Film Reviews by GI

A beautiful and thoughtful film. This is modern film making at its very best, the film is note perfect and it's like a romantic visual poem. It really is a triumph. Set over the Christmas season of 1952 it follows young Therese (Rooney Mara), who works in a big department store in New York and dreams of being a photographer. One day she is mesmerised by the beautiful Carol (Cate Blanchett) who is in the store buying Christmas presents. Through various means they become friends and Therese becomes captivated by Carol much to the chagrin of her lovelorn boyfriend and the anger of Carol's estranged husband (Kyle Chandler). As their relationship develops into love Therese becomes heartbroken when Carol is forced to choose between her and losing access to her daughter. This is a story of love, sexual awakening and desire. It's a wonderfully told tale and both the stars give mesmerising performances. There's a beauty, sadness and a sense of hope throughout the film, which is shot in a wonderful colour palette that recreates the 1950s superbly. This is a film to enjoy on a quiet Christmas time evening where you can absorb the sheer genius of it. An intense, brilliantly crafted romance that works on every level.

The action thriller that effectively influenced all that followed it including the James Bond franchise and the Mission Impossible series not to mention the John Wick films, and basically all action espionage type movies. It set a new style and standard for gritty action, fights and a down-to-earth realism with it's car chases, plot, camera use, editing and setting. Its very loosely adapted from a celebrated novel, indeed the choice of Matt Damon is a big departure from the Jason Bourne of the book where he is a much older character. I'm sure everyone has seen this but it's very worthy of a rewatch where you'll notice that it still stands up against modern action films including the latest 007 No Time To Die. The plot is neatly convoluted where a half dead man is found floating in the Mediterranean. He has amnesia with only a Zurich bank account number as a clue to who he might be. Discovering his name maybe Jason Bourne he sets out to try and find out who he is and gradually finds he has some very unusual skills. With the help of a young woman, Marie (Franka Potente) he soon finds he's being hunted. With a great support cast of Chris Cooper (always excellent), Brian Cox and Clive Owen this is a fantastic spy thriller. It started a short series, all of which are excellent (with the exception of The Bourne Legacy where the actual Bourne character isn't involved - a rather poorly conceived film in fact) and it made Matt Damon into a respected action star. A film to rediscover, it's just as good as when it was made.

Big action adventure film based on the notorious mutiny that occurred in 1789. This is the third big film based on these events (the previous ones from 1935 and 1962 are both worth checking out) and here the attempt is to bring the story closer to the actual events. Anthony Hopkins gives a first rate performance as William Bligh, the commander of HMS Bounty, sent to Tahiti to trade with the natives for bread fruit. He asks his good friend Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson) to be one of his officers and hopes to circumnavigate the globe on the journey. But plagued with bad weather the ship eventually arrives in Tahiti where Bligh unwisely allows the crew to spend several months ashore. The sexual freedom and relaxed life contrasts strongly with the harsh discipline of naval life and tired of the lackadaisical attitudes of his men Bligh sets sail for home intent on getting his crew back to being seamen. But Christian and other's miss the native women they have left behind and mutiny setting Bligh and those loyal to him adrift. The previous big budget films make the story a good guy (Christian)/bad guy (Bligh) narrative whereas the truth was far more complicated and this film tries to rebalance the story to show Christian was far more an opportunist and selfish than usually depicted with Bligh more a man to whom duty and law was paramount but he was fair and reasonable. Unfortunately the film doesn't quite go far enough here but that aside it's a really entertaining adventure with a first rate cast that includes Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, Liam Neeson, Phil Davis, Daniel Day-Lewis, Bernard Hill and others. Hopkins is especially good here as the ambitious officer who tries to hold his ship together against the lures of sex and paradise. This is a film that is well worth seeking out with a young Gibson setting his stall as a major star.

