Here he does it again with a simple story of the rescue of twelve Thai schoolboys and their football coach who become trapped in a large 'tourist' cave when monsoon rains unexpectedly arrive and cause the cave to flood. It's a story of ordinary heroism when Thai Navy SEALS assisted by cave diving experts Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) at first find the boys all alive after several days of their being alone in the cave and having to navigate treacherous passages and strong floodwater currents to reach them. The expected claustrophobic scenes make for a thrilling and occasionally edge of your seat experience. But this is only the first part of the story as how to get them out becomes the major plot issue. With casualties forecast by the straight talking Stanton he comes up with the daring and highly risky plan to use Australian cave diver and qualified anaesthetist, Harry Harris (Joel Edgerton), to put the boys to sleep one by one and drag them through the long, torturous dive to get them out. Howard draws every emotion from the scenario including the plight of the smallest boy forced to be the last to make the journey as finding a facemark to fit him proves difficult. On the surface there is the political struggles of the local Governor who realises he's to be the fall guy if anything goes wrong. Howard also rightly and smartly doesn't overcook the potential 'white' saviour issue which is partly unavoidable by making sure that Mortensen, Farrell etc play their parts as unassuming as possible, they're simply experts who volunteer to help. The narrative does introduce a slight friction between the Thai SEALS and these foreigners but it's never pushed as a major plot device. Overall this is a riveting and moving story of a real event allegedly quite accurate, as a film it's definitely worth checking out.

Highly entertaining action science fiction with Tom Cruise playing against type as a cowardly soldier who has to find his courage and save the day. There's lots of films that this has clearly been influenced by not least Aliens (1986), Starship Troopers (1997) and War Of The Worlds (2005) and the basis of the narrative is a repeating 'Groundhog Day' timeline. Cruise plays Major Gage a PR man for the huge multi national army that is fighting an alien invasion. When he foolishly tries to blackmail his commander (Brendan Gleeson) to avoid being sent on a massive offensive he gets busted and ends up in the first wave of D-Day against an enemy that has taken over Europe. But by strange circumstances he ends up reliving the day over and over after a confrontation with an alien. He learns that they are able to control time and consequently are able to reset the day in order to win the war. Managing to get help from super soldier Rita (Emily Blunt), who is the only one to believe what is happening to him Gage must die over and over until he finds a way of destroying the aliens. The creatures are well done and fast moving enough to always be just unable to study closely. This all works well as this is essentially a combat war film with slick weaponry, great set pieces, the usual bunch of pumped up grunts and a story that never gets dull with fast editing that moves the whole thing along at a good, solid pace. It's a big brash slice of hokum but brilliantly entertaining and it has the great Bill Paxton as a tough NCO. What more do you need?

A big greenscreen heavy childrens adventure film based on a video game. It steals heavily from Indiana Jones, The Goonies and even Mission Impossible with Tom Holland essentially playing an unmasked Peter Parker type. He's Nate a streetwise, parkour loving thief and conman who gets involved with an untrustworthy treasure hunter played by Mark Wahlberg. The story is the hunt for some old treasure and they have to sort out a load of clues and ancient booby trap devices to find where it is and all the while a load of baddies are after it too. There's a side plot involving Nate's long lost brother and post credit sequences that signpost a possible sequel. It's a silly film really, aimed at lovers of the game which I'm guessing are aged 8 to 12 and Holland is just reaffirming his action credentials but he's a long way from nailing a gritty role based on this.

