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: L’IMMENSITA ***1/2
13 January 2023. By Neptune L’IMMENSITA ***1/2 (vo Italian) There’s no doubt about it, Penelope Cruz is not only an international star, but also a magnificent actress. In every one of her films, she entrances with her beauty but also with the soul she pours into the character she portrays. And so it is with […]
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, […]
FILM: MOTHER TERESA AND ME (Kavita & Teresa) ***
9 December 2022. By Neptune It seems this week you’ll have a lot of movie-going, for there are four good ones coming out – all with 3 stars, which means ‘very good’. So depending on your inclinations, you’ve got choices galore! MOTHER TERESA AND ME (Kavita & Teresa) *** This film is the story of […]
FILM: GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE ****
2 December 2022. By Neptune GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE ( Mes rendezvous avec Leo) **** It never fails with Emma Thompson. Any character she portrays shines with authenticity – from a judge in “The Children Act”, a German wife in “Alone in Berlin”, an Austen damsel in “Sense and Sensibility”, or a lonely […]
FILM: RESTE UN PEU ***1/2
18 November 2022. By Neptune RESTE UN PEU ***1/2 (vo French) Gad Elmaleh is a popular French comedian and actor who with this second film as director has created quite a furore, even before its release. And the reason is that this tender comedy involving his family is actually about his wanting to convert […]
FILM: CALL JANE *** – 10 free tickets
By Neptune It is 1968 and a Chicago housewife is looking forward to having her baby until she finds out the birth will be seriously hazardous to her health. As a medical abortion is refused her by a panel of male doctors, she desperately looks for an alternative solution. She falls upon a group of […]
FILM: BOY FROM HEAVEN ****
28 October 2022. By Neptune BOY FROM HEAVEN (LA CONSPIRATION DU CAIRE) **** (vo Arabic) This gripping, eye-opener of a thriller, by the Swedish/Egyptian Tarik Saleh, takes you into the most important stronghold of Sunni Islamic theology, Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar University. Saleh’s spinning of this tale of both religious fervor and hypocrisy is impressive in […]
FILM: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT **** the ultimate anti-war message
14 October 2022. By Neptune ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT **** (vo German) All quiet on the western front/Im Westen Nichts Neues/A l’ouest, rien de nouveau. This is the classic based on Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel, ‘Im Westen nichts Neues’, remade anew and as powerful and brilliant as ever. Its first version, an […]
