1932
0
The feckless President of the USA undergoes a change for the better after being in a car crash.
Curious fantasy which now looks a bit like an odd documentary.
Dir: Gregory La Cava
Stars: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone
GALAXY OF TERROR
1981
0
A space ship crew meets up with horrors projected by their own imaginations.
Not-for-the-squeamish mix of Alien and other sci-fi movie themes, tolerable if you enjoy things like naked women being pleasured by gigantic space worms.
Dir: Bruce D Clark
Stars: Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Robert Englund
GALAXY QUEST
1999
*
The cast of a sci-fi show have to battle real-life aliens.
Praised but slightly disappointing comedy which for much of its length is similar to the shows it spoofs. It's also unfortunate that the aliens come across like mentally retarded human beings.
Dir: Dean Parisot
Stars: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Sam Rockwell
GALLERY OF HORROR
1967
0
Five sinister stories: The Witches Clock, King Vampire, Monster Raid, Spark Of Life and Count Dracula.
A bargain basement anthology that's not without its charm - yes it's terribly stagey, statically shot, awkwardly performed and most of the tales have rather sudden endings, but it's a cosy little endeavour, one of the last of its kind in a way, that'll pass the time if your defences are down. The little animated flashes are fun, too.
Dir: David L Hewitt
Stars: John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr, Rochelle Hudson, Roger Gentry
GALLIPOLI
1981
**
Two young Australian runners sign up for their army to fight against the Turks in 1915.
The majority of this carefully made film occurs before the warfare, presumably to build a sense of foreboding (because we know what's going to happen) and to make the event seem even more tragic - it's tough not to shed a tear before the movie's conclusion. With a strong sense of time and place, thanks to fine cinematography and meticulous costuming, it's an important Australian film, even if it is informed by some anti-British bias (the director later apologised for the historical inaccuracies he showcased). The soundtrack is interesting too, a mix of classical and modern electronic music.
Dir: Peter Weir
Stars: Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Kerr
GAMBIT
1966
**
A cockney thief enlists an exotic dancer to help him rob a rich Arab.
Rather pleasing little caper, well cast, light-hearted and twisty – the initial hoodwink is a neat touch and sets the rest of the film up nicely.
Dir: Ronald Neame
Stars: Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine, Herbert Lom
THE GAME
1997
**
A man is presented with a live-action game that takes over his life.
Energetic thriller, half predictable, half unexpected, totally far-fetched.
Dir: David Fincher
Stars: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger
GAME FOR THREE LOSERS
1965
0
A politician is blackmailed after visiting his secretary's apartment.
An entry into the Edgar Wallace series that is based on the work of another author, and consequently feels quite different to others: instead of complex twists and turns we get a curiously mundane tale which may have been influenced by the Profumo sandal. But it doesn't really work because the behaviour of the characters isn't terribly convincing, even if we can overlook the fact that the whole moral dilemma seems irritatingly old-fashioned (although a few new-fashioned, mildly rude words were beginning to creep into the series).
Dir: Gerry O'Hara
Stars: Michael Gough, Mark Eden, Toby Robins, Allan Cuthbertson
GAME NIGHT
2018
*
A group of friends have a game night which is rather more real and scary than normal.
Snappy, brisk comedy whose glibness is an acquired taste and tends to disguise its more thoughtful themes; visually it's a cut above the norm.
Dir: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Stars: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan
GAME OF DEATH
1979
*
A martial arts movie star fakes his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.
Bizarre cash-in on the Bruce Lee phenomenon six years after his death, for the most part using a completely unconvincing double (you get the impression the filmmakers had a low estimation of their audiences' intelligence). The result is a pretty poor, ragged kung fu thriller with a few magic moments provided by the master, notably the awesome climactic grapple with Abdul-Jabbar.
Dir: Robert Clouse
Stars: Bruce Lee, Colleen Camp, Dean Jagger, Gig Young, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
GAME OF DEATH 2
1981
0
A martial artist tracks down those responsible for his brother's murder.
Even stranger 'sequel', initially a hodgepodge of outtakes, Lee's films as a child and footage of his funeral. The fights are fine but what a pair of surreal barrel-scrapers these two movies are.
Dir: See-Yuen Ng
Stars: Bruce Lee, Roy Horan, Tony Lung
GAME OVER: KASPAROV AND THE MACHINE
2003
**
Documentary about Garry Kasparov, said to be the best chess player ever, and his match against an IBM computer, Deep Blue.
An intriguing tale done in florid style and padded out a little.
Dir: Vikram Jayanti
Stars: Garry Kasparov
GAMES THAT LOVERS PLAY
1970
0
In 1920s London, Fanny Hill and Lady Chatterley engage in a sexual competition with each other.
Weirdly unfunny and unsexy frolic which moves at a prehistoric pace. The numerous drag sequences, well, drag, while the promising saucy plot never begins to bloom - there was little talent in this director's locker; only Lumley shows why she would later become a big star.
Dir: Malcolm Leigh
Stars: Joanna Lumley, Penny Brahms, Richard Wattis, Jeremy Lloyd
THE GAMMA PEOPLE
1956
0
Two tourists in a small European country stumble upon a mind control plot.
Artless sci-fi bereft of conviction.
Dir: John Gilling
Stars: Leslie Phillips, Paul Douglas, Eva Bartok
GANDHI
1982
**
The life of Mahatma Gandhi who led non-violent protests against the British in India.
Immense biopic in the David Lean manner, full of good things, but rather heavy-going at times.
Dir: Richard Attenborough
Stars: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Martin Sheen, Saeed Kaffrey
GANGS OF NEW YORK
2002
**
In1863 New York, Irish immigrant gangs battle native gangs for supremacy.
The word 'sprawling' could have been invented for Scorsese's bloody history lesson, but its faults lie more with the fact that two out of the three leads are miscast, making it even more difficult to empathise with the alien (in terms of time and place) characters, and a slightly sluggish pace, perhaps due to its visions of grandeur.
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, Liam Neeson, Henry Thomas
GARFIELD
2004
0
Garfield the cat is upset when his owner Jon brings a dog into the house.
One of the comic strip pages' most ebullient characters finally reaches the big screen (it would have been better a decade before but perhaps the special effects wouldn't have been up to the required standard), in an inoffensive yarn that should provide fair Saturday morning film fun for young children - adults may find it a little thin, but some smiles are provided by Murray's cynical moggie. And anything with a cat in the lead can't be all bad.
Dir: Peter Hewitt
Stars: Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky
GARFIELD 2
2006
0
When Jon heads to London, Garfield and Odie stow away in his luggage.
With even less of the strip's sardonic wit than its predecessor, this is a bland, not unpredictable adventure that should please the very young, if not their parents. The fat cat himself has a smaller role - it's mostly picture-book London and some simple clowning around.
Dir: Tim Hill
Stars: Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Connolly
GAS! OR IT BECAME NECESSARY TO DESTROY THE WORLD IN ORDER TO SAVE IT
1970
0
A gas is released that kills everyone aged over 25.
This might have that sort of carefree energy and loose confidence that certain American films of the era had, but it's still one of the most irritating and boring films ever made. Its haywire style and low budget mean the possibilities of the premise never even begin to be properly explored.
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: Bob Corff, Elaine Giftos, Bud Cort, Talia Shire
GASBAGS
1940
0
Wacky privates accidentally end up in Germany during the war.
Dated, parochial farce; the Crazy Gang's films don't appear to have survived as well as Will Hay's.
Dir: Marcel Varnel
Stars: Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nevro, Moore Marriott
GASCOIGNE
2015
**
Documentary about Paul Gascoigne, the Gateshead-born footballer who found global fame at the 1990 World Cup but who struggled thereafter.
A film that's largely a hagiographic portrayal of its subject, focusing on the good stuff, not the bad stuff - hence Gazza's post-football life, in which he's struggled with alcoholism - is barely mentioned. In a way that's a pity, but there's much here that can't fail to entrance viewers of a certain age and type, including the eternal magnificence of Italia 90, the roller coaster of the 1991 FA Cup and the glories of Euro 96. The reliance on just three other interviewees apart from Gascoigne is a little odd, especially as Mourinho and Rooney don't add much, and Lineker is all too obviously in his smooth after-dinner speech mode; the editing style of the interviews is also slightly irritating. The man himself is fascinating, clearly not completely stable mentally but still full of funny anecdotes and heart-rending recollections - we forgive him all sorts because of the memories he's given us and the way he lifted a nation up, and this documentary manages to capture that.
Dir: Jane Preston
Stars: Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, Wayne Rooney, Jose Mourinho
GASLIGHT
1940
***
A woman suspects that her husband is trying to drive her mad.
The first of two 1940s film versions of Patrick Hamilton's play, this is an elegant Victorian suspenser with distinctive performances that subtly builds to a head, although there's little that truly surprises. Slightly faded now, it likely would have gripped and shocked patrons of the day.
Dir: Thorold Dickinson
Stars: Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell, Robert Newton
GASLIGHT
1944
**
A remake of the above film, with better production values, as well as stronger performances, but perhaps not quite as sinister or effective. One wishes that the makers had tried to create a few more twists and turns or given it Hitchcock-level depth.
Dir: George Cukor
Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Angela Lansbury, Dame May Whitty
THE GATE
1987
0
A boy accidentally opens a gate to hell in his back garden.
Childish horror with a good deal of action in the dark.
Dir: Tibor Takacs
Stars: Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Louis Tripp
THE GAUNTLET
1977
*
A cop is assigned to escort a prostitute from Las Vegas to Phoenix to testify in a Mob trial.
A succession of violent and noisy events for star fans to bask in.
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle
THE GAY DIVORCEE
1934
****
Complications arise when a woman tries to divorce her husband.
Cinematic champagne: a deft, witty and sparkling comedy, the quintessential Fred and Ginger picture.
Dir: Mark Sandrich
Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton
GBH: GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM
1983 (V)
0
A hard man just out of jail is hired to protect a threatened nightclub.
It's difficult to hate this terrible film, which has a small following and was on the Section 3 Video Nasties list, but it is dire; some of the violence is passable but the syrupy songs, awful script and extended dance scenes signpost its primitive status.
Dir: David Kent-Watson
Stars: Cliff Twemlow, Jane Cunliffe, Anthony Shaeffer
GEMINI MAN
1976 (TV)
0
A government agent becomes invisible after an underwater accident.
Middling reworking of The Invisible Man.
Dir: Alan J Levi
Stars: Ben Murphy, Katherine Crawford, Richard A Dysart
GEMMA BOVERY
2015
**
An English couple move to a French village where the glamorous wife catches the eye of the local bread-maker.
Just about winsome, likeably literate comic drama which floats along in mostly pleasant fashion and dishes out occasional surprises; perhaps it doesn't amount to much but it's diverting enough, bucolic, and Arterton is suitably stunning.
Dir: Anne Fontaine
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Fabrice Luchini, Jason Flemyng
THE GENERAL
1926
**
At the time of the American Civil War, an engineer does everything he can to rescue his beloved stolen train.
Keaton's famous silent film, with its many magic moments, was beautifully restored in the 1990s to open it up to a new generation.
Dir: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman
Stars: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Jim Farley
GENEVIEVE
1953
****
Two men taking part in the annual London to Brighton rally have a bet that one can beat the other back to Westminster Bridge.
A comic classic which delightfully personifies Fifties England. It may be set on the beautiful roads of long ago but it has some modern, saucy humour and far from anodyne characters; the plot is fairly simple, but everything in it works, and it was unsurprisingly one of the most popular pictures of its day. The harmonica score makes it distinctive, the photography is lovely and the guest cast is as gifted as the four leads - and it just has a sort of specialness to it.
Dir: Henry Cornelius
Stars: John Gregson, Kenneth More, Dinah Sheridan, Kay Kendall, Geoffrey Keen, Arthur Wontner, Joyce Grenfell
GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT
1947
**
A journalist pretends to be Jewish in order to expose anti-Semitism.
Clunky drama, a daring film its day, this now manages to appear both very mild and heavy handed in its approach to the subject but contains good scenes amidst some flabbiness and didacticism.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Stars: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm
THE GENTLEMEN
2019
***
An American with a British drug empire runs into problems when he tries to sell it off.
Ritchie returning to his big screen gangster origins: for the first hour you dislike its obnoxiousness, its trickiness, its fakeness, but as the hilariously complicated story moves forward you get gripped, and it does reward the patience with its multitude of audacious showpieces. Also pleasing is the way it pays no heed to stifling PC strictures - which is probably why a lot of critics slated it.
Dir: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, Colin Farrell, Michelle Dockery
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
1953
*
Two lounge singers on a transatlantic cruise attract gentlemen's attention.
Presentable musical which has its funny and tuneful moments.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn
GEORGE AND MILDRED
1980
0
Mildred plans the couple's wedding anniversary at a swanky hotel but things go horribly wrong.
Painfully elongated cinema version of the TV sitcom, released after the female star's death.
Dir: Peter Frazer-Jones
Stars: Yootha Joyce, Brian Murphy, Stratford Johns, Kenneth Cope
GEORGE BEST: ALL BY HIMSELF
2016
**
Documentary about one of the most talented footballers the British Isles has ever produced, with an emphasis on his decline and fall.
Certainly a better watch than the dismal dramatised biopic Best (qv), this limited-release film is nonetheless a little too mournful and not as celebratory of the Ulsterman's extraordinary talent as would be wished, but it does feature snippets of terrific soccer footage. Best himself said he wanted to be remembered most for the football, but this documentary will help ensure that isn't the case (notably, though, the famous 'where did it all go wrong?' anecdote doesn't feature).
Dir: Daniel Gordon
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD
2011
**
Documentary focusing on the life of Beatle George Harrison.
Extravagant documentary that goes on for too long (the mid-section is a bit heavy going) but is a suitable tribute to an important musician that benefits from much never-before-seen footage.
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Stars: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle
GEORGY GIRL
1966
*
An ugly duckling tries to get a slice of the swinging '60s while fending off the attentions of her father's middle-aged employer.
Keen-eyed and energetic but rather irritating comic drama.
Dir: Silvio Narizzano
Stars: James Mason, Lynn Redgrave, Alan Bates, Charlotte Rampling, Bill Owen, Dandy Nichols
GERVAISE
1956
*
A woman's husband is a hopeless alcoholic.
A slice of life at the lower end, well done for those up for it, somewhat parochial feeling for the rest of us.
Dir: Rene Clement
Stars: Maria Schell, Francois Perier, Jany Holt
THE GESTAPO’S LAST ORGY
1977
0
A Jewish woman sent to a Nazi concentration camp refuses to be broken.
Some of the content may sound shocking – a naked woman strung up over rats (really gerbils), orgies, eating Jews, mass extermination – but the film is so badly made, possibly unsure of what it wants to be, that it’s really rather dull.
Dir: Cesare Canevari
Stars: Adriano Micantoni, Daniela Poggi, Maristella Greco
GET BACK
1990
*
Documentary featuring performances from Paul McCartney’s world tour.
A pretty rudimentary filming of a musical legend at work which uses a curious variety of clips to adorn some songs, ranging from footage of the Beatles to odd, vaguely political news stories. Macca’s Fab Four renditions vary in quality but many are enjoyable enough to give the feature some merit, although it’s hardly in the class of Lester’s early efforts.
Dir: Richard Lester
Stars: Paul McCartney
GET CARTER
1971
****
A tough London gangster travels to Newcastle to investigate the death of his brother.
Has there ever been a film that has more brilliantly utilised its locations? Hodges's debut has only got better and better and is as fresh and shockingly brutal as ever, as everything comes together with aplomb - Caine's magnificent performance, the salty dialogue, several memorably realised sequences, the unique musical score and, of course, that north-eastern scenery of the time, unerringly captured by superb, realistic photography.
Dir: Mike Hodges
Stars: Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland, George Sewell, Alun Armstrong, Glynn Edwards
GET 'EM OFF
1976
0
Documentary short subtitled '100 years of striptease'.
From a producer (Harold Baim) normally associated with British travelogues, this is half an hour of sexiness that isn't too bothered about the history of striptease, just the nicely shot present. Any longer would be too much; it's a snapshot of the days when the country was at its most sexually open - wonder what this lot are doing now?
Dir: William G Walters
Narrators: Kenneth MacLeod, Hugh Scully
GET OUT
2017
***
A young black man goes on a visit to his white girlfriend's parents and things go badly, but not in the way he expects.
Smart shocker, at heart an Ira Levin piece (particularly The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby) but cool and contemporary, with things to say about modern racial etiquette. Scripted and directed with aplomb, it does what a thriller should do and is one of the better horror films of recent years.
Dir: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
GET OUT AND GET UNDER
1920
*
A young fellow has car trouble.
Lloyd short almost exclusively featuring motoring mayhem, some of which is inspired, some less so (and there's a strange moment with a drug addict).
Dir: Hal Roach
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Fred McPherson
GET SHORTY
1995
*
A mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt.
Clever comic drama which appealed to those who know the movie business.
