3 March 2023. By Neptune CREED III **1/2 We are in the footsteps of “Rocky” in this umpteenth chapter of a string of boxing giants, created originally by Sylvester Stallone. There’s obviously a great deal of brutal, bruising boxing scenes for that’s the leitmotif of this whole franchise. But somehow this one seems more character-driven […]
FILM: THE FABELMANS **1/2 – Spielberg’s childhood
24 February 2023. By Neptune THE FABELMANS **1/2 Steven Spielberg – scenarist, director, producer – is no doubt one of the greats of filmdom. From his first thrilling “Duel” in 1971 at the age of 25, to “E.T.”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “Catch Me If You Can”, and his ultimate masterpiece “Schindler’s List” (to list only […]
FILM: TCHAIKOVSKY’S WIFE ***1/2
17 February 2023. By Neptune TCHAIKOVSKY’S WIFE ***1/2 (vo Russian) Film directors can be like the rebel directors of today’s opera productions who take a grand classic such as Mozart’s “Abduction from the Seraglio” and set it on a cruise ship; or Olivier Py, who has taken Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” and Berg‘s “Lulu” and made sexual […]
FILM: MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE **
10 February 2023. By Neptune MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE ** This Steven Soderbergh extravaganza starts off with quite a bang. We’re in beautiful Miami and the living is rich. Our hero, Mike, who was a male stripper (played by the talented Tatum Channing, from the past two Magic Mike movies), is now bartending at the […]
FILM: A MAN CALLED OTTO – a crowd-pleaser
3 February 2023. By Neptune A MAN CALLED OTTO (Le pire voisin du monde) **1/2 There’s no doubt about it, this one is a crowd-pleaser. It’s the slow-brewing story of Otto, a grouchy man who has lost his beloved wife and also his will to live. But there’s always hope, isn’t there, in the form […]
FILM: TAR **** simply brilliant
27 January 2023. By Neptune TAR **** One expects excellence when Cate Blanchett is in a film, and this one certainly does not disappoint. She has already garnered quite a few awards for it and will most probably end up with another Oscar. In her career she has accumulated 2 Oscars, 3 BAFTAS and 4 […]
FILM: BABYLON *** – a work not easily forgotten
20 January 2023. By Neptune BABYLON ***1/2 Here is an unabashed homage to the magic and enchantment of cinema by Damien Chazelle, the writer/director who made that other love letter to filmdom, LALALAND, which was a romantic though tragic take on the effects of Tinseltown on its characters set in a musical. Babylon takes a […]
FILM: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN **
6 January 2023. By Neptune THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN ** I’m going out on a limb on this one. All the critics are drooling over this film and, starting off as a big winner at the Venice film festival, it’s going to all the award shows such as the Golden Globes, Oscars, et al… Of […]
FILM: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY ***
23 December 2022. By Neptune I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY *** This is the biopic about the beautiful Whitney Houston of the magnificent voice. Who can ever forget her electrifying rendition of “I Will Always Love You”, from her film, “The Bodyguard”? Director Kasi Lemmons handles Houston’s turbulent life with all its ups and downs […]
FILM: NO BEARS **** – secret glimpses of Iran
16 December 2022. By Neptune NO BEARS (AUCUN OURS) **** (vo Farsi) Jafar Panahi of Iran has been at it again. This is his fifth film made in secret and smuggled out to the world, as he has been banned from making films or leaving the country since 2010. The authorities finally put this great, […]