Almost, but not quite, a British Brokeback Mountain and a very assured first film for director Francis Lee. Set on a Yorkshire farm portrayed as a bleak, somewhat inhospitable place highlighting that living in the country can be a harsh and lonely life and is not always the idyllic one it's thought to be. Josh O'Connor plays Jack, a disheartened young man who has had to take over the running of the family's farm after his father (Ian Hart) has had a stroke. With only his grandmother (Gemma Jones) and father, seemingly always unimpressed by Jack's efforts, as company Jack resorts to drink and sullenness. All of his former school mates have gone off to University and Jack's only comradeship comes from chance encounters in toilets with local gay men. But when the family hire Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), a Romanian worker, Jack's life begins to find a meaning as they begin a passionate relationship. Lee's use of lighting from a harsh, cold look to warmer tones as Gheorghe begins to affect Jack is clever and signposts the affect of love. Gheorghe brings ideas to the farm and his presence affects all the relationships. There's an especially touching moment between Jack and his father. Interestingly the only bias Gheorghe experiences doesn't come from homophobia by the typical locals but from being an immigrant worker highlighting the Brexit issues that were focused on immigration especially in the north of England. A tender film, unsentimental with strong central performances.

A clunky, hackneyed redemption drama that has all been done before and far better too. Ben Affleck plays Jack an alcoholic construction worker who harbours mental traumas from his past (the reasons all get revealed eventually). He's a former High School basketball star and gets approached by his old school to take up the job of Head Coach of the school's failing and ill-disciplined team. And yep you guessed it his hard ass approach gets them winning and learning to be good boys all the time. But Jack finds it all a bit too much to stop drinking which gets him into a load of trouble but it'll all turn out all right in the end. Affleck seems to be sleep walking through the role here and the story never grips in any meaningful of watchable way. A disappointment.

This true story dynastic melodrama just about manages to avoid becoming too much of a soap opera mostly thanks to the committed and rather excellent performance by Lady Gaga. But there are moments of silliness, almost pantominesque in the characterisations and depiction of the rich Italian culture. This is the story of the fall of the fashion house Gucci. Patrizia (Lady Gaga) is the daughter of a humble transport business owner who one evening meets the lanky and shy Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) at a party. He is studying to be a lawyer and has no interest in the famous fashion business owned jointly by his father (Jeremy Irons) and uncle (Al Pacino). Patrizia and Maurizo fall in love and marry despite his father believing her to be a gold digger. She eventually persuades Maurizio to become involved in the family business and untold wealth comes their way but the company is riddled by tax scandal and corruption. Eventually their marriage sours but Patrizia will not relinquish her hold on her privileged wealth easily. This is an interesting story and director Ridley Scott recreates the 70s through to the 90s with his usual attention to visual detail. Both Lady Gaga and Adam Driver are superb throughout. There is some comic relief in Jared Leto's heavily prosthetically portrayal of Paolo Gucci, the sort of family fool, who causes all sorts of problems for the family although the performance is occasionally too much a cartoonish caricature. But this is a Ridley Scott film and well worth checking out.

Part erotic thriller, part gangster and part film noir this is a gem of a film that you may not have come across. Written and directed by the then Wachowski Brothers (now sisters) it is a superbly scripted story that has a twist and turn plot, it's sexy and clever and is full of surprises. Gina Gershon plays ex-con Corky who is renovating an apartment as part of her parole. She meets the sexy Violet (Jennifer Tilly) from next door and very soon they begin a passionate affair. Violet's partner is Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), a money launderer for the mafia and ruthless thug. She convinces Corky she wants to escape from Caesar and together they hatch a plan to steal $2million of the Mob's money and get Caesar blamed for it. It appears a perfect plan but Caesar is cleverer and more unpredictable than they envisaged. There's some innovative camerawork that is very stylish giving the film a contemporary feel even with a plot that is reminiscent of a classic Hollywood film. It's a great little film that is excellently written and directed and delivers a story that keeps you hooked throughout with some edge of your seat bits and occasional unexpected shocks.

