6 April 2018. DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT *** The multifaceted director Gus Van Sant (among his 48 works – “My Own Private Idaho”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Milk”) is back, this time with an intimate, bittersweet film about a severe alcoholic. Through a wild night of too many drinks with a reckless […]
FILM: PETER RABBIT – an Easter movie that will make you feel as high as a kite
30 March 2018. PETER RABBIT ***1/2 All is right with the world…as long as we get films like this which make us feel as high as a kite, warm in our hearts and as optimistic as Peter himself! American director Will Gluck (“Friends with Benefits”, “Annie”) has gone British (the classic bunny tale, the setting […]
FILM: HUMAN FLOW – Ai Weiwei’s documentary on refugees
23 March 2018. HUMAN FLOW *** The very political Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has decided to go to the root of the worst tragedy of our times – the refugee problem. To imagine that there are 65 million people who are displaced around the world today due to wars, famine, and racial and religious discrimination […]
FILM: THE DISASTER ARTIST – about an awful film that became a cult comedy
9 March 2018. THE DISASTER ARTIST ***1/2 James Franco proves here once again that he is an incredibly prolific, versatile artist. A born Californian, he started off in films at 19 and has till now 149 roles, 39 directorial, and some 25 writing credits under his belt – and he is only 39 years old! […]
FILM: WAJIB – best film at last year’s Locarno film festival
2 March 2018. WAJIB **** (vo Arabic, Hebrew, English) This auteur work by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir was the best film at last year’s Locarno film festival. Its touching story of a father/son moment when the son comes home to Palestine from Rome for his sister’s wedding is a superb portrait of family love, duty […]
FILM: THE SHAPE OF WATER – the very essence of love
23 February 2018. THE SHAPE OF WATER **** This pre-Oscar season has been a rich one indeed – DARKEST HOUR, THREE BILLBOARDS…, THE POST (The Pentagon Papers), PHANTOM THREAD, LADYBIRD, DUNKIRK, and Woody’s WONDER WHEEL (unfortunately not in the awards lineup)… every one of them exceptional and Oscar-worthy. And then I saw THE SHAPE OF […]
FILM: PHANTOM THREAD – with the inimitable Daniel Day-Lewis. Not to be missed
PHANTOM THREAD **** Any film with the inimitable Daniel Day-Lewis should not be missed. Remember MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE, MY LEFT FOOT, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, LINCOLN? This versatile actor has won three Oscars and may win his fourth with this film by Paul Thomas Anderson, with whom he also collaborated in THERE WILL BE […]
FILM: THE 5:17 TO PARIS – Clint Eastwood’s version of the train terrorist attack
9 February 2018. As I was absent at the preview of this film, a friend who was there kindly wrote this review on it. What do you think of the movie, for we all see films with our own baggage, don’t we? Till next week, Neptune. THE 5:17 TO PARIS *1/2 On 21 August 2015, […]
FILM: Wonder Wheel – Woody Allen-esque twists of fate and folly on Coney Island
2 February 2018. WONDER WHEEL ***1/2 We had to wait more than a year this time for Woody Allen’s annual gift to us cinephiles and Woody fans, but the wait was worth it. It has the usual Allen-esque features: world-weary wisdom, excellent direction of actors Kate Winslet, James Belushi and Justin Timberlake, plus his mixture […]
Geneva’s Black Movie Festival
A bright spark in this dreary January in Geneva is certainly the Black Movie festival. Take “Silent Mist”, a visually mesmerising film shot on location in a remote Chinese village. “Still no electricity”, says the Director, Zhang Miaoyan, explaining the string of red lanterns that light up the movie and the night. A moving story, […]
