Film Reviews by GI

This is a truly remarkable film based on real events and it's often difficult to discern if you're watching documentary footage or cinematic reconstruction. In fact the entire film is narrative and everything is created by the director. It tells the story of the rise of dissidents in the North African country of Algeria against the colonial rule of France that had been in place for over a hundred years. In 1954 the first sounds of disharmony of the Arab population began after years of racism and being treated as second class citizens, which built into terrorism and insurrection and was then ruthlessly suppressed by the French who sent in their paratroops. The film looks at both sides of the conflict from the indiscriminate terrorist atrocities of the dissidents to the use of torture and violence by the State. As a piece of cinema it's very impactive and resonates through later decades where similarities can be seen in the UK approach to Irish terrorism and the more recent War On Terror led by the USA. Using mainly non-actors this is a tense drama that has some very shocking scenes but it's also a really riveting story that follows the leadership of the independence group and the reactions of the French in the form of Colonel Mathieu, the leader of the army sent in to deal with the rebellion. Set in Algiers and in particular the Casbah quarter, a maze of steep streets and interconnected buildings where the terrorists hide, the scene is set for a battle of wits over who will win. The paratroops raid on the Casbah must have been an influence of Steven Spielberg in his Krakow ghetto violent round up by the Nazis in Schindler's List (1993). If you are a cinephile then I cannot recommend this film enough, it's a unique piece of cinema and a must see. A tough watch at times but it'll stick in the memory.

A goofy horror comedy that has a style and a good dose of black humour to make it entertaining. Based on a video game the set up is a mix of a Agatha Christie type whodunnit and a mystery horror film set in a small town as a wintry storm sets in. The new Forest Ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) tries to maintain his kind and considerate demeanour as he attempts to keep the townsfolk together after one of them is murdered. The people are a mishmash of characters and being thrown together by the storm and in fear there's a killer amongst them brings out the worst in them. Aided by the local mail delivery lady Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) they begin to suspect something supernatural maybe the cause. The cast play this for laughs and it makes the whole thing very watchable but soon forgettable.

Even taking into account the target audience of say 5 to 10 year olds this slapstick style family comedy is just silly. Worse still it's a clumsy, poorly constructed film that is basically a series of comedy stunt episodes some of which are funny, most silly and some downright irresponsible. Robert De Niro plays curmudgeonly 'Grandpa' encouraged to leave his home by his daughter (Uma Thurman) and move in with her family. The trouble is their house is too small and son Peter (Oakes Fegley) has to give up his beloved bedroom and move into the attic. Despite loving his Grandpa he embarks on a campaign of pranks to drive him out in order to get the room back and Grandpa, a war veteran, fights back! Yes that's the premise and you're expected to buy into that. Even more strange is that this Grandpa is fit, healthy and has all his marbles making the whole set up pointless. Despite all the ensuing mayhem none of the family notices a thing! The film then meanders through a series of clichéd set pieces that include the most dangerous of pranks directed towards an old man and/or a child. Added to this the film diverts into one of those narratives of old men reliving their youth as Grandpa and his mates (Christopher Walken, Cheech Marin and Jane Seymour) play dodgeball and deal with the school bully and reflect on life. To really top it all there's a vain attempt to make the story some sort of lesson about real war and how very much a bad thing it is. I'm sure very young children may laugh at this film but it's a mess and the talent here should've known better.

This is an enigmatic, at times baffling and very ambiguous drama about the rise of a music celebrity. It's certainly a strange film, enthralling at times but lacks the drive to keep going and it sort of tails off into a disappointing ending. The story charts the rise of Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) who is seriously wounded in a mass shooting incident at her high school. With the help of her song writing older sister she sings a song at the memorial service for those killed and becomes an overnight sensation off the back of the tragedy. With the help of a seasoned talent manager (Jude Law) and record company agent (Jennifer Ehle) she becomes an international pop star. With a shocking opening scene this film grabs your attention and the way the young Celeste is propelled into a celebrity life is interesting and very apt. Cassidy delivers a dark and interesting performance of a girl who seems to have harnessed the violence that creates her image but when the film jumps 16 years and the adult Celeste (now played by Natalie Portman) is struggling with substance abuse and her life in general the film sort of takes a nose dive in dramatic punch. A further violent, national event seems to have relevance here but the theme is not explored to its full potential and the extended concert scenes offer nothing to the narrative. It's difficult to see what we are meant to deduce from Celeste's life other than to remark and compare on actual celebrities like here (Madonna is the obvious one as there are some scenes reminiscent of her from In Bed With Madonna - 1991). So much of the film rested on where this young girl's life was heading but when we get there the film seems to have run out of the electricity needed.

