Going to the movies is good for your age esteem.

• Films entertain, inform, educate.
• Going to the movies is a social event that brings us into contact with others.
• Movies stimulate our imagination and creativity.
• Laughter, tears, and other emotions are freed.
• Watching foreign films stimulates our language skills.

WORTH YOUR WHILE***

 L’Art d’aimer *** (French)   Juxtaposed stories of love and amusing relationships in their many forms, delightfully French.

The Mill and the Cross (Bruegel – le moulin et la croix) ***   A magnificent analysis and literal coming-to-life of Pieter Bruegels’s famous painting, The Way to Calvary, intermingled with the politics of the era and the agony of Christ’s crucifixion. A master work.

The Woman in the Fifth (La Femme du Vème) *** (English, French)  Kristine Scott-Thomas and Ethan Hawke are entwined in a hypnotic, surrealistic tale of loneliness and longing in a Paris where elegance and low-life mingles.

Juan *** (German)   From Denmark comes this powerful modern-day version of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, starring a rugged Christopher Maltman as Juan. Mesmerizing.

Contagion ***  This disaster film about a world-wide pandemic is top-notch due to a realistic, gripping script and pacing, fine acting by an amazing cast of stars and its director, Steven Soderbergh. You won’t want to shake hands with anyone afterwards.

Happy Feet 2  ***  Even better than the original, there are adorable fuzzy kiddy penguins, snappy music, Robin Williams back as the love-crazy Latino penguin, and a lovable pair of philosophical shrimps (yes, shrimps!). For the child in all of us.

Puss in Boots ***  He’s been a bad kitty and he now has his own film! Voiced once more by Antonio Banderas, Puss is everything from lover to Zorro-like meow trying to redeem himself, between dances and swashbuckling heroics. Great fun for all kids from 5 to 95.

Monsieur Lazhar ***  This Canadian film which won the Audience Prize at Locarno is the gentle story of a refugee who becomes a fine school teacher but gets into trouble when it’s discovered he is not legal…..universal.

Carnage **1/2  Yasmina Reza’s play about two couples spilling their guts has been brought to the screen by Roman Polanski with great actors such as Jody Foster, Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and John C. Reilly. Unnerving and at times over-done.

Dangerous Method **1/2  Michael Fassbender portrays Carl Jung; Keira Knightly is his famous patient and lover, Sabina Spielrein, who went on to become a psychiatrist herself; and Freud (a too handsome Viggo Mortensen) is a consultant to Jung’s therapy and his intimate affair. Fascinating, but the Freud part does not feel convincing.

J. Edgar  **1/2  As always, Leonardo DeCaprio is brilliant, here as the FBI’s infamous Hoover, becoming him from the inside-out, as the physical resemblance is disputable. As is the badly-done makeup work. Clint Eastwood knows how to make artsy crowd-pleasers, but treats Hoover with kid gloves and leaves us hungry for more info than he’s willing to convey.

La Délicatesse **1/2  (French)   A sweet, gentle film about a great love lost and how the lonely girl (Audrey Tautou) can fall for a seemingly mediocre guy because of his goodness and simplicity. Endearing.

La Vérité si je mens 3  **1/2  (French)  This is the third in the amusing, wonderfully clichéd and politically-incorrect adventures of a close-knit band of young Jewish business guys (dealing mainly in the garment trade), one more wild and woolly than the next, always rooting for their families, trying to top each other and get the best of their adversaries. With colorful French character actors such as Richard Anconina, José Garcia, Gilbert Melki and Vincent Elbaz, you can’t lose. This is comedy from the heart, without vulgarity.

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  Movies not to be missed ****

Hugo (Cabret) ****  This is a wondrous, luminous love letter to the origins and magic of filmmaking by the master himself, Martin Scorsese, via the adventures of an orphan boy living atop a bustling Parisian railroad station in the 1930s. There is cinematic history (remember George Méliès?), pathos, excitement, romance and 3D used to its fullest glory. It’s the essence of film itself, with the great Ben Kingsley.

The Guard ***1/2  Character actor Brendan Gleeson is simply amazing as a no-nonsense law officer in this quirky, tongue-in-cheek, brutally funny Irish thriller set in a small town where little happens, except this time, with a slew of loony characters. Director John Michael McDonagh starts it off sleepy but builds it up to gale force!