Dir: Barry Sonnenfeld
Stars: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito
GETTING IT RIGHT
1988
**
A shy and virginal man who lives with his parents attracts the interest of three ladies.
Quintessentially English comedy offering a gentle view of homely eccentrics in their own little world; a nice change from most multiplex fodder.
Dir: Randal Kleiser
Stars: Jesse Birdsall, Jane Horrocks, Helena Bonham Carter, Lynn Redgrave, John Gielgud, Peter Cook, Shirley Anne Field
GHOST
1990
***
The ghost of a murdered man comes back to protect his girlfriend from villains.
A fairly minor film which became huge by favourable word of mouth, and it does offer nearly all you could want from a night out at the movies: laughter, tears, suspense and more.
Dir: Jerry Zucker
Stars: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn
THE GHOST
2010
**
A ghost writer is employed to polish the memoirs of the ex-British prime minister, but appears to uncover skulduggery.
Polanski’s perfectionism and uniqueness illuminates what would otherwise be an ordinary thriller, one which in part coincidentally foreshadows the isolation that would be thrust upon him as the film neared completion. As is so often the case in his movies, the lead character is propelled into an edgy world of paranoia and danger where no one is quite who they seem to be, and the isolated locations here appear to be chosen with great care. Although it’s not among his finest achievements – it’s a little too understated and deliberately paced at times – it reeks of cinematic craftwork that few others seem capable of emulating. Oddly and annoyingly, it was given the title of The Ghost Writer in the USA and shown in an edited version.
Dir: Roman Polanski
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Kim Cattrall
THE GHOST AND MR CHICKEN
1965
0
A reporter spends the night in a haunted house.
Wearisome comedy unlikely to find new fans.
Dir: Alan Rafkin
Stars: Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Liam Redmond
THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR
1947
**
A widow living by the seaside gains comfort from the ghost of a sailor.
Quietly charming romantic ghost story.
Dir: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Stars: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Natalie Wood
THE GHOST BREAKERS
1940
*
A girl who has inherited a haunted castle ventures into it accompanied by a wisecracking radio broadcaster.
Polished horror comedy with sympathetic stars near their best; viewed now both the humour and the frights are inevitably dated.
Dir: George Marshall
Stars: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Willie Best, Anthony Quinn
THE GHOST CAMERA
1933
0
A man finds a camera and develops the film which appears to include a picture of a murder.
Not exactly Blow Up, this is an archaic thriller in which most - but not all - pleasure comes from watching the Harry Enfield-type lead go about his business. The story could lend itself to a decent remake.
Dir: Bernard Vorhaus
Stars: Henry Kendall, Ida Lupino, John Mills
GHOST CATCHERS
1944
*
Two crackpots get mixed up with a haunted mansion.
Spasmodically witty and clever comedy horror.
Dir: Edward F Cline
Stars: Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Gloria Jean, Lon Chaney Jr
GHOST CHASE
1988
0
A ghost takes over the body of an alien to solve a mystery.
Odd, very odd, but not very good.
Dir: Roland Emmerich
Stars: Jason Lively, Tim McDaniel
THE GHOST GOES WEST
1935
**
When an American businessman ships a Scottish castle to America, brick by brick, the resident spirit goes with it.
Pleasant whimsy with a memorable star performance.
Dir: Rene Clair
Stars: Robert Donat, Jean Parker, Elsa Lanchester
THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI
1966
0
A corpse has one day to perform a good deed to get to heaven.
Inane rubbish with a priceless title.
Dir: Don Weis
Stars: Tommy Kirk, Nancy Sinatra, Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff
GHOST IN THE NOONDAY SUN
1973
0
A pirate seeks a ghost's help to enable him to find stolen loot.
Laborious comedy which never takes shape. Behind the scenes difficulties ultimately meant it was barely released.
Dir: Peter Medak
Stars: Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Anthony Franciosa, Peter Boyle, David Lodge
A GHOST OF A CHANCE
1967
0
A group of good-natured ghosts help children save a local historic monument.
Uneven knockabout from the semi-amateur Children Films Foundation.
Dir: Jan Darnley-Smith
Stars: Jimmy Edwards, Patricia Hayes, Graham Stark, Bernard Cribbins, Terry Scott, Ronnie Barker
THE GHOST OF FLIGHT 401
1978 (TV)
0
Passengers on an aircraft which has parts of a crashed airliner report seeing ghosts.
A film as lifeless as the pilot in it, structured with no sense of the dramatic.
Dir: Steven Hilliard Stern
Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Gary Lockwood, Kim Basinger
THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN
1942
0
Ygor resurrects Frankenstein's monster and brings him to the original doctor's son, Ludwig, for help.
A definite step-down in class from its predecessors Bride and Son, with none of the literary flourishes or dynamic style.
Dir: Erle C Kenton
Stars: Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney Jr, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi
THE GHOST OF MONK'S ISLAND
1966 (serial)
*
Four children get stranded on a Channel Island, where a mysterious hooded figure lurks.
This CFF lark is essentially a Famous Five adventure, but with even more practical advice for how to survive in nature when technology and adults aren't around - this alone gives it praiseworthy pluck (not much Health & Safety here!). Latterly it gets rather stretched out and the patience is tried. Talking Pictures TV eventually showed it in an edited-together format.
Dir: Jeremy Summers
Stars: Pierre Bedenes, Lucinda Jackson, Jerold Wells, Ivor Salter
THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS
2018
*
Documentary about director Medak's 1973 film Ghost In The Noonday Sun (qv), the production of which was plagued by many problems, including star Peter Sellers' wayward behaviour.
A curious exercise in catharsis from a director who doesn't come across as likeable, in fact he comes across as self-pitying and keen to apportion blame to others, especially Sellers (although he does say that he 'loved' him) and could perhaps look at himself as more to blame for Noonday Sun not actually being a very good film. Still, there are some juicy anecdotes and plenty of real-life footage taken during the making of the movie, which gives it a vividness.
Dir: Peter Medak
THE GHOST OF RASHMON HALL
1948
0
A doctor visits a house infested with evil spirits.
Amateurish little ghost story, not well acted or shot, with a few creepy moments but no character development. Its place in obscurity is possibly not undeserved.
Dir: Denis Kavanagh
Stars: Valentine Dyall, Anne Howard, Alec Faversham
THE GHOST OF ST MICHAEL'S
1941
*
An incompetent teacher starts at a school in a remote part of Scotland that is reportedly haunted by a bagpipe-playing ghost.
Pleasing comic thriller with jokes delivered at a rapid pace and bright ensemble playing - but one can't help but miss Moore and Marriott, dumped by Hay previous to this. All very silly of course; possibly the funniest sequence is the long one in the school room, which has the star at his most typically bumbling and evasive.
Dir: Marcel Varnel
Stars: Will Hay, Claude Hulbert, Charles Hawtrey, Felix Aylmer
THE GHOST OF SIERRA DE COBRE
1964 (TVM)
0
Is a dead woman trying to contact the living from her tomb?
Originally a pilot for a would-be TV series about an occult investigator but expanded to a TV movie when the series wasn't picked up, this is a little overrated, rather like The Outer Limits, which it slightly resembles. The spookiness is pretty well done, with accomplished photography, but it's a rather humourless and over-extended enterprise.
Dir: Joseph Stefano
Stars: Martin Landau, Judith Anderson, Diane Baker
GHOST RIDER
2006
0
A motorcycle stunt rider sells his soul to the devil to save his cancer-ridden father’s life.
One of Marvel’s less celebrated superheroes comes to the screen in a vehicle that suits him: dumb, brash and full of pyrotechnics. Blaze is visually a treat when he’s on fire and amusingly Cage-esque when not, but this is unlikely to entrance anyone other than motorbike fans or those obsessed with the living dead.
Dir: Mark Steven Johnson
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda, Wes Bentley
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE
2012
0
Johnny Blaze attempts to save a young boy from the devil.
A semi-sequel that somehow manages to be worse than its predecessor: it’s grey and muddy, obviously shot on a limited budget, the CGI is poor, the script little but tiresome mumbo jumbo and, most importantly, the Ghost Rider just isn’t anywhere near being a decent superhero. One of the very weakest Marvel movies.
Dir: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba
GHOST SHIP
1952
0
A couple buy a boat that may be haunted.
A semi-supernatural drama that's somewhat like a boat, one that's a bit unsteady and veers in wayward directions - a journey on its chatty decks passes the time but the vessel isn't especially well handled, and the final resolution is odd.
Dir: Vernon Sewell
Stars: Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, Hugh Burden
GHOST STORIES
2018
*
A sceptic investigates three cases of apparent supernatural occurrence.
In part a throwback to the horror anthologies of old, this adaptation of a successful West End play doesn't really offer twists at the end of its trio of stories but instead saves them up for several rug-pulls near its climax. Perhaps it seemed more surprising on stage and educated horror fans won't see a lot that's revelatory here, but it's well enough done with effective scares for those in the mood - it's a pity, however, that it doesn't seek to explore human behaviour or the 'paranormal' more.
Dir: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman
Stars: Andy Nyman, Martin Freeman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther
GHOST STORY
1974
0
Former schoolmates endure a disturbing time at an empty mansion.
The director presumably had a promising idea, but this oddball chiller only intermittently has anything like the right mood, the characters are irritating, the acting is variable and the ending is laughable. Rereleased on a swanky two-DVD set in 2009, the package only confirmed what a misfire this mix of PG Wodehouse and MR James was, an obtuse if handsome disaster that unsurprisingly found no takers.
Dir: Stephen Weeks
Stars: Larry Dunn, Murray Melvin, Vivian MacKerrell, Marianne Faithfull, Barbara Shelley, Anthony Bate, Penelope Keith
GHOST STORY
1981
0
Four elderly men share a dark secret from 50 years previously.
Muddled and uninvolving shocker fuddled with frequent shots of a rotting corpse.
Dir: John Irvin
Stars: Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, John Houseman, Craig Wasson, Patricia Neal
GHOST TOWN
1988
0
The spirit of an outlaw still rules over the deceased people of the town.
Eccentric blend of horror and western that might have been better if it had been clearer about what's going on.
Dir: Richard Governor
Stars: Franc Luz, Catherine Hickland
GHOST TOWN
2008
0
After a dentist briefly dies during an operation, he discovers he can see dead people.
It’s galling to see one of Britain’s finest comedians in a film that he would most likely mercilessly mock if he wasn’t in it, a formulaic Hollywood comedy that sinks into mawkishness and sentimentality, and is full of irritating moments. True, there are some witty lines but the whole thing just doesn’t click and we’re left bemoaning the fact that Gervais hasn’t been given better material.
Dir: David Koepp
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Kristen Wiig
THE GHOST TRAIN
1931
*
A group of people are stranded at a remote railway station which is said to be visited by a 'ghost train'.
The second version of Dad's Army's Arnold Ridley's canny play now only survives shorn of three reels, and with three of the remaining five having no sound - internet sources can't agree on which reels are the ones we still have, but it's most likely 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 (things are further confused by two of them being in the wrong order on the copy online). It's a huge shame but you can still get something from the film, and if you've seen the 1941 version first it shouldn't be too confusing. It'd be nice if someone subtitled and scored (and re-ordered) it, but there's fun to be had in making up your own dialogue in the silent bits. As incomplete an experience as it is, it's still a cosy little movie with some impressive technical details (like the train going off the bridge).
Dir: Walter Forde
Stars: Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Ann Todd, Cyril Raymond
THE GHOST TRAIN
1941
**
Travellers are stranded at a remote rural railway station which appears to be haunted by a spectral train.
Third version of the beguiling plot, not a complete success, but nicely atmospheric and warm in manner. Askey may be an acquired taste for modern audiences.
Dir: Walter Forde
Stars: Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Kathleen Harrison
GHOSTBUSTERS
1984
**
Three professors set up a unique ghost removal service.
One of the biggest films of the decade is a highly watchable sci-fi comedy which gets the best from its performers, particularly Murray and Moranis. While the script isn't quite as funny as some claim, and not all the special effects still shine (but some do), it's a lively, different popcorn movie invigorated by its location shooting and outlandish ideas. Numerous spin-offs in many mediums followed.
Dir: Ivan Reitman
Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis
GHOSTBUSTERS II
1989
*
The 'Busters battle an ancient sorcerer and save a baby.
Sequel which isn't offensive but doesn't especially take the concept in any radically new direction; fans of the original should be entertained without finding themselves begging for a third.
Dir: Ivan Reitman
Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson
GHOSTBUSTERS
2016
*
Four females battle the spooks of New York.
A semi-remake that came with all sorts of baggage, thanks to the internet warriors once again going into battle, but can be seen as a fairly decent movie once the smoke has cleared. The new performers are mostly likeable, with good comedy chops, and there are a few laughs (Hemsworth also provides chuckles), but it's a shame that it doesn't try to be a bit different - the climax, for instance, is just another big NY battle - and appears to be in thrall to the original, as evidenced by the cameos and other nods. Ideally it would have been funnier and had a more exciting plot, but at least it's fair-natured fun and not overtly political, no matter what the detractors may say.
Dir: Paul Feig
Stars: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie Jones
GHOSTS CAN’T DO IT
1990
0
A young widow tries to bring her dead husband back in the body of a young man.
Pitiful erotic drama which utterly fails to be anything remotely near good.
Dir: John Derek
Stars: Bo Derek, Anthony Quinn, Don Murray, Julie Newmar
THE GHOSTS OF BERKELEY SQUARE
1947
0
Two ghosts are to haunt a London residence until the Queen turns up at their house.
Whimsical comedy that doesn't raise too many laughs now and seems quite often silly; it has a nice central idea but it drags.
Dir: Vernon Sewell
Stars: Robert Morley, Felix Aylmer, Claude Hulbert
GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE
1943
0
Newlyweds move next door to Nazi spies who pretend their house is haunted.
This dreadful farce could only ever have appealed to a tiny amount of people in a tiny time frame in history. Root canal surgery would be preferable to watching it again.
Dir: William Beaudine
Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner
THE GHOUL
1933
0
A man returns from the dead to take wreak vengeance on those who have violated his resting place.
Creaky British horror flick, one of the first, largely shot in the dark, it goes awry thanks to an over-abundance of characters and a poor script. Some of the set design is quirky and the photography better than average, but headliner Karloff is barely in it.
Dir: T Hayes Hunter
Stars: Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Dorothy Hyson, Ralph Richardson
THE GHOUL
1975
0
A former priest keeps his cannibalistic son in his attic, but he escapes during a party.
Obvious horror which moves at a deadly pace.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Peter Cushing, John Hurt, Alexandra Bastedo, Don Henderson
GHOULIES
1984
0
A man moves into an old mansion house and starts to raise demons.
Poor semi-imitation of Gremlins that offers much less fun than the advertising suggests, very typical of its producer, Charles Band. Amazing that el cheapo stuff like this gets a Blu-ray release 30 years after its original release.
Dir: Luca Bercovici
Stars: Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance
GIANT
1956
***
The life of a Texas rancher in the mid-20th century.
As long you're prepared for a three-hour-plus movie, this is an absorbing epic, worth valuing for several excellent scenes and the performances, chief among them Dean, whose last film this turned out to be - ironically he is the most convincing ager of them all. The vistas are mighty fine too.
Dir: George Stevens
Stars: Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Dennis Hopper
THE GIANT BEHEMOTH
1959
0
An ancient dinosaur is roused by atomic tests and attacks London.
By-numbers monster movie that plods until the creature appears – and then those scenes aren’t exactly electrifying, largely consisting of ropy special effects and folk rushing along the streets while gazing up in horror.
Dir: Eugene Lourie
Stars: Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison
THE GIANT CLAW
1957
0
A huge bird terrorises the world.
Mostly this stinker is talk, except when the bird turns up, and it's hard not to smile when it does. You can knock these Fifties sci-fi movies, but they still attract much internet commentary many years later.
Dir: Fred F Sears
Stars: Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum
THE GIANT GILA MONSTER
1959
0
A huge lizard threatens a rural Texas community.
Defiantly tedious, resolutely vacant sci-fi in which a normal-sized scaly creature is unconvincingly made to look like it's attacking the musical, car-obsessed locals.
Dir: Ray Kellogg
Stars: Don Sullivan, Fred Graham, Lisa Simone
THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
1975
0
Giant spiders from another dimension attack Wisconsin.
Cheap B-feature with no qualities to speak of.
Dir: Bill Rebane
Stars: Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Alan Hale Jr
1943
0
Newlyweds move next door to Nazi spies who pretend their house is haunted.
This dreadful farce could only ever have appealed to a tiny amount of people in a tiny time frame in history. Root canal surgery would be preferable to watching it again.
Dir: William Beaudine
Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner
THE GHOUL
1933
0
A man returns from the dead to take wreak vengeance on those who have violated his resting place.
Creaky British horror flick, one of the first, largely shot in the dark, it goes awry thanks to an over-abundance of characters and a poor script. Some of the set design is quirky and the photography better than average, but headliner Karloff is barely in it.
