G-Gh
Go to Bottom
Sample: Title; rating (out of 4); principal
setting; year of release; international co-producer (if any); cast; description;
scriptwriter; director; content warning; running time.
G-2
* setting: USA.
(1998) Daniel Bernhardt, Meeka Schiro, Bing Shen,
James Hong, Inkyang Kim.....Plagued by dreams of a previous life, a
man (Bernhardt) gets drawn into the violent world of illegal, gladiatorial
fights, in order to win Alexander the Great's sword from a sinister gangster
(Hong) who also is in his dreams. Low-budget action film is frequently
incoherent and hard to follow (even the title seems to make no sense),
but maybe that's because the story is more an excuse for a series of violent
and increasingly interminable fight scenes. Seems as though maybe it's
trying for fans of the Highlander movies
with its ideas of historical flashbacks and sword fights. Rotundo has already
milled this ground with Gladiator Cop. Still,
American actor Hong gets to try various characterizations (including a
dual role as the villain and the hero's spirit mentor) and it has
a hard working music score by Gary Koftinoff. sc./dir: Nick Rotundo. -
extreme violence, brief female nudity.- 92 min.
GALLANT LADIES see Dames Galantes
GAMBLING ON PARADISE see The Adventures of Smoke Belliou
Ganesh, a novel by Malcom Bosse, was turned into the movie Ordinary Magic
GAS
* setting: USA.
(1981) Susan Anspach, Howie Mandel, Sterling Hayden,
Helen Shaver, Donald Sutherland, Sandee Currie, Peter Aykroyd, Keith Knight,
Alf Humphries, Philip Akin, Michael Hogan, Paul Kelman, Harvey Chao, Vlasta
Vrana, Carl Marotte.....Broad-canvased satire of a small U.S. town
in the grips of a gas shortage engineered by the local oil baron (Hayden).
Someone could write a sociological essay about Canadian comedies -- it's
not that so many are bad (anyone can make a bad movie) it's that they tend
to be bad in exactly the same way! Sophomoric, sexist, racist,
mean-spirited, with ill-conceived slapstick numbers that owe more to the
Three Stooges (sound effects, sped-up film, etc.) than anything done in
the last twenty or thirty years. Nicely twisty story, with a decent
cast, too bad it ain't funny. Look for Tony Nardi as a mobster's
dairy plant manager and look fast (real fast) for Richard Comar as one
of the waiters in a restaurant. sc: Richard Wolf (story Wolf and
Susan Scranton). dir: Les Rose. - sexual content.- 95 min.
THE GATE *
* 1/2
(1987) Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Louis Tripp,
Kelly Rowan, Jennifer Irwin.....With his parents away for the weekend,
a boy (Dorff) and his best friend (Tripp) discover a hole in their backyard
that allows demons into their world. Slow- moving horror flick suffers
from plot holes and few real thrills but a touch of humour and a general
good-naturedness makes it better than most of its type. Good f/xs.
Followed by a sequel. sc: Michael Nankin. dir: Tibor Takacs. - violence.-
86 min.
THE GATE II
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(1991) Louis Tripp, Pamela Segall, Simon Reynolds,
James Villemaire, Neil Munro.....Teen (Tripp) calls on a demonic agent
to help his alcoholic father (Munro), and some other teen-agers get a hold
of the critter too, but the fulfilled wishes aren't quite what they seem.
Restrained sequel is less horror than dark fantasy and admirably avoids
being simply a remake of the first. Slow, with flat direction, but
good-looking with a good cast and dialogue and solid attempts at characterization.
And, like it's predecessor, it has a lot of heart. Good f/x (though
it doesn't really splurge until the last ten minutes). Ironically,
this sequel was more blatantly set in the United States -- presumably as
a marketing ploy -- and it did worse at the box office. sc: Michaek
Nankin. dir: Tibor Takacs. - extreme violence.- 94 min.
GAZ BAR BLUES *
* 1/2 setting: P.Q.
(2003) Serge Theriault, Gilles Renaud, Sebastien Delorme,
Danny Gilmore, Maxime Dumontier, Fanny Mallette, Gaston Caron, Gaston LePage.....Saga
of a suburban, family run gas station in 1989 that acts as a kind of community
centre, where locals hang out to shoot the breeze; and the various trials
and tribulations, including the older sons who have other dreams. Low-key
serio-comic flick meanders pleasantly, with decent performances, and nice
evocative atmosphere, but seems a little almost like it's edited together
from a longer soap opera or something. With sub-plots that never really
gel into a core narrative arc, and with characters who are sympathetic,
but none really are charismatic enough to anchor things. The result is
a genuinely likeable film...but not quite a riveting one. Renaud is a scene
stealer as the crotchety mechanic. In French. sc./dir: Louis Belanger.
