ENGLISH MOVIES THIS WEEK - 11-18 APRIL

THIS WEEK’S ENGLISH MOVIE REVIEWS

by Sarah Scaddan

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

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.

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 Arena Cinemas, Cinéma Voltaire, Pathé Balexert.

AN AWAKENING FOR MELISSA MCCARTHY – Can You Ever Forgive Me?

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.

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 Cinerama Empire, Pathé Balexert, Cinema Rouge et Noir.

WHEN I SEE AN ELEPHANT FLY – Dumbo

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, Cinérama Empire, Cinéma Voltaire, Pathé Balexert.

INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY – Three Identical Strangers

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

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.MU: A Star is Born

More than a remake, this is a new take on this tragic love story. Bradley Cooper plays a seasoned musician who fall in love with a struggling singer (Lady Gaga). A vibrant and compelling romantic tragedy with exceptional performances by Gaga and Cooper. Cooper produced and directed this film which makes me love him even more, if that’s at all possible. Not a film just for the ladies, it is bringing grown men to tears too.

Showing at Cinérama Empire, Cinéma Voltaire, Pathé Balexert, Pathé Archamps.

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 generation’s Hitchcock. One to watch (through your fingers).

Showing at Pathé Balexert.

A TRUE CRIME – King of Thieves

A disappointing film about a crew of retired crooks who pull off a major heist in London’s jewellery district. What starts off as their last criminal hurrah quickly turns into a brutal nightmare due to greed. Based on infamous true events and starring Michael Caine, Michael Gambon, Ray Winston and Charlie Cox. Whilst it is a pleasure watching these old geezers at work, but that is where the pleasure stops.

Showing at Pathé Balexert, Ciné 17.

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 Arena Cinemas, 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 Cine 17.

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 kiddy bug and free him.

Showing at Cinelux.

MULTI-AWARD WINNING – Green Book

When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighbourhood 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 and Arena Cinemas.

TIME FOR A HISTORY LESSON – Mary Queen of Scotts

A dramatic but unreliable account of Mary’s tenuous rule over Scotland and deadly rivalry with Elizabeth I of England. Think soap opera with better costumes.

Showing at Cinéma Bio.

MULTI-AWARD WINNING: A Star is Born