Dir: T Hayes Hunter
Stars: Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Dorothy Hyson, Ralph Richardson
THE GHOUL
1975
0
A former priest keeps his cannibalistic son in his attic, but he escapes during a party.
Obvious horror which moves at a deadly pace.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Peter Cushing, John Hurt, Alexandra Bastedo, Don Henderson
GHOULIES
1984
0
A man moves into an old mansion house and starts to raise demons.
Poor semi-imitation of Gremlins that offers much less fun than the advertising suggests, very typical of its producer, Charles Band. Amazing that el cheapo stuff like this gets a Blu-ray release 30 years after its original release.
Dir: Luca Bercovici
Stars: Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance
GIANT
1956
***
The life of a Texas rancher in the mid-20th century.
As long you're prepared for a three-hour-plus movie, this is an absorbing epic, worth valuing for several excellent scenes and the performances, chief among them Dean, whose last film this turned out to be - ironically he is the most convincing ager of them all. The vistas are mighty fine too.
Dir: George Stevens
Stars: Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Dennis Hopper
THE GIANT BEHEMOTH
1959
0
An ancient dinosaur is roused by atomic tests and attacks London.
By-numbers monster movie that plods until the creature appears – and then those scenes aren’t exactly electrifying, largely consisting of ropy special effects and folk rushing along the streets while gazing up in horror.
Dir: Eugene Lourie
Stars: Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison
THE GIANT CLAW
1957
0
A huge bird terrorises the world.
Mostly this stinker is talk, except when the bird turns up, and it's hard not to smile when it does. You can knock these Fifties sci-fi movies, but they still attract much internet commentary many years later.
Dir: Fred F Sears
Stars: Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum
THE GIANT GILA MONSTER
1959
0
A huge lizard threatens a rural Texas community.
Defiantly tedious, resolutely vacant sci-fi in which a normal-sized scaly creature is unconvincingly made to look like it's attacking the musical, car-obsessed locals.
Dir: Ray Kellogg
Stars: Don Sullivan, Fred Graham, Lisa Simone
THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
1975
0
Giant spiders from another dimension attack Wisconsin.
Cheap B-feature with no qualities to speak of.
Dir: Bill Rebane
Stars: Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Alan Hale Jr
THE GIFT
2015
**
A couple starts getting visits from a man the husband was at school with, and then things get more sinister.
Pretty effective thriller with a well-paced story and interesting character stuff. It's all about how we struggle to escape our pasts...
Dir: Joel Edgerton
Stars: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton
GIGI
1958
*
In 1900 Paris, a rich playboy falls in love with a young courtesan-in-training.
Quite how so many accolades were bestowed upon this elegantly frozen musical is a mystery, as there isn't a single element that is a success: the story is flimsy and creepy, the photography, all long takes and static shots, is unimaginative, the songs, with a couple of exceptions, fail to exhibit individual personality and the characters are all coldly impersonal. Even by Minnelli's standards it's a dead duck.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Stars: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jordan, Hermione Gingold, Eva Gabor
GILDA
1946
**
A gambler becomes a rich man's bodyguard but has trouble with his attractive wife.
Solid film noir chiefly about mean people doing mean things, the tension glues the often risible dialogue together, and Hayworth is at her resplendent best.
Dir: Charles Vidor
Stars: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready
GIMME SHELTER
1970
****
Documentary about The Rolling Stones and their concert at Altamont Park in San Francisco in 1969 which resulted in the death of an audience member.
The makers of this film could not have been aware that they were about to chronicle something so profound - an event which came to symbolise the Sixties' dream of peace and love gone desperately sour but, more than that, [what should have been] the death of utopianism and socialist thinking, as a free concert was held by one of the world's biggest bands for out-of-their-heads youths policed by the Hells Angels. The filmmakers' approach is commendably sober and non-sensational, carefully structuring things so we build towards the poisonous, toxic atmosphere of the concert where it's inevitable that something will go badly wrong; all while we get some great music from the Stones. It's a remarkable document of the time and of human nature.
Dir: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
1969
0
An all-female sect plans to take over the world.
The thing about Franco films is that they make you feel like you're drunk when you're watching them, even if you're not; this typically ragged effort has some Sixties kitsch that is pleasing to the eye but, as ever, on a technical level, everything is atrocious: fights are awful, the plot senseless and the camerawork demented. You can almost see early thoughts of suicide in Sanders' eyes.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler, George Sanders, Maria Rohm
THE GIRL IN A SWING
1988
0
A husband begins to suspect there is something not quite right with the woman he married in a hurry.
Initially old-fashioned, finally bizarre romantic drama with unsympathetic characters, it failed to gain much distribution.
Dir: Gordon Hessler
Stars: Meg Tilly, Rupert Frazer, Elspet Gray
GIRL IN THE HEADLINES
1963
0
Police investigate the death of a girl who may have been involved with drug dealers.
Not without interest crime drama that gets more and more complex as more and more characters are introduced; it then goes for a strange twist.
Dir: Michael Truman
Stars: Ian Hendry, Ronald Fraser, James Villiers, Jeremy Brett
GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE
1968
0
A girl uses her motorbike to visit an ex-lover.
As thin as it sounds; this uninteresting nonsense is very much of its time.
Dir: Jack Cardiff
Stars: Alain Delon, Marianne Faithfull, Roger Mutton
GIRL SHY
1924
**
A shy young man with a stutter pursues the girl of his dreams.
Fine example of Lloyd near his best, culminating in the celebrated race against time to stop the wedding.
Dir: Fred C Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston
GIRL STROKE BOY
1971
*
Parents can't decide whether the lover their son brings home is male or female.
Few would have realised it at the time, but this is an extraordinary film - it's quite unlike anything else ever made by the director (it's almost at times an art film, and has strange and vivid quirks), but more importantly it's like a pack of sexual and racial identity politics gelignite that would explode with ridiculous ferocity some years later, which makes it a fascinating if sometimes uncomfortable and occasionally icky watch, whatever your point of view. Vigorously acted and staged, it can be tiresome and as sweaty as the characters in it, but it has its own minor place in history.
Dir: Bob Kellett
Stars: Joan Greenwood, Michael Hordern, Clive Francis, Peter Straker
THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH & DYNAMITE
1981 (TV)
0
Landowners fight over a watch that can stop time.
Dopey made-for-TV fantasy.
Dir: Hy Averback
Stars: Philip MacHale, Lee Purcell, Jack Elam
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
1963
0
An American tourist in Rome thinks she witnesses a murder.
Credited as the first ‘giallo’, this suspenser looks gleaming but has a weakly structured, boring and sometimes confusing script – typical Bava, then. His acolytes like to compare him with Hitchcock, but he’s not in the same league as the master.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: Leticia Roman, John Saxon, Valentina Cortese
THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME
2006
0
A schoolgirl discovers she has the power of minimal time travel.
Much-praised anime that does indeed look nice but dramatically washes over you like a gentle tide; it submerges itself too much in the world of the teenager.
Dir: Mamoru Hosoda
Voices: Emily Hirst, David Hurwitz, Natalie Walters
THE GIRL WITH A PISTOL
1968
*
An Italian woman journeys to Britain to find the man who 'dishonoured' her.
A curious odyssey, practically a travelogue, which might have seemed odd at the time but now provides lovely views of bygone Britain, including Bath, Brighton and Sheffield. It's quite rambly, as our beautiful, feisty heroine stalks the land barking at men and not smiling too much, and, unusually, it does feel half-Italian, half-British - and all late Sixties. Not vital but not unpleasant.
Dir: Mario Monicelli
Stars: Monica Vitti, Stanley Baker, Corin Redgrave, Anthony Booth
GIRLFRIEND FROM HELL
1989
0
The devil inhabits the body of a shy woman, and she is shy no longer.
Hopeless horror comedy, flat, fuzzy and feeble.
Dir: Dan Peterson
Stars: Liane Curtis, Dana Ashbrook
LES GIRLS
1957
0
A court hears three different versions of what happened to a dance troupe.
The high concept does nothing to entice because scene-for-scene this is very boring stuff. Elegant, expensive and colourful, but boring.
Dir: George Cukor
Stars: Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor, Taina Elg
GIRLS COME FIRST
1975
0
An artist is commissioned to paint a nude woman but his girlfriend is not impressed.
Unless the raincoat brigade saw the longer, stronger version of this slight saucy comedy, you imagine they left feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
Dir: Joseph McGrath
Stars: John Hamill, Bill Kerr, Sue Longhurst, Burt Kwouk, Heather Deeley
GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!
1961
0
Three young women go to live in London and start glamorous new jobs.
A semi-documentary short whose main appeal now is nostalgia and seeing the lovely London streets of the time (it's a sort of paradise lost); the content itself is quite technical - there's a lot about the fashion industry and make-up, which is not thrilling. Nice colour photography though, better than some that Winner would be involved in over his career.
Dir: Michael Winner
Stars: Tania Mallet, Primrose Austen, Sandra Le Brocq
GIRLY
1970
0
A strange family bring men home to use as playthings.
Prolix drama with nothing to like but much that’s tiresome or irksome.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Vanessa Howard, Michael Bryant, Ursula Howells, Pay Heywood, Michael Ripper
GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROAD STREET
1984
*
Paul's new album is put under threat by the master tapes being stolen.
Lightweight, wafer-thin musical drama elevated by a few renditions of Beatles tunes (although they can't compare with the originals). Essentially an incompetent embarrassment, the podcast The Big Beatles Sort Out did a great take-down of it.
Dir: Peter Webb
Stars: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Bryan Brown, Barbara Bach, Ralph Richardson
GIVE US TOMORROW
1978
0
Two armed robbers hold up a family in their house.
Low rent thriller which quickly heads down a plot cul de sac, and an absurd one at that, but provides minor interest in its portrayal of class differences.
Dir: Donovan Winter
Stars: Derren Nesbit, Sylvia Syms, James Kerry
GLADIATOR
2000
***
When a Roman general has his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.
Pretty good old fashioned action yarn worth catching for Oliver Reed's final bow alone; it breathed life into a genre thought dead.
Dir: Ridley Scott
Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, David Hemmings
GLASS ONION
2022
*
Detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to investigate a case.
The follow-up to Knives Out is a glossier and more expansive but much inferior film, a glib and self-satisfied yarn that exhibits all kinds of modern things that annoy (it's very Netflix). The plot is slick, postmodern gunk, stuffed up to the gills with flashbacks and talk about past things that have happened, while the characters are deeply dislikeable almost to a person, usually ready with some crude language or facile observation. The finale involving destruction is a neat metaphor for our era, that of things being mindlessly trashed with no idea of what to put in their place. Smug celebrity cameos exemplify its supercilious nature, and among its many other up-to-date ticks are off-putting references to the darkest period in modern history, that of the heinous lockdowns and masks.
Dir: Rian Johnson
Stars: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista
1954
0
The story of Cinderella.
Magic-less version padded out by strange ballet sequences; perhaps the tale is better suited to cartoon.
Dir: Charles Walters
Stars: Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Elsa Lanchester
GLASTONBURY
2006
*
Documentary about the West Country music festival that now attracts thousands every year.
Probably the next best thing to going - and likely to be most warmly looked upon by regular attendees - this rambling, jagged, unfocused picture, neither a concert film nor a historical record, immerses the viewer in the offbeat sights and sounds of the Somerset summers and specialises in various people looking incredibly stupid, either because of their altered state or their risible political/social views. It's well shot and never boring but a little too cool for school, as demonstrated by the absence of any onscreen text to denote the artist, song, or year of whatever's occurring. Despite its faults it'll likely remain the definitive account of the festival for years to come.
Dir: Julien Temple
GLEN AND RANDA
1971
0
After a nuclear war has ruined the Earth, a pair of teenagers live out a desperate existence.
Painfully amateurish fantasy, deeply depressing, and full of irritating fade-to-blacks.
Dir: Jim McBride
Stars: Steve Curry, Shelley Pimpton
GLEN OR GLENDA
1953
0
A transvestite tries to tell his wife-to-be of his habits, while another man considers surgery to 'become' a woman.
Everything you've heard is true: a uniquely awful vision of transvestism, a hilarious, breathtaking combination of Bela Lugosi spouting gobbledegook, stock footage of war scenes, a bizarre ten-minute dream sequence and risible acting and voice-over commentary.
Dir: Edward D Wood Jr
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
1992
**
Salesmen fiercely compete against each other in a New York office - the winner gets a car.
Like being thrown into a mental asylum with all the radiators turned on - but there's much to admire, particularly the performances.
Dir: James Foley
Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce
THE GLITTERBALL
1977
*
Two children find a tiny spherical alien with a large appetite.
One of the better Children's Film Foundation pictures has a lively little plot and showcases some quite nifty special effects, not to mention the very Seventies likes of Woolco, crisps for 5p and Ghoul magazine. Perhaps young children dragged into this statist company's films might not have felt too bored on this occasion.
Dir: Harley Cokeliss
Stars: Ben Buckton, Keith Jayne, Ron Pember
GLORY
1989
**
The story of the first black regiment in the American Civil War.
This semi-ironically titled war drama tells a bittersweet tale of emancipation in which the blacks prove they’re just as adept at getting mindlessly slaughtered as the whites are; you can usually spot the bits that have been glossed up by liberal Hollywood, but generally it’s impressively detailed stuff, extremely well shot by Freddie Francis.
Dir: Edward Zwick
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
GNAW: FOOD OF THE GODS 2
1990
0
A hormone causes rats to grow to an enormous size.
Ridiculous horror comic with less than convincing effects.
Dir: Damian Lee
Stars: Paul Coufos, Lisa Schrage
GO
1999
**
A drug deal that goes wrong has repercussions for various youths in LA.
Told in three different parts which share some of the same action, this is a smart and sassy drama that manages to catch a flavour of being young at the end of the twentieth century, not least due to its soundtrack: it's a shame that the third segment doesn't quite have the adept pacing or succinctness of the first two, but it's a fun movie, and much less nasty than your average Tarantino one (there are similarities).
Dir: Doug Liman
Stars: Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Desmond Askew, Timothy Olyphant
GO FOR A TAKE
1972
0
Two waiters on the run from gangsters take refuge in a film studio.
Frightfully bad comedy.
Dir: Harry Booth
Stars: Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Dennis Price, Julie Ege, Melvyn Hayes, Sue Lloyd, David Lodge, Patrick Newell, Bob Todd
GO KART GO
1964
0
Youngsters compete to have the fastest go kart.
Simplistic fun for very young audiences of the time, focusing on a craze that would have modern health and safety types pulling their hair out, what with the kids really physically living.
Dir: Jan Darnley-Smith
Stars: Dennis Waterman, Jimmy Capehorn, Frazer Hines, Wilfrid Brambell
GO TO BLAZES
1961
0
Crooks use a fire engine as a getaway vehicle.
Artificial, laboured comedy with dislikeable stars.
Dir: Michael Truman
Stars: Dave King, Daniel Massey, Norman Rossington, Maggie Smith, Robert Morley, Dennis Price
THE GO-BETWEEN
1971
***
A young boy is unknowingly used by a couple having an illicit affair.
Laudable version of a subtle and cerebral novel, a mysterious and rather wonderful film experience. It's particularly successful in its evocation of Edwardian Norfolk through a dreamy, sunny haze (contrasted with the grey chill of the present day), its keen observation of class differences and the way it's presented through the eyes of an innocent boy on the verge of puberty. Performances are uniformly excellent, dialogue is intelligent and nuanced, and Michel Legrand's score suitably disconcerting - everything LP Hartley's book deserved.
Dir: Joseph Losey
Stars: Dominic Guard, Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Michael Redgrave, Michael Gough, Edward Fox, Margaret Leighton
GOAL!
2005
**
A young, hotshot Mexican comes to Newcastle United to try and become a professional footballer.
Although this is a wholly familiar zero to hero tale, it's made a bit special by mixing the drama with real Premiership action, grin-making cameos and a witty script that cannily plays on Newcastle's idiosyncrasies. Well made feel-good cinema.
Dir: Danny Cannon
Stars: Kuno Becker, Anna Friel, Alessandro Nivola, Sean Pertwee, Newcastle United
GOAL 2: LIVING THE DREAM
2007
0
Santiago is signed by Spanish giants Real Madrid, but his personal life takes a turn for the worse.
Witless follow-up that doesn’t know where to go so goes nowhere; showing many signs of ragged editing and hasty rewriting, it exposes the star as a non-actor and descends into a series of tedious, brain-hammeringly obvious sequences, usually set to loud pop music. Its portrayal of the stupid rich is also fairly nauseating.
Dir: Jaume Collet-Serra
Stars: Kuno Becker, Anna Friel, Alessandro Nivola, Rutger Hauer, Real Madrid
THE GOAT
1921
*
A man is mistaken for a wanted criminal (becoming a scapegoat, ie a 'goat').
There are some splendidly weird scenes here (the 'melting' horse, the jettisoning of the elevator), along with some pure cinema (Buster sitting on the front of the train that speeds towards the camera, probably unnerving audiences), and much of this master comedian's propensity for entertaining chases.
