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Film reviews

Film reviews
Hollywood blockbusters, local greats, European movies, Japanese and Korean dramas, animation, art house films, you can find them all here.
Tom Rhys Harries in a still from Clayface (category: III), co-starring Naomi Ackie. Directed by James Watkins.
American cinema

Review | Clayface: DC’s grisly body-horror thriller is not for the squeamish

Tom Rhys Harries stars in this grotesque tale of Hollywood ambition, betrayal and revenge, which puts a Batman character in the spotlight.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Bird of Paradise: Catherine Chau takes up pole dancing in light-hearted drama

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American cinema

Review | Klara and the Sun: Jenna Ortega is an android in upbeat but syrupy sci-fi

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Good Trip: Nick Cheung, Chung Suet-ying hit the road in bittersweet comedy

Nick Cheung plays a terminally ill father who is taken on a road trip by his daughter, played by Chung Suet-ying, in heartwarming comedy.

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Chung Suet-ying (left) and Nick Cheung in a still from Good Trip (category IIA, Cantonese, Japanese), directed by Norris Wong and Wong Hoi.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Mage: Josie Ho scavenges lost souls in supernatural detective thriller

Josie Ho stars as a former fortune-teller who crosses paths with a policeman investigating gruesome murders in this Pang Brothers film.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Mastermind: Louis Koo plays detective in ludicrously bad mystery thriller

Viewers expecting a gritty whodunit will be sadly disappointed in Mastermind, riddled as it is with hollow tropes and zero forensic logic.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Cyclone: Philip Yung’s transgender drama is bold, lyrical and divisive

Yung’s tale about a transgender mainland Chinese immigrant woman who finds sanctuary in a Hong Kong brothel is spellbinding if flawed.

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Liu Yuqiao as the titular transgender sex worker in a still from Cyclone (category: III, Cantonese, Mandarin). Directed by Philip Yung and co-starring Edwynn Li and Jenny Suen.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Oh My Ghost! Oh My God!: Naomi Watanabe gets lost in dismal horror comedy

Naomi Watanabe reunites with Soda Voyu, Esther Huang and Sakinu for this arduous folk horror story set in the mountains of Taiwan.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Godzilla Minus Zero: Japanese monster sequel an action-packed visual marvel

A new beast joins the chaos in Takashi Yamazaki’s film with Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe that looks good but falls flat towards the end.

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American cinema

Review | Heart of the Beast: Brad Pitt and his loyal dog brave the Alaskan wilderness

Brad Pitt is good but his canine companion is better in this story about an ex-soldier and his former combat dog’s battle to survive.

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Brad Pitt as ex-special forces soldier James Belmont and Uber as ex-combat dog Odin in a still from Heart of the Beast (category IIA), directed by David Ayer. Photo: Paramount Pictures
European cinema

Review | Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a hilarious horror spoof

Aardman Animations’ latest is a horror-infused celebration of slapstick and sly film references sure to delight viewers of all ages.

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A still from Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (category I), directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker.
Asian cinema

Review | Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors: Lav Diaz’s gruelling colonial epic

Director Lav Diaz’s latest film explores colonial terror, faith and resistance in a perilous 17th century jungle in the Philippines.

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Asian cinema

Review | A Bit of Light: Iranian drama about Tehran doctor strikes melancholic chord

Ali Asgari’s Tehran-set drama about an aggrieved doctor who decides to end it all as war looms is well acted but never fully bursts into life.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Once Upon a Time in the Middle East: Shen Teng leads anti-war blockbuster

Full of roaring action and heart-wrenching tension, this mainland China hit delivers a message of peace through Chinese cooking appreciation.

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Shen Teng in a still from Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (category IIB; Chinese, English, Arabic), directed by Wen Muye. Jiang Qiming and Omar Sherif co-star.
American cinema

Review | Practical Magic 2: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman reunite for dull sequel

Joey King, Maisie Williams and Lee Pace also feature in this boring follow-up that falls short of the spellbinding 1998 original.

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Sandra Bullock in a still from Practical Magic 2, directed by Susanne Bier. Nicole Kidman co-stars.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Arrested Memory: Ethan Ruan leads Sabu’s muddled police thriller

Ethan Ruan plays a detective with memory issues investigating a kidnapping case in this action-packed if confused police procedural.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Look Back: Hirokazu Koreeda explores childhood manga dreams

A deep, intense friendship between two schoolgirls is explored in Hirokazu Koreeda’s adaptation of a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto.

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American cinema

Review | Primetime: Robert Pattinson catches predators in blunted satire

Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV producer and paedophile hunter Chris Hansen in this drama that lacks substance.

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Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV predator hunter Chris Hansen in a still from Primetime, directed by Lance Oppenheim. Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo co-star. Photo: Sinna Nasseri
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Possible Love: Burning director Lee Chang-dong back with another masterpiece

Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong play a rich couple opposite Sul Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon’s have-nots in Lee’s sharp critique of Korean society.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? is a striking portrait of Vietnam war trauma

The Vietnam war drama, in competition at the Venice Film Festival, explores trauma, redemption through a US Marine’s true-life journey.

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American cinema

Review | Wild Horse Nine: Martin McDonagh returns with jet-black comedy

Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, delivers razor-sharp satire and award-worthy performances.

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John Malkovich (left) and Sam Rockwell in a still from Wild Horse Nine, directed by Martin McDonagh. Steve Buscemi co-stars. Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Diego Araya Corvalan
European cinema

Review | Ink: Danny Boyle charts the gritty birth of a British tabloid newspaper

Ink tells the story of Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of UK newspaper The Sun and its transformation into the popular tabloid aimed at the working class.

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Jack O'Connell as The Sun editor Larry Lamb in a still from Ink, directed by Danny Boyle. Photo: Studio Canal
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | The Last Song You Left Behind: Japanese teen romance plays a familiar tune

Shunsuke Michieda and Meru Nukumi star as classmates who slowly develop feelings for each other over an unusual musical collaboration.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | I Know Who You Are: Hu Ge leads Chinese spy drama that falters at the finish

Feng Xiaogang’s drama set during the early years of the People’s Republic of China entertains but is let down by an unsatisfying ending.

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American cinema

Review | The Dog Stars: Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller works in fits and starts

Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley and Josh Brolin survive in a present-day America where an influenza pandemic has decimated the population.

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Jacob Elordi in a still from The Dog Stars (category IIB), co-starring Josh Brolin and Margaret Qualley. Directed by Ridley Scott. Photo: 20th Century Studios
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Wakesurf Lovers: Jeffrey Ngai, Renci Yeung make a splash in uneven sports drama

Full of beautiful bodies but paper-thin characters, Fung Chih-chiang’s film about wakesurfing and cybershaming drifts nowhere in particular.

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Renci Yeung (left) and Jeffrey Ngai in a still from Wakesurf Lovers (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Fung Chih-chiang.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | A Mighty Adventure: wordless animation by McDull director is breezy if flawed

Hong Kong director Toe Yuen’s film about insects surviving the city is a visual marvel, though dialogue would have made it more expressive.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Dating Menu: a drifter chef looks to connect in wistful romantic drama

Lo Chun-yip plays a chef who tries out a dating app and cooks for four very different women as he tries to get over a previous relationship.

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