10 June 2022. By Neptune OPERATION MINCEMEAT (La Ruse) **1/2 This film by John Madden, best known for the Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love” and the “Marigold Hotel” films, is based on the actual WWII disinformation operation that the British mounted to be able to invade Europe through Sicily in 1943 without jeapordizing thousands of soldiers’ […]

3 June 2022. By Neptune THE DUKE  **** In such dark times of constant war news and continued world problems, it’s a relief to have such a  delightful feel-good film to lean into. To remind us of the amusing, human things of life, and that there is always hope, when you persist.  Based on a […]

27 May 2022. By Neptune I was away last week so these backed-up films may have shorter reviews. We also apologize for the mix-up of titles to UNE HISTOIRE PROVISOIRE (an intriguing film) in the May 13th column. TOP GUN: MAVERICK   ***  Tom Cruise is back in his Maverick role after 36 years. The […]

13 May 2022. By Neptune THE NORTHMAN  *  This is the sort of film that makes one yearn for censorship, as far as both violence and art are concerned. Old Shakespeare must be twirling around in his grave, for his Hamlet seems to be the leitmotif of this dark and bloody film. Based in ancient […]

15 April 2022. By Neptune CONTES DU HASARD ET AUTRES FANTAISIES (Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy) ***1/2 (vo Japanese) Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi rose to international fame this year due to his film DRIVE MY CAR, which excited the critics. Due to that snowball effect, it ended up with a number of awards as this […]

THE STORY OF MY WIFE (Histoire de ma femme)  ***1/2  A dashing sea captain, a mysterious beauty, a strange story about daring to “marry the first woman who walks in that door”, magnificently filmed by an award-winning Hungarian director – what more would you want from a turbulent, romantic drama set in 1920s Europe? The […]

4 March 2022. By Neptune BELFAST  **** How did director/actor Kenneth Branagh go from the showy, pop entertainment that was the latest “Death on the Nile” to something as deep, heartwarming and nostalgic as this black and white account of his own childhood in an Ireland torn apart by religious differences in the late 1960s? […]

18 February 2022. By Neptune RIFKIN’S FESTIVAL  **1/2 Anyone who has been following my column would know that I am an unconditional fan of Woody Allen’s. I believe I have seen all his films, which have come out almost annually in the past fifty plus years. He’s quite a phenomenon, as most of them are […]

11 February 2022. By Neptune MOONFALL  * German/American director Roland Emmerich is a master of hyperbolic action films like “Independence Day”, “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Midway”. They were intelligent blockbusters – exciting, popular, a mixture of incredible thrills and basic human emotions. And mega-moneymakers. Where has he gone wrong with this one? The script […]