Film Reviews by GI

A competent crime thriller, if a little hackneyed. Joel Kinnamen plays Pete, a former convict now working for a big time Polish drug baron in New York but secretly informing to the FBI in the guise of Rosamund Pike and her boss Clive Owen. When the big sting operation that will see Pete free of the criminal life goes awry he is forced by his handlers to go back to prison to infiltrate the bad guys operation inside. This is all a testosterone filled implausible story but it rattles along at a reasonable pace, has a fair few action scenes that have all been done before but the cast makes up for its failings, including Common and Ana de Armas. Perfectly watchable.

This New York based crime drama gives us probably the best performance from Adam Sandler who we normally see in paltry comedies. Here he plays Howard Ratner, a once successful gemstone dealer who's gambling addiction has led him into serious debt with some nasty guys. He hopes to turn everything around with an illegally imported black opal from Ethiopia which he believes is worth a fortune. But at every turn Howard is thwarted and the risks to his life get greater and greater. What's really enthralling about this film is Sandler's portrayal of Howard as ever optimistic even when his whole life is falling apart. It really is a stunning performance in an energetic and very watchable film with Scorsese influences at every turn. I enjoyed it and there's no doubt director brothers Benny and Josh Safdie will be making films to look out for.

If you love Kramer Vs Kramer (1979) then you will find it's influence here in this fantastic drama from director Noah Baumbach in what is probably his best film to date. The opening scenes where married couple Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) deliver a list of why they fell in love with each other is a heartwarming opening montage that is actually the opening salvoes in an increasingly destructive divorce. She is a successful actor and he a theatre director who have a young son Henry (Ahzy Robertson), they live in New York but Nicole goes to Los Angeles, where she originates, to appear in a new TV pilot, when this becomes a series she wants to stay there with Henry but Charlie wants Henry to return to their home. An acrimonious divorce then develops aided by the nastiness employed by divorce lawyers (Laura Dern & Ray Liotta - both fantastic performances here). It's in turn heart wrenching and amusing and the two central performances are so good I'll be surprised if awards are not forthcoming. Alan Alda has a nice cameo as a down to earth and gentle grandfatherly older lawyer. The film has some painful scenes but it's blended with regrets over lost love, fear of loss and I've no doubt reflects the utter despair when break ups go awry. A must see film.

A thoroughly clichéd, predictable and ultimately a tiring third film featuring Secret Service (super) agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). This time he's framed for an assassination attempt on the President (Morgan Freeman, who has gradually risen up the ranks through the three films), escapes custody and is then chased around by the bad guys and the FBI until deciding to get his estranged Dad (Nick Nolte) to help him and eventually giving himself up! Cue lots of shooting, explosions and the odd building being demolished, sadly just a hospital in this one, a tad disappointing after half of London was destroyed in the last film. It's all complete nonsense of course and Butler continues his beefy action man stuff that he does in nearly everything nowadays. There's a good support cast including Danny Huston and Tim Blake Nelson but along with Freeman and Nolte they probably did it for the money. Indeed the most disappointing thing is that Nolte is underused and he's the best thing in the film. Hopefully that's the lot and we'll not have to have another.

Immensely influential and setting new standards in screen violence director Akira Kurosawa was influenced by the films of John Ford and Howard Hawks and in turn he became a major influence on other directors. His epic film Seven Samurai (1954) was remade as The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Sergio Leone took Yojimbo and remade it as A Fistful Of Dollars (1964). Yojimbo is an exciting action film set in feudal Japan. A 'Ronin' (or masterless samurai) (Toshirô Mifune) arrives in a dirty town and discovers it's run by two rival gangs. He manipulates both sides in a plan to rid the town of all of them. Shot in widescreen , which was not liked by Hollywood directors at the time, Kurosawa created a rundown world of corruption and effectively demystified the samurai code which had been so damaging to his country in the Second World War. This is a violent and exciting film although the Japanese theatrical style of screen acting may seem unusual today it is a masterpiece of cinema and much praised in studies of cinema. There's plenty of swordplay, and a clever use of imagery to represent the collapse of the society and morals (images of dogs appear regularly). Much of Kurosawa's style and images heavily influenced cinematic action to this day and consequently this is a I urge every film fan to see. Great stuff.

The Tarantino film that Tarantino didn't direct. But as the writer his style and influence are all over it and it's often thought to be one of his directorial efforts, it is though one of Tony Scott's best films. Interestingly it struggled to find an audience on initial release probably because of the slightly misleading title and a struggle in marketing the film. However it has since gained a massive following and is something of a cult movie. It is a romance at heart with Christian Slater's geeky Clarence (clearly Tarantino wrote a lot of himself into the character) meeting hooker Alabama (Patricia Arquette) and they both fall in love. When Clarence tries to extricate Alabama from the clutches of her pimp, Drexl (a magnificent Gary Oldman) he finds himself in possession of a suitcase full of cocaine and they head off to LA to sell it, but the mob and eventually the police end up on their tail. The film is littered with memorable characters including Dennis Hopper as Clarence's father, a malevolent Sicilian mafia boss played by Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt as a dopehead, James Gandolfini as a mobster and an early role for Samuel L. Jackson. You'll also spot Val Kilmer if you pay close attention. The script is witty, the violence typical comic book style found in most Tarantino films with a dramatic shoot out in the film's climax. Arquette is beautiful and arguably in her best role and certainly Slater has never topped this film. Yes it's all very adult, over the top and brilliantly humorous and very entertaining so if by some small chance you've never seen this then it's a must see, you will not regret it.