Similarities with Howard Hawks Rio Bravo (1959) are inevitable especially as both films were scripted by Leigh Bracket who admitted the films had the same narrative structure. Whilst the earlier film is a classic of the genre El Dorado is a film that is a star vehicle for John Wayne, who at 59 years of age when this was released is too old to convince as a famous and lightening draw gunfighter. Perhaps this is all the reason why this film is played more for laughs and in a Fordian way the comedy is what makes it very watchable. The mid 60s was the time when Wayne is starting to look overweight and less the classic western hero and more of the curmudgeonly father figure. It's consequently quite daft to have him as the love interest to Charlene Holt's widow and Wayne plays the lothario very reluctantly. It's still a film that worships the law of the gun and despite deaths this is a bloodless film that lacks Hawks previous eye for the majestic side of the western. This is a western that has no truck with the usual legends and myths of the genre, there's no frontier to discover, no Indians to fight and no wilderness to survive in, this is a pure cinematic western with a theme park style town and standard gunfights, punch ups and stock characters. Wayne here is Thornton who gets embroiled in a small range war to help his old pal, Harrah (Robert Mitchum who steals the film), an alcoholic sheriff, to deal with the bad guys. Like Rio Bravo the central story has the good guys holed up and besieged in the jailhouse but the climax here pales in comparison to the earlier film's fantastic ending. This has its entertainment value and if you grew up on a diet of westerns this is a nostalgic revisit to the time before the classic western disappeared, indeed it came out right in the middle of the spaghetti western boom although El Dorado was still a huge hit. The added bonus is James Caan in a breakout role as a young, naïve guy who joins Wayne and Mitchum. There's loads to enjoy here and a fair bit that will annoy too and it's a western that would struggle to find a modern audience and yet it is a also a fine example of a major star doing what he does best.

Based on a true story although most of the events in the film are fictional, this is a wonderful historical drama and I have to say one of the most emotional films I've seen and it certainly bought a tear to my eye. Renowned for his surreal and enigmatic narratives this is one of David Lynch's most accessible films, indeed his first commercial film, but his style including the bookending of two nightmarish sequences , and his recreation of the 'dark, satanic mills' of industrial Victorian London are superb and add to the overall atmosphere of suspense, even dread, that pervades the narrative even when it appears to be turning into a happy conclusion. Lynch tricks you here as this story of John Merrick (played wonderfully by John Hurt) is a story of intolerance and of the fear of difference. His vision of a polluted city with it's smoke, dust and pumping machinery shot in an authentic black and white adds to the sense of disease and bodily corruption that is the focus of the story. Merrick is a grotesquely deformed man rescued from a freak show carnival and a violently abusive man, Bytes (Freddie Jones) by surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins). Given sanctuary in Treves' hospital Merrick reveals himself to be a young man of intelligence and gentleness despite his horrible deformities and the terrible abuse he has suffered. Befriended by a famous actress (Anne Bancroft) Merrick becomes the talk of the town until abuse returns in the form of the nasty Bytes and a lowly hospital caretaker (Michael Elphick) who makes money by allowing drunks to view him at night. With a superb cast including John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Dexter Fletcher and Hannah Gordon this is a tearjerker that shows the benefits of human kindness contrasted with the violence shown towards those that don't fit or look different. Even though Merrick's case is an extreme one this is still a film that thematically resonates today. A fantastic film and one that you should see.

This historical film is constructed and directed like a thriller, it's full of political intrigue, murder and conspiracy. It's a well paced and gripping story about Elizabeth I ascent to the throne during a time of religious unrest between the Catholic hierarchy and the new Protestant monarch. A relatively unknown Cate Blanchett received an Academy nomination for her performance as the young Queen forced to deal with enemies both at home and abroad. Director Shekhar Kapur creates a fascinating imagery of Elizabethan England and adds great doses of bloody violence and romance. The support cast are fantastic especially Geoffrey Rush as the Queen's bodyguard and spymaster, Walsingham; Christopher Eccleston as the egocentric Duke of Norfolk and Richard Attenborough as her chief adviser. There is also a young Daniel Craig, Kelly MacDonald, Emily Mortimer, Joseph Fiennes and John Gielgud in his last film role to add to the mix. With it's opening shocker of a scene as three heretics are burned at the stake (and very realistic it is too) to the final executions of the traitors this is a gritty and very interesting film of a famous part of English history even though it plays fast and loose with the truth. Never mind that though because this is entertaining and well worth checking out if you've never seen it.

