8 March 2019. By Neptune STAN AND OLLIE **** Duos have always been popular for they are often made up of opposites and therefore make for varied possibilities. There’s always the repartee that livens up these acts, giving them both fun and pathos, as with Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Holmes and Watson, or […]
FILM: JUSQU’ICI TOUT VA BIEN – great French comedy
1 March 2019. By Neptune JUSQU’ICI TOUT VA BIEN *** (vo French) When they want to, the French can make great comedies, full of innovative ideas, often politically incorrect, with social connotations and above all hilarious. This is one of them. Directed by the French/Algerian Mohamed Hamidi and produced by the famous French/Arab comedian Jamel […]
FILM: BY THE GRACE OF GOD – it will shake you to the core
22 February 2019. By Neptune BY THE GRACE OF GOD (GRÂCE À DIEU) **** The prolific French director François Ozon is back with another masterwork – maybe his best and most sober film yet. In fact, it just won the Grand Jury prize at the Berlin film festival. Different from his other brilliant, versatile works […]
FILM: THE WIFE – Glenn Close is excellent
22 February 2019. By Neptune THE WIFE ***1/2 Glenn Close is excellent (received the Golden Globe for best actress) as a loving wife to a famous author, played by a superb Jonathan Pryce, who is traveling to Sweden to pick up his Nobel prize for literature. As they travel together to Stockholm, their many years […]
FILM: THE FAVOURITE – a sick and cranky queen under the control of her longtime friend
8 February 2019. By Neptune THE FAVOURITE **** This is a deliciously malicious view of the corridors of power in early 18th century England during the reign of Queen Anne when France and England were at war, which was a huge drain on the royal coffers. But this film is mostly a portrait of the […]
FILM: IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK – see this other film instead
1 February 2019. By Neptune This is not a super week for film releases – so check out the excellent ones that are still on the Geneva screens – THE GREEN BOOK, BEN IS BACK, SHOPLIFTERS, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, COLD WAR, EDMOND, FACTEUR CHEVAL, COLETTE… The choice is vast. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK ** If […]
FILM: THE GREEN BOOK – This film is one of those greats. From its first scene.
18 January 2019. By Neptune THE GREEN BOOK ***** There were three films this year that I considered most memorable – the Icelandic WOMAN AT WAR, the Lebanese CAPHARNAUM and the Polish COLD WAR. Until I saw this film that simply blew me away. Probably the best of the year. So, what is a great […]
FILM: CREED II – good old Sylvester Stallone keeps them coming
11 January 2019. By Neptune What a week…three completely different films…The first one about one of France’s finest writers, Edmond Rostand of the classic romance, “Cyrano de Bergerac”; the other a gentle, social comedy about a group of homeless women; and the last about a boxing family going back to the “Rocky” days. All worth […]
FILM: WELCOME TO MARWEN – how a WWII soldier creates a make-believe universe to cope with trauma
4 January 2019. By Neptune WELCOME TO MARWEN *** Based on the life of Mark Hogancamp, this completely bizarre but charming film is a mix of live actors and Barbie-type figures that pop up in our character’s gentle musings but also in his worst nightmares. For his psychological problems stem from his time as a […]
FILM: 4 films to miss and 1 to see
21 December 2018. By Neptune It seems this week is the official release of THE BOOKSHOP which I already reviewed a few weeks ago. Unfortunately it’s the only film I can recommend this week – the others are all missables, except for MARY POPPINS RETURNS which I hear is excellent, but I have not yet […]