This is one of the key American dramas of the 1990s, an impactive film that looks at the falseness of American material society and the resulting dysfunction caused to family, relationships and ambition. It's essentially a dark comedy with tragedy and an emphasis on the ridiculous nature of America and what it really stands for. Set in California in the late 1970s Burt Reynolds (Oscar nominated here) is an adult film maker, making cheap, exploitative porn' films for a growing market. It's world that has a ridiculous veneer of false talent, false respectability and unsavoury characters. He's always on the lookout for new 'talent' and spots young Eddie (Mark Wahlberg - in his first really major role). Eddie comes from a dysfunctional family, thinks he's rather special and is easy prey for Jack. Soon he is making porn films alongside Jack's stable of 'actors' including Amber (Julianne Moore) and 'Roller Girl' (Heather Graham), another teenager lured into the industry due to her struggles at school. All the characters believe themselves destined for something great but each harbours inner turmoil from Amber's desire for motherhood having been denied access to her young son, to Eddie (porn name Dirk Diggler) who thinks he's a serious actor and potential rock star. Their world soon reveals itself to be one of crime, drugs and violence. The film takes some surprising turns making it an enthralling drama and although it's set in the world of pornography it's a restrained film and never slips into gratuitousness. Indeed this is a remarkably clever film and certainly one that I can recommend. You will not be disappointed.

This drama set in Oregon in the 1820s has been critically acclaimed and to be sure there is a visual beauty to the film that takes place in the woods on the North West frontier. It's a tale of friendship with a pre credit William Blake quote signposting the theme of fulfilment through companionship. But I found the film ultimately somewhat too contemplative and lacking. It follows two drifters Cookie (John Magaro) and King-Lu (Orion Lee) who join up and find a common goal in seeking their fortune. Cookie is a trained baker and they come up with a plan to sell buttermilk cakes to the locals who are deprived of any culinary luxuries. To do this they begin covertly milking the famed jersey cow of the local pompous bigwig (Toby Jones). He doesn't react well when this is discovered. This is a narrative that is looking closely at the search for the American Dream through the friendship of two no-hopers (I even detected a hint of a gay subtext here) but it's a slow film which I found rather limited and a bit tedious.

America has a big tradition of creating heroes and myths out of their outlaws - Jesse James, Billy the Kid, John Dillinger etc - often portraying them as the victims of oppression who find a courageous yet fatal means to overcome the times they live in. Bonnie & Clyde are two such criminals, a pair of rampaging killers who roamed the southern states during the Great Depression robbing banks and stores and murdering as they went. This film is one of the first that began a New Wave in American cinema depicting these 'heroes' as dangerously flawed and started to question the image of the screen hero. This film movement opened the doors in the 70s for directors like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and even Steven Spielberg. Warren Beatty plays small time crook Clyde Barrow who impresses bored waitress Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) with his boasts of being a robber. Lured by the excitement they begin to travel around committing poorly planned and small robberies and eventually form a bigger gang with Clyde's brother Buck (Gene Hackman). Graduating to bank heists and pulling off some daring getaways from police ambushes they soon find their carefree attitude results in tragedy. With Beatty portraying Clyde as impotent, with blood spurting and slow motion violence this film broke new ground and it feels like a much more modern film when viewed today. It's certainly an important and influential American film, with a dark humour, fast action and a gripping story. If you like a good crime film then this is absolutely fantastic and if you've never seen it I highly recommend it.

The Western was once the mainstay of American cinema, the essential mythology of a young America, but then starting in the late 1960s and into the 70s and 80s the staples of the genre began to be redefined and key films revising the traditional frontier building of a nation were made. These began to de-mythologise the western and turn them into historical drama that questioned the usual cinematic take on the West. Bone Tomahawk is a film that sits within the traditional genre for the most part. It's essentially about a posse, heading out to rescue a kidnapped woman taken by savages or in other words a taming of the west scenario. But then it takes a most surprising turn and it will get you on the edge of your seat and possibly gasp with shock. Kurt Russell plays a town sheriff who accompanied by a dandy gunfighter (Matthew Fox), his ageing deputy (Richard Jenkins) and a fearful husband with a part healed broken leg (Patrick Wilson), set out to search and rescue the husband's wife and another young deputy who have been stolen away in the night by savages. Having to survive the harshness of the land and beset by outlaws along the way does nothing to prepare them for the final confrontation with the Indians. This is a film that goes off in a very surprising direction so you think you're watching one sort of film until it turns into another. It's great entertainment, thrilling, exciting, quite shocking and the cast are impeccable. Kurt Russell is one of my favourite actors, he is always a real treat. So even if westerns aren't usually your thing I urge you to give this one a try.