The Whistleblower  ***1/2  There are films that are important and this is one of them. This real-life story about the revelation of blatant sex-trafficking within the UN/private contractors organizations in Sarajevo will leave you moved and shocked, wanting to do something to put a stop to such injustice and brutality. But as the film shows, it’s easier said than done. Rachel Weisz is excellent as the concerned policewoman.

Intouchables  ***1/2 (vo French)  The true, unconventional story of an aristocratic quadriplegic and his completely-opposite caretaker has been transformed into a humorous and very human film which has broken all box-office records in France. François Cluzet and Omar Sy play perfectly off each other in this offbeat buddy film.

The Lady  ***1/2  Luc Besson is a passionate scriptwriter and filmmaker (Le Grand Bleu, Subway, Leon, La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) who has put his heart and soul into this biopic about the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. There is Burma’s recent political history intermingled with Suu Kyi’s private life and her heart-breaking sacrifices involving her British husband and two sons versus her struggle for freedom and justice in her home country. Beautifully portrayed by Michelle Leoh, she is the female version of such giants as Ghandi and Mandela.

Margin Call  ***1/2   A Lehman Brothers-like melt-down is the premise of this tightly-wound, twenty-four hour study of mega-money manipulations among the rulers of stock markets. J.C. Chandor’s astonishingly-polished (and multi-awarded) first feature stars Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore, showing it as it is and always will be – the powerful managing to save their own hide….most of the time…

The Descendents ***1/2  Director Alexander Payne is a master of in-depth films about people’s experiences and transformations in key moments of their lives as in About Schmidt or  Sideways. Here he takes us to the glorious sea and landscapes of Hawaii and a wealthy local family whose patriarch is facing a terrible accident of a loved one and his unruly daughters, while having to decide on a huge land deal on one of the islands. A slow start develops into a gripping drama of many layers and colors, with an excellent George Clooney and fine supporting cast. Oscars?

Et si on vivait tous ensemble?  ***1/2 (vo French)  If you want to laugh, cry and be utterly amused by the trials and tribulations of a group of aging, long-time friends, run to this film starring everyone: Claude Rich, Jane Fonda, Guy Bedos, Pierre Richard, Geraldine Chaplin and the young German star, Daniel Brühl (from Goodbye Lenin), who is writing his thesis on their plan to grow old together….. A pure delight!

Jane Eyre ***1/2   In the great BBC tradition of fine drama, here is the latest version of Charlotte Bronté’s classic about a mysterious and troubled aristocrat and the young governess with whom he falls in love. Starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and the multi-talented Irish/German Michael Fassbender, who seems to be everywhere these days, it is brilliantly acted and filmed like a work of art by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre): a love story and melodrama captured in time.

50/50  ***1/2   Joseph Gordon-Levitt (rightly nominated for a Golden Globe) plays in the real-life story of a young man who finds out he has massive cancer of the spine and how he deals with the possibility of a 50/50 chance at life when you’re only in your twenties. The beauty of this film is the tenderness and humor that makes it not so much about the cancer but the relationships that become magnified when such tragedy strikes, whether they concern him, his buddy, mother or girlfriend. Quite unforgettable.

Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol  ***  Directed by Brad Bird, this is the best Mission Impossible to date. Tom Cruise and his astounding stunts are first rate, the script is tight and intelligent and the action is non-stop fun, from Russia to India and Dubai. This is grandiose popcorn entertainment with quality!

Reconciliation – Mandela’s Miracle ***  This fine documentary traces the oft-told story of Mandela’s decades-long imprisonment, his release and his honorable and peaceful rise to the presidency of South Africa. And above all, his amazing grace and forgiveness of his tormentors, which is the miracle of the title.

Le Havre *** (vo French)  Aki Kaurismäki has always had his own quirky style – 1950s formica decor in pastel-colored sets, frozen acting with lingering looks, and naive, simplistic stories. In this latest tale set in the port city of Le Havre, about a little black refugee and an aging shoe shine man who takes him in to protect him from the law, he has humanized his characters and given them depth and humor. A sweet, singular experience.

Neptune Ravar Ingwersen

May 2011 AU CINEMA

Good **

Winter’s Bone **1/2 In the poverty-stricken Ozarks of Missouri, a young girl sets out to find her outlaw father who has put up their home as bail. This is an unendingly dismal portrait of the miserable reality of their lives. Well acted and true to the region, but did it deserve to be nominated among the best films of 2010?

November  **1/2 (vo French)  A luminous documentary about an old mother and her eccentric son in their remote ancestral home somewhere near Alsace. It may feel static, but the beauty of the images has a hypnotic effect.