Less a remake of the 1969 film but a new adaptation of the source novel and a lot closer to it. In the hands of the Coen Brothers this is a particularly interesting and commendable film (garnering ten Oscar nominations, although winning none). It's always tempting to compare to the John Wayne earlier version but viewers should try to avoid this as far as possible. There are similar scenes and the story arc is approximately the same but the Coens have created a revisionist style and combined it with a mystical journey narrative. As soon as the main characters cross the river on their hunt they enter a land of strange characters that can be viewed as almost fantastical and Jeff Bridges is their guide. He plays Marshall 'Rooster' Cogburn, "a pitiless man fear don't enter into his thinking", who is hired by the headstrong fourteen year old Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) to catch her father's murderer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). The trouble is Mattie insists on going along too into the wild Indian Nation territory of Arkansas, a land inhabited by misfits and violent criminals. Tagging along is LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), a Texas ranger also after Chaney. The Coens have a skill at nuanced storytelling and treat their audience respectfully allowing the viewer to work out the issues as they play out. There is merciless violence here and the wilderness is reflected in the savagery of the characters. It's a film about death and an obsession with it, but it's also a film about passion, devotion and revenge and it's really a modern masterpiece. This is definitely a film to check out and if you fell into the trap of comparison with the first version because of your love for John Wayne then I urge you to give this another go, it's worth it and you will not be disappointed.

Hugely watchable and entertaining western probably more famed for being John Wayne's Oscar win for Best Actor although he'd been better quite a few times before and this is more like his 'honorary' win for services rendered. Viewed today it's the rather wonderful cinematography that shines through as the film has some lovely views of the Colorado mountains and forests although the story is set in Arkansas, a more poignant setting than the usual dusty desert scenarios of westerns. Wayne plays US Marshall 'Rooster' Cogburn, a curmudgeonly and tough hombre recruited by a young girl (Kim Darby) to bring her father's killer to justice. Cogburn's a drunk and unreliable but ultimately comes across as a sort of uncle figure. This is at odds with the character from the novel where Cogburn is quite nasty and ruthless and the version that Jeff Bridges employs in the 2010 remake. The film is hampered by the casting of country singer Glenn Campbell as a Texas ranger, he's simply awful and totally wooden and a better actor would have improved the film because the sparring with Wayne is part of the story. Darby too has come into some criticism for her portrayal too not least from Wayne but for the most part she does give a quite nuanced performance and especially as her character is designed to be bolshy but naïve it's easy to dislike her. In any case this is Wayne's film and one of his last good ones at that. Support from Robert Duvall and an early role for Dennis Hopper adds appeal. If you like a good western then this does the job.

This may not be director John Hillcoat's best film by a long way but its still a fine action packed crime thriller that has the influences of Heat (1995) about it. With an all star cast this has some gritty action set pieces, a strong if occasionally overly convoluted plot and some bloody violence. Chiwitel Ejiofor plays Michael, a former Special Forces soldier, who heads a tight crew of criminals that includes several corrupt cops. Michael is under the control of a Russian mobster, Irina (Kate Winslet, suitably menacing) who orders him to carry out two complex heists in order to steal some very particular items. The first nearly goes wrong when one of the gang (Aaron Paul) gets greedy and the second is highly risky. The gang decide that they need a huge diversion to draw the police away from the scene of the second heist and plan to murder a police officer, Chris (Casey Affleck), which will cause all the police to head towards the police murder. But loyalties in the gang become very fraught! Woody Harrelson heads the team of detectives investigating the gang and Anthony Mackie, Gal Gadot and Norman Reedus co star. All the characters are neatly drawn with various flaws and agendas and there's some terrific chase scenes and shoot outs. All round it's thoroughly enjoyable and definitely worth checking out.

Director Michael Apted's first feature film adapted from a short novel by H.E. Bates and like Bates' novels this captures the eerie splendidness of the English countryside in this warped romance. Glenda Jackson plays Alice who faithfully tenders her family farm during the Second World War with her husband a prisoner of war. One day she finds a young soldier, Barton (Brian Deacon), wandering across her fields and invites him to share a meal. Soon they become lovers and Barton, a conscript who hates the army, decides to go AWOL and stay with Alice who has the idea to pass him off as her sister, Jill. But 'Jill' finds she is appealing to a bullish army sergeant (Oliver Reed) a situation that increases the risk of discovery for Barton and Alice. Reed is inspired casting here, frightening yet somehow vulnerable too and Jackson is excellent as the lonely woman who briefly finds comfort in the arms of a younger man. An interesting British drama that has probably been forgotten nowadays but worth checking out to see Reed and Jackson together on screen in another memorable partnership following Women In Love (1969).

