ENGLISH MOVIES - EASTER BUMPER EDITION

ENGLISH MOVIE REVEWS IN GENEVA THIS WEEK

by Sarah Scaddan

THE CONCLUSION (FINALLY) – Avengers Endgame

English movies Easter Geneva This conclusion is a big deal for Avengers fans, as big as the final series of Game of Thrones. The Avengers take a final stand against Thanos, the evil demigod who decimated the planet and the universe in Marvel Studios’ conclusion to 22 films. 22 films! Adrift in space with no food or water, Tony Stark sends a message to Pepper Potts as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers figure out a way to bring back their vanquished allies for an epic showdown with Thanos.

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Pathé Balexert, Cinéma Voltaire.

COME BACK TWILIGHT, ALL IS FORGIVEN – After

English movies Easter Geneva Based on Anna Todd’s best-selling novel, After follows Tessa, a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart, as she enters her first semester in college. Her guarded world opens up when she meets a brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself. Corny to the point of embarrassment.

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Pathé Balexert, Ciné 17, Cinéma Voltaire.

OLD-FASHIONED HOLLYWOOD STORYTELLING – The Old Man and the Gun

The Old Man and the Gun is based on the true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities. In pursuit are detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment, and a woman (Sissy Spacek), who loves him in spite of his chosen profession. A simple and easygoing joy which could serve as an ode to Robert Redford’s career, he went into retirement after making this film.

Showing at Cinérama Empire.

MEET MR LINK – Missing Link

Mr Link is 8 feet tall, weighs 630lbs, is covered in fur and looking for adventure. Missing Link is a delightful, polished and droll adventure-comedy which even squeezes in a little food for thought.

Showing at Pathé Balexert, Ciné 17

HO-HUM HORROR FLICK – The Curse of LA Llorona.

English movies Easter Geneva She wants your children. In 1970s Los Angeles, La Llorona, the bogey woman of Mexican legends, is stalking the night – and the children. This scares me because I am especially cowardly, but in reality its full of cheap jump scares and the same ‘spooky’ effects we have seen many, many, many times before.

Showing at Pathé Balexert.

THE DARK DAYS OF VINCENT VAN GOGH – At Eternity’s Gate

Led by mesmerising work from Willem Dafoe in the main role, At Eternity’s Gate imagines Vincent Van Gogh’s troubled final-days. It’s not a biography, instead is based on letters, hearsay, fact and presumption. The pace of the film is slow and melancholic, but Willem Dafoe totally nails it.

Showing at Cinéma Bio.

HONEST AND IMMENSELY RELATABLE – What they had

Easter movies English Geneva What They Had centres on a family in crisis. Bridget (Hilary Swank) returns home to Chicago at her brother’s insistence to help deal with her ailing mother with Alzheimer’s and her father’s reluctance to let go of their life together. You may feel like you have seen this plot before, but you haven’t seen this film. Stella performances, moments of humour and incredible honesty makes the film immensely relatable and one to watch.

Showing at Ciné 17.

WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THIS? – Free Solo

English movies Easter Geneva Professional rock climber Alex Honnold attempts the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan’s 900-metre vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park. Although a documentary, Free Solo is also an edge-of-your seat thriller, an inspiring portrait of an athlete and a visually impressive film. An inspirational watch but I can’t help thinking: why would anybody do this?

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Le City.

ANYONE REMEMBER THE LITTLEST HOBBO? – A Dog’s Way Home

Separated from her owner, a dog travels 400 miles to be find home. She makes a lot of friends and touches people’s lives along the way. Don’t expect anything profound but if you feel like a cute dog film, you could give it a go.

Showing at Pathé Balexert.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN SCARIER – Pet Sematary

English movies Easter Geneva Based on the terrifying Stephen King novel, Pet Sematary follows a family moving from Boston to rural Maine and find that close to their new house is the cemetery where locals bury deceased animals. When they’re cat passes away, the family do the same, only to discover the secret of the cemetery. Not a patch on the novel, this version is predictable with cheap scares and a hint of cheese.