Los Colores de la Montana **1/2 (vo Spanish)   A touching and earnest foray into the tragedy of simple, innocent village people terrorized between the rebels and government troops in Columbia.

Unknown (Sans identité)  ** With Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger, this is an intriguing tale of mistaken/lost identity and a chase to find the truth in a maze of spies and hit-men in Berlin. This formulaic thriller has too many holes in its script, but an interesting finale. Bruno Ganz is great.

Ma part du gâteau  ** (vo French) Cédric Klapisch (L’Auberge espagnol) delves this time into two opposing worlds – that of a factory worker/maid and a rich trader who was instrumental in the downfall of her factory.  Karin Viard is charming as the initially-clueless maid, wowed by her new lifestyle.

La Fille du puisatier ** (vo French)  Based on a Marcel Pagnol classic and in the genre of Jean de Florette, Daniel Auteuil’s first endeavor at writing and directing is lovely to look at in the lush Provence, but too clichéd, sentimental and with some awkward acting from strong performers such as Darroussin and Azema. He should stick to being one of France’s great actors.

The Hunter ** (vo Farsi)   A stark and unrelentingly bitter tale of a man who loses his family in Tehran and tries to hit back at random. As director and actor, Raffi Pitts can’t make up his mind if this is a political statement of despair, a family tragedy or a thriller.

I am Number 4  (Numéro 4)  ** Like the vampire Twilight series, this looks like the beginning of a new franchise of good vs evil, aliens this time. The good guy alien is a dish of course, and his counter-part earth girl is sweet and trusting – what else? The evil aliens are really ghoulish….

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May 2011 AU CINEMA

Very Good  ***

The Fighter ***   Another true story, of two brothers, from the wrong side of Boston, who manage to hit the boxing big time due to their (sometimes destructive) loyalty to each other, and despite an overpowering mother, drugs and a band of loony sisters. Oscar-winning acting all around.

Pina  3D ***1/2 (vo German/English)  Remember Wim Wender’s trailblazing documentary about Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club?  He enchants us once again, this time on the sublime dance sequences of the late German choreographer, Pina Bausch. Here’s one master honoring another….

Rabbit Hole ***1/2    A haunting story of the loss of a child, the mourning process and what it does to the marital relationship. Director John Cameron Mitchell manages to grip you from the get-go and Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart carry their cross with honor and grace, plus a great crew.

Cirkus Columbia *** (vo Serb)   Danis Tanovic hit the film world with a bang with his outstanding No Man’s Land, winning many awards. His concern with the war and the tearing up of his country, Yugoslavia, continues here. 1991 – just before the war, in a bucolic village, a successful native son returns from Germany after 20 years, with money and a sexy girlfriend. Things have changed….

The Company Men ***   Here is an up-dated, more human Glengarry Glen Ross, about the harrowing tale of men losing their jobs and feeling completely paralyzed and rudderless in a ruthless corporate system. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner and the whole cast are excellent.

Women without Men *** (vo Farsi)  Shirin Neshat, the celebrated Persian artist, spins a melancholy, hypnotic tale of four women from varied backgrounds who come together against the backdrop of the 1953 Mossadegh/Shah/CIA upheavals in Iran. Despite its magical surrealism, it’s uncannily timely.

The Adjustment Bureau (L’agence) ***   Here’s a fine romantic thriller that’s also a philosophical mind-bender. Matt Damon convinces again as the fellow who dares defy fate and its weird agents. There’s great, intelligent fun in this freewill vs destiny brain-twister.

Silent Souls (Le dernier voyage de Tanya)  *** (vo Russian)  A strange, evocative saga of a burial in a remote part of Russia. Two men take the body of the woman they’ve both loved on a journey to a pagan ceremony of farewell. Slow, moody and quite unforgettable.

Hugo Koblet – Pedaleur de charme *** (vo German) This docu/biography on the famed Swiss champion cyclist of the 1950s, Hugo Koblet, is an eye-opener about the man who charmed his fans and the ladies but somehow lost track of his own life. Delightfully retro portrait of those simpler times….

The Source Code *** Jake Gyllenhall plays a heroic soldier who has to find the bomber of a passenger train.  Duncan Jones, who did the mysterious Moon, is again in futuristic mode and grabs us once more in this thriller that defies logical convention and could go on to another fine sequel…

Rio 3D ***  Very cute animated tale of a nerdy Minnesota blue parrot and his devoted mistress who end up in Rio de Janeiro , with all the fun, beauty and trouble you can imagine there.  The birds are a blast, the sound track is bombastic and it’s a super panorama of Rio life.

