9 October 2015. 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. SICARIO ***1/2 Remember the excellent “Traffic” by Steven Soderbergh? Well this is tighter, tougher and more intense. But then most tales […]
Everest, Les deux amis, Etre et devenir
25 September 2015 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. LES DEUX AMIS ***1/2 (vo French) Here is a film that creates an ambiance that is very French. There is a […]
The Intern – Horizontes – Premiers Crus – Un Debut Prometteur
1 October 2015 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. THE INTERN (Le nouveau stagiaire) *** Robert De Niro is utterly charming as a New York retiree and widower who decides […]
Film reviews: Dora, Au plus pres du soleil, Lamb, The man from U.N.C.L.E
18 September 2015 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. DORA ou les névroses sexuelles de nos parents ***1/2 (vo German) A film from the Locarno film fest, this intriguing story […]
Film reviews: Youth, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, LE CHALLAT DE TUNIS, BOY CHOIR
YOUTH *** A clever parody of getting old, this tongue-in-cheek study of various clients in a posh Swiss spa features a superb Michael Caine and a mellowed Harvey Keitel. It is by Paolo Sorrentino, who last made La Grande Bellezza, with its multiple awards including an Oscar and BAFTA for best foreign film. With its […]
Neptune’s film picks this week. Plus one to avoid.
LE TOUT NOUVEAU TESTAMENT **** (vo French) Delightfully irreverent, this Belgium film from one of the country’s best directors, Jaco van Dormael, tells it as it feels for a lot of people. The title and the poster say it all – The Brand New Testament, and “Dieu existe, il habite à Bruxelles”! Played by the […]
Floride; Victoria; Dheepan; Southpaw; We Are Your Friends
Floride **** (vo French) Jean Rochefort, the veteran French actor, is probably one of the most charming men anywhere. Growing more attractive with age, his elegance of manner, his abundant grey mane, chic attire and naughty humor make one laugh along with him. In this film he plays a man quite like himself, one in […]
Comme un avion; Amy; Mad Max – Fury Road; Une seconde mère; Love and Mercy; While We’re Young
Love and Mercy – one and a half stars So Brian Wilson, the musician, is a genius? And the Beach Boys?? This minor biopic, produced by Mr. Wilson himself, makes them sound terribly important, using two completely different-looking actors – Paul Dano and John Cusack – to portray the troubled Wilson’s early and later years. […]
Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément ; Le Talent de mes amis
Here are two delightful French releases: one a romantic comedy that takes quite a different look at relationships, and the other, a comic buddy-movie with social undertones. UN PEU, BEAUCOUP, AVEUGLEMENT *** (vo French) The talented, attractive Clovis Cornillac is back, this time in a film by and with him, with a surprising twist on a budding romance. […]
The Farewell Party ; A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
THE FAREWELL PARTY (Fin de partie) ***1/2 (vo Hebrew) Here’s an upscale Israeli senior home with a group of old friends, now in the twilight of their lives. They share leisure moments, meals, sports and care for and know each other intimately. So when one of them is suffering from an incurable illness, the group hesitantly agrees to […]