Showing at Pathé Balexert, Cinéma Voltaire.

WE ALL HAVE A SUPERHERO INSIDE OF US – Shazam!

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word ‘SHAZAM!’ this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam, courtesy of a magic spell. Inside that ripped, godlike body, Shazam is still a kid himself and revels in doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have a riot. Hilarious, packed with heart and carelessly breezy.

Showing at Cinéma Voltaire, Pathé Balexert.

AN AWAKENING OF MELISSA McCARTHY – Can You Ever Forgive Me?

English movies Easter Geneva Melissa McCarthy is, surprisingly, terrific in this juicy dramatic role where for once she has to play it straight. She stars as Lee Israel, the best-selling celebrity biographer who made her living in the 1970’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn and Estée Lauder. When Lee found herself unable to get published because she had fallen out of step with the marketplace, she turned her art form to deception, helped by her scoundrel friend Jack, played by Richard E Grant.
Showing at Ciné 17.

THIS GENERATION’S HITCHCOCK – Us

English movies in Geneva this week Haunted by an unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide is increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family. After a day out, they return home to find four figures holding hands stand in the driveway. They’re terrifying opponents are doppelgängers of themselves. The violence, the tears, the screams, the jump scares are all familiar, but still done in a fresh way. Jordan Peele is this generations Hitchcock. One to watch (through your fingers).

Showing at Pathé Balexert.

PACKS A POIGNANT PUNCH – Boy Erased

Boy Erased tells the true story of the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) at the age of 19. He is faced with an ultimatum: to attend a gay conversion therapy program or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Well-acted and moving.

Showing at Cinérama Empire, Cinéma Voltaire.

WHEN I SEE AN ELEPHANT FLY – Dumbo

English movies Easter Geneva From Disney and visionary director Tim Burton, the all-new grand live-action adventure Dumbo expands on the beloved classic story of the elephant that can fly. Tim Burton delivers his best family movie in a long long time

Showing at Ciné 17, Cinéma Rouge et Noir, Pathé Balexert, Cinéma La Patio.

INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY – Three Identical Strangers

English movies Easter Geneva In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they’re triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery. Three Identical Strangers succeeds far beyond its role as a documentary and even holds the ingredients necessary for a thriller. Enthralling.

Showing at Cinérama Empire.

REVELATORY DOCUMENTARY – RBG

At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. This documentary charts the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior’s rise to the nation’s highest court.

Showing at Ciné 17

A COMPLETE AND TOTAL MISFIRE – Captive State

English movies Easter Geneva Set in a Chicago neighbourhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict – the collaborators and dissidents. Some inexplicably incoherent storytelling going on here.

Showing at Cinérama Empire.

JUST ANOTHER MARVEL MOVIE – Captain Marvel

The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s (with awesome 90’s soundtrack), Captain Marvel is predictable yet pleasing enough.

Showing at Pathé Balexert.

THE MECHANICS OF POWER – Vice

Christian Bale plays Dick Cheney, the former U.S. Vice President in this biographical comedy/drama. Bale nails it as the resilient, backstabbing, front-stabbing, ruthlessly ambitious Cheney.

Showing at Cinérama Empire

A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP – The Wife

Joe and Joan Castleman have been married for 40 years. Joe has a public role as a Great American Novelist soon to be awarded the Noble Peace Price. Joan is the woman behind the scenes. The Wife is a clever, subtle and moving portrait of a hidden woman brought to life by a fantastic performance by Glenn Close.

Showing at Ciné 17.

MULTI-AWARD-WINNING – Green Book

When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger-as well as unexpected humanity and humour – they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime. Green Book recently won three Golden Globes including best motion picture.

Showing at Ciné 17, Pathé Balexert, Les Scala.

BUG SAGA – Miniscule – Mandibles from Far Away

Dialogue free bug saga that will charm all ages. In the conditioning unit of a small chestnut can factory in a quiet little country village as winter slowly settles, a young ladybug gets trapped by accident in a cardboard box shipped to the Caribbean. His parent sets off for the paradise archipelago to find his little kid and free him.