Die Fremde (When you Leave)  *** (vo German/Turkish)   Austrian Feo Aladag’s first feature film is a strong statement on the divide between Eastern and Western culture in Germany. A Turkish woman leaves her husband and wants to live a decent life with her little son. Her conservative family feels their honor has been tainted. What ensues is shocking, tragic and all too real.

Justine Bieber – Never Say Never **1/2    I thought this teenage singing phenomenon was just another fabricated, fluffy-haired flash-in-the-pan, until I saw the film. The kid is really talented and knows how to put on a show, which culminates in Madison Square Garden. He’s adorable, clean-cut, loves his family and is a good influence on his myriad young fans. Check him out.

Neptune Ravar Ingwersen

May 2011 AU CINEMA

Superb ****

In a Better World (Revenge)  **** (vo Danish, English)  Winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar, here’s yet another outstanding, universal film from Susanne Bier of Denmark. Covering two families, each with their own losses and sorrows, it follows the evolution of their two troubled sons who become friends in school. There is the father who helps as a doctor in Africa, marital problems and bullies of all sorts. It’s a rich and comprehensive kaleidoscope of today’s world, in all its aspects.

Wasteland (De la poubelle au musée) **** (vo Portuguese and English)   If art is transformation, this is the core of its creation – as Brazilian artist Vik Muniz turns garbage into works of art. Or rather, takes amazingly gentle, noble and wise garbage pickers in the biggest landfill in Brazil and transforms them and their lives into something very moving and beautiful. Director Lucy Walker deserves all the awards for her documentary, a true work of art, for it also transforms us.

127 Hours ****   PUT ASIDE your disgust at his cutting off his own arm to escape! That is only two minutes of this exhilarating true story. The rest is riveting, innovative drama, brilliantly directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) and a celebration of life, family and survival. Trust me.

Neptune Ravar Ingwersen

Very Good ***  Good**

You will note several foreign films among these.  Watching them in their original language will stimulate your brain neurons, good for your age esteem.

Another Year ***1/2   Mike Leigh of England makes films about ordinary people and here he depicts a very happy, loving couple surrounded by an array of miserable mortals who just can’t get it right. It could have been dreary, but it is a perfect example of great drama based on simple observation.  And how, sadly for the losers, one’s character ultimately defines one’s life.

Angèle et Tony *** (vo French)  By artist and first-time director Alix Delaporte, this is somewhat the French version of the above, with a bit more hope and sensuality thrown in – naturellement! It’s a sort of modern Taming of the Shrew: an incongruous couple meet and slowly discover each other, due to Tony’s basic goodness and patience, and despite Angèle’s rough, desperate character. It’s fresh and moving in its treatment of simple people, making them shiny and special.

Last Night ***   A yuppie couple have a tiff after a party when the wife detects a definite attraction between her husband and his sexy colleague. He denies all, she forgives, but the seeds of doubt have been sown. This is a smart, elegant take on modern relationships and fidelity, moments of temptation and the Venus and Mars differences between women and men.  It’s an excellent beginning for Iranian/American director and screenwriter Massy Tadjedin, who has managed to rope into her film such stars as Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes and Guillaume Canet.

Honeymoons ***  (vo Serb)  The terrible difficulty and injustice of emigration and being a refugee is treated here within two hopeful love stories, one of an Albanian couple and the other Serbian. They go from their dysfunctional families and weddings to the hell of trying to enter fortress Europe, even with the correct documents. It’s gripping, revealing and brilliantly directed by Goran Paskaljevic.

Africa United ***  This colorful road movie, about a handful of African kids crazy about football, covers a lot of ground – not only the seven countries it traverses, from Rwanda down to South Africa, but such topics as class, prostitution, child-soldiers, AIDS and of course friendship and solidarity. The destination of the World Cup down in South Africa is the vehicle for this exuberant journey of fun and mishaps, which mixes in some charming cartoon footage that’s the fairy tale which carries the children through this improbable voyage. Sweet, naive and hopeful, it’s the work of British director, Debs Gardner-Paterson, who knows Africa well.

La Petite chambre ***  (vo French)  A stubbornly grouchy old man (the grand Michel Bouquet) resents his aloof son and wants to be left alone. A caretaker for the elderly, who has her own heartbreak, manages to bring him out of his shell. Touching and well directed by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, both from Lausanne, it was the Swiss entry to the Oscars.

