https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/318764/feed Hollywood blockbusters, local greats, European movies, Japanese and Korean dramas, animation, art house films, you can find them all here. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars From Venom and Morbius to Birds of Prey and The New Mutants, elevating side characters to centre stage in Marvel and DC comic-book adaptations rarely takes flight. Clayface, however, is an exception. Set in the Gotham underworld, the new film features no sign – or even mention – of Batman, but no matter. A grisly but delicious tale of Hollywood excess, this DC thriller is part crime, part horror and certainly not one for the squeamish. Tom Rhys Harries (Suspicion) stars as Matt... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3371568/clayface-review-dc-spin-delivers-grisly-vengeance-fuelled-body-horror-thriller https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3371568/clayface-review-dc-spin-delivers-grisly-vengeance-fuelled-body-horror-thriller Wed, 21 Oct 2026 19:00:06 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2.5/5 stars In Bird of Paradise, a dutiful middle-aged Hong Kong woman takes up pole dancing and shatters her thankless routine of cooking and cleaning for her family. Marking the feature debut of writer-director Joey Wu Chui-yi, this perfectly pleasant family drama offers an easy watch for viewers seeking light-hearted domestic quibbles. More sophisticated audiences, however, will find it slightly shallow and naive. Crucially, the film provides a rare leading role for Catherine Chau Ka-yee. She... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3371368/bird-paradise-review-catherine-chau-takes-pole-dancing-light-hearted-family-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3371368/bird-paradise-review-catherine-chau-takes-pole-dancing-light-hearted-family-drama Tue, 20 Oct 2026 08:15:04 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars Taika Waititi, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Jojo Rabbit (2019), brings his trademark quirk to Klara and the Sun, a sunny-side-up sci-fi fable that occasionally delivers flashes of darkness. Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel of the same name, the film is set in a future where AI companions are the norm. The effervescent Klara (Jenna Ortega) is one such android, albeit a discontinued B1 model now being hawked from a city discount store. Klara’s escape comes when a young girl,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3371093/klara-and-sun-review-jenna-ortega-android-upbeat-saccharine-sci-fi-fable https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3371093/klara-and-sun-review-jenna-ortega-android-upbeat-saccharine-sci-fi-fable Fri, 16 Oct 2026 03:28:10 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 3.5/5 stars In Good Trip, a father and daughter’s impromptu final excursion unfolds as a deceptively playful comedy road movie. It tackles one of the most agonising subjects a family can face – the impending death of a parent – with surprising, life-affirming levity. Co-directed by Norris Wong Yee-lam (The Lyricist Wannabe) – who also wrote the screenplay – and Wong Hoi (Let It Ghost), and produced by the acclaimed filmmaker Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, the film avoids unbearable sentimentality; it... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3370541/good-trip-review-nick-cheung-chung-suet-ying-play-father-and-daughter-road-comedy https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3370541/good-trip-review-nick-cheung-chung-suet-ying-play-father-and-daughter-road-comedy Tue, 13 Oct 2026 07:15:06 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2.5/5 stars A seemingly deranged rubbish collector makes for an unorthodox cinematic sleuth. Yet this is precisely the conceit of The Mage, a supernatural whodunnit that pairs the pungent outcast with a cynical police detective to make sense of a spate of gruesome deaths in Hong Kong. Beneath the grime is Josie Ho Chiu-yee. The billionaire heiress has long exhibited a fascination with the wealth spectrum’s lower end in the stylised horror films produced by her own studio, 852 Films, having... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369798/mage-review-josie-ho-scavenges-lost-souls-supernatural-detective-thriller https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369798/mage-review-josie-ho-scavenges-lost-souls-supernatural-detective-thriller Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:15:05 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 1/5 stars A fine line separates a labyrinthine murder thriller from an infuriatingly fragmented mess. With Mastermind, emerging Hong Kong writer-director James Hung Ling-ching (The Seventh Lie) crosses it with reckless abandon, delivering a detective mystery with such irredeemably awful plotting that genre fans will rarely have felt so insulted. Set over a single, relentlessly storm-soaked night in H City – a fictional, dystopian metropolis of 5 million starved of proper rule of law – the film... