4 October 2024. By Neptune WHEN AUTUMN COMES (QUAND VIENT L’AUTOMNE) ***1/2 (vo French, English subtitles) It is such a pleasure to anticipate the latest François Ozon film and have it confirmed – once again – that the man is a master filmmaker and storyteller. He, of such varied delicacies as “Gouttes d’eau sur pierres […]
FILM: MEGALOPOLIS *1/2
27 September 2024. By Neptune MEGALOPOLIS *1/2 It’s sad when a renowned artist loses his touch, his proven talent. At 85, the great Francis Ford Coppola, director of the unforgettable “Godfather” trilogy (the first two were masterworks, the third, a disappointment), and his grandiose “Apocalypse Now”, brought this, his last cinematic extravaganza to Cannes last […]
FILM: NI CHAÎNES, NI MAÎTRE (no chains, no master) ****
20 September 2024. By Neptune We’re lucky to have excellent films coming out this week. But then, it’s autumn and the rebirth of culture is in the air… LES GRAINES DU FIGUIER SAUVAGE **** ( vo Persian) I include below what I wrote about this exceptional film in my 16/8 column on the Locarno film […]
FILM: TATAMI **** an outstanding film
6 September 2024. By Neptune Dear Cinephiles,I was away last week so a few films have piled up, and will be away again next week, but will keep you informed of the exceptional ones. These reviews will necessarily be short. Last week’s releases: LA PRISONNIÈRE DE BORDEAUX *** (vo French) A well-acted, intriguing film about […]
FILM: EMILIA PEREZ **** – not to be missed!
23 August 2024. By Neptune EMILIA PEREZ **** (vo Spanish, some English) This film by the celebrated, multi award-winning French director Jacques Audiard is as varied as his broad body of work. He has made vastly different films such as “Un Prophète” (a César, and a 2009 Grand Prix at Cannes) about a jailbird, “Les […]
THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL AT 77 !
16 August 2024. By Neptune THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL AT 77 ! This week we’ll be covering the biggest film festival in Switzerland which will be ending this Saturday. When one says big, in Locarno one has to think of their BIGGEST draw – the Piazza Grande in the centre of town – which seats […]
FILM: PANDA BEAR IN AFRICA ***
9 August 2024. By Neptune PANDA BEAR IN AFRICA *** Here’s a sweet, non-violent animated film for children that is fun, adventurous and an eye-opener for kids ignorant of geography. Little Panda Bear is best friends with a dragon that gets kidnapped to Africa as a pet for a little lion prince whose overbearing uncle […]
FILM: SHAYDA ***1/2 – Australia’s Oscars entry
2 August 2024. By Neptune SHAYDA ***1/2 (vo Persian and English) Long ago Mark Twain wrote “Truth is stranger than fiction”. He was right, for everyone’s truth has been lived and felt deeply. To convey that truth into a fictional entity often creates a more moving and authentic work. This is what Iranian/Australian, writer/director Noora […]
FILM: THE GARFIELD MOVIE ***1/2
19 July 2024. By Neptune THE GARFIELD MOVIE ***1/2 What can I say? I’m really a dog person myself, was never comfortable around cats. But I simply fell in love with outrageous Garfield, the cat. And came out of the film feeling as happy and tickled as a child. In this delightfully animated film, Garfield […]
FILM: FLY ME TO THE MOON
12 July 2024. By Neptune FLY ME TO THE MOON **1/2 Scarlett Johansson is always excellent, whether it be in her early career as a troubled adolescent in Redford’s “The Horse Whisperer”, a lonely tourist in Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation”, a bombastic heroine in Besson’s “Lucy”, or that voice in the marvelous “Her”. She […]