Dir: Buster Keaton, Malcolm St Clair
Stars: Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts
THE GOD WHO WASN’T THERE
2005
*
Documentary examining the possibility that Jesus may not have existed, and criticising other aspects of Christianity.
A minor endeavour but not a worthless one: many intelligent points are made and it’s not boring – pity it’s not lengthier and more professional. Some of the extras on the DVD are worth watching, particularly the interviews, especially the Sam Harris one.
Dir/Narrator: Brian Flemming
THE GOD WHO WASN’T THERE
2005
*
Documentary examining the possibility that Jesus may not have existed, and criticising other aspects of Christianity.
A minor endeavour but not a worthless one: many intelligent points are made and it’s not boring – pity it’s not lengthier and more professional. Some of the extras on the DVD are worth watching, particularly the interviews, especially the Sam Harris one.
Dir/Narrator: Brian Flemming
THE GODDESS
1934
***
A prostitute faces discrimination when she tries to get her young son an education.
One of the masterworks of early Chinese cinema, this eloquent and measured drama posits a tale that will make most viewers sympathise with the lady, judging her treatment unjust. The film doesn't feel dated, with excellent acting and photography helping.
Dir: Yonggang Wu
Stars: Lingyu Ruan, Tian Jian, Zhizhi Zhang
THE GODFATHER
1972
****
The Mafia's New York head is faced with murderous rivalry from other gangster families.
Imperious gangster epic, the daddy of them all. Number one on the imdb's list of top movies for many years, it draws the viewer into its world of home and homicide through its fearless assembly of masterful, magnificent sequences peopled by a cast born to play their roles.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire
THE GODFATHER: PART II
1974
****
Michael Corleone expands his crime syndicate to take in an ever wider area.
At 200 minutes, an even lengthier epic than before, but barely less spellbinding - every sequence bears a distinct mark of cool quality, and the story is as Shakespearean and weighty as could be, full of richness and depth. The dual time period narrative can be seen as a blessing or a curse but what’s most important is that is a film about life and how difficult it is, and becomes more fascinating with each viewing.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Talia Shire
THE GODFATHER: PART III
1991
**
Aging Mafia don Michael Corleone attempts to legitimise his business dealings.
Absorbing final chapter in the trilogy, a worthy addition despite a couple of unsatisfactory performances and some confusing passages.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola
THE GODFATHER
1972
****
The Mafia's New York head is faced with murderous rivalry from other gangster families.
Imperious gangster epic, the daddy of them all. Number one on the imdb's list of top movies for many years, it draws the viewer into its world of home and homicide through its fearless assembly of masterful, magnificent sequences peopled by a cast born to play their roles.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire
THE GODFATHER: PART II
1974
****
Michael Corleone expands his crime syndicate to take in an ever wider area.
At 200 minutes, an even lengthier epic than before, but barely less spellbinding - every sequence bears a distinct mark of cool quality, and the story is as Shakespearean and weighty as could be, full of richness and depth. The dual time period narrative can be seen as a blessing or a curse but what’s most important is that is a film about life and how difficult it is, and becomes more fascinating with each viewing.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Talia Shire
THE GODFATHER: PART III
1991
**
Aging Mafia don Michael Corleone attempts to legitimise his business dealings.
Absorbing final chapter in the trilogy, a worthy addition despite a couple of unsatisfactory performances and some confusing passages.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola
THE GODFATHERS OF MONDO
2003 (V)
**
Documentary about Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, the Italian filmmakers who gave the world the likes of Mondo Cane, Africa Addio and Goodbye Uncle Tom.
For mondo devotees, this is essential stuff, featuring the two talkative chaps looking back at their most famous and infamous moments, with plenty of footage from their movies: it makes you want to revisit them, usually the measure of success. The gents prove to be intelligent and wise people, and their influence on cinema is undeniable.
Dir: David Gregory
GODS AND MONSTERS
1998
*
A fictionalised version of the last days of Frankenstein director James Whale.
Most of the beats you expect to be hit are hit in this well made drama that flashes back to the First World War and the making of Bride Of Frankenstein (with clips of the actual film too). Not massively exciting but literate and refined.
Dir: Bill Condon
Stars: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave
THE GODSEND
1980
0
A family take in an orphan girl who appears to have demonic powers.
Downbeat, unexplained horror (why does this all happen?) which lacks the grisly set pieces of its inspiration, The Omen.
Dir: Gabrielle Beaumont
Stars: Cyd Hayman, Malcolm Stoddard, Angela Pleasence, Patrick Barr
GODZILLA
1954
*
Nuclear weapons testing creates a giant creature that attacks Tokyo.
The very first film to feature the monster that became enormously popular, especially in Japan, is very different to most of its successors, much more dour and serious, well shot in black and white, which helps make Godzilla's attacks look more convincing than they might be. The action when it comes it quite fun, but despite efforts to promote the human angle it doesn't particularly compel as a human interest story - still, you can even now fully understand why Japanese audiences were shocked and impressed by it. There was an American version of the film that was a re-edit with added Raymond Burr.
Dir: Ishiro Honda
Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada
GODZILLA VS GIGAN
1971
0
Godzilla and Anguiris battle amusement park monsters taken over by aliens.
One of the very worst Godzilla films, so just imagine how bad it must be. The monsters talk to each other.
Dir: Jun Fukuda
Stars: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi
GODZILLA VS MEGALON
1973
0
Villains who lurk under the sea send Megalon to destroy the world, so Godzilla has to step in.
Brainless nonsense, a scream to watch.
Dir: Jun Fukuda
Stars: Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase
GOG
1954
0
A scientific establishment is beset by a number of tragic 'accidents'.
It eventually reaches a busy conclusion - Fifties robots are almost always fantastic - but it's preceded by much plodding: a chunk of it is like an educational 'tour of the lab' film. Shame, because the script is quite thoughtful (is there a seed of 2001 in it?), the restored colour is lovely and those acrobats in it deserved better.
Dir: Herbert L Strock
Stars: Richard Egan, Herbert Marshall, Constance Dowling
GOING BYE BYE
1934
**
Stan and Ollie are forced to leave town when a tough swears he will ring their necks.
Predictable but enjoyable comedy which starts with Stan's hilarious enquiry ('Aren't you going to hang him?') and ends with one of their more bizarre and grotesque climaxes.
Dir: Charley Rogers
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Walter Long
GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF
2015
***
Documentary about the Scientology 'religion' and its many sinister practices.
Devastating critique of an organisation that is little more than an insidious cult run by dysfunctional lunatics who put money over morals and go to extreme lengths to silence those who oppose them. This film builds a compelling case for ending its tax-free status and for the FBI to investigate its many terrible actions; it's also a gripping watch.
Dir: Alex Gibney
GOING MY WAY
1944
*
A new priest shows an old priest the way to happiness.
Determinedly anodyne fare almost bereft of dramatic incident, a very light and loose diversion.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Stars: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Gene Lockhart
GOLD
1974
*
Unscrupulous owners of a gold mine plan to flood it to make a killing on the international market.
Meaty thriller with a decent cast.
Dir: Peter R Hunt
Stars: Roger Moore, Susannah York, Ray Milland, John Gielgud
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
1933
***
A rich composer helps with the Depression by putting a Broadway musical on.
Rather splendid example of an old-fashioned Hollywood song and dance spectacular, full of rousing, saucy numbers.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers
GOLD OF THE AMAZON WOMEN
1979 (TV)
0
An adventurer searches for the fabled Golden Cities of El Dorado but has competition from a murderous villain.
Hopeless adventure story: the action, when it comes, is pretty feeble.
Dir: Mark L Lester
Stars: Bo Svenson, Anita Ekberg, Donald Pleasence
THE GOLD RUSH
1925
**
A gold prospector seeks his fortune and falls in love.
Chaplin at his deftest, this is his nimbly made tale of the search for happiness, although he still appears more funny peculiar than funny ha ha to this critic.
Dir: Charles Chaplin
Stars: Charles Chaplin, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain
THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY
1957
****
Compilation of silent comedies, including a good slice of Laurel and Hardy material; Two Tars, We Faw Down and The Battle Of The Century are among those featured.
A film which can be thanked for reviving interest in the work of Stan and Ollie, as well as preserving much valuable footage. The commentary may not be to everyone's taste but it does help engender affection towards the laugh-makers of yesteryear. Youngson would go on to compile several more similar features (all qv), but this first one is perhaps the best.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrators: Dwight Weist, Ward Wilson. Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Will Rogers, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy
THE GOLDEN CHILD
1987
0
A private detective is charged with finding a special child who is sought by mysterious forces.
Silly fantasy comedy which provides not one genuine laugh.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, J L Reate
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
2007
*
In a world where each person has a ‘daemon’, a small creature that stays with them at all times, a girl goes on a quest to find two friends who have been kidnapped.
You’d think the market for films about other worlds with funny talking creatures had reached saturation point, but here we go on another fantastic journey: the special effects are marvellous and convey the sense of a different place, but the picture lacks a strong, individual personality and leaves itself in danger of looking very silly if the hoped for sequels aren’t made, as it ends at an unsatisfactory juncture. Stars like Craig, Green and Lee are barely in it and there is a general sense that the source material has been severely condensed.
Dir: Chris Weitz
Stars: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, Eva Green, Derek Jacobi, Christopher Lee, Edward de Souza
THE GOLDEN LADY
1979
0
Female secret agents investigate dodgy foreign businessmen.
Boring and unfathomable low budget spy thriller; particularly odd moments include disco dancing numbers and a walk-on from James Bond's Q.
Dir: Jose Ramon Laraz
Stars: Suzanne Danielle, Ava Cadell, Desmond Llewelyn, Patrick Newell
THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD
1973
*
Sinbad is pursued by an evil sorcerer for a golden tablet.
Nifty fantasy enlivened by Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion monsters.
Dir: Gordon Hessler
Stars: John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, Tom Baker, Martin Shaw
GOLDENEYE
1989 (TV)
0
The life of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Budget biography that's pretty dull even during the wartime exploits; Bond nuts may enjoy the occasional nods to the films and books, but no one is likely to be too enamoured by Fellowes' Noel Coward. It's amusing to see future Blofeld Christoph Waltz turn up as a German spy.
Dir: Don Boyd
Stars: Charles Dance, Phyllis Logan, Julian Fellowes, Patrick Ryecart
GOLDENEYE
1995
*
James Bond attempts to stop the hijacking of a weapon that can do untold damage.
Mildly disappointing return for Bond after six years away, this effort seems a little short on action and has few original ideas, but made a mint at the box office and paved the way for three more successful Brosnan 007 escapades. It's not one to hugely warm to, perhaps partly because of many grey and cold locations, partly due to the fact that for the first time in the series there are vague apologies for what the franchise is, with small doses of angst and reflection, and too much exposition rather than visceral excitement. On the plus side there's Janssen as Xenia Onatopp (on the minus side there's the dreadful end credits song).
Dir: Martin Campbell
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Izabella Scorupco, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Desmond Llewelyn
GOLDFINGER
1964
***
James Bond discovers a plan to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserves.
One the finest Bonds: Connery is probably at his peak, Blackman is among the most memorable of the girls, the highlights (Eaton painted gold, Oddjob and his bowler hat, 007's close shave with a laser beam) are iconic and the production as a whole is bright and bustling. It also features the best car of them all.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Stars: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Get Frobe, Shirley Eaton, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, Harold Sakata, Burt Kwouk
THE GOLEM
1920
**
A rabbi makes a huge man of clay to defend his people from persecution.
Primitive but effective horror said to be an influence on Universal’s Frankenstein series, but less layered and emotive than those films.
Dir: Paul Wegener, Carl Boese
Stars: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinruck, Ernst Deutsch
GONE GIRL
2014
***
A media circus ensues when a man's wife goes missing and he becomes a murder suspect.
Another sterling achievement by the director, this long and winding thriller grips early on and only ramps up your attentiveness as it goes; the twists of a twisted tale make us confront our expectations, and we become like the film's gaping bystanders being fattened by the fervent media. Fine cinematography, score and performances are all present and correct.
Dir: David Fincher
Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Neil Patrick Harris, Kim Dickens
GONKS GO BEAT
1965
0
An alien is told to stop communities of Beatland and Balladisle warring with each other.
Someone somewhere in one sliver of time thought this film - a cheap, tedious and overlong slice of bizarreness with barely a decent song in it – would be a good idea; you simply can’t imagine anyone nowadays sitting down and watching it from beginning to end.
Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis
Stars: Kenneth Connor, Frank Thornton, Pamela Brown, Terry Scott
GOOD AGAINST EVIL
1977 (TV)
0
A writer teams up with an exorcist to battle devil worshippers.
Exorcist duplicate that's as pedestrian as its title.
Dir: Paul Wendkos
Stars: Dack Rambo, Dan O'Herlihy
THE GOOD DINOSAUR
2015
**
In a world where the dinosaurs survived, one youngster gets lost and has to find his way home with the aid of a small human boy.
Pixar's unprecedented second film in a year isn't as sublime as the other one (Inside Out, qv), but it's still a pleasure to have around: the simple plot allows the studio to exhibit all sorts of wondrous visuals and although it is simple, it's full of scares and sadness and happiness - perfect for the young audience that will mainly see it. Teaching lessons about the importance of family, it's also refreshingly free of brashness, loud contemporary music and overly frenzied action. The short that precedes it, Sanjay's Super Team, has its qualities too.
Dir: Peter Sohn
Voices: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand
THE GOOD EARTH
1937
**
The life of a Chinese farm worker who marries and later comes into wealth.
Prestige Hollywood blockbuster of its day, pretty well done; the modern viewer can be forgiven for occasionally tuning out but the locust attack near the end still commands attention and must have stunned audiences back in the day. It's annoying that Rainer's character is so mopey, but that's sort of the point.
Dir: Sidney Franklin
Stars: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly
GOOD LUCK CHUCK
2007
0
A man is hexed so the women he sleeps with fall in love with the next man they meet.
Horrible comedy that becomes more imbecilic at every plot turn.
Dir: Mark Helfrich
Stars: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler
GOOD MORNING BOYS
1937
**
A schoolteacher and his pupils visit Paris where they outwit a gang of crooks.
One of the cinema's all-time comedy greats in his best part; a bubbly comedy which still tickles the ribs today.
Dir: Marcel Varnel
Stars: Will Hay, Graham Moffatt, Charles Hawtrey, Martita Hunt
GODS AND MONSTERS
1998
*
A fictionalised version of the last days of Frankenstein director James Whale.
Most of the beats you expect to be hit are hit in this well made drama that flashes back to the First World War and the making of Bride Of Frankenstein (with clips of the actual film too). Not massively exciting but literate and refined.
Dir: Bill Condon
Stars: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave
THE GODSEND
1980
0
A family take in an orphan girl who appears to have demonic powers.
Downbeat, unexplained horror (why does this all happen?) which lacks the grisly set pieces of its inspiration, The Omen.
Dir: Gabrielle Beaumont
Stars: Cyd Hayman, Malcolm Stoddard, Angela Pleasence, Patrick Barr
GODZILLA
1954
*
Nuclear weapons testing creates a giant creature that attacks Tokyo.
The very first film to feature the monster that became enormously popular, especially in Japan, is very different to most of its successors, much more dour and serious, well shot in black and white, which helps make Godzilla's attacks look more convincing than they might be. The action when it comes it quite fun, but despite efforts to promote the human angle it doesn't particularly compel as a human interest story - still, you can even now fully understand why Japanese audiences were shocked and impressed by it. There was an American version of the film that was a re-edit with added Raymond Burr.
Dir: Ishiro Honda
Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada
GODZILLA VS GIGAN
1971
0
Godzilla and Anguiris battle amusement park monsters taken over by aliens.
One of the very worst Godzilla films, so just imagine how bad it must be. The monsters talk to each other.
Dir: Jun Fukuda
Stars: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi
GODZILLA VS MEGALON
1973
0
Villains who lurk under the sea send Megalon to destroy the world, so Godzilla has to step in.
Brainless nonsense, a scream to watch.
Dir: Jun Fukuda
Stars: Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase
GOG
1954
0
A scientific establishment is beset by a number of tragic 'accidents'.
It eventually reaches a busy conclusion - Fifties robots are almost always fantastic - but it's preceded by much plodding: a chunk of it is like an educational 'tour of the lab' film. Shame, because the script is quite thoughtful (is there a seed of 2001 in it?), the restored colour is lovely and those acrobats in it deserved better.
Dir: Herbert L Strock
Stars: Richard Egan, Herbert Marshall, Constance Dowling
GOING BYE BYE
1934
**
Stan and Ollie are forced to leave town when a tough swears he will ring their necks.
Predictable but enjoyable comedy which starts with Stan's hilarious enquiry ('Aren't you going to hang him?') and ends with one of their more bizarre and grotesque climaxes.