First rate thriller from Director Tony Scott with his trademark fast editing and fantastic story telling ability. This has a great twist & turn plot and a cast to die for. It's also one of, if not the, best film that Will Smith has ever starred in, he's a lead actor who has picked some strange films although there are exceptions, here he is note perfect. He plays Robert, a smart Baltimore based lawyer in a top echelon firm, happily married to Carla (Regina King) although they've had their problems (a plot issue). His life is turned upside down when he unknowingly comes into possession of a recording that shows the murder of a US senator by Reynolds (a neatly nasty Jon Voight), an ambitious deputy in the National Security agency who uses his covert agents to mess with Robert's life to try and get the tape back before Robert can expose him. Robert's only help comes from Brill (Gene Hackman) a former agent who has dropped out of sight for years. The action here is sharp, with some very fast paced and realistic chase scenes. There's murder and conspiracy throughout the story, mixed with Smith's wisecracking screen persona that works well with the character. It's a very well written film that concerns itself with state surveillance and the implications if it gets out of control, NASA supposedly refused to cooperate with the film. The support cast are impressive and include Lisa Bonet, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Ian Hart and Gabriel Byrne has a great cameo. As an action film this hits every note in a modern thriller filmed in a gritty realistic style. Highly entertaining and worth a revisit if you've not seen it in awhile and a must if it's passed you by.

A beautiful romantic epic, one of those films that reveals and reminds what the magic of cinema can bring. It's a glorious film, tragic, sad and yet strangely uplifting as it studies the power of true love and how it can transcend all obstacles. Set in the late 1930s and into the 40s it tells the story of a badly burned and dying man (Ralph Fiennes), known only as the English patient, who has partial amnesia (or does he??), and is being nursed by Hana, a French/Canadian military nurse (Juliette Binoche). This part of the film begins in Italy in 1944 as the allies push the Germans steadily into retreat. Housed in an old church Hana begins to hear the patient's story as he slowly reveals it and which is told in flashback. His story begins in Africa before the war where as a map maker he falls desperately in love with Katharine (Kristin Scott Thomas), the wife of a colleague. A relationship of extreme passion that proves fateful. Into both these two storylines are weaved tales of love, jealousy, danger and suspicion. It is a remarkable film with multi award winning performances, wonderfully directed and edited into a narrative that links the passions of the two timelines. The theme around maps and cartography is clever but the majesty of the African desert is what makes this a memorable film, the romanticism it evokes not only in the characters but in the viewer reveals a film of emotional power. The cast are impeccable and include Willem Dafoe as an intelligence agent who is tortured by the Germans, Naveen Andrews as a British army bomb defusing expert and Colin Firth as the cuckolded husband. A modern masterpiece, a film to revel in so make sure you see this at all costs.

When the martial arts film gained a massive popularity in the early 70s Hollywood soon perked up and invested in this star vehicle for Bruce Lee. It was a huge worldwide hit enhancing the production values yet retaining the cheesy action and wooden acting. Lee died before this was fully released and so the film has held a certain place in the hearts of fans and in the cycle of Kung Fu films and especially those starring Lee this is arguably the best of the bunch. It's certainly great fun and has all the tropes of the genre including the added on sound effects unique to martial arts films. Lee gurnes his way through the fighting making his trademark squeals and groans as he despatches multiple enemies. The story matters little really as this is all about the fight scenes but there is a story of sorts here that is clearly based on the James Bond series with the main villain modelled on Dr No, right down to his metal hands and oriental style jacket, and to top all of that he's given a Blofeldesque white cat to stroke. Here Lee (retaining the name for his character) is a secret agent sent to the fortress island of heroin producer Han (Kien Shih) to participate in a brutal martial arts contest but really to get evidence of all the criminal activity. He gets assisted by a dodgy American gambler, Roper (John Saxon), who is also a top Kung Fu expert Actually everyone on the island is a Kung Fu expert and Lee and Roper get to fight most of them, Lee with a variety of weapons to showcase his skills including nunchucks which the British censor had real problems with as kids with Bruce Lee posters on their bedroom walls either bought or made their own and beat each other up until the UK Government banned them. The whole thing is totally daft and some aspects of it have not dated well including a scene with karate champion Jim Kelly and some racist cops. But as an example of a genre that was hugely popular within a certain time this is worth checking out if you've never seen it.

