Film Reviews by GI

A great noir crime thriller with a western setting and one of director Oliver Stone's smaller and yet brilliant films. With similarities in style to his own Natural Born Killers (1994) and some hints of a Tarantino and a Lynchian influence this is a fantastic film, full of great characters, a topnotch cast and a plot that has some interesting twists and turns. Sean Penn is Bobby, who is driving across Arizona in his 1964 Mustang convertible en route to pay off a debt to a nasty gangster, a rendezvous his life depends on. Unfortunately his car breaks down and he is forced to seek repair in the small dusty town of Superior. But a sequence of misfortunes plague his efforts to get his car fixed and to be on his way. When he strikes up a 'friendship' with the beautiful Grace (Jennifer Lopez) his life takes an even worse turn as she wants him to kill her abusive husband (Nick Nolte) but things are never what they seem to be in Superior. The narrative takes on a nightmarish quality as Bobby is faced with a never ending run of bad luck. There is a uniqueness to the editing here and some wonderfully drawn characters who all seem to be extremes and include Billy Bob Thornton as the disgusting mechanic Darrell, Powers Boothe as the local Sheriff, Jon Voight as a blind Indian, Joaquin Pheonix and Claire Danes as a young crazy couple and if you watch carefully you'll spot Liv Tyler in a cameo. This is sharp filmmaking and Stone litters the film with little references and homages some of which delve into his conspiracy theory obsessions. But as a modern crime thriller this is a real treat and definitely a film to check out if you've never seen it.

This is one of those nostalgic British comedy farce films in the vein of the early Carry Ons with some saucy seaside postcard type humour. The story is essentially a crime caper set in a prison where three hapless criminals plan to escape for one night, steal a haul of diamonds and get back inside before morning giving themselves the perfect alibi. Their plan is thwarted by the arrival of a new chief prison officer who is a strict disciplinarian. If you love these old British comedies and are a fan of the TV series Porridge you'll enjoy this and will clearly see the influence of this film on that iconic comedy show. Peter Sellers (who was notoriously difficult on set) plays the leader of the criminals and Lionel Jeffries is the martinet officer, Grout. There's a host of stalwart British comedy actors including Wilfred Hyde White, Maurice Denham, Liz Fraser, Irene Handl, Beryl Reid and Bernard Cribbins and more. This is fun, occasionally a little silly, but if you grew up watching these great British films this will be a joy.

This is quite an accomplished directorial debut from Jonah Hill who also wrote the screenplay which is loosely autobiographical. It's a sort of coming-of-age social drama and clearly heavily influenced by This Is England (2006). Set in 1990s Los Angeles young Stevie lives with his single mother (Katherine Waterston) and his elder brother Ian (Lucas Hedges), who bullies him ruthlessly. Wandering the streets Stevie eventually latches onto a group of street kids who are every parents nightmare but they become Stevie's surrogate family and he finds life lessons and real affection with them. They all bond through skateboarding and whilst they get into some scrapes it soon becomes apparent that they are a force for good in Stevie's life. The film recreates the times with impeccable detail but it's in the interaction between the gang that the film reveals true heart. Don't be put off by the skateboarding aspect, this not a film that is concerned with that activity as a cultural phenomenon, it's just the catalyst to explore the benefit of friendship, loyalty and ultimately love. Worth checking out.

A basic vigilante/cop thriller, a genre piece that is really a load of twaddle but has some entertainment value. Influenced by far better films like Seven (1995) and Prisoners (2013) this has emotionally damaged cop Marshall (Henry Cavill) investigating the murder of a young girl and finds himself caught up in the case with a vigilante judge (Ben Kingsley), who with a young girl, goes around trapping paedophiles and castrating them. They soon nail a suspect who is a gibbering fool but suspected of having multiple personalities but there's a twist in the plot which isn't that exciting. The film follows a fairly normal story arc but unfortunately never really gets anywhere too inspiring even the presence of Stanley Tucci as the police chief fails to lift it, he's clearly slumming it in this. Back in the day this would have been a 'straight to video' film that no one remembers.

A by the numbers comedy drama based on a true story that has its heart warming and funny moments but is so predictable in its intentions and story that it soon becomes unrewarding. The trouble is it lacks the gravitas of theme that similar films have dished out in spades, such as Brassed Off (1996), The Full Monty (1997 from the same director Paul Cattaneo) and even Calendar Girls (2003). All of the characters are thinly sketched with only Kristin Scott Thomas' Kate being given anything remotely interesting and even her backstory isn't fully explored. She is the brittle wife of an army officer who having an emotional hole in her life (the aforementioned backstory fits in here) decides she should try and rally the other wives when their husbands (and one wife) are sent off to Afghanistan. This starts a thin theme of class struggle as Kate finds it difficult to bond with the enlisted soldiers partners mostly played out through the character of confident Lisa (Sharon Horgan). When someone has the idea to form a choir Kate thinks its all hymns and sheet music whereas Lisa, and of course everyone else, wants harmonised pop songs. This sets the narrative off, very quickly, to them being quite good at it. Sadly even the song that Lisa writes for them to perform and which becomes an object of tension with her and Kate is rather bland by the time we get to hear it. Loosely based on a BBC documentary it will surprise some that impresario Gareth Malone is entirely absent, not even mentioned in fact, especially as he is the creative genius behind the military wives choirs that sprung up around the country. This is a film that will fill a couple of hours, will make you chuckle at times and many will like that it goes exactly how you assume it will. Once over its forgettable.