Dir: Charley Rogers
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Walter Long
GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF
2015
***
Documentary about the Scientology 'religion' and its many sinister practices.
Devastating critique of an organisation that is little more than an insidious cult run by dysfunctional lunatics who put money over morals and go to extreme lengths to silence those who oppose them. This film builds a compelling case for ending its tax-free status and for the FBI to investigate its many terrible actions; it's also a gripping watch.
Dir: Alex Gibney
GOING MY WAY
1944
*
A new priest shows an old priest the way to happiness.
Determinedly anodyne fare almost bereft of dramatic incident, a very light and loose diversion.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Stars: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Gene Lockhart
GOLD
1974
*
Unscrupulous owners of a gold mine plan to flood it to make a killing on the international market.
Meaty thriller with a decent cast.
Dir: Peter R Hunt
Stars: Roger Moore, Susannah York, Ray Milland, John Gielgud
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
1933
***
A rich composer helps with the Depression by putting a Broadway musical on.
Rather splendid example of an old-fashioned Hollywood song and dance spectacular, full of rousing, saucy numbers.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers
GOLD OF THE AMAZON WOMEN
1979 (TV)
0
An adventurer searches for the fabled Golden Cities of El Dorado but has competition from a murderous villain.
Hopeless adventure story: the action, when it comes, is pretty feeble.
Dir: Mark L Lester
Stars: Bo Svenson, Anita Ekberg, Donald Pleasence
THE GOLD RUSH
1925
**
A gold prospector seeks his fortune and falls in love.
Chaplin at his deftest, this is his nimbly made tale of the search for happiness, although he still appears more funny peculiar than funny ha ha to this critic.
Dir: Charles Chaplin
Stars: Charles Chaplin, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain
THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY
1957
****
Compilation of silent comedies, including a good slice of Laurel and Hardy material; Two Tars, We Faw Down and The Battle Of The Century are among those featured.
A film which can be thanked for reviving interest in the work of Stan and Ollie, as well as preserving much valuable footage. The commentary may not be to everyone's taste but it does help engender affection towards the laugh-makers of yesteryear. Youngson would go on to compile several more similar features (all qv), but this first one is perhaps the best.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrators: Dwight Weist, Ward Wilson. Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Will Rogers, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy
THE GOLDEN CHILD
1987
0
A private detective is charged with finding a special child who is sought by mysterious forces.
Silly fantasy comedy which provides not one genuine laugh.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, J L Reate
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
2007
*
In a world where each person has a ‘daemon’, a small creature that stays with them at all times, a girl goes on a quest to find two friends who have been kidnapped.
You’d think the market for films about other worlds with funny talking creatures had reached saturation point, but here we go on another fantastic journey: the special effects are marvellous and convey the sense of a different place, but the picture lacks a strong, individual personality and leaves itself in danger of looking very silly if the hoped for sequels aren’t made, as it ends at an unsatisfactory juncture. Stars like Craig, Green and Lee are barely in it and there is a general sense that the source material has been severely condensed.
Dir: Chris Weitz
Stars: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, Eva Green, Derek Jacobi, Christopher Lee, Edward de Souza
THE GOLDEN LADY
1979
0
Female secret agents investigate dodgy foreign businessmen.
Boring and unfathomable low budget spy thriller; particularly odd moments include disco dancing numbers and a walk-on from James Bond's Q.
Dir: Jose Ramon Laraz
Stars: Suzanne Danielle, Ava Cadell, Desmond Llewelyn, Patrick Newell
THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD
1973
*
Sinbad is pursued by an evil sorcerer for a golden tablet.
Nifty fantasy enlivened by Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion monsters.
Dir: Gordon Hessler
Stars: John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, Tom Baker, Martin Shaw
GOLDENEYE
1989 (TV)
0
The life of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Budget biography that's pretty dull even during the wartime exploits; Bond nuts may enjoy the occasional nods to the films and books, but no one is likely to be too enamoured by Fellowes' Noel Coward. It's amusing to see future Blofeld Christoph Waltz turn up as a German spy.
Dir: Don Boyd
Stars: Charles Dance, Phyllis Logan, Julian Fellowes, Patrick Ryecart
GOLDENEYE
1995
*
James Bond attempts to stop the hijacking of a weapon that can do untold damage.
Mildly disappointing return for Bond after six years away, this effort seems a little short on action and has few original ideas, but made a mint at the box office and paved the way for three more successful Brosnan 007 escapades. It's not one to hugely warm to, perhaps partly because of many grey and cold locations, partly due to the fact that for the first time in the series there are vague apologies for what the franchise is, with small doses of angst and reflection, and too much exposition rather than visceral excitement. On the plus side there's Janssen as Xenia Onatopp (on the minus side there's the dreadful end credits song).
Dir: Martin Campbell
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Izabella Scorupco, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Desmond Llewelyn
GOLDFINGER
1964
***
James Bond discovers a plan to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserves.
One the finest Bonds: Connery is probably at his peak, Blackman is among the most memorable of the girls, the highlights (Eaton painted gold, Oddjob and his bowler hat, 007's close shave with a laser beam) are iconic and the production as a whole is bright and bustling. It also features the best car of them all.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Stars: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Get Frobe, Shirley Eaton, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, Harold Sakata, Burt Kwouk
THE GOLEM
1920
**
A rabbi makes a huge man of clay to defend his people from persecution.
Primitive but effective horror said to be an influence on Universal’s Frankenstein series, but less layered and emotive than those films.
Dir: Paul Wegener, Carl Boese
Stars: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinruck, Ernst Deutsch
GONE GIRL
2014
***
A media circus ensues when a man's wife goes missing and he becomes a murder suspect.
Another sterling achievement by the director, this long and winding thriller grips early on and only ramps up your attentiveness as it goes; the twists of a twisted tale make us confront our expectations, and we become like the film's gaping bystanders being fattened by the fervent media. Fine cinematography, score and performances are all present and correct.
Dir: David Fincher
Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Neil Patrick Harris, Kim Dickens
GONE WITH THE WIND
1939
****
During the time of the American Civil War, a manipulative woman and a roguish man have a passionate love affair.
The most famous romantic saga of them all and one of Hollywood's grandest and most opulent spectaculars, this stirring movie's longevity can be put down to its barnstorming lead performances and the way it fits an emotional story of rich characters into a larger one of historical import, not to mention its impeccable production (the cinematography - that redness! - is especially breathtaking). Leigh electrifies the screen with her beauty and vivaciousness, while her character is one of the most fascinating and complex female characters ever put on screen. No wonder patrons flocked to this magnificent film which was stratospherically superior in so many respects to almost any other they had seen to this point.
Dir: Victor Fleming
Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel
GONKS GO BEAT
1965
0
An alien is told to stop communities of Beatland and Balladisle warring with each other.
Someone somewhere in one sliver of time thought this film - a cheap, tedious and overlong slice of bizarreness with barely a decent song in it – would be a good idea; you simply can’t imagine anyone nowadays sitting down and watching it from beginning to end.
Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis
Stars: Kenneth Connor, Frank Thornton, Pamela Brown, Terry Scott
GOOD AGAINST EVIL
1977 (TV)
0
A writer teams up with an exorcist to battle devil worshippers.
Exorcist duplicate that's as pedestrian as its title.
Dir: Paul Wendkos
Stars: Dack Rambo, Dan O'Herlihy
THE GOOD DINOSAUR
2015
**
In a world where the dinosaurs survived, one youngster gets lost and has to find his way home with the aid of a small human boy.
Pixar's unprecedented second film in a year isn't as sublime as the other one (Inside Out, qv), but it's still a pleasure to have around: the simple plot allows the studio to exhibit all sorts of wondrous visuals and although it is simple, it's full of scares and sadness and happiness - perfect for the young audience that will mainly see it. Teaching lessons about the importance of family, it's also refreshingly free of brashness, loud contemporary music and overly frenzied action. The short that precedes it, Sanjay's Super Team, has its qualities too.
Dir: Peter Sohn
Voices: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand
THE GOOD EARTH
1937
**
The life of a Chinese farm worker who marries and later comes into wealth.
Prestige Hollywood blockbuster of its day, pretty well done; the modern viewer can be forgiven for occasionally tuning out but the locust attack near the end still commands attention and must have stunned audiences back in the day. It's annoying that Rainer's character is so mopey, but that's sort of the point.
Dir: Sidney Franklin
Stars: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly
GOOD LUCK CHUCK
2007
0
A man is hexed so the women he sleeps with fall in love with the next man they meet.
Horrible comedy that becomes more imbecilic at every plot turn.
Dir: Mark Helfrich
Stars: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler
GOOD MORNING BOYS
1937
**
A schoolteacher and his pupils visit Paris where they outwit a gang of crooks.
One of the cinema's all-time comedy greats in his best part; a bubbly comedy which still tickles the ribs today.
Dir: Marcel Varnel
Stars: Will Hay, Graham Moffatt, Charles Hawtrey, Martita Hunt
GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM
1987
*
In 1965 Vietnam, a new DJ entertains the troops.
Essentially a vehicle for Williams to do his thing - and his act is something of an acquired taste, while the film as a whole is too: those with little interest in what American soldiers got up to in Vietnam may not be greatly drawn in, although it's a slickly made, albeit contrived, comic drama.
Dir: Barry Levinson
Stars: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tom T Tran, Bruno Kirby
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
2005
*
A CBS broadcaster attempts to bring down communist hunting senator Joseph McCarthy.
A crisp bit of moviemaking, shot in gleaming black and white, and boasting a fine, controlled performance from Strathairn; it makes valid points about the value of good journalism and good television, but doesn't quite flow as an engaging drama - perhaps it's too humble in its ambitions, and restricted in its setting. The inclusion of original footage feels a bit different, and there's a fair bit of it - but is it too short overall?
Dir: George Clooney
Stars: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella, Jeff Daniels
GOOD OL' FREDA
2013
*
Documentary featuring the reminiscences of Freda Kelly, who was the Beatles' secretary for their entire lifespan.
A pleasant journey through the memories of a hardy, if peripheral, Beatles figure, a very nice woman who has always been faithful to the band and never spilt secrets. Anecdotes of the earlier days are best, including details about Beatles family members, but it dissolves after Epstein's death and wraps up the group's last three years in five minutes; it's not without worth but minor, and the use of songs by other artists sometimes feels incongruous (there are four Fabs songs though).
Dir: Ryan White
THE GOOD OLD NAUGHTY DAYS
2002
*
A collection of short pornographic films from the early twentieth century.
It’s a shame that the ‘director’ seems not to have done much more than assemble the clips on show here, as a little informed comment might have been welcome. As it is, the shorts are often eye-openers, with lesbianism, homosexuality and bestiality on show, often in the same scene, but well before the hour mark you get a bit fidgety. It definitely has some value as a social and sexual document though, even if porn can hardly be said to accurately reflect everyday life.
Dir: Michel Reilhac
THE GOOD SON
1993
*
A boy goes to stay with his extended family, who suspect him of being psychotic.
Painless thriller on predictable but entertaining lines. It was banned in Britain for a short time amid much silly hysteria.
Dir: Joseph Ruben
Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, David Morse
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
1966
****
At the time of the American Civil War, three gunmen set out to find a hidden fortune.
Brilliant, idiosyncratic, sprawling spaghetti western, the finest of its genre, with wonderfully outrageous action set-pieces (that climax!) and the greatest movie score ever written. The main actors, whose features are wonderfully captured by the camera and sometimes have flies crawling on them, adding to the authenticity, are just one aspect of its perfection - the widescreen cinematography is glorious, the story strong and straightforward, the whole experience one of total immersion: it's a film made by men, for men, and it's a sweaty, violent, funny, thrilling classic.
Dir: Sergio Leone
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach
GOOD TIME
2017
**
A bank robber has a bad time after his and his brother's attempted robbery goes wrong.
Frenetic thriller that takes the viewer through the seamier side of city life, which may not be pleasant but does show off a propellant cinematic technique that the director brothers would hone further in Uncut Gems (qv). It's exhausting but stylish - which seems to be their motif.
Dir: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Buddy Duress, Jennifer Jason Leigh
GOOD VIBRATIONS
2012
**
The story of Terri Hooley, who helped punk rock bloom in Belfast in the time of The Troubles.
A fairly slight, small-scale biography that can easily be forgiven for doing all of the things music biographies always do (cramped vans to gigs, substance abuse, contrived highs and lows) because the violent Belfast milieu gives it an edge and it's broadly positive in its portrayal of a (flawed) man who kept on going despite the obstacles placed in front of him. Some of the music, particularly The Undertones, is a bonus. It may overstate the importance of its various elements, but it still makes you want to visit the Good Vibrations shop - except it's now closed again.
Dir: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
Stars: Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker, Adrian Dunbar
GOOD WILL HUNTING
1997
*
A maths genius working as a janitor is encouraged by a therapist to develop himself.
Never mind the dreadful punning title, this frequently praised but deeply unconvincing drama falters at almost every turn: the story is trite and predictable, the obscenity-laden dialogue is off-putting, the characters are all unsympathetic and its ‘angry people shouting at each other’ vibe is just platitudinal Hollywood dramatics. At least they didn’t give it the Oscar for Best Film.
Dir: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgard, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
2017
**
A shell-shocked AA Milne writes the Winnie the Pooh stories as a way to get on with his young son.
An imperfect but endearing film which illustrates how difficult it can be to be a good parent, even if you're wealthy and intelligent, and how children can be damaged by their childhood. What's a little perplexing is how lightly it paints in Robbie's Daphne character and why it gives so little time to the school bullying; but after a mid-section that borders on the anodyne - though likely to have appeal to fans of the Pooh books - it finishes with an emotional double-twist that packs a punch.
Dir: Simon Curtis
Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Will Tilston, Kelly Macdonald
GOODBYE GEMINI
1970
0
A strange pair of mixed sex twins come to London and get involved in blackmail and murder.
Wearisome weirdness with little in the way of decent plot.
Dir: Alan Gibson
Stars: Judy Geeson, Martin Potter, Alexis Kanner, Michael Redgrave, Freddie Jones, Peter Jeffrey
THE GOODBYE GIRL
1977
*
An actor moves into a flat with a mother whose thespian boyfriend has recently walked out on her.
Most Neil Simon has faded somewhat and this is no exception, but it's pleasant enough in its own predictable way; the performances help although just a few years later Hollywood would have cast someone a lot more glamorous than Mason in that part.
Dir: Herbert Ross
Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, Paul Benedict
GOODBYE MR CHIPS
1939
****
An aged teacher at a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the years.
A deeply touching and tear-jerking film, which has Chips see his pupils come and go and eventually head off to war to be slaughtered, all while ageing himself in poignant and convincing fashion. Donat's brilliant performance is the icing on the cake, and it's also a valuable historical record of the English public school system.
Dir: Sam Wood
Stars: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, Paul Henreid, John Mills
GOODFELLAS
1990
****
A young man sets his sights on being a gangster and works his way up through the ranks.
Scorsese's most accomplished film is cinema at its most riveting, full of gobsmacking and very strong violence, driven by an incredibly powerful narrative. Pesci's venomous performance is priceless.
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino
THE GOONIES
1985
*
A group of children embark on a lively adventure after finding a pirate treasure map.
Unlovely junior adventure a bit like a modernised, Americanised Secret Seven story, with horrible kids who do nothing but shout at the same time.
Dir: Richard Donner
Stars: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman
THE GOOSE STEPS OUT
1942
*
A teacher who is the spitting image of a German general is given the task of impersonating him.
Enjoyable star vehicle with Hay's usual combination of plays on words and manic comic knockabout, including a long climactic sequence in a plane. It's more polished than his earlier efforts but at the same time perhaps not quite as likeable - though wartime audiences lapped up its mocking of Germany.
Dir: Basil Dearden, Will Hay
Stars: Will Hay, Charles Hawtrey, Barry Morse, Frank Pettingell, Peter Ustinov
THE GORE GORE GIRLS
1972
0
A reporter and a private eye attempt to discover who is killing a nightclub’s strippers.
Hopelessly inept in every respect, this pitiful horror offers up death by meat tenderiser, steam iron, boiling chip fat and more; only blind devotees of the director will give it time of day. Even the strippers’ routines are mind-numbing.
Dir: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Stars: Frank Kress, Amy Farrell, Hedda Lubin, Henry Youngman
GORGO
1961
0
A monster is captured and taken to London. Its bigger mother comes to get him...
King Kong-inspired fun for kids only.
Dir: Eugene Lourie
Stars: Bill Travers, William Sylvester, Vincent Winter
THE GORGON
1964
*
Medusa stalks a village by night, turning the inhabitants to stone.
The idea is daft, there's too much chat and the Gorgon's snakes look very fake but this Hammer mystery is not without its familiar pleasures, including the star pairing. Overall, though, it’s a rather pedestrian, stagey effort from the famous studio.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, Patrick Troughton
THE GORILLA
1939
0
Investigators search a mansion for a criminal known as The Gorilla, but a real primate turns up.
Creaky horror comedy which now looks pretty immature.