115 min.
GEORGE'S ISLAND
* * 1/2 setting: N.S.
(1989) Sheila McCarthy, Maury Chaykin, Nathaniel Moreau,
Ian Bannen, Vicki Ridler, Gary Reineke, Brian Downey, Irene Hogan, Chas
Lawther.....Story of a boy (Moreau) taken from his crotchety grandfather
(Bannen) by overzealous social workers (McCarthy and Chaykin) and placed
with malevolent foster parents, and eventually climaxing on an island haunted
by pirate ghosts (led by Reineke). Comic Halloween tale for the family
has eccentric characters and a flamboyant ideas, but is hindered by run-of-the-mill
direction and cinematography, and no real drive to the story. The
nastiness and violence, though meant all in fun, seems too much for younger
kids. Still, off-beat enough to warrant a look. sc: Maura O'Connell,
Paul Donovan. dir: Paul Donovan. - extreme violence.- 90 min.
GETTING MARRIED IN BUFFALO JUMP
* * setting: Alt.
(1990) Wendy Crewson, Paul Gross, Marion Gilsenan,
Murray Cruchley, Kyra Harper, Victoria Snow.....City woman (Crewson)
inherits a ranch and then is presented with an offer by a ranch hand (Gross)
wanting land -- that they get married. Romantic drama seems kind
of choppy, as if crucial scenes were left on the cutting room floor, and
suffers from characters who are often blah and even unlikeable. For
a drama, it's not very dramatic, neither is it light-hearted enough to
be fun. Apparently the skinny dipping scene may've been trimmed somewhat
for the video version. a.k.a. Buffalo Jump. sc: John
Frizzell story Lyal Brown, Barabara Brown (from the novel by Susan Haley).
dir: Eric Till. - partial male and female nudity.- 97 min.
GHOST MOM
* *
(1993) (/U.S.) Jean Stapleton, Geraint Wyn Davies,
Shae d'Lyn, Denis Akiyama, Jayne Eastwood, Zachary Bennett, Ed Sahely,
Bernard Behrens.....A domineering mother (Stapleton) dies, then her
ghost persuades her son (Davies) to move her body, illegally, while baddies
(led by Akiyama) close in looking for an ancient Japanese jewel.
Made-for-TV comedy has a dead first half-hour (no pun intended), then manages
a few chuckles later, but still nothing to write home about. Davies
(showing a surprising comic flare) and d'Lyn as the love interest are fine,
but Stapleton's performance and irritating character are a liability.
sc: Daniel Harris, Constantino Magnatta, Dave Thomas. dir: Dave Thomas.
97 min.
GHOSTKEEPER
* * setting: B.C.
(1980) Riva Spier, Murray Ord, Sheri McFadden, Georgie
Collins, Les Kimber.....Trio gets snowed into a deserted hotel that
turns out to be inhabited by a strange old lady who has plans for them.
So-so horror flick starts out suspenseful but eventually gets rather tedious.
Predictable too. Still, not bad for its type. sc: James Makichuk,
Douglas MacLeod. dir: James Makichuk. - violence.- 87 min.
THE GHOSTS OF DICKENS' PAST
* * * setting: other
(1998) Christopher Heyerdahl, Jennifer Bertram, Cary
Lawrence, Sheena Larkin, Seann Gallagher, James Bradford.....A troubled
Charles Dickens (Heyerdahl) is led to writing "A Christmas Carol" after
encountering a mysterious, enigmatic girl (Bertram). Odd but effective
movie is part biography (though there's more fancy than fact), part treatise
on poverty and charity, and partly an attempt to re-imagine "A Christmas
Carol" by asking what if Scrooge (here Dickens) had his intervention before
he became bad, rather than after. As such, its strength is its weakness.
In spots it's too blatantly a cloying rip-off of "A Christmas Carol"...on
the other hand, it effectively injects new life into that oft-told tale
for a pleasing addition to the canon. Atmospheric, nicely evoking the time
and place (even though it was filmed in Canada!) and benefitting considerably
from Heyerdahl's commanding performance. Worth keeping an eye out for.
sc: Patricia Lavoie. dir: Bruce Neibaur. 89 min.
Go to Top