14 June 2024. By Neptune GLORIA *** (vo Italian) This beautifully-filmed tale of a religious orphanage and conservatory for girls in 1800 Venice is a treat for the eyes, and for the ears through its charming music. As usual with the era and with religious establishments of the time, it’s also about the utter cruelty […]
FILM: BAD BOYS – RIDE OR DIE – the two wise-cracking buddies are back
7 June 2024. By Neptune BAD BOYS – RIDE OR DIE **1/2 The ‘Bad Boys’ are back again for the 4th time in this fun/action franchise. It been almost 30 years since the original “Bad Boys”, and these two forever wise-cracking buddies are beginning to feel time may be catching up on them. Of course […]
FILM: MEMORY – about buried secrets that need to be shared and exposed to light
31 May 2024. By Neptune MEMORY *** Does memory stand up to reality? Do we each remember things differently and colour the facts with our own emotions? This is what Mexican director Michel Franco is delving into here – two damaged people who come together and manage, through distorted memories, to find a haven in […]
FILM: MARCELLO MIO – a charming nostalgia piece
24 May 2024. By Neptune MARCELLO MIO ***1/2 (vo French, Italian, English) This charming nostalgia piece is a real cinephile’s delight. But that is also its one drawback – for it’s a celebratory gift mostly to those who can recognise all the references to the film classics of the legendary, debonair Marcello Mastroianni: for instance, […]
THE SECOND ACT/LE DEUXIÈME ACTE ***1/2 (vo French)
The Cannes film festival is in full swing, and this French film was its opening selection. And it deserved to be, for it’s a clever, surrealistic work about cinema – fiction and reality in front of and behind the camera, narcissistic actors, and a possible future with AI looming over its creativity. It also touches […]
FILM: IF – an uplifting and amusing revelation about imaginary friends
10 May 2024. By Neptune IF (BLUE ET COMPAGNIE) **** Did you have an imaginary friend when you were growing up? That’s what the title IF stands for, and it’s an uplifting and amusing revelation. This mix of live-action and animation is about an adolescent girl (Cailey Fleming) who lost her mother as a child. […]
FILM: LE TABLEAU VOLÉ – thrilling tale of a lost and found masterwork
3 May 2024. By Neptune LE TABLEAU VOLÉ *** (vo French) Is it Sotheby’s or Scotties? Strange choice of a replacement name in this film about a heavyweight auction house whose real name couldn’t be used in this story based on a true event.But French director Pascal Bonitzer manages to show us two worlds in […]
FILM: HIGH AND LOW – JOHN GALLIANO ***1/2 – a must-see
26 April 2024. By Neptune HIGH AND LOW – JOHN GALLIANO ***1/2 Remember Galliano, the exciting, eccentric English fashion designer who revolutionised the house of Dior with his flamboyant, baroque shows? This in-your-face, honest documentary about Galliano shows it all with a fluid ease – his rise, his innate talent, his 15 years of glory […]
FILM: CIVIL WAR **1/2 – frightening view of a possible future reality
19 April 2024. By Neptune We have a highly varied selection of films this week – depicting unsettling violence, gentle wisdom and a surrealistic comedy – from different countries – U.S., India, Bhutan and France. Choose wisely… CIVIL WAR **1/2 This is a brutal film in its frightening view of a possible future reality. But […]
FILM: The Promised Land – a film not to miss!
12 April 2024. By Neptune KING’S LAND (The Promised Land) ***1/2 (vo Danish, German) In this historical epic, Danish director Nikolaj Arcel pits two vastly different men against each other in 18th century Denmark. One is a decent, lowly captain from the army who wants to develop the barren peninsula of Jutland (sort of the […]