Dir: Allan Dwan
Stars: Jimmy Ritz, Harry Ritz, Al Ritz, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi
GOSFORD PARK
2001
*
At a lavish mansion party in 1932, a killer spoils the fun.
Sprawling drama which manages to turn a potentially enticing scenario into a grey, miserablist whine tailored for a silly amount of name actors.
Dir: Robert Altman
Stars: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles Dance, Bob Balaban, Ryan Phillippe, Alan Bates, Stephen Fry, Richard E Grant, Emily Watson, Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald
GOT IT MADE
1974
*
A soon to be married woman increasingly has doubts.
Curious, slow, vaguely elegiac drama which benefits from extensive location shooting in Norwich and London (the bluey-black shots of the Westway are particularly evocative). Not without intelligence, but probably too ponderous for general audiences, it foreshadows the director’s next film, Exposé, with its stylistic quirks and brief erotic moments.
Dir: James Kenelm Clarke
Stars: Lalla Ward, Michael Latimer, Katya Wyeth, Douglas Lambert
GOTHIC
1986
0
Byron, Shelley and Mary Shelley gather in a dark house; Mary happens upon the idea of writing Frankenstein.
Minority-interest fantasy which quickly goes overboard, cursed as it is with this director's usual grotesque images and wild occurrences.
Dir: Ken Russell
Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Timothy Spall
GOYA'S GHOSTS
2006
*
The painter Goya attempts to save one of his models from the Spanish Inquisition.
Handsome, shapeless historical drama with a curious focus; it doesn't achieve much but there are good scenes along the way (the torture dinner is one such scene).
Dir: Milos Forman
Stars: Stellan Skarsgard, Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, Randy Quaid, Michael Lonsdale
THE GRADUATE
1967
***
A young graduate is seduced by a much older woman.
Classic sex comedy, one of the most significant American films of the late Sixties, just as fresh today thanks to its quirky, stylish photography, immaculately played scenes with wonderful comic timing, and its Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack (it's a shame there aren't more of their songs). Something of a high point for many involved.
Dir: Mike Nichols
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, Murray Hamilton
GRADUATION DAY
1981
0
Former members of a college sports team are being butchered.
Lame, barely coherent slasher flick with all manner of unwanted interludes, including slow-motion sports action and long musical performances; it also has three endings when one would have been sufficient.
Dir: Herb Freed
Stars: Christopher George, Patch Mackenzie, Michael Pataki
GRAN TORINO
2008
**
A grizzled war veteran stands up against the gang terrorising his ethnic neighbours.
You expect this to turn into a bloody vigilante drama but that doesn’t quite happen, as it chooses to offer us dark chuckles and life lessons; it’s worth watching but a little simplistic, at times absurd and gives the church too easy a ride.
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
2014
*
In Thirties Europe, a hotel concierge gets into an adventure involving a rich dead woman and a valuable painting.
A film that's exactly as you expect it to be, given knowledge of the director, and that means pervasive archness, over-stylised action, and actors, many of whom look drugged, spouting dialogue like they've just swallowed archaic textbooks - but with a few incongruous expletives thrown in. The air of fakery and non-genuine intent means that it feels like Anderson is indulging in a private joke, and its many irritations include the character of Zero, who appears to change race and age too much given the two actors playing him. As ever with this helmsman, the compensations are mainly visual - it's undeniably very pretty.
Dir: Wes Anderson
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Mathieu Amalric, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray
GRAND HOTEL
1932
**
Various lives entwine at a sumptuous Berlin hotel.
Lavish multi-personality melodrama of its day, faded in a nice way (though Garbo's performance has not lasted well), its soapy dramatics still hold the attention, even if there's not much beneath the surface.
Dir: Edmund Goulding
Stars: John Barrymore, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore
LA GRANDE ILLUSION
1937
**
During World War 1, two French soldiers are captured by the Germans.
Esteemed tragic war drama based on fact, masterfully acted and directed.
Dir: Jean Renoir
Stars: Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Jean Gabin
GRANDMA
2015
*
A lesbian grandmother helps her granddaughter raise the money for an abortion.
A showcase for the lead actress to grab the attention, this slightly tasteless drama, set over one day, has energy but is undermined by its sourness.
Dir: Paul Weitz
Stars: Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer
GRANDMA’S BOY
1922
*
A meek and mild country boy finds the courage to capture a vicious tramp.
Moderate, predictable star comedy whose liveliest sequences arrive when Harold combats the vagrant.
Dir: Fred C Newmeyer
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis
THE GRAPES OF DEATH
1978
0
A pesticide used in the making of wine causes people to turn into zombies.
Even by this director's standards, a very flimsy horror which struggles to keep the attention. Stick to beer.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Marie-Georges Pascal, Felix Marten, Serge Marquand
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
1940
***
A dispossessed family head to California in search of a better life.
Lyrical, poignant and richly detailed adaptation of Steinbeck's novel; its message of social injustice remains poignant.
Dir: John Ford
Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
GRAVE MISDEMEANOURS
1989
0
School bullies come back from the grave to further torment a classmate.
Unpleasant rubbish, neither funny nor thrilling.
Dir: David Acomba
Stars: Scott Grimes, John Astin, Cheryl Pollak
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
1988
*
In 1945, after their mother is killed in an air raid, a boy and his sister attempt to survive alone.
A simple, slight tale with unremarkable animation that comes good because it quietly builds to an emotional pay off.
Dir: Isao Takahata
Voices (English version): J Robert Spencer, Rhoda Chrosite
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
1986
0
A vampire works as a taxi driver to seek out fresh female blood.
Trendy shocker which soon becomes a drag.
Dir: Jerry Ciccoritti
Stars: Michael A Miranda, Helen Papas
GRAVEYARD SHIFT 2
1988
0
A vampire appears on the set of a film about vampires.
Inferior sequel with little to get the teeth into.
Dir: Jerry Ciccoritti
Stars: Wendy Gazelle, Mark Soper
GRAVITY
2013
**
Two astronauts working in space run into trouble thanks to Russian space debris.
There's simply no other film quite like this one, and how it was shot is bamboozling (the inevitable Making Of may be an even better watch then the movie itself): the actors, frequently shot in very long takes, glide around space in tango with the camera, and the special effects - the debris storms and so forth - are truly dazzling. Certain scenes, like when Bullock cries in zero gravity, and when she removes her space suit to be 'reborn', are inspired. The story has its moments too, but it's a shame we don't feel a little more for the characters, and the lack of variety in the scenario does eventually show, despite a compact running time. Probably best viewed in Imax theatres, it may well lose something on television screens.
Dir: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
GREASE
1978
***
Following a summer romance, a cool boy and a wholesome girl meet up again at the same high school. Will they get together again?
One of the best American musicals, much more likeable than West Side Story, this is a delightful movie which could be said to celebrate youth, heterosexuality, the US and the Fifties, with lots of endearing tunes, especially Summer Nights and You're The One That I Want, often accompanied by super-energetic dancing by slender young people in colourful clothes - the visual effect of which is to electrify the screen. It's exuberant, iconic and carefree, and much more than just a favourite of teenage girls in the late Seventies.
Dir: Randal Kleiser
Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
THE GREASY STRANGLER
2016
***
A father and son who do disco walking tours in LA live a very strange existence - for starters, the father is the Greasy Strangler.
Wonderfully outrageous and completely unique comic horror that's like no other film in existence. Who knows from what kind of minds this insane enterprise could spring, but for those who can take it it's a treat for the laugh glands, while also boasting fine cinematography, perfectly chosen actors and a catchy soundtrack; it's the movie The Neon Demon wishes it was. Gobsmacking - some scenes are so deranged they scream that this should become a cult classic.
Dir: Jim Hosking
Stars: Michael St Michaels, Sky Elobar, Elizabeth De Razzo
THE GREAT BRITISH STRIPTEASE
1980
0
Comedian Bernard Manning presents a striptease competition.
Remarkable that this was actually released to cinemas, and it did later find a more natural home on video under the title An Unbelievably Dirty Night Out With Bernard Manning. Criticism of this forced and tacky production would be superfluous and it could actually be argued that it's a social document of minor historical importance, and a fairly painless one to watch at that.
Dir: Doug Smith
Stars: Bernard Manning, Su Pollard
THE GREAT CHASE
1962
*
Compilation of chase sequences from silent films.
Not quite as assured as Robert Youngson's compilations, this doesn't identify some of the clips and is unbalanced by featuring a large chunk of Keaton's [terrific] The General. What it does do, however, is make the viewer appreciate the skill and audacity of the creators of the era's stunt-based thrills: some still dazzle now - imagine how the audiences of the day must have reacted.
Dir: n/a
Stars: Buster Keaton, Lillian Gish, Douglas Fairbanks, Pearl White
THE GREAT DICTATOR
1940
***
A Jewish barber is just one of the citizens threatened by a vindictive ruler.
Chaplin’s satirical comedy has worn well – many of the gags appear modern and his observations on totalitarianism seem remarkably prescient considering how little was really known of Nazism at the time of making. The curious mix of styles and ideas perhaps conjured up his most satisfactory film, full of classic scenes, and there’s certainly no other like it.
Dir: Charles Chaplin
Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Jack Oakie, Billy Gilbert
THE GREAT ESCAPE
1963
***
Allied POWs plot their escape from a German concentration camp.
The Wooden Horse (qv) given epic treatment and a cracking all-star cast, it remains compulsive viewing right up to its tragic finale.
Dir: John Sturges
Stars: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, Nigel Stock
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
1946
***
A humble orphan becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
The ultimate version of the classic novel, near faultlessly executed on all levels, even if Mills is too old for the role. The photography is very fine, the story timeless, the cast features some ripe turns and the script literately conveys Dickens’ dialogue.
Dir: David Lean
Stars: John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Jean Simmons, Bernard Miles, Alec Guinness, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, Francis L Sullivan
THE GREAT FLAMARION
1945
*
An ageing stage performer is played by a devious actress.
Slightly sluggish drama with interesting asides, including some of the camerawork and the sexual politics. Von Stroheim is, as ever, a bristling screen presence (his dying character impressively manages to narrate the whole film), albeit not a very sympathetic one.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Stars: Erich von Stroheim, Mary Beth Hughes, Dan Duryea
THE GREAT GATSBY
1949
*
A Long Islander becomes fascinated by his rich landlord.
Rather leaden second screen version of the great American novel. It doesn't present Gatsby as a man of mystery and in any case Ladd doesn't seem up to the task of portraying him; the other actors make little impression either, while the wordy script and moderately budgeted production fail to do justice to the story. There's little nuance or appropriate mood.
Dir: Elliott Nugent
Stars: Alan Ladd, Betty Field, Macdonald Carey, Ruth HusseyTHE GREAT GATSBY
1974
*
In the 1920s, life on an exclusive Long Island community revolves around a mysterious, super-rich man named Gatsby.
Deeply flawed adaptation of Fitzgerald which despite a sizeable budget and impressive credits fails to capture the nuances of the novel. A pair of miscast leads don't help (and Gatsby here is hardly the man of mystery he should be), and a slow pace and lengthy running time also damage it. Those who know the book will be disappointed with its treatment; those who don't know the book will be mystified as to why it is considered a classic, based on their viewing of this.
Dir: Jack Clayton
Stars: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Sam Waterston, Lois Chiles
THE GREAT GATSBY
2000 (TV)
*
A young Midwesterner becomes fascinated with the life of his Long Island neighbour.
Adequate filming of Fitzgerald’s flawless novel that is unlikely to ever be filmed completely satisfactorily.
Dir: Robert Markowitz
Stars: Toby Stephens, Paul Rudd, Mira Sorvino, Martin Donovan
THE GREAT GATSBY
2013
*
Possibly the version to watch: it looks absolutely incredible - at times a throbbing, surreal spectacle full of colour and energy - and the main parts are all well played (although Maguire's expressions could change a little more frequently). But does it still miss something in translation, does it still not scale the heights it could? Probably.
Dir: Baz Luhrmann
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton
GREAT GUNS
1941
0
Stan and Ollie help the war effort.
Weak Laurel and Hardy comedy, their first for 20th Century Fox, which is where their descent into direness really gathered steam.
Dir: Monty Banks
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sheila Ryan, Dick Nelson
THE GREAT HOUDINI
1976 (TV)
0
The career of escapologist Harry Houdini, with an emphasis on his relationship with his mother and his dalliances with spiritualism.
Sloppy biopic with a miscast lead (but solid backing performers) and much straying from the truth, including a dumb final statement. Since they largely expose the mediums, why not show how he did more of the tricks too? The title is sometimes given as The Great Houdinis, curiously.
Dir: Melville Shavelson
Stars: Paul Michael Glaser, Sally Struthers, Ruth Gordon, Adrienne Barbeau, Peter Cushing, Bill Bixby
THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE
1956
0
During the Civil War, a Union spy is asked to lead a band of soldiers into the South so that they can destroy the railway system.
Average adventure which gets a little confusing because the goodies and baddies are not clearly defined. Also, the chase ends 15 minutes before the movie ends, and what follows after it is silliness.
Dir: Francis D Lyon
Stars: Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York
THE GREAT McCONAGALL
1974
0
A hopeless poet attempts to become Poet Laureate to Queen Victoria.
A bizarre artefact shot in a music hall, it includes actual takes and actors being made-up. The viewing experience resembles a bad dream after drinking too much mulled wine and watching hours of The Goons; it's absurdist fare with narrow appeal.
Dir: Joseph McGrath
Stars: Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Victor Spinetti, Valentine Dyall, Julia Foster
THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER
1981
*
Miss Piggy is falsely accused of stealing jewels.
Cute follow-up to The Muppet Movie with a roster of interruptions from witty humans.
Dir: Jim Henson
Stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Diana Rigg, John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Trevor Howard, Jack Warden
THE GREAT RACE
1965
*
In the early part of the 20th century, a car race across three continents takes place.
An attempt to resurrect the slapstick humour of years gone, but at astronomical length (160 minutes), which diminishes it, although the highlights are undeniably spectacular.
Dir: Blake Edwards
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk
THE GREAT ROCK 'N' ROLL SWINDLE
1979
**
The story of the Sex Pistols, from the perspective of manager Malcolm McLaren.
It's difficult to describe exactly what this ‘movie’ is, and only those who have seen it can say; it's either a bizarre, amateurish ragbag or an imaginative, fascinating patchwork of inspired ideas and groundbreaking music. For those in the mood, it’s an oxygenating experience, and it’s also a valuable time capsule.
Dir: Julien Temple
Stars: The Sex Pistols, Irene Handl, Mary Millington, Liz Fraser, Jess Conrad, Julian Holloway
THE GREAT ST TRINIAN’S TRAIN ROBBERY
1966
0
The girls' school foils an attempt by train robbers to recover a fortune hidden in their school.
Anything but ‘great’, the fourth in the rum series has an interminable, confusing climactic train chase following 90 minutes of very few chortles.
Dir: Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder
Stars: Frankie Howerd, Dora Bryan, George Cole, Reg Varney, Richard Wattis, Terry Scott
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
1903
***
A group of bandits attack a train station.
A ten-minute film that was a major step forward in movie-making techniques: its western storyline was more complicated than any previous one, it used the pan and close-up, and the gunman turning to the audience frightened the wits out of them. Great fun to watch.
Dir: Edwin S Porter
Stars: Marie Murray, Broncho Billy Anderson
THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER
1975
*
A biplane pilot takes up a movie career.
Patchy adventure with impressive stunts.
Dir: George Roy Hill
Stars: Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Susan Sarandon, Margot Kidder
1974
*
In the 1920s, life on an exclusive Long Island community revolves around a mysterious, super-rich man named Gatsby.
Deeply flawed adaptation of Fitzgerald which despite a sizeable budget and impressive credits fails to capture the nuances of the novel. A pair of miscast leads don't help (and Gatsby here is hardly the man of mystery he should be), and a slow pace and lengthy running time also damage it. Those who know the book will be disappointed with its treatment; those who don't know the book will be mystified as to why it is considered a classic, based on their viewing of this.
Dir: Jack Clayton
Stars: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Sam Waterston, Lois Chiles
THE GREAT GATSBY
2000 (TV)
*
A young Midwesterner becomes fascinated with the life of his Long Island neighbour.
Adequate filming of Fitzgerald’s flawless novel that is unlikely to ever be filmed completely satisfactorily.
Dir: Robert Markowitz
Stars: Toby Stephens, Paul Rudd, Mira Sorvino, Martin Donovan
THE GREAT GATSBY
2013
*
Possibly the version to watch: it looks absolutely incredible - at times a throbbing, surreal spectacle full of colour and energy - and the main parts are all well played (although Maguire's expressions could change a little more frequently). But does it still miss something in translation, does it still not scale the heights it could? Probably.
Dir: Baz Luhrmann
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton
GREAT GUNS
1941
0
Stan and Ollie help the war effort.
Weak Laurel and Hardy comedy, their first for 20th Century Fox, which is where their descent into direness really gathered steam.