Even today there are still debates about who actually is the killer in this fantastic erotic thriller. Controversial and gripping this film pushed the boundaries for its sex scenes and the murders are shocking even when you know they're coming! For a mainstream movie it still has power and it's wonderfully written even though you have to forgive a couple of very glaring plot holes. The fun though is that there are clues liberally spread throughout that are easily missed when you first see this so it's worth another watch so you can concentrate on spotting them. The grisly murder of a former rock star begins an investigation by flawed San Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and his partner Gus (George Dzundza). Their main suspect is the victim's lover Catherine (Sharon Stone), a highly intelligent book writer whose last novel depicted a murder exactly the same. When Nick begins a dangerous affair with Catherine he begins to doubt her guilt and his investigation reveals other surprising suspects. The plot here twists and turns and Stone, in her first starring role, is especially good as the manipulative Catherine. Douglas, then a big box office star, took risks with this role as Nick is an immoral man who commits some despicable acts during the course of the story. Dutch director Paul Verhoeven was well known for being a film maker prepared to shock and he certainly did so here as the film contains some now very famous scenes not least the interrogation of Catherine. This is a great thriller, it's adult, complex and very entertaining. Certainly if you've never seen this then I highly recommend it and if you have then it is one that's worth a revisit.

Classic and superb mystery thriller set in a small desert town in 1945 just after the Second World War has ended. The small population are overawed when the train stops at their station for the first time in four years and a stranger gets off. This is John Macreedy (Spencer Tracy), a veteran of the war where he lost an arm. He is baffled by the hostile and suspicious reception he receives from the locals. But they have a dark secret and Macreedy's reason for being there goes to the heart of it. This is a contemporary western and it follows a very common narrative arc often found in film and literature of a stranger who arrives to disrupt the calm of a place and unravels a sinister underbelly of corruption. There are also strong themes of racism, greed and bullying here and the film gets to the heart of when ordinary people turn a blind eye to a heinous crime. This is a brilliant and tense drama with a great cast that also includes Robert Ryan, who made a career out of playing bad guys, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. A topnotch film and one to seek out if you've never seen it.

Fantastic action drama set in the world of the Chicago Fire Service. Great story with a crime mystery, some political intrigue, family drama and romance all thrown into the mix. The action set pieces are all tense and exciting stuff with the effects all physical rather than CGI and some very impressive stunt work. The story follows rookie fireman Brian (William Baldwin) who is trying to live up to the hard nosed reputation of his brother Stephen (Kurt Russell), a highly respected and heroic fireman. Both live in the shadow of their famous father who was killed in an explosion but they are constantly at odds with one another. A series of dangerous fires that have scary 'backdrafts' are occurring over the city and Brian gets involved with trying to find out who's causing them and why. With a superb support cast that includes Robert De Niro as a cynical arson investigator, Scott Glen, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Rebecca De Mornay as the love interests and a creepy cameo from Donald Sutherland as a psycho arsonist this is a great film, superbly directed, a great plot with stunning action and with the fire portrayed as a character (Sutherland's character refers to it as 'the animal') it makes for a very entertaining film. Well worth checking out if you've never seen it.