Entitled Alone outside the UK this is a routine zombie apocalypse story with Tyler Posey as Aidan who wakes in his apartment one morning to find that the world is engulfed in a pandemic where contagion turns victims into screaming zombies driven to cannabalism. One bite is all it takes. Trapped in his apartment with the odd attempt by the zombies on the outside trying to get in Aidan considers suicide until he finally spots Eva (Summer Spiro) alive & well in the apartment building opposite. With something to live for he begins to venture outside so they can join up. This is a film for zombie genre fans, it offers nothing much new, the zombies can run and attack on sight or sound although Aidan dodges and weaves his way around most of them. Donald Sutherland has an interesting cameo but overall it's all been done before and better to be honest.

It would be easy to dismiss The Bodyguard as a fairly routine thriller with a romance narrative at its heart. But it's actually a rather enjoyable, sometimes dark and quite interesting film. Originally conceived back in the 70s as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross Kevin Costner, even attempting a McQueen hair style, plays Frank Farmer a reclusive and highly disciplined former Secret Service agent who now works as a bodyguard for rich businessmen. He reluctantly allows himself to be hired to protect pop singer Rachel Marron, a surprisingly very good Whitney Houston, after she has received death threat letters. Of course a deep bond of love (Farmer only does serious) develops between them which the story tests over and over and of course there are some plot twists that keep you hooked into the story. This all results in an entertaining movie that deserves re-evaluation. The soundtrack by Houston is fantastic and of course includes her iconic cover of I Will Always Love You written by Dolly Parton. Well worth a rewatch.

A dark Christmas comedy that is all gimmick and no substance (the trailer is far better than the actual film!) with Mel Gibson as a grumpy Santa Claus who lives and works on a farm, with his wife and elves, readying for the night he has to deliver toys to the world's children. Worried by the declining morals of youngsters his business is failing and his subsidies from the US Government have been cut. But things get worse when he leaves a lump of coal for a spoilt, nasty rich kid who then hires a hitman (Walter Coggins) to kill Santa. Yes you heard that right. Said Hitman also has a long standing grievance against Santa and relishes the job. The sad thing here is that despite the set up there was great potential here for a fresh, contemporary Santa story with some social commentary about youth crime, millennial entitlement and declining standards but the film descends into clichéd old age jokes and a shoot 'em up, and yes it's quite bloody. Gibson is the best thing about this film, he deserved a better script that had less cartoonish characterisations.

Ridley Scott's gripping espionage thriller set in the Middle-East is a first class film, grittily realistic and one of the action films covering the American War On Terror. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ferris, a CIA field agent, who is sent to head up operations in Jordan after one in Iraq goes awry. Ferris' controller is Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) in Langley, a cynical and self serving boss. Ferris goes against Hoffman's orders and liaises with the head of Jordanian intelligence, Hani (Mark Strong in a topnotch performance). The focus of their joint operation is a Muslim cleric who has orchestrated a series of terrorist atrocities across Europe. But a lack of trust and conflicting political agendas leads to problems.....big problems. This has a well written, very involved plot and the action set pieces are realistic, bold and very well executed. The detail in every scene is impeccable as you'd expect with a Ridley Scott film. This is an action thriller told on an epic scale, it's underrated movie and well worth your time. Highly entertaining and it cleverly masquerades as a serious political drama but it's actually a great action film with a solid cast. This is cinematic storytelling at its best.