Dir: Monty Banks
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sheila Ryan, Dick Nelson
THE GREAT HOUDINI
1976 (TV)
0
The career of escapologist Harry Houdini, with an emphasis on his relationship with his mother and his dalliances with spiritualism.
Sloppy biopic with a miscast lead (but solid backing performers) and much straying from the truth, including a dumb final statement. Since they largely expose the mediums, why not show how he did more of the tricks too? The title is sometimes given as The Great Houdinis, curiously.
Dir: Melville Shavelson
Stars: Paul Michael Glaser, Sally Struthers, Ruth Gordon, Adrienne Barbeau, Peter Cushing, Bill Bixby
THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE
1956
0
During the Civil War, a Union spy is asked to lead a band of soldiers into the South so that they can destroy the railway system.
Average adventure which gets a little confusing because the goodies and baddies are not clearly defined. Also, the chase ends 15 minutes before the movie ends, and what follows after it is silliness.
Dir: Francis D Lyon
Stars: Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York
THE GREAT McCONAGALL
1974
0
A hopeless poet attempts to become Poet Laureate to Queen Victoria.
A bizarre artefact shot in a music hall, it includes actual takes and actors being made-up. The viewing experience resembles a bad dream after drinking too much mulled wine and watching hours of The Goons; it's absurdist fare with narrow appeal.
Dir: Joseph McGrath
Stars: Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Victor Spinetti, Valentine Dyall, Julia Foster
THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER
1981
*
Miss Piggy is falsely accused of stealing jewels.
Cute follow-up to The Muppet Movie with a roster of interruptions from witty humans.
Dir: Jim Henson
Stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Diana Rigg, John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Trevor Howard, Jack Warden
THE GREAT RACE
1965
*
In the early part of the 20th century, a car race across three continents takes place.
An attempt to resurrect the slapstick humour of years gone, but at astronomical length (160 minutes), which diminishes it, although the highlights are undeniably spectacular.
Dir: Blake Edwards
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk
THE GREAT ROCK 'N' ROLL SWINDLE
1979
**
The story of the Sex Pistols, from the perspective of manager Malcolm McLaren.
It's difficult to describe exactly what this ‘movie’ is, and only those who have seen it can say; it's either a bizarre, amateurish ragbag or an imaginative, fascinating patchwork of inspired ideas and groundbreaking music. For those in the mood, it’s an oxygenating experience, and it’s also a valuable time capsule.
Dir: Julien Temple
Stars: The Sex Pistols, Irene Handl, Mary Millington, Liz Fraser, Jess Conrad, Julian Holloway
THE GREAT ST TRINIAN’S TRAIN ROBBERY
1966
0
The girls' school foils an attempt by train robbers to recover a fortune hidden in their school.
Anything but ‘great’, the fourth in the rum series has an interminable, confusing climactic train chase following 90 minutes of very few chortles.
Dir: Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder
Stars: Frankie Howerd, Dora Bryan, George Cole, Reg Varney, Richard Wattis, Terry Scott
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
1903
***
A group of bandits attack a train station.
A ten-minute film that was a major step forward in movie-making techniques: its western storyline was more complicated than any previous one, it used the pan and close-up, and the gunman turning to the audience frightened the wits out of them. Great fun to watch.
Dir: Edwin S Porter
Stars: Marie Murray, Broncho Billy Anderson
THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER
1975
*
A biplane pilot takes up a movie career.
Patchy adventure with impressive stunts.
Dir: George Roy Hill
Stars: Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Susan Sarandon, Margot Kidder
GREAT WHITE DEATH
1981
0
Documentary about sharks and how deadly they are.
There's some good underwater photography in this relentless and relentlessly worried sounding doc which has occasional gory bits for those on the lookout for such things. It's remarkable how many films Jaws inspired many years after its release.
Dir: Jean Lebel
Narrator: Glenn Ford
THE GREAT WHITE SILENCE
1922
**
Documentary about Captain Scott's ill-fated trip to the Antarctic.
One of the earliest examples of a proficient full-length non-fiction film chronicling a historical event, this has shots that are remarkable now and must have seemed more so then. The early scenes show the preparation, while the final part of the quest is of course not caught on film as the mood sinks into a resigned acceptance of fate - while the middle section has rather too much animal footage, especially those penguins. Perhaps it lightens the mood? Some prints are completely silent so it's probably best to set your own appropriate music score going on YouTube.
Dir: Herbert G Ponting
THE GREAT ZIEGFELD
1936
*
The turbulent career of Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld.
Grandiose musical biography with a bright attitude but a running time that makes for shuffling in the seat - at least an hour of footage could have been lost. The Rhapsody In Blue performance is a highlight.
Dir: Robert Z Leonard
Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
1952
**
Life in the Big Top.
An enjoyable enterprise whose combination of circus spectacle and behind the scenes melodrama generally comes up trumps. Presented in rich colour, it’s almost as much fun as going to a real performance.
Dir: Cecil B DeMille
Stars: Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, James Stewart, Cornel Wilde, Dorothy Lamour
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
2017
0
PT Barnum decides to start an unusual circus.
Everything feels fake about this ridiculous, hollow film, which tries to turn the ruthless and exploitative Barnum into some kind of saviour of the oppressed and under-represented; scene for scene it's cliched and contrived, with the songs only adding to the toe-curlingness, although some of them are quite catchy. A plastic, sickly-sweet confection largely for young teenage girls (but it did end up selling a mighty amount of tickets).
Dir: Michael Gracey
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson
GREED
1924
***
A lowly dentist marries a woman whose lottery win changes their lives, for the worse.
Von Stroheim's extraordinary film has been written about at length, and discussion of its butchering from its original, gargantuan length goes on today. Viewed in its near two-hour form, with a live score by Asphalt Serenade, it frequently rewards thanks to its striking technique, and burns itself into the brain, particularly during the final, remarkable scenes in Death Valley. Gowland's features alone seem iconic.
Dir: Erich von Stroheim
Stars: Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt
THE GREED OF WILLIAM HART
1948
0
Body snatchers lurk in old Edinburgh.
Bargain basement version of a story that would be better filmed in years to come (especially The Flesh And The Fiends, qv).
Dir: Oswald Mitchell
Stars: Tod Slaughter, Henry Oscar, Ann Trego
GREEN BOOK
2018
***
In 1962, an uncouth Italian-American takes a job which involves driving a talented black pianist around the Deep South.
Oh, Hollywood. A feelgood story derived from some real-life stories, this is a not unlikeable and very well acted and shot film that portrays Ali's character with considerably less depth than it does Mortensen's - does this matter? It does to some. But, sidestepping the racial hornets' nest that seems to inevitably be discovered nowadays, Farrelly's atypical enterprise is an engaging road movie which tries to find both humour and meaning in the situations it relays, even if it bungles, big time, a couple of salient references to race and sexuality (the workmen's glasses, the YMCA incident).
Dir: Peter Farrelly
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali
GREEN CARD
1990
**
An American woman and a Frenchman have a marriage of convenience, but things don't entirely go to plan.
Pleasant, likeable romantic comedy that engenders sympathy in its characters and is pleasingly free of angst but not intelligence. A departure for the director, and not an unsuccessful one.
Dir: Peter Weir
Stars: Andie MacDowell, Gerard Depardieu, Bebe Neuwirth, Gregg Eldelman
GREEN FOR DANGER
1946
**
A killer stalks a hospital during World War 2.
Slick thriller with moments of comedy, especially good after Alastair Sim enters the scene.
Dir: Sidney Gilliat
Stars: Alastair Sim, Trevor Howard, Moore Marriott, Sally Gray
THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN!
1940 (serial)
0
Britt Reid aka the Green Hornet battles organised crime.
A serial that is a bit of a slog, consisting as it does of 15 not-short chapters of talk-heavy crime drama and a plot that you cease to properly understand a little way in: each episode is a different slice of involved nefariousness. Kato has almost nothing to do and the Hornet is as bland as anything when he isn't wearing his rather warm-looking outfit, and the cliffhangers aren't up to much either. There are many more fun serials than this one.
Dir: Ford Beebe, John Rawlins
Stars: Warren Hull, Wade Boteler, Anne Nagel
THE GREEN MAN
1956
0
An assassin is plagued by a travelling salesman.
There are lots of pleasing familiar faces in this farce that can't escape its theatrical origins; now pretty dated.
Dir: Robert Day
Stars: Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams
GREEN ROOM
2015
**
A punk band make the unwise decision to play at a neo-Nazi club.
Tense and claustrophobic thriller shot and edited with aplomb, it knows the world it presents and offers plenty of convincing performances. If only some of the dialogue was clearer to make out and it offered a little political depth.
Dir: Jeremy Saulnier
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
1967
**
A wealthy, liberal couple suffer a jolt when their daughter brings her black fiance to the house.
This is usually afforded great importance in the history of Hollywood, with its daring new take on the race problem, even though it actually only has a gentle kick at the hornets' nest. So how is it as entertainment? Variable; it looks like it's the film of a play but actually isn't, and descends into a series of tumid speeches that the actors make to each other. But what acting - Tracy and Poitier especially take the plaudits in a movie that isn't especially nimble but is of solid quality.
Dir: Stanley Kramer
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
1939
*
Sailor Gulliver arrives on the island of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are tiny but feisty.
Ponderous, dated cartoon treatment of Swift's novel, here aimed squarely at children; animation variable.
Dir: Dave Fleischer et al
Voices: Sam Parker, Jack Mercer, Pinto Colvig
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
1976
0
Unsatisfactory and artificial-looking adaptation which mixes a real Gulliver, cartoon characters and 'dolls house' sets.
Dir: Peter R Hunt
Stars: Richard Harris, Catherine Schell, Norman Shelley
GUNGA DIN
1939
*
In 19th century India, British soldiers battle a murderous local cult.
A big, popular action picture of its day, now dated, often charmingly so.
Dir: George Stevens
Stars: Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Victor McLaglen, Joan Fontaine
THE GUNS OF NAVARONE
1961
*
Allies aim to take out a deadly German gun placement in Greece.
Over-praised war film with more chat than action; it lacks urgency and tension - but what a cast.
Dir: J Lee Thompson
Stars: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Richard Harris, James Robertson Justice
GUYS AND DOLLS
1955
0
A gambler is challenged to seduce a frosty missionary.
Well-known but, let's be honest, tedious and lengthy musical with average numbers and irritating, mostly contraction-free dialogue (do not, is not, etc). The male stars, who dominate, could never be mistaken for being likeable, sympathetic people.
Dir: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Stars: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine
GWENDOLINE
1984
0
A female adventurer looks for her lost father in China.
Rather laboured fantasy; it has promise, but a ponderous script and mix of styles sink it.
Dir: Just Jaeckin
Stars: Tawny Kitaen, Brent Huff
THE GREEN MILE
1999
**
During the Great Depression, a prisoner on Death Row appears to have the power of healing.
This feels like a close partner to the director's previous film, The Shawshank Redemption, although it's supernatural and it's even longer - probably too long, but there's much that's good in it; with the wrong handling, this could have been dreadful, a mawkish and asinine prison drama that felt stagey. As it is, both the performers and director approach it with conviction and patient viewers will be rewarded well before the end. It feels like a movie that's especially important to Americans, arriving at the end of a tumultuous century that it chronicles a small part of.
Dir: Frank Darabont
Stars: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell
GREEN ROOM
2015
**
A punk band make the unwise decision to play at a neo-Nazi club.
Tense and claustrophobic thriller shot and edited with aplomb, it knows the world it presents and offers plenty of convincing performances. If only some of the dialogue was clearer to make out and it offered a little political depth.
Dir: Jeremy Saulnier
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat
GREEN STREET
2005
0
A Harvard student comes to England and gets involved in football hooliganism.
Sometimes gloriously bad masculine drama: the problem is it's so wretchedly inauthentic, and anyone who knows anything about football, or hooliganism (or London, or working class life) will see the fakery for what it is (that it was directed by a German woman might have been a factor); add in some appalling attempts at cockney accents (especially Hunnam) and a most unconvincing warrior in the shape of Wood and you've got a movie that's anything but Premier League. (But it's still a slightly guilty pleasure, and at least there's some honesty about male testosterone.)
Dir: Lexi Alexander
Stars: Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Marc Warren, Claire Forlani
GREETINGS
1968
*
Three friends get to grips with life at the end of the 1960s.
Random ragbag of vaguely anti-authoritarian episodes, some of which are more attention-worthy than others. The director showed a surer hand with his follow-up, Hi, Mom (qv).
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jonathan Warden, Gerrit Graham
GREGORY’S GIRL
1980
**
A Scottish teenager seeks to woo the classmate he is infatuated with, a girl who is good at football.
Naturalistic, cute, low key comedy that sharply observes adolescent fears and desires; the dialogue, which makes no concession to other regions, is witty and quirky too. The final third airily captures the feeling of midsummer magic.
Dir: Bill Forsyth
Stars: John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Clare Grogan, Jake D’Arcy
GREGORY’S TWO GIRLS
1999
0
Gregory is now a teacher, and develops a crush on a girl.
Astonishingly bad sequel to the above which simply does everything wrong; watching it is like spending weeks in the company of someone you loathe.
Dir: Bill Forsyth
Stars: John Gordon Sinclair, Dougray Scott, Carly McKinnon
GREMLINS
1984
**
A boy breaks the rules for keeping a certain type of small, furry pets, and they turn into rampaging monsters.
Infectious comic horror with a nice line in gleeful destruction, it pleased a lot of teenagers.
Dir: Joe Dante
Stars: Zach Galligan, Corey Feldman, Phoebe Cates
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH
1990
*
The Gremlins take control of a multi media headquarters.
Spoofy sequel with plenty of movie in-jokes and cartoon-like action; it almost tries too hard.
Dir: Joe Dante
Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Christopher Lee, Dick Miller
GREYFRIARS BOBBY
1961
*
In 1865 Edinburgh, a Skye terrier keeps a vigil at his late master's grave.
Pleasant filming of a true story. The dog's as cute as the Scots are grumpy.
Dir: Don Chaffey
Stars: Donald Crisp, Laurence Naismith, Gordon Jackson
GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES
1984
**
Explorers come across a wild white man in the jungle and believe him to be a descendant of the Earl of Greystoke.
Despite critical snipes, a decent attempt to make a 'proper', classy movie about a rather silly character; it successfully evokes a range of emotions for its lead character and those he comes into contact with.
Dir: Hugh Hudson
Stars: Christopher Lambert, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Andie MacDowell, Nigel Davenport
THE GRIFTERS
1990
*
A con man is torn between his mother and his new girlfriend.
Interesting but slow-paced thriller which might have benefited from a few more con tricks on show.
Dir: Stephen Frears
Stars: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening
GRIM PRAIRIE TALES
1989
0
Travellers tell four scary stories around a campfire.
Stodgy horror/western anthology; the best moment by far involves a woman with a super-suction vagina.
Dir: Wayne Coe
Stars: James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, Marc McClure
THE GRINCH
2000
*
A curious creature named The Grinch is intent on stealing Christmas.
Non-cynical kids may enjoy this fantasy, and adults may like its inventiveness but be disappointed by its lack of plot and Carrey going through the motions as a crazy character once more. Lavish looking but there's nothing to connect to.
Dir: Ron Howard
Stars: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor
GRINDHOUSE
2007
**
Two separate features, Planet Terror and Death Proof, complete with fake trailers, designed to emulate the ‘grindhouse’ cinema experience of the '60s and '70s. The first story concerns a virus that turns people into zombies and the second a homicidal maniac with an indestructible car.
The fake trailers are Machete (directed by Rodriguez), Werewolf Women Of The SS (Rob Zombie), Don’t (Edgar Wright) and Thanksgiving (Eli Roth).
The enterprise is not wholly successful (and bombed at the US box office, causing the films to be released separately elsewhere) but it at least offers something a little different; both movies are chock-full of in-jokes and other clever touches, although the scratching of the film stock is mildly irritating and pointless, since the stories are set in the present day as opposed to the Seventies. Planet Terror is the better of the two, a wild, doesn’t-give-a-damn, gory horror – Tarantino’s effort is patchy to say the least, and very unusual in structure: it has 50 minutes of dialogue, 10 minutes of action, another 25 minutes of dialogue then 10 minutes of [brilliantly shot] action (the dialogue mostly being between unpleasant swearing women). Overall, one to file under ‘interesting failure’, but probably worth more than a single viewing.
Dir: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Zoe Bell, Jeff Fahey
GRIZZLY
1976 (TV)
0
A huge grizzly bear terrorises a national park.
Insipid cousin of Jaws with unconvincing physical effects.
Dir: William Girdler, David Sheldon
Stars: Christopher George, Andrew Prine
GRIZZLY MAN
2005
***
Documentary which uses the self-shot footage of late grizzly bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell, and talks to people who knew him about his death at the hands of the animals he loved.
Extraordinary portrait of a man on the margins, bewitching from scene to scene and full of strange and unusual sights.