This is a rather heavy going and at times laborious private eye noir set in New York in the 1950s. Clearly a passion piece for director and star Edward Norton who also adapted the novel on which it's based. Indeed Norton has moved the story from the 90s to the 50s precisely in order to make it a noir type film in the vein of The Big Sleep (1946) and The Maltese Falcon (1941). It has a colour palette that is all the greys and browns to recreate the time and setting and the plot is a mystery all very similar to the 'gumshoe' narratives of yesteryear although it's littered with genre clichés. Norton plays Lionel who works for a private detective agency run by Frank (Bruce Willis). Lionel has a photographic memory and is very good at his job but he has an affliction that can best be described as Tourettes although it's never identified in the film. When Frank is killed Lionel is determined to find out who is behind it which leads him into a conspiracy of corruption of city officials that involved a young black woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). Norton is very good here especially in portraying his affliction which adds some humour to the film. But the plot becomes quite turgid after awhile and makes the film seem overly long and the final unravelling all seemed a bit of an anti climax. In here is a good film in many ways but it could have been so much better.

If you found 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) baffling then you'll find this sequel rather more entertaining mainly because it's a fairly straight forward genre piece with a good solid story and specifically adapted from it's source novel by director Peter Hyams. Roy Scheider plays Dr Heywood Floyd (a relatively minor character in the first film) who has been forced out of his job due to the failure of the 'Discovery' mission to Jupiter. But he is enticed back as part of the crew of a joint USA & USSR mission to find out what happened on the first mission. The result is a captivating sci-fi story with some great visual effects, a side plot involving international tensions back of Earth and elements of Kubrick's original surrealist plot. With Helen Mirren, in her first American film, and John Lithgow as co stars this is well worth checking out even if you didn't really get the first film. This one sort of helps explain the basics . But that aside this film often gets unfairly compared to Kubrick's classic but that's a mistake because this is a completely different style of film from a director who focused on the great novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Well worth seeking out if you have never seen it.

A strong and at times harrowing drama that deals with the grief, heartache and sheer pain following an unforeseen tragedy. Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBoeuf) are a happy couple expecting their first child. He is a rough and ready blue collar worker and she is from a posher background dominated by the family matriarch (Ellen Burstyn). But when an awful calamity strikes Sean and Martha struggle to put their lives back together and hairline cracks begin to emerge in their relationship. The film is definitely a vehement and powerful study and you can't help but admire many aspects of it especially the performances of Kirby and LaBeouf who are superb throughout. But the film does let itself down occasionally, an example being in a rather undercooked courtroom storyline which lacked the emotional punch needed. The first third of this film is authentic, agonising and extremely effective cinema and the remainder perfectly acted with some enigmatic aspects that you'll either like or find a bit strange. Overall this is a strong and confident film and well worth checking out especially to see Kirby in a fantastic performance.

A deliberately provocative film that still divides audiences to this day although often cited as one of the greatest films of all time. It is certainly a bold and ambitious film and probably the first serious science fiction film that attempted to delve into the origins of man and the meaning of intelligence. It deals with theories around evolution, development of technology and artificial intelligence and man's place in the Universe. It has one of there most famous cuts in film history as it jumps four million years from a prologue sequence that follows some early ape like humans as they are transformed by a strange alien object to a time of space travel. The middle section of the film is a fairly straight forward narrative starting on the moon and the discovery of an alien artefact that is sending a signal towards Jupiter to the mission to find out what's out there. A mission that goes awry. The epilogue of the film is a psychedelic exploration of the meaning of existence. There's little doubt that the film raises more questions than it answers and for those who just like straight forward stories this will baffle and annoy but it is a film that should certainly be seen at least once because it's definitely a landmark in cinema history from a genius director. For film fans this is a film that draws you back for repeated viewings just to allow you to check new theories and to puzzle it out.

The story of the ill fated 1912 expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott to reach the South Pole first. The film is a tale of heroism and has a touch of the Boys Own Adventure about it although it eventually becomes a harrowing depiction of survival in a harsh land. Antarctica is depicted as an alien landscape, harsh and unforgiving and whilst, being British made, it's a story to highlight British pluck it also strongly hints at Scott's folly and mistakes. John Mills is perfect casting as the courageous Scott and the film cleverly looks at Edwardian society for the first third of the film. Once the expedition gets fully underway the struggle with the unprecedented freak weather and the gradual decline of the team makes for a compulsive film experience. Ther cinematography in the Antarctic scenes is phenomenal and these allow you to forgive the obvious matte painting scenery in the English scenes. But for its time this is a gritty story, with a very early use of a profanity uttered by James Robertson Justice as Evans and it's a riveting film and a quite wonderful adventure story that as a seriously sad ending. This is an example of just how good British cinema was in its heyday.

