Film Reviews by GI

A light comedy that has wit and a certain charm and yet it's all a touch dull. There's a clash of cultures theme going on in the background here with a story, supposedly based on a real one, that didn't work for me although the film explains it's a cultural norm, something I found hard to believe. Anyway it's about a young Chinese born girl, Billi (Awkwafina) who has been raised and lives in New York. She regularly contacts her beloved grandmother, Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), who lives in China by phone and is distraught when she discovers Nai Nai has less than a few months to live due to cancer. The surprise is that the family have decided to hide this from Nai Nai and they've bought forward a family wedding in China as a ruse to get together with her. Having an American way of thinking Billi thinks this is wrong but goes along with it and at the family gathering the issues between the various factions in the family come to the fore. This is a pleasant enough family comedy drama but it just didn't liven up enough for me despite an especially good performance from Awkwafina.

It's quite surprising to remember that this wasn't that big a success when it was released considering it is now a perennial Christmas favourite and often thought of as the ultimate romantic comedy. The intertwining stories of loves lost and found that are told on the five weeks run up to Christmas are a mixed bag and there are some misfires in there. These can be forgiven because they are well concealed by the sheer fun and magic of the film as a whole. Outstanding are Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson as the married couple shattered when he has a brief affair with his secretary. Thompson's performance here is magnificent and on every viewing you can't help feel her pain and sadness. Hugh Grant as the UK Prime Minister is great casting although the choice of TV soap actress Martine McCutcheon as his ideal girl is one of the film's odd decisions and their story arc doesn't fully work. But the dance scene in 10 Downing Street has fallen into the famous scene category. Liam Neeson as a bereaved husband helping his young stepson deal with unrequited love is a great story as is Andrew Lincoln's love for his best friend's wife. The comedy mostly works especially Bill Nighy as the has-been rock star Billy Mack who's Christmas pop song is used to link the stories. Nighy is always great and here is no exception. The film may have become too familiar to too many but on a cold winter evening in front of the fire it never fails to bring a smile and the odd tear to your eye.

This comedy drama suffers by a lack of both although there is a certain charm to the story and the film tries to avoid any clichés in its tale of a relationship between two women, one highly successful and the other trying to find her place. Dakota Johnson is the best thing here, her ability at funny expression and gentle asides gives the few laughs the film has. She plays Maggie, the put upon assistant to Grace (Tracee Ellis-Ross), a hugely successful pop singer but who is now finding her popularity is on the wane. Maggie tries to influence her career as she harbours ambition to be a record producer and instinctively knows how to get the best from Grace on record. But her money hungry manager (Ice Cube) will have none of it. When Maggie finds a young talent in street singer David (Kelvin Harrison Jr) she has to lie to get him to agree to let her produce a record for him. This causes all sorts of issues as you can imagine. Romance flits in and out of the story and there's a story twist that you'll see coming a mile away and is pretty daft anyway. It's in the film's sparky relationship between Maggie and Grace that the film has some interest, just not enough. Bill Pullman cameos as Maggie's dad and otherwise this is watchable but not as good as hoped.

Like much of director Abel Ferrara's work this is a cold, unfeeling film that drags somewhat and it's quite a bleak viewing experience. A mafia gangster film set in the 1930s where three criminal brothers have a mini empire. When the youngest Johnny (Vincent Gallo) is killed the elder two Ray (Christopher Walken) and Chez (Chris Penn) vow to find the killer and have their revenge. Their chief suspect is Gaspare (Benicio Del Toro), a smooth, nasty gangster who is a part rival of the brothers and they know Johnny was sleeping with Gaspare's wife and assumes he knows this too. Their plans and plots bring about family recriminations that will affect them all. Penn plays his usual unpleasant, bullying character with zero redeeming features and it's hard to pin down where Walken's character fits. The support cast is impressive and includes Isabella Rossellini and Annabella Sciorra. Bloody and violent this is probably a gangster film that has slipped your net so it's worth checking out.

