27 March 2026
HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (L’Ultime Héritier) **1/2
With all the misery, injustice and wars going on around the world, it’s not a bad idea to sometimes go to the movies just for escapism. And this is a good pick if you’re looking for entertainment with a satisfying twist.
Its double entendre title actually says it all.
A little boy grows up with his single mother who has been disowned by her incredibly wealthy Long Island family due to some previous disputes. Despite their meagre lifestyle and before she dies prematurely, she instills in her son the idea that he is worthy of his family name and should go after his rights. He works diligently, trying to break into the rich world to which he feels entitled. But he realises there are quite a few family members ahead of him in line for the ultimate inheritance.
So he decides to do something about it. And that’s when the fun and excitement begin. Longtime rising star Glen Powell (who shot into the firmament in the 2022 “Top Gun Maverick” alongside Tom Cruise) plays a clever operator who’s shooting for the top.
Scriptwriter and director John Patton Ford might not have the most brilliant film of the year, but it has glamorous locations, trendy characters and it’ll make you forget the other serious crazies in our real world.
THE LAST VIKING **1/2 (vo Danish, Swedish)
Despite, or due to, the cold up there, the Nordics are often specialists at tongue-in-cheek black comedy – maybe to survive the long, chilly nights. Here’s the latest from Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen, whose past flirts with gallows humour have included the inventive, biting “Adam’s Apples”, “Men and Chicken” and “Riders of Justice”, all with his (and our) favourite actor, Mads Mikkelsen.
This time Mikkelsen plays against character as he embodies a mentally disturbed brother to his criminal sibling (Nicolaj Lie Kaas), who gave him his huge booty to hide before he was caught by the police. Now that he’s out of prison, he’s trying to find where his mixed-up brother hid the loot in the woods around their mother’s country home. And there are other characters who are also interested, most violently interested.
This absurd, at times slapstick comedy is filled with wacky types: the eccentric, chain-smoking mother; Mikkelsen’s character who now thinks he is John Lennon; a motley crew that has arrived with a deranged psychiatrist wanting to get a musical band together; and a highly vicious ex-partner looking for his share.
It’s bloody and it’s lunacy-a-minute, though not as expertly written as Jensen’s earlier works. A hoot, nevertheless.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