There's real humanity and real anger in this complex drama that taps into the Black Lives Matter Movement. This follows the aftermath of a police shooting of a black man in New York with a ripple effect narrative that follows three men who find themselves caught up in the incident albeit in three quite separate ways. Manny (Anthony Ramos) witnesses the shooting of his friend and films it on his phone and soon finds the cops responsible making his life extremely difficult. Dennis (John David Washington) is a NYPD patrolman who knows that the cop responsible is prone to racial violence and despite being the subject of continuous racial bias himself when off duty he finds he is in a dilemma when asked to cooperate with an internal investigation. Finally Zee (Kelvin Harrison Jr) is a conscientious student with a promising career in baseball but who decides to take a stand in the community action protesting the police over the shooting. The film has emotional tilts that keep you watching and really caring how the characters turn out and even though one of them disappears from the story without us getting to know his fate this only enhances the power of the story. There are little incidents in the film that really highlight the attitudes in American society that cause deep wounds and in that sense this is a brilliantly written and directed film and worth checking out.

A massive homage to the 70s B movies and the giant bug films of the 50s this has become a firm cult favourite because it's simply great fun, has two great actors in the lead roles clearly having a ball of a time. It's a rollicking ride too with an early build up followed by full on action. Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are two bored handymen living in a ramshackle Arizona town that has a population of just 14. As they dream of hitting the high life in the nearest city the town becomes besieged by strange creatures that live underground and can hunt by detecting vibrations. This is neatly constructed and edited and has some funny characters not least the survivalist/gun nut couple, Burt and Heather (Michael Gross, Reba McEntire) and there are some clever little references to other films which it's fun to spot (Jaws being an obvious one). The relationship between Val & Earl is a nice take on male friendship and they give the film a real heart. Whilst it has a low budget vibe to match the links with the creature features of the past this is a very accomplished pice of hokum and its worth seeking out if you've never seen it because it is really very good.

This musical comedy, adapted from a successful Broadway show, flits between corny to goofy to downright dire at times. Equally your view will alter as you watch it from worrying you'll never get the time back to actually it's quite funny and enjoyable. Overall it's completely bonkers, over the top and is probably a 'marmite' film, you'll either love it or hate it. It's the story of four egocentric theatre performers who are either down on their luck (Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells) or wounded by the bad reviews from their last show (Meryl Streep, James Corden), who decide to find a 'cause' that will win them some much needed publicity. They alight on the plight of Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman), a gay student banned from attending her High School prom because she wanted to take another woman as her date. Heading off to the small ultra conservative town to 'help' Emma the four cause more trouble than they heal but eventually manage to persuade the townspeople of the error of their ways. I'm not giving away any spoilers here because the entire plot is predictable at every turn and there's no reason it shouldn't be. This isn't a social drama about tolerance per se, this is utilising that theme, amongst a few others mixed in too, to bring a musical with a message. To be honest I can't remember one song other than one about "love thy neighbour" trumps all other bible lessons. But this is probably due to there being so many songs going on here. Streep plays it for all its worth and showcases her musical talents, Kidman is a little underused and fun when she's on screen but Corden is a strange piece of casting playing his part as high camp and I've no doubt it will cause controversy for his interpretation of a gay man, actually he's just annoying. As I said you'll either love it or hate it or perhaps, like me, end up somewhat indifferent suffice to say it has a happy ending.....thank goodness.

Absolutely brilliant laugh with Michael Caine as Scrooge, playing it dead straight (and a little too angry perhaps?) which works well with all the muppet craziness going on around. The story follows the Dickens novel remarkably closely considering this is the zaniest adaptation of all time! Yet this remains a great Christmas family film although those of a certain age who still 'get' the Muppets and remember them so fondly will be forever impressed I'm wondering whether today's youngsters will buy in as much as we did, after all today they have a diet of digitally enhanced films that may make this look a bit dated. Either way if you loved this back in the day you'll still love it, the songs are great, the jokes are hilarious and Dickens' Christmas message gets through too.

A classic adventure story about greed and one of Humphrey Bogart's greatest performances not least because he's completely bonkers here. Set in 1925 and two American drifters Fred C. Dobbs (Bogart) and Curtin (Tim Holt) are down on their luck in Mexico. They come up with a plan to go gold prospecting but knowing nothing about it they join up with Howard (Walter Huston) who has experience and head deep into the Sierra Madre mountains in search of a fortune. Howard has warned them that gold has a way of changing men for the worst and soon distrust begins between the three. But Dobbs soon descends into madness as he increasingly suspects his companions are out to steal his share of the gold they've found. Directed by John Huston, son of Walter, this is the first film that garnered a father & son Oscar as Huston Senior won Best Supporting actor and Huston Junior won Best Director. This is a fantastic, gritty and quite dark story and highlights that there are many classical period films that dealt with some very adult themes. Shot mostly on location this is a great story with three fantastic central performances and it's become a much lauded film and indeed a favourite of Stanley Kubrick, Sam Peckinpah and Steven Spielberg amongst others. A film that every cinephile should make sure they see , it's one that deserves rediscovery by a modern audience.