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369912/mastermind-review-louis-koo-plays-detective-ludicrously-bad-hong-kong-mystery-thriller https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369912/mastermind-review-louis-koo-plays-detective-ludicrously-bad-hong-kong-mystery-thriller Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:15:05 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 3.5/5 stars Philip Yung Tsz-kwong’s Cyclone is an alternately transgressive and lyrical drama charting the sexual escapades of a transgender woman fleeing her traumatic past. The film takes its name from the protagonist’s chosen alias – a literary allusion that may enlighten and confuse audiences in equal measure. It references Cyclone Mei, a fabled villainess from Louis Cha Leung-yung’s wuxia epic The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Forged by a tragic childhood into a ruthless killer, she is the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369188/cyclone-review-philip-yungs-transgender-drama-bold-lyrical-and-utterly-divisive https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369188/cyclone-review-philip-yungs-transgender-drama-bold-lyrical-and-utterly-divisive Wed, 30 Sep 2026 10:15:05 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 1/5 stars Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe plays a pop star who travels to the Taiwanese countryside in search of her ancestral home in the horror comedy Oh My Ghost! Oh My God! Marking the directorial debut of indigenous actor Soda Voyu, the film follows an eclectic group of oddball characters as they navigate all manner of supernatural obstacles in the hostile mountains, but fails spectacularly to be either scary or funny. A spiritual sequel to Hidden Treasures in the Mountain (2018), Oh My... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369054/oh-my-ghost-oh-my-god-review-naomi-watanabe-gets-lost-dismal-taiwanese-horror-comedy https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3369054/oh-my-ghost-oh-my-god-review-naomi-watanabe-gets-lost-dismal-taiwanese-horror-comedy Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars If the runaway success of 2023’s Godzilla Minus One proved anything, it is that there is plenty of life left in the old kaiju. This century’s revival of the fabled giant monster has been a sort of tit for tat between Hollywood – with Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse films placing the creature alongside King Kong – and the Japanese originator, Toho, which has also rebooted the franchise. Godzilla Minus One – directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who also wrote the script and oversaw the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3368758/godzilla-minus-zero-review-visually-stunning-japanese-monster-sequel-full-surprises https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3368758/godzilla-minus-zero-review-visually-stunning-japanese-monster-sequel-full-surprises Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:15:07 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby 4/5 stars American writer-director David Ayer has built a career on tough-guy films featuring unlikely team-ups – from mismatched policemen Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in Training Day (2001) to Will Smith and an orc in Bright (2017) to Jason Statham and some bees in The Beekeeper (2024). However, Heart of the Beast, a soulful survival drama scripted by Cameron Alexander, represents Ayer’s best combination yet. A grizzled Brad Pitt stars as retired special forces officer James Belmont, who... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367938/heart-beast-review-brad-pitt-and-his-loyal-combat-dog-brave-alaskan-wilderness https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367938/heart-beast-review-brad-pitt-and-his-loyal-combat-dog-brave-alaskan-wilderness Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:00:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 4/5 stars Shaun the Sheep turns mad scientist in his mischievous third big-screen outing, unleashing a hirsute horror that terrorises the sleepy farm community after an unconventional attempt to grow pumpkins. Realised in Aardman’s signature stop-motion and devoid of any spoken dialogue, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom – the feature debut of veteran series directors Steve Cox and Matthew Walker – is a hilarious, horror-infused celebration of slapstick, sight gags and sly film... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366716/shaun-sheep-beast-mossy-bottom-movie-review-aardmans-hilarious-horror-spoof https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366716/shaun-sheep-beast-mossy-bottom-movie-review-aardmans-hilarious-horror-spoof Sun, 13 Sep 2026 11:00:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars Filmmaker Lav Diaz takes audiences into the jungles of the Philippines with Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors, a harrowing historical drama premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. The premise here loosely evokes Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953), replacing the volatile nitroglycerine of that film with massive blocks of limestone. Set in the early 17th century, approximately a century after the events of Diaz’s 2025 film Magellan –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367320/venice-2026-let-us-through-dear-ancestors-movie-review-lav-diazs-brutal-colonial-epic https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367320/venice-2026-let-us-through-dear-ancestors-movie-review-lav-diazs-brutal-colonial-epic Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:25:09 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars Set against the backdrop of recent protests and looming war, Ali Asgari’s on-the-nose drama illuminates the grim reality of everyday life in modern Iran. Receiving its world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, A Bit of Light is Asgari’s sixth feature film and comes after 2025’s Divine Comedy. He co-wrote the screenplay of his latest film with Shadmehr Rastin, who previously collaborated with Jafar Panahi on the Cannes-winning It Was Just an Accident. Set... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367179/venice-2026-bit-light-movie-review-iranian-drama-strikes-melancholic-chord https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367179/venice-2026-bit-light-movie-review-iranian-drama-strikes-melancholic-chord Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:15:05 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars Writer-director Wen Muye’s bombastic anti-war drama Once Upon a Time in the Middle East arrives in Hong Kong having already grossed a whopping 2 billion yuan (US$298 million) at the mainland box office, delivering a message of peace and diplomacy through the appreciation of authentic Chinese cooking. Lambasting both sides of an unnamed Middle Eastern conflict – the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq in everything but name – this latest effort by the Dying to Survive filmmaker... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366846/once-upon-time-middle-east-movie-review-shen-teng-leads-bombastic-anti-war-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366846/once-upon-time-middle-east-movie-review-shen-teng-leads-bombastic-anti-war-drama Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2/5 stars Whether Practical Magic 2 was genuinely conjured into existence by fan demand – as its PR campaign claims – or is simply the result of Hollywood scraping the intellectual-property barrel and mining anything with a vague following, this long-delayed sequel to 1998’s Practical Magic is a disappointment. Ultimately, this reunion with the magically inclined Owens family from Massachusetts is anything but spellbinding. Once again, we meet the central coven of witches: Sally (Sandra... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366584/practical-magic-2-movie-review-sandra-bullock-and-nicole-kidman-reunite-dull-sequel https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366584/practical-magic-2-movie-review-sandra-bullock-and-nicole-kidman-reunite-dull-sequel Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:00:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2/5 stars Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, this latest effort from Japanese writer-director Sabu, in which a Taipei detective battles amnesia, is an underwhelming twist on the police procedural that never truly feels like it knows, or even cares, what it wants to be. Taiwanese actor Ethan Ruan Ching-tien (The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon) stars as Detective Lee, a formidable policeman who oversees a loyal crew of men with nicknames like “Wolf”,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366218/venice-2026-arrested-memory-movie-review-ethan-ruan-leads-sabus-muddled-crime-thriller https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366218/venice-2026-arrested-memory-movie-review-ethan-ruan-leads-sabus-muddled-crime-thriller Mon, 07 Sep 2026 20:00:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars Unveiled in competition at the Venice International Film Festival just three months after he took the somewhat disappointing Sheep in the Box to Cannes, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Look Back – in which a childhood friendship shapes an artistic dream – is an elegant work that once again underlines the Japanese director’s preternatural skills at working with young actors. The film is full of surprises and beautifully rendered, much like the manga at the heart of the story. Adapted from Tatsuki... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366614/venice-2026-look-back-movie-review-hirokazu-koreeda-explores-childhood-manga-dreams https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366614/venice-2026-look-back-movie-review-hirokazu-koreeda-explores-childhood-manga-dreams Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:00:09 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars The latest entry in the journalism movie category that includes the likes of Network, Nightcrawler, Shattered Glass and Spotlight, Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime turns the lens on Dateline NBC, the US news magazine show, and in particular the work of Chris Hansen, the presenter of To Catch a Predator – a disturbing segment that began in 2004. The show aimed to sniff out and expose internet paedophiles who attempted to lure underage children into meeting them. Played with oil-slick... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366594/venice-2026-primetime-movie-review-robert-pattinson-catches-predators-blunted-satire https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366594/venice-2026-primetime-movie-review-robert-pattinson-catches-predators-blunted-satire Mon, 07 Sep 2026 04:52:28 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4.5/5 stars “Thou shalt not covet,” reads a title card at the beginning of Lee Chang-dong’s much-anticipated new film, Possible Love – alluding to the title of the 10th part of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s epic Dekalog. But covet what exactly? While Lee’s complex, nuanced drama features a modicum of sexual tension and a soupçon of envy, it goes much deeper. Issues of class and wealth bounce around like frenzied atoms in the Korean filmmaker’s first feature since his award-winning 2018 psychological... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3366373/venice-2026-possible-love-movie-review-lee-chang-dong-explores-class-masterful-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3366373/venice-2026-possible-love-movie-review-lee-chang-dong-explores-class-masterful-drama Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:30:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars “We were taught to treat Asians like they were less than human,” says Allen Nelson in Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, a true-life drama about a former US Marine faced with a reckoning. Screening in competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, this often powerful work is based on Nelson’s memoir of the same name. Somewhat surprisingly, Shinya Tsukamoto, the cult Japanese director behind Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) and Bullet Ballet (1998), adapted it in what is only... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366337/venice-2026-mr-nelson-did-you-kill-people-haunting-vietnam-war-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366337/venice-2026-mr-nelson-did-you-kill-people-haunting-vietnam-war-drama Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars With Wild Horse Nine, the fifth film of his much-heralded career, Martin McDonagh returns to the joys of his first. The director’s 2008 debut, In Bruges, was a sublimely written tale of two hitmen arguing in the picture-postcard town of the title. Similarly, his latest introduces us to two CIA operatives bickering as they head to the remote Chilean territory of Easter Island in 1973. That is not to say Wild Horse Nine – screening in competition at the Venice International Film Festival... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366219/venice-2026-wild-horse-nine-movie-review-martin-mcdonagh-returns-jet-black-comedy https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366219/venice-2026-wild-horse-nine-movie-review-martin-mcdonagh-returns-jet-black-comedy Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:30:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars Set in a seedy 1960s world of smoky pubs and grimy snooker halls, where deals are done on napkins, Danny Boyle’s Ink is a stark reminder of how British media changed forever with the creation of The Sun. Opening this year’s Venice International Film Festival, this latest venture from Slumdog Millionaire director Boyle comes adapted by James Graham from his own play. Not that you would know it; there is nothing theatrical about Boyle’s staging here. Initially taking centre stage in... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366175/venice-2026-ink-movie-review-danny-boyle-charts-gritty-birth-sun-newspaper https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366175/venice-2026-ink-movie-review-danny-boyle-charts-gritty-birth-sun-newspaper Thu, 03 Sep 2026 03:30:23 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 2.5/5 stars Shunsuke Michieda of the Japanese boy band Naniwa Danshi reunites with director Takahiro Miki after the success of 2022’s Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight for another adolescent romance that plays an achingly familiar tune. Adapted from Misaki Ichijo’s novel of the same name, The Last Song You Left Behind stars Michieda as Haruto, an orphaned teenager who lives with his grandparents and has a secret passion for writing poetry. When his classmate Ayane (Meru Nukumi)... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3365791/last-song-you-left-behind-movie-review-japanese-teen-romance-plays-familiar-tune https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3365791/last-song-you-left-behind-movie-review-japanese-teen-romance-plays-familiar-tune Tue, 01 Sep 2026 07:15:05 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3/5 stars A righteous public security officer embarks on a 40-year game of cat and mouse with a suspected Kuomintang sleeper agent in I Know Who You Are, a sporadically entertaining historical drama by Feng Xiaogang. Lei Jiayin stars as Xiao Dali, a stubborn Chinese official convinced his next-door neighbour is a spy, while Hu Ge plays Feng Jingbo, who sees his secret mission repeatedly eclipsed by growing commitments to a community in rapid transition. Adapted from Zhang Ce’s novella No Regrets... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3365806/i-know-who-you-are-movie-review-hu-ge-lei-jiayin-lead-absorbing-chinese-spy-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3365806/i-know-who-you-are-movie-review-hu-ge-lei-jiayin-lead-absorbing-chinese-spy-drama Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars From Mad Max to The Walking Dead and the recent 28 Years Later films, the post-apocalypse has long been fertile ground for filmmakers, even before Covid-19 made us all feel like we were heading in that direction. Veteran filmmaker Ridley Scott finally jumps on the bandwagon with The Dog Stars, a handsome-looking adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 novel that works only in fits and starts. Set in a present-day America where most of the population has been wiped out by an influenza... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3364676/dog-stars-movie-review-ridley-scotts-post-apocalyptic-thriller-doesnt-always-work https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3364676/dog-stars-movie-review-ridley-scotts-post-apocalyptic-thriller-doesnt-always-work Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2.5/5 stars A sun-kissed sports film that rather awkwardly tackles wakesurfing and cyber-shaming in the same breath, Wakesurf Lovers offers a fluffy excuse to gaze at beautiful, muscled torsos – if you can squint past the paper-thin characters, their nebulous motivations and a romance that barely registers. A well-regarded screenwriter who has worked with Hong Kong film titans such as Stephen Chow Sing-chi, Fung Chih-chiang is notably less reliable as a writer-director of his own films,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3365007/wakesurf-lovers-movie-review-jeffrey-ngai-renci-yeung-defy-haters-uneven-sports-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3365007/wakesurf-lovers-movie-review-jeffrey-ngai-renci-yeung-defy-haters-uneven-sports-drama Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:15:07 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 3/5 stars A trio of slightly anthropomorphised insects look to survive the big city and return to their natural habitat in A Mighty Adventure, the latest effort by Hong Kong director Toe Yuen Kin-to, best known for a pair of local classics: the 2001 hit My Life as McDull and its even better sequel, McDull, Prince de la Bun (2004). Remarkably for one of the city’s most acclaimed animation directors, Yuen’s new feature is his first not adapted from existing material; previous works include... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3364390/mighty-adventure-movie-review-wordless-animation-mcdull-director-breezy-if-flawed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3364390/mighty-adventure-movie-review-wordless-animation-mcdull-director-breezy-if-flawed Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:15:05 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 3.5/5 stars Trading the sun-drenched treks to some of Hong Kong’s most far-flung corners that featured in his idiosyncratic romantic comedy Far Far Away (2021) for the nocturnal intimacy of private domestic spaces, writer-director Amos Why (real name Wong Ho-yin) has created an ideal companion piece in The Dating Menu. If the dates between Sham Ka-ki’s IT professional and five attractive women in that earlier film were quirkily amusing, the encounters between Lo Chun-yip’s free-spirited drifter... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3364289/dating-menu-movie-review-drifter-chef-looks-connect-wistful-romantic-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3364289/dating-menu-movie-review-drifter-chef-looks-connect-wistful-romantic-drama Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:15:06 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars Chinese animation is riding an unprecedented wave of success, exemplified by the record-shattering run of Ne Zha 2 last year, but also represented by the likes of Chang’an (2023) and Nobody (2025). These films reinterpret classical tales and ancient mythology for modern audiences using state-of-the-art computer animation. Mu Zhengyang’s All Wishes Come True! enthusiastically takes up the baton, having grossed over 1.5 billion yuan (US$222 million) at the mainland Chinese box office... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3363848/all-wishes-come-true-movie-review-chinese-animation-reinvents-eight-immortals-myth https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3363848/all-wishes-come-true-movie-review-chinese-animation-reinvents-eight-immortals-myth Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis 4/5 stars The modern “sex comedy” emerged in the late 1960s in the West, when such topics became acceptable for open discussion. With The Invite, actor-director Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling) updates the genre for 2026 by throwing a conventionally minded couple into a risqué situation that forces them to reassess the state of their marriage. Channelling the work of Woody Allen, Wilde delivers a breezy film making light of its characters’ failings, with a dry wit that provides many genuine... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3363515/invite-movie-review-olivia-wildes-adult-oriented-sex-comedy-doesnt-pull-its-punches https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3363515/invite-movie-review-olivia-wildes-adult-oriented-sex-comedy-doesnt-pull-its-punches Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:15:06 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars From Disney’s Fantasia to recent shows like Rick and Morty, animators through the ages have often veered towards the psychedelic. Forgotten Island, the latest animated feature from DreamWorks Animation, borrows a pinch of this surreal strangeness as it unfolds a story of childhood friends trapped in a fantastical world. The world in question is Nakali, a supernatural isle that has fallen into legend. In 1990s Philippines, Jo (voiced by singer H.E.R.) has heard talk of this special... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3363475/forgotten-island-movie-review-dreamworks-trippy-animated-dive-filipino-folklore https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3363475/forgotten-island-movie-review-dreamworks-trippy-animated-dive-filipino-folklore Mon, 10 Aug 2026 03:45:05 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 2.5/5 stars Jang Hye-jin and Choi Woo-shik, stars of Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning South Korean satire Parasite, reunite in Number One. This peculiar drama by Kim Tae-yong (Set Me Free) casts them once again as mother and son, putting their unshakeable bond to the ultimate test. The real highlight here, however, is the mouth-watering array of regional culinary delights that sustains their relationship. Food often serves as a love language between family members, and nowhere is that more apparent... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3362904/number-one-movie-review-parasite-stars-reunite-peculiar-food-themed-family-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3362904/number-one-movie-review-parasite-stars-reunite-peculiar-food-themed-family-drama Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:15:10 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars Earlier this year, Lan Hongchun’s historical romance Dear You became a surprise smash hit at the box office – both in Hong Kong and especially in mainland China, where it has taken nearly US$300 million since April. One key to the film’s success was its use of regional Teochew (Chiu Chow) dialogue, indigenous to eastern Guangdong and all too rarely featured on screen. In a clear attempt to capitalise on that popularity, Lan’s earlier feature, Back to Love, makes a belated arrival in... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3362862/back-love-movie-review-teochew-romance-paved-way-smash-hit-dear-you https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3362862/back-love-movie-review-teochew-romance-paved-way-smash-hit-dear-you Tue, 04 Aug 2026 10:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars “People like us don’t get to live a normal life,” Sadie Sink says in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Stranger Things star is addressing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, who in this film faces the most intriguing antagonist across his four solo outings to date. But – like us? The identity of Sink’s character has been kept a secret in the run-up to release – and will not be revealed here. However, her game-changing arrival will surely make fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) lose their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3362196/spider-man-brand-new-day-movie-review-tom-holland-returns-mature-marvel-triumph https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3362196/spider-man-brand-new-day-movie-review-tom-holland-returns-mature-marvel-triumph Wed, 29 Jul 2026 03:08:57 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars The first Italian-language feature from prolific Catalan filmmaker Isabel Coixet, Three Goodbyes is an emotional, ultimately life-affirming adaptation of Michela Murgia’s celebrated 2023 semi-autobiographical novel, published shortly before her death. Anchored by a commanding central performance from Alba Rohrwacher, it charts the efforts of a high-school teacher in Rome to navigate a series of potentially life-altering challenges. When her long-term partner, Antonio (Elio Germano),... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3361280/three-goodbyes-movie-review-alba-rohrwacher-stars-moving-life-affirming-italian-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3361280/three-goodbyes-movie-review-alba-rohrwacher-stars-moving-life-affirming-italian-drama Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:15:06 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4.5/5 stars Christopher Nolan returns to cinemas with an epic for the ages. The Oscar-winning Oppenheimer director has made a film of such scale, it is little wonder he insisted on it being the first film to shoot entirely on large-format IMAX cameras. Nothing else would suffice. An adaptation of Homer’s foundational Greek epic The Odyssey, this tale of monsters and men is another grand achievement by Nolan – a film of enormous ambition and near-flawless execution. As in his earlier films... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3360667/odyssey-movie-review-christopher-nolan-adapts-homer-epic-anti-war-masterpiece https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3360667/odyssey-movie-review-christopher-nolan-adapts-homer-epic-anti-war-masterpiece Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:00:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4.5/5 stars Hasan Hadi makes a striking debut with The President’s Cake. Winning the Iraqi filmmaker the Camera d’Or for best first feature at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film perfectly blends the political and the personal to elevate its narrative into something quite profound. Set in Iraq in the early 1990s under Saddam Hussein’s rule, the narrative hinges on the dictator’s decree that his people annually celebrate his birthday. Every April, children in schools are assigned various... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3360466/presidents-cake-movie-review-cannes-winning-iraqi-drama-instant-classic https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3360466/presidents-cake-movie-review-cannes-winning-iraqi-drama-instant-classic Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:15:06 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2/5 stars It has been seven years since Stephen Chow Sing-chi last released a film – his longest hiatus yet as a filmmaker. His last feature, 2019’s The New King of Comedy, was a poignant reworking of his 1999 classic King of Comedy. Now the Hong Kong comedy superstar offers a gender-flipped reimagining of another of his greatest hits – Shaolin Soccer (2001) – squarely aimed at the mainland Chinese box office. Unlike his 2019 effort, however, Kung Fu Soccer is vastly inferior to its predecessor... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3360365/kung-fu-soccer-movie-review-stephen-chows-stale-gender-swapped-shaolin-soccer-spin https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3360365/kung-fu-soccer-movie-review-stephen-chows-stale-gender-swapped-shaolin-soccer-spin Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:17:19 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3/5 stars The sixth instalment in Sam Raimi’s hugely profitable horror series, Evil Dead Burn sees a young widow (Souheila Yacoub) travel to a remote house with her grieving in-laws, only for them to transform into rampaging demonic Deadites. Directed and co-written by Sebastien Vanicek, following the success of his French-language debut Infested (2023), Evil Dead Burn introduces a crop of new, mostly loathsome characters with no obvious connection to Ash (immortalised across the original... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3359564/evil-dead-burn-movie-review-gruesome-chapter-proves-there-life-horror-franchise https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3359564/evil-dead-burn-movie-review-gruesome-chapter-proves-there-life-horror-franchise Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:00:07 +0000 Daniel Eagan Daniel Eagan 3.5/5 stars A chieftain’s daughter leaves her Polynesian island to lift a curse on her people in Moana, the latest live-action adaptation of a Disney animated feature. The original, released in 2016, was notable for its attention to cultural detail and for giving Dwayne Johnson a signature role as the shape-shifting, narcissistic demigod Maui. Johnson returns in the new Moana, lacking some of his former exuberance and looking a bit more careworn. Maui is a complicated character whose motives can... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3359833/moana-movie-review-catherine-lagaaia-shines-disneys-vibrant-live-action-adaptation https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3359833/moana-movie-review-catherine-lagaaia-shines-disneys-vibrant-live-action-adaptation Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:00:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars A female boxer faces challenges both in and outside the ring in the feature debut from Taiwanese director Lee Yi-shan. Anchored by a stand-out central performance from newcomer Lin Yi-ting, A Dance with Rainbows weaves deftly between sports drama and a heartfelt coming-of-age story. The film debuted at the 2025 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival in a slightly longer version, before playing at both the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the New York Asian Film Festival in its... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3359563/dance-rainbows-movie-review-taiwanese-coming-age-boxing-drama-packs-punch https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3359563/dance-rainbows-movie-review-taiwanese-coming-age-boxing-drama-packs-punch Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:15:05 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 3/5 stars To understand how a modestly staged feature like Unidentified Murder manages to charm the socks off so many Hong Kong critics – despite doing only a passable job of tackling its subjects of male friendship, shoddy scams and grass-roots filmmaking – one must first acknowledge the depressing state of local comedy. When the Hong Kong Film Critics Society gave the best screenplay honour to this quirky effort in January 2026, it had been years since Stephen Chow Sing-chi and Pang Ho-cheung... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3358991/unidentified-murder-movie-review-twisty-hong-kong-comedy-admirable-its-ambition https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3358991/unidentified-murder-movie-review-twisty-hong-kong-comedy-admirable-its-ambition Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:15:09 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis 4/5 stars Revolving around the thorny topic of music rights, the latest light drama from Irish writer-director John Carney (Once) begins as an authentic take on life in the music business, only to morph into a feel-good fantasy. Although this stylistic shift is noticeable, Power Ballad’s lilting tone is so affecting that viewers are unlikely to mind. Music star Nick Jonas, who is also an experienced actor, does much more than play himself, delivering a well-judged emotional performance as a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357895/power-ballad-movie-review-paul-rudd-nick-jonas-charm-feel-good-music-rights-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357895/power-ballad-movie-review-paul-rudd-nick-jonas-charm-feel-good-music-rights-drama Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars The yellow, gobbledygook-spouting Minions may have lost the battle with Star Wars’ youngling Grogu as the most oversaturated cute film mascot around, but that has not deterred regular director Pierre Coffin from marching on with the series. After four Despicable Me movies, in which they were introduced as the sidekicks to super-villain Gru, and two scattershot stand-alone adventures, the dungaree-wearing mischief-makers are back for Minions & Monsters, one of the more pleasurable... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357685/minions-monsters-movie-review-clever-self-aware-homage-classic-hollywood https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357685/minions-monsters-movie-review-clever-self-aware-homage-classic-hollywood Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:00:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars Boasting a cast of largely unknown actors and playing out almost entirely in the Teochew (Chiu Chow) dialect of eastern Guangdong, Lan Hongchun’s modestly budgeted drama Dear You has become a runaway success at the mainland Chinese box office. Its young female lead, Li Sitong, gives a career-making performance, while eagle-eyed viewers will recognise 80-year-old actress Usha Seamkhum from the 2024 Thai blockbuster How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies in a small but notable... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357496/dear-you-movie-review-nostalgic-teochew-family-drama-surprise-box-office-hit-china https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357496/dear-you-movie-review-nostalgic-teochew-family-drama-surprise-box-office-hit-china Thu, 18 Jun 2026 04:36:35 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 4/5 stars Best known for her numerous collaborations with French New Wave auteur Eric Rohmer, veteran Hong Kong-born editor and filmmaker Mary Stephen turns the camera on herself in Palimpsest: The Story of a Name, an absorbing and endlessly surprising documentary exploring her obscure heritage. For as long as she can remember, Stephen has encountered confusion, curiosity and discrimination because of her Western surname. Determined to uncover its origins once and for all, the 73-year-old, who... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357233/palimpsest-story-name-movie-review-mary-stephens-riveting-study-identity https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357233/palimpsest-story-name-movie-review-mary-stephens-riveting-study-identity Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:15:04 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby 3/5 stars For the past three decades, Pixar’s Toy Story franchise has used state-of-the-art animation to remind us of the simple pleasures of old-fashioned play – a nifty bit of mental gymnastics that works because the films are so lovingly crafted. After a near-perfect original trilogy and an unnecessary yet enjoyable part four, this latest instalment is a rather tardy warning about the encroaching evils of technology. The focus of Toy Story 5 is on Jessie the cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack),... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357277/toy-story-5-movie-review-woody-buzz-and-jessie-battle-tech-pixars-flawed-fun-sequel https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357277/toy-story-5-movie-review-woody-buzz-and-jessie-battle-tech-pixars-flawed-fun-sequel Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:00:14 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 3.5/5 stars The notoriously treacherous hurdles that Hong Kong telecommunications company i-Cable used to put in front of customers looking to unsubscribe from its internet and pay-TV services throughout the 2000s and early 2010s provide the premise of this Kafkaesque comedy-drama – an alternately hilarious and heartbreaking case of raging against the system. Marking the feature directing debut of Mak Tin-shu, best known as the Hong Kong Film Award-winning screenwriter behind crime thrillers... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357285/dog-day-evening-movie-review-kafkaesque-comedy-reflects-hong-kong-hostage-incident https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357285/dog-day-evening-movie-review-kafkaesque-comedy-reflects-hong-kong-hostage-incident Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:33:25 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2/5 stars When its Hong Kong theatrical release was announced in April 2026, Beyond Hostage Crisis stirred heated online discussion about the ethics of commodifying tragedy. The film is a gritty dramatisation of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, which led to the deaths of eight Hongkongers and traumatised legions of viewers at home who sat through the live television broadcast. That debate misses the point. From the sinking of the Titanic, the Holocaust and the September 11 attacks to countless... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3356702/beyond-hostage-crisis-movie-review-2010-manila-tragedy-spawns-misguided-faith-based-drama https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3356702/beyond-hostage-crisis-movie-review-2010-manila-tragedy-spawns-misguided-faith-based-drama Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:15:12 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars “The world is on the brink,” mutters Colin Firth’s government operative Noah Scanlon at the outset of Steven Spielberg’s new sci-fi thriller, Disclosure Day. The legendary director’s return to the genre, following such game-changing blockbusters as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Minority Report, once again posits the idea that aliens are out there. Indeed, a shady government-affiliated outfit called Wardex has been repressing military-shot footage... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3356436/disclosure-day-movie-review-steven-spielbergs-sci-fi-thriller-flawed-fun-ride https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3356436/disclosure-day-movie-review-steven-spielbergs-sci-fi-thriller-flawed-fun-ride Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:00:10 +0000