With two stunning lead performances from Annette Bening and Bill Nighy this is definitely worth watching. It is though a dour story of a marriage breakdown. Grace and Edward have been married for 29 years with one adult son, Jamie (Josh O'Connor). She is a critical, uncompromising woman who holds the view that challenge and rigour are the means to have a loving marriage, but Edward, a demure, gentle man, feels constantly harassed by her and one weekend announces he's leaving having met another woman. This sends Grace into a tailspin of anger, despair and stubborn resistance to Edward's request for a divorce, which forces Jamie, a young man with his own emotional problems, into the position of mediator. Bening is really excellent here and she plays Grace as almost a monster to whom any compromise is a weakness to be resisted. Nighy is cleverly restrained in opposition and the relationship dynamic is exceptionally well done. This is though a depressing story and whilst clearly a character piece it left me a little empty by the end. Worth seeing for the performances though.

A poor sequel to the surprisingly fun and interesting 2014 original. The fairy tale roots have largely been discarded here in favour of a Marvel Universe type battle narrative, a sword & sorcery fighting film with the predictable storyline throughout. Angelina Jolie reprises her role in the title character but we see rather too little of her and when we do it's only in CGI mode. This time around we are given Michelle Pfieffer as the villainous mother of Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson) who loves Aurora (Elle Fanning), proposes to her, is accepted and the union designed to unite their two lands. But nasty ol' Michelle has other ideas! Then Maleficent discovers there's a whole race of flying people, like her, but without the magical abilities. Ultimately they all pull together to foil the evil plans of the Queen. This is fine for the kids on a rainy afternoon, but really a big disappointment and somewhat formulaic. The cast are great but ill used including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Robert Lindsay and Sam Riley amongst many so if you liked the first then don't bother with this one it'll spoil it.

A bit of an oddity in director John Ford's work especially his westerns, indeed he described it as a 'piece of crap' but it's a film worthy of a re-evaluation where it yields some interesting delights. As a western made at a time when the genre was at it's height but arguably beginning to wane this is narratively an unusual film. James Stewart (in his first film with Ford) plays against type as a cynical and corrupt town Marshall who is pressurised by his army friend, Jim (Richard Widmark), to help recover white captives from the Comanches. In this story thread their are obvious links to Ford's The Searchers (1956) and the racism is there but here roundly condemned by Ford in his portrayal of the bigoted white settlers desperate to recover their lost children but unprepared for the changes captivity has brought. It's the reintegration of these young people that forms the central theme of the film and the usual genre tropes are mostly absent, in fact there's only one real scene of gunplay and it's over in a flash and hardly registers. This is mostly a character study about male camaraderie and Ford's comedy prowess is riddled throughout the film. But it's because it's such an unusual western that makes it worth checking out today. The cinematography reveals a brow beaten west with subdued colours that gives the film a deliberate melancholy feel and the cynicism of the characters to their lives and futures reflects the slow drift into a new age for America. If you are a western fan and/or committed to cinema as art then this is a film that will be of interest and it's worth comparing it to Ford's next film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), where Ford effectively closed the door on the traditional western mythology.

A spin off and/or addition to a franchise that offers nothing new other than more zany special effects and funny aliens with working class accents. Fun if you are a fan of the comics or even the previous films but since the 1997 original they have become more tired and clichéd. Here Chris Hemsworth, channeling his Thor persona, is hero Agent H, who once saved the world from an aggressive alien species but is now a laid back has been and Tessa Thompson is the newly recruited Agent M who teams up with him to stop a dangerous weapon falling into the same alien's hands. This cues lots of fights, ray gun shooting etc etc. The cast are impressive including Rafe Spall, Rebecca Ferguson, Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson who I can only guess did it for the money!

Loud, long and action packed this is another of those history lesson war films that used to be very popular back in the 60s & 70s, e.g. Tora Tora Tora (1970), The Longest Day (1962) but with the benefit of modern digital CGI which renders the aerial combat sequences particularly impressive. It's all gung-ho back slapping heroics with the usual stereotypical characters many based on real persons and some are vaguely annoying not least Ed Skrein as cocky, ultra brave pilot Dick Best. Equally though there are some interesting aspects to be enjoyed in particular Patrick Wilson as the Intelligence expert Edwin Layton. Director Roland Emmerich , a past master at the big, effects laden epic, tones down the flag waving and does give almost equal balance to the Japanese side in this recreation of the huge 1942 naval battle for the island of Midway, a turning point in the pacific war. There's a prologue recounting the Pearl Harbour attack and the Doolittle raid which is an improvement on the dire Pearl Harbor (2001) and like all these films there's the token female character waiting at home looking anxious that could have been removed entirely. Support cast is ok including Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Dennis Quaid and Aaron Eckhart. Anyway, this is all a bit similar to other war films of this type, it lacks depth and meaning but it looks impressive and keeps you watching.