This is probably the most famous counter-culture film ever made and it certainly impacted on its initial release. It's a road movie and in many ways a picture postcard vision of America as seen through the journey of the two main characters played by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. It's also a quite sharp condemnation of the American Dream and the idea of the US being the land of the free. In many ways it's a bizarre film with little, if any, real narrative story other than of two young men who score big with a drug deal and on their Harley Davidsons head off from Los Angeles to New Orleans for the Mardis Gras and then onwards to Florida. On the journey they meet corruption and bigotry for their long hair and apparent alternative lifestyle challenging the various rednecks conservative values along the way. Ironically the characters are rooted in the mythology of the American West, the film is littered with 'cowboy' iconography, and yet face harassment from the very people who worship the legends of the frontier. Jack Nicholson, playing an alcoholic lawyer who joins them for part of the trip, gives a prophetic speech about how they represent the free individual which is a threat to the very people who preach about freedom. A speech made just before his murder at the hands of rednecks. With it's drug use, prostitution and challenges to those conservative values this was a film way ahead of its time and yet came towards the end of the swinging sixties when sexual freedom and drug use had already been epitomised in music especially. Of course the film has a fantastic soundtrack and it's use of enigmatic flash editing and the infamous LSD trip sequence make this an interesting watch today and I can see why some modern viewers may find it a challenge but it's still an important and stimulating film and one every film fan must see.

Handsomely shot this contemporary western is well meaning in trying to educate the viewer about the plight of Mexican immigrants but does so in a didactic manner that is weakened as the film develops into a chase thriller. Set on the Texas / Mexico border where a ranching family of Dad (Frank Grillo), Mum (Andie MacDowell) and two sons including rising baseball player Jackson (Jake Allyn who also co-wrote the script). Thet are a bit paranoid about 'protecting' their land from illegal immigrants that they act as a sort of vigilante militia rounding up any trespassing immigrants until Jackson stupidly shoots and kill a young boy. Despite regret and confession he flees the police and rides into Mexico where he gets a job on a family ranch but finds the dead boy's father and a nasty drug dealer are on the hunt for him. The film picks up from it's rather predictable start and as a thriller has an entertainment value and it is well intentioned but it's set up as a moral story of the education of a redneck is then deviated from to a standard narrative of guilt over a pointless killing. This isn't a bad film by any stretch and worth checking out.

Christopher Nolan's epically told story of the evacuation of the allied forces from mainland Europe is less a brutal war film than a disaster/survival film. There are no real combat scenes other than aerial attack and dogfighting as the film follows three main stories edited together in a unique timeframe structure that is somewhat experimental and requires the viewer to really concentrate. There's the story of the soldiers on the beaches desperate for escape mostly told through the eyes of one very young soldier (Fionn Whitehead) and the naval officers trying to manage a chaotic evacuation under the the command of Bolton (Kenneth Branagh). The action here take place over a period of one week. Intermixed with this is the second story of the legendary small boats that head across the channel to assist getting the troops off the beach. This is focused through one boat owned and crewed by Dawson (Mark Rylance) with his son (Tom Glynn-Carney) and a young assistant, George (Barry Keoghan). This story takes place over the course of one day. Finally there's a flight of three spitfires with pilots played by Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden (the third pilot is not seen but voiced on radio by Michael Caine). Their mission takes place over one hour. Nolan edits these three timelines together so that you see events in a slightly jumbled order but which are cohesive once you understand what's happening. Overall this is an interesting war film, one that aims to show the plight of those taking part outside of direct confrontation with the enemy, indeed other than attacking aircraft there are no scenes with Germans , other than a small one at the end and even then they are shown out of focus. The film's onscreen information at the film's start only refers to them as the enemy making this a film that seeks to remove national animosities and simply show a film about experience not politics. This is though a very moving and at times exciting film with an all pervading and ominous soundtrack throughout which adds to the atmosphere of fear and dread. A great cast that also includes Cillian Murphy and the singer Harry Styles. A film that's seeks to take the war genre into new territory and succeeds so if you're seeking bloody battle scenes you'll be disappointed here as this is a film that eschews that for one about personal experience in the face of imminent death. It's moving, tense and very clever.