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Film reviews

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Film reviews
Hollywood blockbusters, local greats, European movies, Japanese and Korean dramas, animation, art house films, you can find them all here.
A still from Forgotten Island (category TBC), directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado. H.E.R., Liza Soberano and Dave Franco voice characters.
American cinema

Review | Forgotten Island: DreamWorks’ trippy animated dive into Filipino folklore

Forgotten Island blends Filipino folklore with a distinct 1980s feel as two childhood friends navigate a surreal world of fading memories.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Number One: Parasite stars reunite for food-themed family drama

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Back to Love: the Teochew romance that led to smash hit Dear You

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American cinema

Review | Spider-Man: Brand New Day – Tom Holland returns in mature Marvel triumph

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man fights both supervillains and his own superpowers in this exciting new outing co-starring Zendaya and Sadie Sink.

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Tom Holland as Spider-man in a still from Spider-Man: Brand New Day (category IIA), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. Zendaya and Sadie Sink co-star.
European cinema

Review | Three Goodbyes: Alba Rohrwacher stars in moving, life-affirming Italian drama

Isabel Coixet’s adaptation of Michela Murgia’s celebrated novel highlights how we should appreciate what we have in the time gifted to us.

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American cinema

Review | The Odyssey: Christopher Nolan adapts Homer for an anti-war masterpiece

Matt Damon anchors a visually stunning epic in which the women – Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya – outshine the men.

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Asian cinema

Review | The President’s Cake: Cannes-winning Iraqi drama is an instant classic

Hasan Hadi’s profound film follows a young Iraqi girl trying to find ingredients for a cake to celebrate Saddam Hussein’s birthday.

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Baneen Ahmad Nayyef (kneeling) in a still from The President’s Cake (category IIA, Arabic), directed by Hasan Hadi. Waheed Thabet Khreibat and Sajad Mohamad Qasem co-star.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Kung Fu Soccer: Stephen Chow loses his touch with Shaolin Soccer spin-off

Dilraba Dilmurat and Zhang Xiaofei lead a team of female football martial artists in Chow’s film that falls far short of its 2001 predecessor.

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American cinema

Review | Evil Dead Burn: gruesome new chapter proves there is life in the franchise

Ultra violence and slapstick humour continue in Evil Dead Burn, the latest instalment of the hit horror franchise that started in 1981.

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American cinema

Review | Moana: Catherine Laga’aia shines in Disney’s vibrant live-action remake

Moana features a breakout performance by Catherine Laga’aia as the titular Moana – but the remake loses some of the magic of the original.

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Catherine Laga’aia as Moana in a still from Moana. Photo: Disney
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | A Dance with Rainbows: Taiwanese coming-of-age boxing drama packs a punch

Director Lee Yi-shan delivers a quietly powerful Taiwanese sports drama in A Dance with Rainbows, starring Lin Yi-ting.

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Lin Yi-ting in a still from A Dance with Rainbows (category IIA, Mandarin and Minnan), directed by Lee Yi-shan. Tsai Chen-nan and Yu An-shun co-star.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Unidentified Murder: twisty Hong Kong comedy shows admirable ambition

This award-winning comedy about an online prank that ends in a murder is a quirky story underpinned by the performances of its lead actors.

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American cinema

Review | Power Ballad: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas charm in feel-good music rights drama

This drama about the music industry, stardom and arguments over intellectual property is a fun story with solid performances from its leads.

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American cinema

Review | Minions & Monsters: a clever, self-aware homage to classic Hollywood

Everyone’s favourite Despicable Me sidekicks are back, this time in Hollywood in the 1920s, with plenty of nods to films and culture.

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A still from Minions & Monsters (category I), directed by Pierre Coffin and Patrick Delage, and starring the voices of Pierre Coffin, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges and Jesse Eisenberg.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Dear You: nostalgic Teochew family drama is a surprise box office hit in China

Lan Hongchun’s film on love, loyalty and immigrant struggles is a sensation in China, with lead Li Sitong giving a career-making performance.

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Li Sitong as the young Nanzhi in a still from Dear You (category IIA, Teochew), directed by Lan Hongchun. Wang Yantong and Wu Shaoqing co-star.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Palimpsest: The Story of a Name – Mary Stephen’s riveting study of identity

Hong Kong-born director Mary Stephen’s documentary explores her obscure heritage against a background of colonialism and self-reinvention.

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American cinema

Review | Toy Story 5: Jessie takes on tech in Pixar’s flawed but enjoyable sequel

A tablet threatens to render the gang obsolete in Toy Story 5, which will charm children but is the first to not stand up to adult scrutiny.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Dog Day Evening: Kafkaesque comedy reflects on a Hong Kong hostage incident

Inspired by a true story, Dog Day Evening explores the often infuriating world of customer hotlines and service cancellations.

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Yukki Tai as the frustrated Tak (left) and Michael Ning as desk agent Ringo in a still from Dog Day Evening.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Beyond Hostage Crisis: Manila tragedy spawns misguided faith-based movie

This dramatisation of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, in which eight Hongkongers died, fails to explore the tragedy in any depth.

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American cinema

Review | Disclosure Day: Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller is a flawed but fun ride

Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth, Disclosure Day starts well and features exciting set pieces, but the final act blows it.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Furious: an instant classic if you like gory, bone-crunching violence

Generic, unfunny and emotionally hollow, The Furious will nevertheless delight those who simply want to watch people getting slaughtered.

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(From left) Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian and Xie Miao in a still from The Furious (category III, Mandarin, English, Thai), directed by Kenji Tanigaki. Yang Enyou co-stars.
American cinema

Review | Masters of the Universe: He-Man returns in a glorious nostalgia trip

Nicholas Galitzine stars as He-Man beside Idris Elba, Jared Leto and Camila Mendes in a film that shows the 1980s hero still has the power.

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(From left) Idris Elba, Nicholas Galitzine and Camila Mendes in a still from Masters of the Universe (category: IIA), directed by Travis Knight and co-starring Jared Leto.
American cinema

Review | Backrooms: A24’s liminal space horror is a stunning, disorienting debut

A bold horror tale directed by YouTube creator Kane Parsons, Backrooms was inspired by the popular Portal video games.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Unexpected Courage: Rene Liu’s mid-40s career woman risks life over pregnancy

Rene Liu stars as a woman whose successful career is put on hold when she continues a risky pregnancy in this poorly conceived drama.

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European cinema

Review | The Voice of Hind Rajab: harrowing Gaza docudrama is vital cinema

Kaouther Ben Hania’s gripping docudrama about a young girl trapped in a car uses real voice recordings to help expose the brutal cost of war.

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Saja Kilani in a still from The Voice of Hind Rajab.
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | The Samurai and the Prisoner: Kiyoshi Kurosawa back with feudal-era thriller

The veteran Japanese director’s new film with Masahiro Motoki as a besieged warlord is an intelligent, captivating spin on the samurai genre.

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(From left) Yuriko Yoshitaka, Masahiro Motoki and Ryota Miyadate in a still from The Samurai and the Prisoner.
American cinema

Review | Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu plays like an extended TV episode

Star Wars fans may find The Mandalorian and Grogu an entertaining watch but it lacks real depth and feels more like a TV episode than a film.

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European cinema

Review | Bitter Christmas: Pedro Almodovar engrosses with his latest meta movie

A film within a film within a film, Bitter Christmas examines the relationship between life and cinema.

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