Dir: Werner Herzog
Stars: Timothy Treadwell
THE GROOVE TUBE
1974
0
Sketches satirising the inanities of television.
Spoof that travelled badly across the Atlantic - over here, it's a case of 'spot the joke'.
Dir: Ken Shapiro
Stars: Ken Shapiro, Chevy Chase, Richard Belzer
GROSSE POINTE BLANK
1997
*
A professional assassin finds that work gets in the way of his high school reunion.
Romantic comic drama thriller (or something like that) with an uneven tone and pacing and a faint air of ‘could be better’ that nevertheless provides pleasures along the way.
Dir: George Armitage
Stars: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria
GROUNDHOG DAY
1993
****
A news reporter wakes every morning to find the day is exactly the same as the last one.
With such a fantastic plot concept loaded with potential for amusing situations, this movie can hardly fail to be terrific fun, and it is - in fact, it's a classic that doesn't shout about it. Everything is perfectly judged, from Murray's faultless performance to how much is shown from each day, and its very pleasing formula is loaded with messages about living your days to the full, the course of life - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance - and believing that you can do better with just a little more thought; it manages to be a meaningful drama, a romance, a comedy, a fantasy and also a great film for Christmas, even though it's set on February 2. Its influence can be judged by the fact that many people now think a 'groundhog day' is a day when the same things happen, rather than one when a small rodent sees or doesn't see its shadow.
Dir: Harold Ramis
Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
THE GROUNDSTAR CONSPIRACY
1972
*
Sabotage occurs at a top secret research facility.
Reasonably gripping thriller with sci-fi trimmings.
Dir: Lamont Johnson
Stars: George Peppard, Michael Sarrazin, Cliff Potts
THE GRUDGE
2003
*
A vengeful spirit attacks the residents of a particular house.
Lauded but disappointing chiller; it's strong on chilly atmosphere but goes at exactly the same frantic pace for the entire film, characters are not well enough developed to be sympathetic and the experience will leave most audiences completely perplexed.
Dir: Takashi Shimizu
Stars: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito
THE GRUDGE
2004
0
A remake of the above film, very similar, but with a few American actors.
This suffers from the same problems as the 2003 film: too episodic, lack of humour, characters that aren't well rounded and a soon tiresome plot. Frequent scares and jolts don't make for a movie when the narrative's so unconventional.
Dir: Takashi Shimizu
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Bill Pullman
THE GUARDIAN
1990
0
A baby-sitter has a pernicious influence on the family she works for.
Stuff and nonsense based around a killer tree.
Dir: William Friedkin
Stars: Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
2014
*
A group of space criminals band together to stop a universe-threatening villain.
Less of a superhero film, more of a space opera, this brash, confident blockbuster found many willing to buy a ticket for it, but it's a long way from being entirely satisfying: the plot is but a wisp, the humour overly American-centric, the action CGI-heavy and even the vaunted soundtrack low on quality songs. But at least it isn't a gloomy, navel-gazing affair and has energy that some will find infectious.
Dir: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
2017
*
The Guardians face Ego the Living Planet, who may be related to one of them.
The sequel to the surprise mega-hit is hard to dislike and tries hard, including sewing in a deeper theme about family - but can such a special effects-saturated movie set in space and on alien planets do that and be affecting? It's debatable. Vibrantly coloured and as buzzy as a child after five bottles of Coke, it tends to rely on vulgarity, knowingness and old rock music too much, but will be seen from the Shetlands to Shanghai whatever.
Dir: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan
GREETINGS
1968
*
Three friends get to grips with life at the end of the 1960s.
Random ragbag of vaguely anti-authoritarian episodes, some of which are more attention-worthy than others. The director showed a surer hand with his follow-up, Hi, Mom (qv).
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jonathan Warden, Gerrit Graham
GREGORY’S GIRL
1980
**
A Scottish teenager seeks to woo the classmate he is infatuated with, a girl who is good at football.
Naturalistic, cute, low key comedy that sharply observes adolescent fears and desires; the dialogue, which makes no concession to other regions, is witty and quirky too. The final third airily captures the feeling of midsummer magic.
Dir: Bill Forsyth
Stars: John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Clare Grogan, Jake D’Arcy
GREGORY’S TWO GIRLS
1999
0
Gregory is now a teacher, and develops a crush on a girl.
Astonishingly bad sequel to the above which simply does everything wrong; watching it is like spending weeks in the company of someone you loathe.
Dir: Bill Forsyth
Stars: John Gordon Sinclair, Dougray Scott, Carly McKinnon
GREMLINS
1984
**
A boy breaks the rules for keeping a certain type of small, furry pets, and they turn into rampaging monsters.
Infectious comic horror with a nice line in gleeful destruction, it pleased a lot of teenagers.
Dir: Joe Dante
Stars: Zach Galligan, Corey Feldman, Phoebe Cates
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH
1990
*
The Gremlins take control of a multi media headquarters.
Spoofy sequel with plenty of movie in-jokes and cartoon-like action; it almost tries too hard.
Dir: Joe Dante
Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Christopher Lee, Dick Miller
GREYFRIARS BOBBY
1961
*
In 1865 Edinburgh, a Skye terrier keeps a vigil at his late master's grave.
Pleasant filming of a true story. The dog's as cute as the Scots are grumpy.
Dir: Don Chaffey
Stars: Donald Crisp, Laurence Naismith, Gordon Jackson
GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES
1984
**
Explorers come across a wild white man in the jungle and believe him to be a descendant of the Earl of Greystoke.
Despite critical snipes, a decent attempt to make a 'proper', classy movie about a rather silly character; it successfully evokes a range of emotions for its lead character and those he comes into contact with.
Dir: Hugh Hudson
Stars: Christopher Lambert, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Andie MacDowell, Nigel Davenport
THE GRIFTERS
1990
*
A con man is torn between his mother and his new girlfriend.
Interesting but slow-paced thriller which might have benefited from a few more con tricks on show.
Dir: Stephen Frears
Stars: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening
GRIM PRAIRIE TALES
1989
0
Travellers tell four scary stories around a campfire.
Stodgy horror/western anthology; the best moment by far involves a woman with a super-suction vagina.
Dir: Wayne Coe
Stars: James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, Marc McClure
THE GRINCH
2000
*
A curious creature named The Grinch is intent on stealing Christmas.
Non-cynical kids may enjoy this fantasy, and adults may like its inventiveness but be disappointed by its lack of plot and Carrey going through the motions as a crazy character once more. Lavish looking but there's nothing to connect to.
Dir: Ron Howard
Stars: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor
GRINDHOUSE
2007
**
Two separate features, Planet Terror and Death Proof, complete with fake trailers, designed to emulate the ‘grindhouse’ cinema experience of the '60s and '70s. The first story concerns a virus that turns people into zombies and the second a homicidal maniac with an indestructible car.
The fake trailers are Machete (directed by Rodriguez), Werewolf Women Of The SS (Rob Zombie), Don’t (Edgar Wright) and Thanksgiving (Eli Roth).
The enterprise is not wholly successful (and bombed at the US box office, causing the films to be released separately elsewhere) but it at least offers something a little different; both movies are chock-full of in-jokes and other clever touches, although the scratching of the film stock is mildly irritating and pointless, since the stories are set in the present day as opposed to the Seventies. Planet Terror is the better of the two, a wild, doesn’t-give-a-damn, gory horror – Tarantino’s effort is patchy to say the least, and very unusual in structure: it has 50 minutes of dialogue, 10 minutes of action, another 25 minutes of dialogue then 10 minutes of [brilliantly shot] action (the dialogue mostly being between unpleasant swearing women). Overall, one to file under ‘interesting failure’, but probably worth more than a single viewing.
Dir: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Zoe Bell, Jeff Fahey
GRIP OF THE STRANGLER
1958
*
A writer investigating old murders is possessed by the spirit of the killer.
Uneven horror which saw Karloff return to the UK during a fallow movie period for him; it's reminiscent of some of his Thirties stuff, with the odd bit of extra nastiness added in. The story works in fits and starts - the early part is bogged down by talk about an old crime, and lots of dancing scenes, but later on there's more activity (with nods to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde). A more imaginative, skilled director could have made much more of it (especially the mid-way revelation).
Dir: Robert Day
Stars: Boris Karloff, Anthony Dawson, Jean Kent, Elizabeth Allan
GRIZZLY
1976 (TV)
0
A huge grizzly bear terrorises a national park.
Insipid cousin of Jaws with unconvincing physical effects.
Dir: William Girdler, David Sheldon
Stars: Christopher George, Andrew Prine
GRIZZLY MAN
2005
***
Documentary which uses the self-shot footage of late grizzly bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell, and talks to people who knew him about his death at the hands of the animals he loved.
Extraordinary portrait of a man on the margins, bewitching from scene to scene and full of strange and unusual sights.
Dir: Werner Herzog
Stars: Timothy Treadwell
THE GROOVE TUBE
1974
0
Sketches satirising the inanities of television.
Spoof that travelled badly across the Atlantic - over here, it's a case of 'spot the joke'.
Dir: Ken Shapiro
Stars: Ken Shapiro, Chevy Chase, Richard Belzer
GROSSE POINTE BLANK
1997
*
A professional assassin finds that work gets in the way of his high school reunion.
Romantic comic drama thriller (or something like that) with an uneven tone and pacing and a faint air of ‘could be better’ that nevertheless provides pleasures along the way.
Dir: George Armitage
Stars: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria
GROUNDHOG DAY
1993
****
A news reporter wakes every morning to find the day is exactly the same as the last one.
With such a fantastic plot concept loaded with potential for amusing situations, this movie can hardly fail to be terrific fun, and it is - in fact, it's a classic that doesn't shout about it. Everything is perfectly judged, from Murray's faultless performance to how much is shown from each day, and its very pleasing formula is loaded with messages about living your days to the full, the course of life - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance - and believing that you can do better with just a little more thought; it manages to be a meaningful drama, a romance, a comedy, a fantasy and also a great film for Christmas, even though it's set on February 2. Its influence can be judged by the fact that many people now think a 'groundhog day' is a day when the same things happen, rather than one when a small rodent sees or doesn't see its shadow.
Dir: Harold Ramis
Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
THE GROUNDSTAR CONSPIRACY
1972
*
Sabotage occurs at a top secret research facility.
Reasonably gripping thriller with sci-fi trimmings.
Dir: Lamont Johnson
Stars: George Peppard, Michael Sarrazin, Cliff Potts
GROUPIE GIRL
1970
0
A bored teenage girl enlivens her existence up by getting in with a rock band.
Perhaps this has slightly improved over the years, in that it now feels like a time capsule which captures the grubby hippy lifestyle - whether it's an enjoyable movie to watch is another matter: the tale it tells is pretty glum, too glum. There are some quirky events, some lighter than others, along the way.
Dir: Derek Ford
Stars: Esme Johns, Billy Boyle, Richard Shaw, Donald Sumpter
THE GRUDGE
2003
*
A vengeful spirit attacks the residents of a particular house.
Lauded but disappointing chiller; it's strong on chilly atmosphere but goes at exactly the same frantic pace for the entire film, characters are not well enough developed to be sympathetic and the experience will leave most audiences completely perplexed.
Dir: Takashi Shimizu
Stars: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito
THE GRUDGE
2004
0
A remake of the above film, very similar, but with a few American actors.
This suffers from the same problems as the 2003 film: too episodic, lack of humour, characters that aren't well rounded and a soon tiresome plot. Frequent scares and jolts don't make for a movie when the narrative's so unconventional.
Dir: Takashi Shimizu
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Bill Pullman
THE GUARDIAN
1990
0
A baby-sitter has a pernicious influence on the family she works for.
Stuff and nonsense based around a killer tree.
Dir: William Friedkin
Stars: Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
2014
*
A group of space criminals band together to stop a universe-threatening villain.
Less of a superhero film, more of a space opera, this brash, confident blockbuster found many willing to buy a ticket for it, but it's a long way from being entirely satisfying: the plot is but a wisp, the humour overly American-centric, the action CGI-heavy and even the vaunted soundtrack low on quality songs. But at least it isn't a gloomy, navel-gazing affair and has energy that some will find infectious.
Dir: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
2017
*
The Guardians face Ego the Living Planet, who may be related to one of them.
The sequel to the surprise mega-hit is hard to dislike and tries hard, including sewing in a deeper theme about family - but can such a special effects-saturated movie set in space and on alien planets do that and be affecting? It's debatable. Vibrantly coloured and as buzzy as a child after five bottles of Coke, it tends to rely on vulgarity, knowingness and old rock music too much, but will be seen from the Shetlands to Shanghai whatever.
Dir: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
2018
*
After World War Two, a female writer becomes close to the residents of Guernsey when she goes to write a book on them.
Perfectly fine adaptation of a popular book - the audience who enjoyed that will no doubt like this too; it's professionally put over at every level. It doesn't reinvent cinema, doesn't try to, it is what it is.
Dir: Mike Newell
Stars: Lily James, Michiel Huisman, Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
1967
**
A wealthy, liberal couple suffer a jolt when their daughter brings her black fiance to the house.
This is usually afforded great importance in the history of Hollywood, with its daring new take on the race problem, even though it actually only has a gentle kick at the hornets' nest. So how is it as entertainment? Variable; it looks like it's the film of a play but actually isn't, and descends into a series of tumid speeches that the actors make to each other. But what acting - Tracy and Poitier especially take the plaudits in a movie that isn't especially nimble but is of solid quality.
Dir: Stanley Kramer
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
1939
*
Sailor Gulliver arrives on the island of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are tiny but feisty.
Ponderous, dated cartoon treatment of Swift's novel, here aimed squarely at children; animation variable.
Dir: Dave Fleischer et al
Voices: Sam Parker, Jack Mercer, Pinto Colvig
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
1976
0
Unsatisfactory and artificial-looking adaptation which mixes a real Gulliver, cartoon characters and 'dolls house' sets.
Dir: Peter R Hunt
Stars: Richard Harris, Catherine Schell, Norman Shelley
GUMSHOE
1971
*
A nightclub comedian sets himself up as a private eye.
An acquired taste: a curious mix of kitchen sink drama and comic spoof of film noir, with a star whose accent sometimes irritates. It certainly follows the path of most film noirs, being extremely difficult to follow, but some of the location work is refreshingly real-looking.
Dir: Stephen Frears
Stars: Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay, Fulton Mackay
GUN CRAZY
1949
**
A man who loves guns and a woman with a dubious past go on a crime spree.
Marvellously shot film noir whose photography deepens its quality, as it’s a fairly straightforward story, although the sexual symbolism is bold for its time.
Dir: Joseph H Lewis
Stars: John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger, Russ Tamblyn
GUNBUS
1988
0
Two cowboys are sent to the trenches of World War 1 to fight for the Allies.
Stilted adventure, neither inventive nor original enough.
Dir: Zoran Perisic
Stars: Scott McGinnis, Jeff Osterhage, Nicholas Lyndhurst
GUN CRAZY
1949
**
A man who loves guns and a woman with a dubious past go on a crime spree.
Marvellously shot film noir whose photography deepens its quality, as it’s a fairly straightforward story, although the sexual symbolism is bold for its time.
Dir: Joseph H Lewis
Stars: John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger, Russ Tamblyn
GUNBUS
1988
0
Two cowboys are sent to the trenches of World War 1 to fight for the Allies.
Stilted adventure, neither inventive nor original enough.
Dir: Zoran Perisic
Stars: Scott McGinnis, Jeff Osterhage, Nicholas Lyndhurst
GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL
1957
*
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday join forces to fight the Clanton gang.
The sort of movie your dad used to like - it's a definite 'Dad' movie of the old school, a solid Western exhibiting many of the qualities, and all of the tropes, that you desire from a traditional tale of machismo set in the Old West. Viewed today it can seem a little too stately, with even the final shootout not being as spectacular as hoped.
Dir: John Sturges
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, John Ireland
GUNGA DIN
1939
*
In 19th century India, British soldiers battle a murderous local cult.
A big, popular action picture of its day, now dated, often charmingly so.
Dir: George Stevens
Stars: Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Victor McLaglen, Joan Fontaine
THE GUNS OF NAVARONE
1961
*
Allies aim to take out a deadly German gun placement in Greece.
Over-praised war film with more chat than action; it lacks urgency and tension - but what a cast.
Dir: J Lee Thompson
Stars: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Richard Harris, James Robertson Justice
GUYS AND DOLLS
1955
0
A gambler is challenged to seduce a frosty missionary.
Well-known but, let's be honest, tedious and lengthy musical with average numbers and irritating, mostly contraction-free dialogue (do not, is not, etc). The male stars, who dominate, could never be mistaken for being likeable, sympathetic people.
Dir: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Stars: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine
GWENDOLINE
1984
0
A female adventurer looks for her lost father in China.
Rather laboured fantasy; it has promise, but a ponderous script and mix of styles sink it.
Dir: Just Jaeckin
Stars: Tawny Kitaen, Brent Huff