In the Beginning there was Light (Am Anfang war das Licht) **1/2  (vo German)  Apparently there are certain people who can subsist on air and light, without eating or drinking for long periods of time.  Are they liars and charlatans or deeper spirits than the rest of us? And why would they not want to eat? The Austrian P.A. Straubinger sets out to find out who, how and why in this engrossing and well-researched documentary. He leads us through the scientific facts, but there is also the Eastern idea of higher consciousness that cannot always be explained. He goes to all corners of the world, from Australia to the US, India, China and Europe, and takes us from scepticism to considering spirituality and the importance of mind-over-matter. This is well-balanced, eye-opening reportage.

Toi, moi et les autres **1/2  (vo French)   A bit of Romeo and Juliette and a modernized offshoot of Les parapluies de Cherbourg, here’s a socially-conscious musical by Audrey Estrougo that’s young, touching and aesthetically filmed, set between a wealthy family and an immigrant section of Paris. It has some lovely songs and a delicate Leila Bekhti as the heroine, but is too lethargic in its pacing.

Rien à declarer **1/2 (vo French)  After the colossal success of Bienvenu chez les Ch’tis, France’s Dany Boon has been looking for his next big comedy. This one, about two opposing border guards (Boon and Benoît Poelvoorde) on the French and Belgium sides, is an amusing take on their differences and prejudices at the time when European borders were being eradicated. A good premise and quirky characters make for many laughs – the café-owners and the bumbling drug-transporter are hilarious.

The Black Swan **  Here’s a bit of the classic Red Shoes, lots of melodrama, some quite fearful scenes set in a New York ballet company and a sublime Natalie Portman as the tortured, paranoid, perfectionist ballerina. Darren Aronofsky’s surrealistic film is somewhat over-the-top, but Portman is fragile and convincing, meriting her Golden Globe.

Neptune Ravar Ingwersen, film critic

]]> http://www.ageesteem.com/2011/02/06/movies-worth-seeing/feed/ 0 http://www.ageesteem.com/2011/02/06/good-films/ http://www.ageesteem.com/2011/02/06/good-films/#comments Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:00:08 +0000 Bonnie http://almania.tchmachines.com/~gwfrvzlm/?p=2100

AU CINEMA February 2011

Good **

Largo Winch 2 **1/2  (vo French and English)    The James Bond franchise should wish to be as smooth, cool and smart as the Largo Winch films. There are super chases, financial intrigues and political treachery, a serious love affair, a sweet kid and gorgeous locations, especially in the Far East.  Jérôme Salle (who wrote and directed the French film, Anthony Zimmer, which inspired The Tourist) directs it all with respect for our intelligence, and Tomer Sisley (a stand-up comedian from TV with an Israeli/German/French background) is perfect as Winch, the reluctant billionaire. The violence of the fight scenes could be toned down.

Hereafter (Au-delà) **  Matt Damon can hear and see spirits, but does not want to. Cécile de France comes back from death after a tsunami accident, and a shy English boy loses his closest soul mate. In this Clint Eastwood yarn, all these people converge somehow and there is a connection and a raison d’être. Ok, he knows his audience well, but it nevertheless feels concocted, like an overly-intricate puzzle.

Narnia 3 – Voyage of the Dawn Treader **1/2  This is a great one for the kids – inspiring, adventurous and especially fun due to a really nasty cousin paired with a talking monkey on the high seas.  Good to have clean thrills for our kids and some moral lessons in this hazardous world.

The Next 3 Days (Les trois prochains jours) **   A happy couple is torn apart when the wife is accused of murder and jailed for life. When her desperate husband finds no legal recourse, he decides to get her out any way he can. Russell Crowe is intense as usual, but the convoluted scenario and Elizabeth Banks as the wife are too weak to be as convincing as the French original, Pour Elle, despite the fine director Paul Haggis, of the award-winning Crash and In the Valley of Elah.

Tron – the Legacy **  For adolescents and the testosterone crowd, this is a clever futuristic and back-to-the-future action blockbuster that is fun to watch, especially a young Jeff Bridges created by computer graphics, vying against the real Bridges of today. This is quality popcorn stuff.

Burlesque **  GREAT musical numbers, like going to a Broadway show, but the script and acting are so banal that it’s embarrassing, especially for dear old Cher, who is looking mummified. Christina Aguilera sure can move and belt out those numbers, especially the blues!