The quintessential buddy cop movie and something different for Christmas, from the opening soundtrack song 'Jingle Bell Rock' to a shoot out at a Christmas tree sale this is a seasonal treat. A real thrill ride despite it having some very daft moments and pushing the boundaries of credibility. But it's so much fun not least because of the great onscreen partnership of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. Gibson gets to do his unstable, borderline psycho act against Glover's grumpy by-the-book family man. It works well especially with the great Gary Busey as the chief bad guy. If you've never seen this then in short Glover is an LA detective with a lovely family who investigates the apparent suicide of the daughter of an old army buddy. He is given a new partner the psychotic (or is he??) Gibson who is grieving for his recently deceased wife. Together they expose a major drug smuggling operation. It's all shooting and chasing from there with some martial arts, a bit of comedy, some torture and it'll bring a smile to your face. It steals a scene and style from Dirty Harry (1971) and in turn the following year's Die Hard (1988) nicked the ending. I never took to the three sequels which get weaker as they went on but this original is still a film to enjoy time and time again.

What can one add about such a beloved slice of classic Hollywood as this? A film that is so rich in detail that it's worth watching just to study the mise-en-scène throughout. James Stewart, in his first role since returning from duty in the Second World War, is perfect, an actor who could play comedy, action, hard man and softy with believable precision that it's so easy to forget just how good he was. And Donna Reed, not only a tremendously beautiful woman but an actor of class and skill. Stewart plays George Bailey, an ambitious man who lives in the small town of Bedford Falls where his family run a small building and loan company. The company is coveted by the town's odious rich man Potter (Lionel Barrymore) but he is continually foiled from acquiring it by George who gets stuck in the town after his father dies. He finds happiness in love with Mary (Reed) and raises a family but is always a little disappointed with his life and then a chain of events leaves George facing ruin and he contemplates suicide. But he is given a very special gift by a strange old man, the chance to see the world as if he had never been born. This is a film about community, about morality and ultimately about materialism and even if it is a film that exemplifies the 'male gaze' dominance of Hollywood this is a remarkable piece of cinema. I can see why this remains a popular Christmas film, because it's themes resonate today even if they are only observed subconsciously and because ultimately it's a film that gives you that warm feeling long after it's over.

A big, spectacular war film, one of those all star ones that were once very popular prestige movies like The Longest Day (1962), The Battle of Britain (1969) and Tora Tora Tora (1970). Here director Richard Attenborough reconstructs Operation Market Garden, the huge 1944 allied airborne invasion of Holland designed to end the war before Christmas. It was a massive failure for a variety of reasons not least that the German resistance was much more intense than had been envisaged. The film is wonderfully entertaining and cleverly edited as it has to follow several key events within a strict timeline. This is managed very well and for the most part all the various scenes fit very neatly to explain the entire operation. Arguably one or two of the episodes in the film could have been excised to create a tighter narrative including a pointless story featuring James Caan as a US soldier who threatens a senior medic to save his young officer. Attenborough, although an occasionally clumsy director, does create a very detailed history of the operation here and the combat and battle scenes are realistic and gripping without resorting to excessive bloodshed or violence. The attempt to overplay the cultural differences between the British and the Americans seems a bit too much when viewed today (for instance only the Americans get to swear, the British are all far too polite!) but this can be forgiven. The cast includes Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Edward Fox, Dirk Bogarde, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, Elliot Gould, Ryan O'Neal and Laurence Olivier. Overall a cracking war film and one to check out if you've never seen it.

This is one of the great, classic war films, a Boys Own Adventure that gained seven Academy awards. It's epic in structure, with stunning cinematography and a top cast of Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins. The surviving members of a British battalion are marched into captivity led by their commanding officer, Colonel Nicholson (Guinness). The POW camp commander Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) has been ordered to build a rail bridge over the nearby river and intends to use the prisoners as slave labour. After a tense battle of wills between the two Colonels, Nicholson decides that the bridge will be built with pride by his weakened soldiers as a mark of their patriotism and pluck. But a commando mission is en route to blow it up led by Major Warden (Hawkins) and Shears (Holden), an American who escaped from the POW camp. A fantastic and entertaining film that is one of those that everyone should see. The plot involving a confusion of ideals and loyalties is a clever one but at its heart this is a wartime adventure story and not a serious film that studies the plight of British POWs under the Japanese (indeed Holden looks like he's well fed and healthy throughout!). Whilst this is based on real events it is only a loose version of what actually happened. It certainly is a variation on the British war hero idea and the addition of the American in Holden was to ensure a good box office (Steve McQueen was similarly used in The Great Escape). Simply put tis is a cracking war film and well worth seeking out if you've never seen it.

