4 June 2021. By Neptune LOS LOBOS **** (Spanish/English) There are films that are so simple and human that they ignite an immediate connection in us. This tale of a Mexican mother and her two little boys who have come to America to find a better life takes us right into the squalid world of […]
FILM: THE FATHER **** exceptional
28 May 2021. By Neptune THE FATHER **** In this exceptional film, Anthony Hopkins embodies a seemingly fit father who is gradually falling towards dementia. He lives alone in a tastefully decorated London apartment which has been his home for years. He feels completely capable and does not want any nurse to live with him. […]
FILM: PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – a vengeance film straight out of the pulse of the times
14 May 2021. By Neptune This week we have 3 troubling films that are nevertheless worthy of your time, and good for a discussion of their whys and wherefores… Is this a sign of our era – dark and polemic? Oh, for those lively, wonderful Italian Comedies of old, that are still continuing at the […]
FILM – ANOTHER ROUND
7 May 2021. By Neptune I tell you, the films are coming at us like a backlog avalanche! Such a pleasure to be seated in the dark again in a real movie theater, in front of a BIG screen. And our art house cinemas – the Scalas, the Nord-Sud, the Bio, the Cinelux – have […]
FILM: THE DISSIDENT **** – shakes to the core
30 April 2021. By Neptune THE DISSIDENT **** Once in awhile a film comes along that shakes one to the core. This documentary about the highly publicized 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, is such a one. It is both a tribute to a courageous man and a window into the outrageous […]
FILM: Cinemas open – here’s what’s showing
23 April 2021. By Neptune Oh, there is suddenly so much going on! Cinemas have opened, theatres and museums are open, some cafe terraces are opening, and it feels like a mini-revolution of liberty. People have been yearning for social contact and culture, and they are coming out in droves. And the weather has been […]
FILM: ADIEU LES CONS
19 March 2021. By Neptune It’s a possibility that cinemas may be opening up from March 22nd. If so, this outstanding film, which I already reviewed back in autumn 2020, has in the meantime won most of the French Césars, and will be released after months of waiting in the Covid wards. A good film […]
FILM: Musicals – the absolute jewels
11 December 2020. I had to leave out many fine examples (7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS, GIGI, SWEENEY TODD, MOULIN ROUGE, MARY POPPINS, PURPLE RAIN, LA LA LAND…), but here are the absolute jewels. We need such uplifting talent and joy in these grey, uncertain times… AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) Gene Kelly was at […]
FILM: 5 favourites for that desert island
4 December 2020. This week I’ve picked five of my favorite films for you. Each is completely different in theme and genre, yet there is a common thread of intelligence, charm and nostalgia to them. Another similarity is the excellence of their directors, the ultimate visionary behind any unforgettable film. There are obviously many more […]
FILM: Intelligent comedies of old
27 November 2020. There are so many exceptional, intelligent comedies of old…though few good new ones, as they mainly go for vulgarity these days with juvenile below-the-belt crassness (in the vein of Judd Apatow films). As we certainly need humor in these morose, uncertain times, here are some choice picks from way back to lighten […]
