ENGLISH MOVIES WEEKLY ROUND-UP

by Sarah Scaddan

This week there is a visit from the King and Queen of England, and Pig Island is under threat. Here are the highlights of English language films showing in Geneva this week.

WE’VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU – Downton Abbey

A royal visit from the King and Queen of England will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance. Offers pretty much everything a fan could want from a feature-length continuation of the beloved Masterpiece series.

Showing at Pathé Balexert

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2

The flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to the next level when Bird and Pig islands are put in danger. The plot is unquestionably simple, yet there are parts that are wildly imaginative and enjoyable.

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Ciné 17

IT CHAPTER 2

The conclusion to the highest-grossing horror film of all time. Twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, kids are disappearing again, so Mike, the only one of the group to remain in Derry, calls the others home. At nearly three hours, this reign of terror begins to take a toll.

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Pathé Archamps, Pathé Balexert,

IT’S THE BOSS BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Set in 1987, music fanatic Javed discovers Bruce Springsteen and his world is turned upside down; his passion for music and writing is set alight by the songs of the working-class poet, whose lyrics feel like they are written for him. Yearning to escape the rules of his traditional Pakistani household, Javed finds himself caught in between two worlds and must discover if he too is Born to Run. Sweet, emotional, this film delivers on entertainment.

Showing at Arena Cinémas, Pathé Balexert.

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 Pathé Balexert, Cinéma La Patio, Le City

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, Pathé Balexert, Arena Cinémas.

SHOULD NEVER HAVE FLOWN – The Goldfinch

I totally loved this book but wasn’t sure it would work as a film. It doesn’t. An adaptation of Donna Tartt’s bestseller in which Theo Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day…a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch.

Showing at Ciné 17, Cinérama Empire, Pathé Balexert, Pathé Archamps

GORGEOUS TO LOOK AT – Ad Astra

Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. A somber and stirring movie that is absolutely gorgeous to look at (and I don’t mean Brad).

Showing at Cinérama Empire, Pathé Balexert, Arena Cinémas, Cinéma Rouge et Noir, Pathé Archamps

A HEALTH 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 Ciné 17, Cinéma Bio, Pathé Balexert, Arena Cinémas, Pathé Archamps

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

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 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, Cinérama Empire

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 Cinélux.

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.