To have
Da Vinci Code
Monday, May 16, C8, 9:19 p.m.
Already a hit in bookstores, the Da Vinci Code successfully adapted to the big screen. The 5-star cast plays a big part in it with Tom Hanks, Jean Reno and Ian McKellen. The spectator is immersed in a thriller tinged with mysticism, well paced, alternating between action and revelations, interweaving several intrigues with brio.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Monday, May 16, TMC, 9:15 p.m.
The original trilogy Star Wars is certainly legendary, but very erratic. Blame it on the change of director with each film, and therefore of atmosphere. This episode 5 is distinguished from the others by a darker, more disturbing tone. If episode 4 installed the protagonists, this one deepens the scenario with a cult revelation. Without doubt the best of the Skywalker saga.
READ ALSO :Ten new Star Wars series, stop or again? We confronted the arguments
The city of fear
Tuesday May 17, Paris Première, 9 p.m.
Is it because the film paved the way for the intrusion of TV brats in the cinema? Or because the references of comedy were more on the American side than on the French side, in particular ZAZ films (Is there a cop, is there a pilot…) which spewed out a gag every thirty seconds , and often in the background? In any case, The city of fear was crushed upon its release by the critics when it became cult. A little more besides for those over 30-35 years old: it must be said that the humor is both darker there than in other popular comedies, more politically incorrect, more cracra (the chase “full gaz”) but also a little more dated to the 90s in its multiple references, whether cinematographic (bogeyman films, the parody of Basic Instinct…) or politico-societal (corruption in the PACA region, AIDS…). The laughter of an era.
READ ALSO :From “The City of Fear” to “Marry Me My Buddy”… The 5 Best and 5 Worst Comedian Films
120 beats per minute
Wednesday, May 18, Arte, 8:55 p.m.
In the early 90s, the ravages of AIDS, the militant response, the birth of Act Up with its codes, its tensions, its loves but also its solidarity in the face of illness and death. From the right distance, Robin Campillo is as strong when he films the passions and excesses of a movement as when he shows death winning the final battle. Shocking.
Alita: Battle Angel
Wednesday, May 18, TMC, 9:15 p.m.
Adapting a manga into a film is no picnic. Inspired by the legendary Gunnm series, Alita: Battle Angel is set 300 years after a catastrophe that split the Earth in two. A magnificent city, populated by the elite, overlooks the surface where the marginalized are found. In this open dump, a doctor finds the body of a cyborg. She will seek her place in this world, dreaming of being a young girl like the others despite her supernatural abilities. A nervous science fiction film with very realistic special effects.
Biutiful
Thursday May 19, France 4, 9 p.m.
A petty crook, Uxbal learns that he has prostate cancer and refuses to fight against inevitable death, in a Barcelona that itself seems to be dying, in full decay, where street vendors and sweatshops. A twilight film carried by the extraordinary performance of Javier Bardem, whose physical and moral decay Alejandro González Iñárritu methodically films.
little peasant
Thursday May 19, France 3, 9:10 p.m.
Because one of his cows is affected by a disease (fictitious, but which symbolizes mad cow disease for example), Pierre, a breeder, decides to lie to those around him and to the authorities to prevent his entire herd from being slaughtered. Contrary to clichés but also to pathos, the painting of the peasant world and its fragility touches the heart, in particular because it is also interested in what happens outside the stables. In the title role, Swann Arlaud is magnificent.
Dunes
Friday, May 20, Canal +, 9:09 p.m.
In 1984, David Lynch breaks his teeth on the adaptation of the novel Dunes. 2021, Denis Villeneuve takes up the challenge. In the distant future, two factions vie for control of a planet for its resources, essential for interstellar navigation. The film poses as a kind of futuristic “Game of Thrones”, marked by grandiose scenes that leave room for contemplation. Only downside: the experience is less immersive on television than on the big screen.
Men in Black
Friday, May 20, TFX, 9:05 p.m.
Within a secret American organization, men in black are responsible for regulating the extraterrestrial presence on earth. Iconic duo between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, timeless valves, unforgettable soundtrack, Men in Black Lets end the week on a good slice of fun.
To avoid
Titanium
Monday May 16, Canal +, 9:10 p.m.
The Palme d’or for confusion and false transgression… By awarding the supreme reward to this vociferous film about a serial killer pregnant with a car, the jury of the Cannes Film Festival distinguished itself by its snobbery. In this trying fiction, Julia Ducournau strikes a few heavy “messages” of warrior feminism, tattered identities and toxic macho culture. So many themes at the heart of the concerns of the moment that the filmmaker tackles with the grace of the executioner and a very sure sense of bluster.
READ ALSO : “The law of the market”, “Titanium”… the best and worst recent films by Vincent Lindon
Nothing to report
Sunday May 22, TF1
In 1993, the signing of the Maastricht Treaty led to the closure of fixed customs offices between Belgium and France, to the great despair of the profession. In the wake of Welcome to the Ch’tis, almost everything that Dany Boon could film was then guaranteed to be a hit at the cinema. Even when the scenario was a little short (the Belgians and the Ch’tis forced to cooperate despite their differences) and the gags weren’t very funny. It’s all the more unfortunate when Benoît Poelvoorde is on screen, even if he’s the only one, here, to snatch two or three laughs from us.
The escapees
Thursday May 19, TF1 Ciné & Séries, 9 p.m.
Stephen King was the first to deplore: the adaptations of his novels are generally unsuccessful. Here, a short story of a hundred pages becomes a pensum of more than two hours, which does little service to the work of the American master of horror, who denounced the corruption of the prison system of his country. Despite their undeniable performance, Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins fail to make this incredible story of escape fascinating.
Unbreakable
Sunday, May 22, TFX, 9:05 p.m.
After the critical and public success of Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan does not succeed in transforming the test and wallows miserably with this story of everyday superheroes, able to survive all disasters. The direction and the screenplay are correct, of course, but nothing comes out of this confrontation between Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, modeled on the villains and vigilantes of American comics.
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TV program: “Petit paysan”, “Dune”… Films to see and turnips to avoid this week