The Tourist *1/2   It’s like a party – you can have all the right ingredients – best food, guests, locale, but it still falls flat. Same here: there’s top director Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck, from the German Oscar-winning The Life of Others, and Johnny Depp plus Angelina Jolie as protagonists in an international heist film – but it’s boring and lacks chemistry. And it’s so obviously trying to be ultra cool, but doesn’t make the mark. Too bad.  Depp is smooth and above-it-all, though Angelina should put some meat on her bones and lay off the heavy make-up and that lip thing…it’s distracting.

Somewhere *1/2   Here’s another dud. And so empty, though that’s what it’s about – the empty life of a movie star in a cult hotel in Hollywood. The usually brilliant director Sofia Coppola is too minimalist here, but the star’s teenage daughter, played by a radiant Elle Fanning, gives the film its moments of grace.

Neptune Ravar Ingwersen, film critic

AU CINEMA February 2011
Superb ****

Films are not just entertaining.  They are also thought-provoking, stimulate conversations and keep our minds alive.  -  All of which is good for our age esteem.

The King’s Speech ****   This superb film tells the story of the stuttering that plagued King George VI of England (father to Queen Elizabeth II), and the man who helped him overcome it. Each historical figure, from the spunky young Queen Mother (Helena Bonham-Carter) to the abdicating Duke of Windsor (Guy Pierce) and Colin Firth as the central figure, Bertie, shines in this evocative, tightly-wound yet very moving account of the man who did not want to be king, but took the mantle with responsibility and old-fashioned British resolve. Brilliantly directed by Tom Hooper, Firth brings out an amazing array of emotions as the shy king, while Jeffrey Rush is masterful as his speech teacher. Firth fully deserves his Golden Globe (and Oscar?) for best actor.

The Way Back (Les chemins de la liberté) ***1/2   A Peter Weir film is always superlative – Gallipoli, Witness, Dead Poets’ Society, Master and Commander. This latest one, with a strong character-actor cast (including Ed Harris and Colin Farrell), is about the long, harrowing journey on foot to freedom – from Russia to India – of a desperate group that escapes from a Siberian gulag. Fine acting and pacing make this true story a heroic odyssey.

True Grit ***1/2  The Coen brothers are back, once again at the summit of their craft, with a bold and entertaining remake of the 1969 John Wayne classic of the same name. And who else but the versatile Jeff Bridges to fill the Duke’s boots, with no apologies and a huge amount of grimy charm. The other wonder of this film is Hailee Steinfeld, a 14 year-old rising star playing the feisty girl who hires Bridges to find her father’s murderer. And Matt Damon makes a fine third wheel. The cinematography is perfect in its rich tones, both indoors and out, the dialogue is melodious, if one dares call it Shakespearean, while the mood is outrageously campy and tongue-in-cheek. Even if you’re not a fan of Westerns, you’ll be bowled over.

Neptune Ravar Ingwersen, film critic

AT YOUR OWN RISK

Les Petits ruisseaux *1/2 (vo French)   A film about an oldie discovering life after his buddy dies and leaves a collection of funky nude paintings. Pleasant but quickly forgotten.

L’Age de raison *1/2 (vo French) A career woman’s childhood comes back to haunt her in letters arriving from herself as a child. Go figure. If the film were as good as Sophie Marceau, we would have one gorgeous movie.

L’Italien *1/2 (vo French)  Kad Merad is everywhere these days, but is he really that talented or attractive? This repetitive tale of double identity is neither as deep nor as amusing as it wants to be, nor is Merad charismatic enough to carry it.

Insoupçonnable * (vo French)   Two rich brothers; a new girl and her “brother” enter their life; they all live the high life in Geneva. This is supposed to be an elegant thriller; it’s unfortunately only an embarrassing film noir caricature. What is the fine actor, Charles Berling doing here?

Film socialisme -   (vo French)   This is just a collage of badly-filmed banalities masquerading as art and intellect, for Jean-Luc Godard has been riding on his association with the Nouvelle Vague all these years with very little talent. He did have a few novelties in the early 60s (A Bout de Souffle), but few new ideas or emotions since then. Heresy! – I know, but it’s a case of the emperor’s new clothes…

Enter the Void -   If you’re into drugs, psychedelic nightmares or 60s-style abandon, this is your cup of tea. The title says it all – you’ll be entering empty, boring, vulgar garbage. And it’s directed by Gaspar Noé, the man responsible for the ultraviolent, indigestible Irrévérsible. Forget it.

Neptune Ingwersen