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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.
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
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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European cinema

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

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Asian cinema

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

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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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Missagh Zareh in a still from A Bit of Light, directed by Ali Asgari and co-starring Sadaf Asgari and Forouzan Jamshidnejad. Photo: Seven Springs Pictures
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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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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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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Ethan Ruan in a still from Arrested Memory.
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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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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Jeon Do-yeon as Mi-ok in a still from Possible Love. Photo: Netflix.
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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Rodney Hicks in a still from Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. Geoffrey Rush, Mark Merphy and Tatyana Ali co-star.
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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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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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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Meru Nukumi in a still from The Last Song You Left Behind (category I, Japanese), directed by Takahiro Miki. Shunsuke Michieda co-stars.
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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Hu Ge as Feng Jingbo, a spy who becomes embroiled in a years-long cat-and-mouse game with a stubborn Beijing official, in a still from I Know Who You Are (category: IIA Mandarin), directed by Feng Xiaogang. Lei Jiayin co-stars.
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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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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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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A still from A Mighty Adventure.
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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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | All Wishes Come True!: Chinese animation reinvents the Eight Immortals

This culturally authentic and wholly accessible origin story is a visually dazzling infusion of Chinese and Western storytelling conventions.

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American cinema

Review | The Invite: Olivia Wilde’s adult-oriented sex comedy pulls no punches

Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, Ed Norton and Wilde herself deliver excellent performances, interpreting the racy script with unabashed gusto.

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Olivia Wilde (front) and Seth Rogen in a still from The Invite (category IIB), directed by Olivia Wilde. Peneope Cruz and Edward Norton co-star.
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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A still from Forgotten Island (category TBC), directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado. H.E.R., Liza Soberano and Dave Franco voice characters.
Asian cinema: Korean films

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

Choi Woo-sik and Jang Hye-jin star as a pampered son and his doting mother who always cooks for him until tragedy strikes their family.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

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

Exploring family dynamics and modernity in a heartfelt Teochew romance, Lan Hongchun’s Back to Love charms with its cultural themes.

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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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Alba Rohrwacher (left) and Elio Germano in a still from Three Goodbyes (category IIA; Italian), directed by Isabel Coixet. Francesco Carril co-stars.
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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