A comedy/horror that combines the High School teen film with slasher movies via a body swap narrative. Homaging just about everything you can think of Vince Vaughn plays the serial killer, a sort of Michael Myers/Leatherface/Hannibal Lector, who roams around murdering in gory ways. When he attacks Millie (Kathryn Newton), a teenager bullied at school and grieving the loss of her dad, using a stolen ancient knife that happens to have magical properties they end up in each others bodies. You can probably guess the set ups thereafter as they've all been done before in body swap films and of course there's a time limit to get swapped back or they'll end up permanently trapped in each others bodies. Vaughn plays it quite well once he's a girl in a man's body though there's some scenes that are all a bit silly. The film pushes the gore and there's some unnecessary big time bad language just in case you haven't worked out that the killer is really really nasty. It pushed the unpleasant to the detriment of comedy and so wasn't funny enough and many of the support characters are clichéd..

A fairly typical rise and fall of a rock star story set in punk era Britain and showing the urban decay and social unrest prominent at the time. Hazel O'Connor in a break out role not only as an actor but also musically stars as Kate, a young punk singer/songwriter who is anti-establishment and writes politically charged punk rock songs that she plays in grubby pubs. Phil Daniels, in a typical role, is the cheeky chappy wannabe music promoter, Danny, who convinces her he can make her famous. Eventually that happens of course, in fact pretty quickly despite Danny being a complete twit and Kate bizarrely not wanting a record deal which she sees as becoming part of the machine. Anyway she of course does make a record and becomes a sort of Bowie-esque rock god soon becoming disillusioned and drug fuelled to keep he going. The film has some interest although it's all a little clumsy in structure and O'Connor is a little wooden. The director Brian Gibson creates some set pieces involving riots with far right nazi yobs and uses a death at one such event as a plot device to hurry along Kate's fall from grace. None of this works very well as the film is in far too much of a hurry but it's an interesting enough addition to the rock music film and the vision of the bleak side of Britain at the time. Jonathan Pryce supports in an early role and the resulting soundtrack album is excellent.

Whilst not exactly a Christmas themed film it is nevertheless a great watch over the Christmas season with the film bookended by scenes set in the winter. Basically a witty and cleverly scripted comedy of manners adapted from the bestselling novel by Helen Fielding who co-scripted with Richard Curtis. The story homages Pride & Prejudice even giving the main male character the name D'Arcy and of course it's a sharp exploration of modern relationship struggles. The casting of American actress Renée Zellweger as the titular Bridget raised some eyebrows considering that she is quintessentially English but doubters soon saw that she is excellent in the role even gaining an Academy award nomination, in fact its nigh impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Bridget is a thirty something woman, single, despairing of ever finding true love and sinks into the depression of over eating, smoking and drinking. He snobby mother (Gemma Jones) is always trying to pair her up with the sons of her friends including the very serious Mark D'Arcy (Colin Firth) who Bridget considers rude and cold. However she does fancy her boss Daniel (Hugh Grant in a brilliant performance as a real cad). Coincidentally Mark and Daniel hate one another for reasons that become a key plot point. Bridget is socially inept but deep down a warm and quite lovely character. All this cues a hilarious relationship comedy that uses parties as the conduit for people to meet, bond or re-evaluate their opinions of each other. The novel is a modern classic (well worth reading if you haven't) and this adaptation is a superb comedy that nails it's themes very accurately. A joy to watch over Christmas.

A family fun filed Christmas comedy treat. It has all the ingredients that you want from a seasonal family film and above all it's genuinely hilarious mostly due to Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the hapless burglars who encounter resourceful 8 year old Macaulay Culkin who is intent on protecting his family home. But overall the film is focused on family and its importance especially at Christmas. Essentially a situation comedy where the large Chicago based McAllister family of Dad (John Heard) and Mum (Catherine O'Hara), their five children and various members of the extended family head off to France for a big Christmas holiday. The trouble is in their haste to catch their flight they inadvertently leave young Kevin at home. At first he's rather pleased about this and indulges himself but then begins to miss his family. But he's given plenty to do when he decides he has to foil the attempts by the 'wet bandits', as the daft crooks like to call themselves, in their efforts to raid his house. By setting booby traps which they fall easily into the film has a slapstick style that is really funny. There's also a nice side plot involving a mysterious neighbour (Roberts Blossom) who the McAllister children believe is a murderer. The film has a warm, good fun vibe and manages to deal with issues of sibling rivalry and gives a Childs eye view of what family life can sometimes feel like. A real treasure and a film that is a must see every Christmas time.