One of the great family films of the 1980s and one of the best time travelling stories too. It holds up really well and remains a real treat when watched today, a glorious mix of teen comedy/romance, science fiction and with themes about bullying and friendship. It's an existential movie that asks you to contemplate that you'd not exist if your parents hadn't met and fallen in love. And of course it's Michael J. Fox' best role as Marty McFly. Marty is a typical teenager who despairs of his weak willed father, George (Crispin Glover) and alcoholic mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson). He has a friendship with the eccentric boffin Doc Brown, (a suitably manic Christopher Lloyd) who has, against the odds, invented a time machine and built it inside a DeLorean sports car. When Marty helps Doc on its first excursion Marty is inadvertently sent back to 1955 and ends up stranded there. He seeks out the younger Doc for help but also finds that his own future is at stake unless he can get his mother and father to fall for each other. Unfortunately Lorraine seems to fancy Marty much to his consternation and horror. The story is cleverly written with the odd plot hole but who cares this is simply great fun with Marty trying to fit in in 1955 including inventing rock 'n' roll! It's so pleasing that there has been no attempt at remaking this wonderful film because it's perfect as it is and deals very cleverly with the paradox of changing the past to affect the future. A film to rediscover and one to show your children today who will love it.

A pure adrenaline rush of entertainment. A heist thriller with a lovely romance thrown in and plenty of fantastic car chases and action set pieces. Ansel Elgort plays 'Baby', a young man with a traumatic past who suffers from tinnitus and is in debt to crime lord, Doc (Kevin Spacey) who forces him to be the getaway driver on a series of daring robberies. Baby is a top driver but needs to listen to music to drown out his tinnitus and to motivate him to action. When he meets waitress Debora (Lily James) he's determined to escape the criminal life but other members of the crew are not keen on him leaving. What especially marks this film is the pounding soundtrack that includes everything from Queen to The Damned to The Commodores and is cleverly mixed to coincide with the action on screen, most of the gunshots are timed to mirror drum beats for example. This is one of those great crime stories where the reluctant criminal finds love and then seeks redemption but has to deal with his former criminal cohorts first. Exciting, fast paced, great fun, humorous and a real treat this is a film I guarantee you'll enjoy. With a great cast too that includes Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm as nasty bad guys you cannot go wrong.

A stark social drama set in Northern Ireland at the time of the Troubles and filmed in a realist style that was fashionable in British arthouse cinema in the 80s but has since waned in popularity. It's an enigmatic, almost poetically structured film that follows the trials of a young woman, Maeve (Mary Jackson), who is growing to reject the violent patriarchy of the society she has grown up in dominated by men who control the religious doctrines, the brutality of the British army and their routine sexist controls of the local girls, the police and the paramilitaries who dictate how she should think and feel. Maeve escapes to a life in London but returns to visit her sister and parents and finds little has changed. The film has an episodic structure as it jumps forwards and backwards in recounting Maeve's life. This is a film about sadness and it very effectively highlights the plight of Northern Ireland both politically and in its deprivations. Ultimately this is a feminist themed film and it's a strong one at that. A tragedy that captures strongly the Belfast of the times. This film has been recently restored by the British Film Foundation and it's worth checking out if only to see this style of film and it's realism of a time that shouldn't be forgotten.

I admit I was a bit worried that this would be a tired old rehash and spoil what was in essence an almost perfect trilogy with the first three films (No. 3 seemed to have the perfect ending!). But after a slightly similar beginning the film soon picks up and had me laughing and really enjoying what definitely seems to be, and should be, the last instalment in the adventures of Woody and his pals. What I love about these films is the emphasis on devotion, loyalty and friendship that runs consistently through them. Each of the films provides some really interesting ideas around such a huge variety of modern issues so that adults can be as enthralled as children. Here we have Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and the toy gang now passed to new child Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw). Woody harnesses the toys to be devoted to Bonnie and when she goes off, very sad, to school for the first time Woody sneaks along to ensure she's ok. It's here we get a new character Forky (Tony Hale), a toy made from bits & pieces by Bonnie, who has to be educated by Woody about his new life (he thinks he's trash) - there's some interesting parallels here to refugees and immigration - but it's when they all go on the cinematically ubiquitous road trip that the adventure begins. The visuals created by Pixar are fantastic especially in the dusty old antique shop where the toys have to rescue Forky from the clutches of Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), a doll who yearns for love. A stand out though is Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom, a motorcycle stunt toy that never lives up to his commercials and those of a certain age will remember the Evel Knievel toy just like it that was advertised as being able to do impossible stunts but was a damp squib. Reeves is hilarious as the wonderfully dorky Duke who is filled with self doubt. All the old characters return here too and whilst Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) has a bit less of a role he still delights. If this is really to be the final Toy Story film then it's definitely a worthy one, not quite as good as the others but still a sheer delight.

