7 June 2024.
By Neptune
BAD BOYS – RIDE OR DIE **1/2
The ‘Bad Boys’ are back again for the 4th time in this fun/action franchise. It been almost 30 years since the original “Bad Boys”, and these two forever wise-cracking buddies are beginning to feel time may be catching up on them.
Of course they are the hero-ish, mischief-making detectives in the Miami Police Department, but this time around they’re in double trouble as they try to clear the reputation of their murdered captain, who they know had been framed. As they too end up being framed by the same crafty drug lord, it’s not only the gangsters that are after them, but also their own police force.
No matter what ‘bad boy’ Will Smith has done in his private life or with his infamous Oscar slapping incident, he’s still a fine, charismatic actor (with a well-deserved Oscar for “King Richard” in which he played father to the famed Williams sisters), and this trusty blockbuster is the perfect vehicle for his big-time comeback. He’s the smooth, cool character in the series, whereas Martin Lawrence is the older clown of their often reckless duo. And there’s quite a few family members added to the equation this time, especially two surprising sons.
There’s a lot of “Beep, Beep, the Roadrunner” type mayhem while their constant repartee keeps the action light and easy. It’s a sort of a comic “Miami Vice”.
LA BELLE DE GAZA **1/2 (vo Arabic, Hebrew, English, French)
This is a sweet, strange, somewhat muddled documentary about a Palestinian transgender prostitute who is said to have walked from Gaza to Tel Aviv thinking it might be easier for her to practice her profession there. But it’s never easy anywhere for her kind of people…
Featured at the Cannes film festival and directed by Yolande Zauberman, this gritty film features the stunningly beautiful Talleen Abu Hannah as the Belle. Or is she really the Belle, and is she Palestinian or Israeli? It is never quite clear who is who, and as the director has said, half the film was shot some years ago and other parts filmed recently, so it’s all quite ambiguous. What stands out is the camaraderie amongst these people of the night, and the fact that their religious and national differences seem to melt away in the dark.
(At the Grütli cinemas)
LA PETITE VADROUILLE * (vo French)
Here we go again – another missable French film that could have been fun, but is just a silly story about a made-up holiday cruise offered by the boss of a firm to the woman he wishes to woo, and all the mixups that come from it.
It’s a bit of a limp ‘boulevard’ piece. How could have such fine actors as Daniel Auteuil and Sandrine Kiberlain gotten into this useless project?!
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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