ENGLISH MOVIES IN GENEVA THIS WEEK

ENGLISH MOVIES ROUND-UP FOR THIS WEEK

by Sarah Scaddan

The kids are back to school so it is time to increase your screen time.

Here are the highlights of English language films showing in Geneva this week.

WORKPLACE COMEDY – LATE NIGHT

Legendary late-night talk show host’s world is turned upside down when she hires her first female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her hiring has comical consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline. Heightened by an impressive performance by Emma Thompson and well worth a watch.

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Cinéma Voltaire, Pathé Balexert

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Quentin Tarantino’s ninth feature film is a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. Outrageous, brash filmmaking that only Tarantino is capable of pulling off.

Showing at Ciné 17, Cinérama Empire, Cinéma Rouge et Noir, Cinéma Voltaire, Pathé Archamps, Pathé Balexert.

A HEALTHY HAZARD – A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK

Woody Allen movies are something that used to be considered good for you and are now more or less deemed a health hazard. A bit like cigarettes. This film, his 49^th, is a rehash of previous films with only a couple of charming moments. The basic plot is ‘two young people to the New York in bad weather and have a few adventures’. Avoid.

Showing at Cinerama Empire.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN FUNNY – THE HUSTLE

Anne Hathaway, the elegant sophisticated con artist, and Rebel Wilson, the less elegant and not remotely sophisticated hustler, compete to try and fleece a naïve tech billionaire. From the start, Anne Hathaway’s accent is just embarrassing. Rebel Wilson is always embarrassing but usually funny with it. It’s like someone has gone through the film and erased all the good jokes and you end up feeling like you’re the one that has been hustled.

Showing at Pathé Balexert

FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS AND SHAW

Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson and ex-military officer Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) love to make each other’s lives difficult. But when terrorist Brixton (Idris Elba) threatens the world, Hobbs and Shaw are forced to work as a team. Well matched stars, lots of humour and wildly over-the-top actions scenes.

Showing at Pathé Balexert

TOTALLY FORGETTABLE – ANGEL HAS FALLEN

When there is an assassination attempt on U.S. President, his trusted Secret Service Agent is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart the FBI in order to find the real threat to the President. Number three in the Has Fallen trilogy and as forgettable as the rest.

Showing at Pathé Archamps, Pathé Balexert

PERPLEXINGLY DULL – RED JOAN

Joan Stanley is a widow living out a quiet retirement in the suburbs when, shockingly, the British Secret Service places her under arrest. The charge: providing classified scientific information the Soviet government for decades. As the interrogation gets underway, Joan relives the dramatic events that shaped her life. An interesting tale told in an awfully dull way. A waste of Dench’s talent.

Showing at Ciné 17.

OLD SCHOOL HORROR – SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

It’s l968 in the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories that become all too real for a group of teenagers who discover her book. Charming, spooky visuals, creaky floorboard scary and the sort of horror film you would much prefer your teenager watched than a slasher film.

Showing at Pathé Balexert

BEATLES FIX – YESTERDAY

A struggling musician wakes up after a freak accident in an alternate timeline, in which The Beatles never existed. It’s hard not to enjoy a film that basically plays you The Beatles’ songs for two hours.

Showing at Ciné 17, Cinelux.

MEN IN TIGHTS – THE WHITE CROW

Ralph Fiennes plays Rudolf Nureyev in the story of Nureyev’s defection to the West. Stylish with some beautiful dance moments.

Showing at Ciné 17, Cinérama Empire, Cinelux,

UNHINGED – MIDSOMMAR

Dani and Christian are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that become increasingly disturbing. Truly terrifying and totally unhinged.

Showing at Cinérama Empire

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2

The sequel to 2016’s hit is even more frantic and thinner on plot, but still a perfectly pleasant 90 minutes family entertainment.

Showing at Cine 17, Pathé Balexert

NOTHING ON THE BOIL HERE – THE KITCHEN

Based on the Vertigo comic book series, The Kitchen stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss as three 1978 Hell’s Kitchen housewives whose mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia’s matters into their own hands, proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition. Totally unconvincing.

Showing at Ciné 17, Cinéma Rouge et Noir.

SPIDER MAN – FAR FROM HOME

Peter Parker decides to join his best friends on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent. A breezily unpredictable blend of teen romance and superhero action.

Showing at Pathé Balexert