A powerful, intriguing and cleverly constructed drama with three interlocking stories. It's basically a cause & effect narrative that weaves a connection that stems from a moment of childish stupidity by two Moroccan goatherd brothers which affects married couple Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) who are holidaying in Morocco, their two children and their Mexican nanny in the USA and a deaf Japanese teenager grieving over the death of her mother. The film has strong themes around human nature and communication focusing on relationships, love and sadness. There are some traumatic events in the film as the initial incident ripples outwards causing events that change peoples lives across the world. It's a remarkably intricate and compelling set of stories, well written and directed with some very original camerawork and with a structure that creates a mystery vibe at times. For first time viewers of this film it's a treat as the various scenarios gradually align together. Starkly realistic this is a drama that will draw you in and occasionally have you feeling on the edge of your seat so it's well worth checking out if you haven't seen it.

A sequel to We Still Kill The Old Way (2014). Whereas the original was an entertaining London gangster film about revenge this one is a sort of heist/prison break/gangland mixture that has an even more clichéd script than the first, a stupid story and a lacklustre ending. The story is so preposterous it will elicit groans from you as it veers around trying to be a cohesive tale and failing. The old boy gangsters of Richie Archer (Ian Ogilvy), Butch (Tony Denham) and Roy (Christopher Ellison) get themselves purposely sent to jail to then break out with their old pal George (Patrick Bergin), who is desperate to see his dying wife. The plans are all in place until more nasty gangster Vic (Billy Murray) arrives with a vendetta against Richie to thwart their plans. The characters are all stereotypes, there's the hard man violence that every prison drama has and some quite funny moments including a couple of Shawshank Redemption gags. Overall this is silly but not without it's entertainment value. If you quite enjoyed the first one this will disappoint.

A revenge thriller that has feminist overtones and a realistic feel about a woman, Sadie (Olivia Wilde), who has decided to help people in domestic violence situations. She herself is a victim of an abusive husband who murdered their son and disappeared. The film steers a careful path to avoid being exploitative and we are spared any scenes of nasty violent abuse, although the after effects are highlighted. Vowing not to kill anyone Sadie is skilled in martial arts and uses them to violent effect. Eventually the narrative drifts into a chase story which is ok but ultimately a little underwhelming. This is not bad and well worth watching and it's an impressive debut feature for the director Sarah Daggar-Nickson.

Whilst the overall story is nothing new, ie Dances With Wolves (1990) or The Last Samurai (2003), this is a really entertaining epic ecological science fiction film and director James Cameron's passion piece. His themes are rich and entertaining from anti-colonialism to environmentalism but ultimately this is an adventure film, with action, romance and jaw dropping special effects. It's set in the future on a distant jungle planet where humans have arrived to mine a valuable ore. But the local tribespeople, the Na'Vi, are seen as a problem by the military, led by tough megalomaniac Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and company man Parker (Giovanni Ribisi), although grumpy scientist Grace (Sigourney Weaver) is trying to win them over by integration and education. She has devised a way for humans to transfer their consciousness into a Na'Vi body, called an avatar, and to befriend them. Jake (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic ex soldier, joins her team and he soon finds that his Na'Vi body is preferable to his own and he comes to love the Na'Vi way of life. But Quaritch is planning to massacre them all to clear the way for a new mine. This sets up the story for some stunning action set pieces and Cameron utilises aspects from his own Aliens (1986) and steals shamelessly from the Star Wars franchise (the Force is alive and well on this planet) to create a really stunning world. Lang is superb as the psychopathic soldier ready to kill everyone and Zoë Saldana co-stars as the Na'Vi warrior who tempts the hero. It's only Worthington who doesn't quite have the leading man chops to carry this all off so it's a bonus he's mostly camouflaged by the CGi. But nothing can be taken away from the sheer spectacle of this film, it's exciting, fun and worth a revisit (try and catch the extended edition it has some interesting backstory for the Jake character) and if you've never seen it then it's a great family film too so worth an evenings viewing especially as sequels are on their way and likely to be big box office.