Director Guy Ritchie and star Jason Statham sort of made each others careers or at least increased their bank balances together and they have reached a point where both need a to regain some originality. This is a gutsy thriller that reunites them although it plays more like one of Statham's exploitation violent B movies than the laddish, cockney crime capers that Ritchie made in his unique style. This will be great entertainment for those that like their crime thrillers bloody and action packed but the story is a little threadbare and hackneyed with a little too many flashbacks and clever plot connivances for its own good. In fact it would probably have been a better film with a more gifted and nuanced actor in the lead. Statham plays 'H' a new employee at a security truck company. He's a cold fish, enigmatic and not popular until he takes down, with unprecedented skill, the bad guys who try to rob his truck. It soon becomes clear he's more than he appears and of course has his own agenda. It takes far too long to get to a clear position of what he exactly is up to but along the way there's plenty of gunplay. Scott Eastwood hams it up as a bad guy, Andy Garcia has a cameo and overall it's an efficiently made film that is a simple one made convoluted to give the impression it's better than it is.

Considered by many to not live up to the first three films this is worthy of re-evaluation. Admittedly the series peaked with 'Ultimatum' but this fourth film is still a first rate action thriller and highly entertaining. It's fast paced and an adrenaline rush especially the fight scenes and the climactic car chase through Las Vegas. There are elements of the story and plot that are on the same lines as the previous films where former CIA agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is still trying to piece together his old life. After many years hiding in the shadows Bourne is contacted by his old ally Nicky (Julia Stiles), who has left the CIA. She has uncovered a secret plan by CIA boss (Tommy Lee Jones) to use a new popular software programme run by a 'Mark Zuckerberg' type entrepreneur (Riz Ahmed) to spy on anyone using it. She's also uncovered information about Bourne's past. But soon Bourne finds he's being hunted by an old enemy (Vincent Cassel) and he has to unravel a conspiracy at the top of the CIA. Alicia Vikander supports as an ambitious cyber expert wanting promotion in the CIA. If you are a fan of the Bourne films then this lives up to what you've come to expect. It features an older Jason Bourne who is a reluctant participant in the events and the hand held camera style of director Paul Greengrass is still great stuff and has fixed the series style since he took over the reins. If you weren't convinced on first viewing give this another go it's worth your time. Action cinema at it's best.

This is what grand, spectacular epic cinema should be like. This is a historical romantic film that shuns history to tell a story of adventure and love on a poetic scale. Much derided for its historical inaccuracies but who cares, cinema is foremost about entertainment and film makers have to have an eye for the dramatic and besides the truth is often neither of those. With elements of the fantastical director Mel Gibson tells a remarkable story of love, revenge and patriotism in the 13th Century where Scotland is under the tyrannical rule of Edward The First of England (Patrick McGoohan in a deliciously nasty performance). Orphaned commoner William Wallace (Mel Gibson) returns from France to his home in Scotland to marry the love of his life but when she is murdered by the English his rage turns into leading a rebellion. The story charts his leading the rebel army in the Battle of Stirling and his invasion and sacking of York and finally his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. The battle scenes are bloody and exciting but it's in the passion of Wallace driven by a desire for freedom and grieving for the loss of his woman that the film excels. It really is an exceptional film, with a beautiful score by James Horner, a host of great actors in support including Brendan Gleeson, Sophie Marceau, Catherine McCormack, Brian Cox and Ian Bannen. The film is clearly influenced by Spartacus (1960) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and the devoted Catholic in Gibson can't resist channeling the crucifixion in the film's climactic and unpleasant execution scene. But that aside this is epic cinema at it's very best, exhilarating, touching and wonderful to look at and it's always worth a revisit and definitely a film you must see if by a chance it's passed you by.