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3/5
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is content to throw glitter and guts in the air, mix it up and see what ghastly concoctions form. It’s purely a nostalgia piece, but what more did you want?
Posted Sep 06, 2024
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3.5/5
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I Saw the TV Glow
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
I Saw the TV Glow is a confident, original film, birthed and crafted in a way that feels wholly different to anything you’ve seen before – certainly not in mainstream Hollywood cinema.
Posted Sep 06, 2024
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|
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Kneecap
(2024)
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Wenlei Ma
|
It crackles with energy, attitude and youth, and takes you along for a riotous and persuasive ride.
Posted Sep 06, 2024
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2/5
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The Crow
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Lots of movies are “bad” but still interesting but earnest-to-a-fault The Crow is not that.
Posted Sep 06, 2024
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2.5/5
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The Instigators
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The Instigators had the potential to be a fun heist movie except no one seems to be having any actual fun.
Posted Aug 08, 2024
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3.5/5
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Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It’s over-the-top, overstuffed and light on emotional depth. But it’s also a hell of a fun time, especially if you appreciate Deadpool’s self-aware, meta humour. It’s often infantile but that doesn’t mean it’s not funny. You just have to go with it.
Posted Jul 26, 2024
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3.5/5
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Kinds of Kindness
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Kinds of Kindness, like the other works from Lanthimos and Filippou’s partnership, is spikier, intentionally mannered, and far more challenging. But at least when you’re squirming, you know you’re not bored.
Posted Jul 13, 2024
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4/5
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Twisters
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Twisters is what you want from a blockbuster – massive thrills and actual pathos.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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3/5
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Fly Me to the Moon
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Fly Me to the Moon has some interesting ideas made accessible and the stars spark, but it’s a middle-of-the-road movie.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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3.5/5
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Fancy Dance
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It’s an elegant film with a lot of restraint but packed with emotions.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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2.5/5
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Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The three-hour epic is dull, frustrating and sleep-inducing.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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3/5
|
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It’s better than you had any right to expect it to be.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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2.5/5
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A Family Affair
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The movie is what it is. It’s not going to blow your mind, change your perspective on life or inspire you to rewatch it. But in the moment? It’s fine.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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4/5
|
Hit Man
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
A satisfying and hot rom-com.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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2.5/5
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
There are few surprises with Bad Boys: Ride or Die – you know what you’ve signed up to, and it’s more or less what you get.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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2/5
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The Garfield Movie
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
For parents hoping for a bit of nostalgia, you may want to just drop the kids off at the cinema and then sit in the car and fire up the old Garfield cartoons on YouTube.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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1.5/5
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Atlas
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It’s like if Marvel made a whole movie with Tony Stark inside his armour just talking to Jarvis, but without any witty repartee.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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3.5/5
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
If Furiosa had been a standalone, it would be considered an incredible feat, but as the fifth instalment, it doesn’t evolve on the spectacle we’ve already seen in Fury Road.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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3/5
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IF
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Bright, imaginative and visually charming with wonderful creature designs, IF wears its very big heart on its sleeve.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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3/5
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Unfrosted
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Unfrosted is silly and dumb, but it’s meant to be silly and dumb. You don’t expect it to take anything seriously and it really, really doesn’t.
Posted May 15, 2024
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2.5/5
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The Idea of You
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The Idea of You is fizzy and diverting, and falls into the “it’s mostly fine” box, but it lacks oomph in its execution. It’s only half a seduction.
Posted May 15, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Taste of Things
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The Taste of Things is a patient film but it’s bubbling with intensity and a great lust for the love of food and the sensuality of a lover.
Posted May 15, 2024
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2/5
|
Freud's Last Session
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It manages to make loaded, interesting subjects such as sex an inducement to a nap.
Posted Apr 26, 2024
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3/5
|
Challengers
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
At its core, Challenges is a game of power plays between three people whose messed-up relationships with each other make for intoxicating viewing, even if the movie doesn’t always work. But at least it’s always gripping.
Posted Apr 26, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
There’s a lot going on but it’s always done with a wicked sense of humour and commitment to entertain. It’s not the most cerebral cinema but it doesn’t have to be and The Fall Guy never pretends it’s anything but a cracking fun movie.
Posted Apr 26, 2024
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2.5/5
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Back to Black
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It has such reverence for Winehouse that it lacks the honesty the 2015 Oscar-winning documentary Amy was able to present.
Posted Apr 12, 2024
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3/5
|
Late Night with the Devil
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Its smart use of mostly practical effects work and its disciplined approach makes for a sometimes tense, often funny and always impressive horror film that even scaredy cats will appreciate.
Posted Apr 10, 2024
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4/5
|
Civil War
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
A punchy and smart movie that declares unequivocally there is no glory in war.
Posted Apr 10, 2024
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4.5/5
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Robot Dreams
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The tender story about friendship and companionship is really more for adults who appreciate whimsy and charm than kids who need loud noises and fast editing.
Posted Apr 09, 2024
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4/5
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La Chimera
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
There’s a precision to Josh O'Connor's balance of Arthur’s heavy moroseness with a spritely mischief. It’s a remarkable, complete performance and in Alice Rohrwacher, O’Connor has found the perfect directing partner.
Posted Apr 09, 2024
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3/5
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Shirley
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The script paces along briskly and John Ridley’s efficient filmmaking choices spotlight the key moments.
Posted Apr 01, 2024
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2.5/5
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Until Ghostbusters decides if it wants to throw its lot in with one era or the other, it’s always going to be between two worlds. And that purgatory makes for a middling experience that doesn’t quite satisfy.
Posted Apr 01, 2024
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3/5
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Road House
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
More dynamic and less strange than the original, this remake is a hell of a good time as long as you don’t think too hard about any of it. But it probably won’t reach cult status, it’s neither excellent nor terrible enough for that.
Posted Apr 01, 2024
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3.5/5
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How to Have Sex
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
It’s naturalistic, thoughtful, and deeply, deeply uncomfortable because there are familiar behaviours that almost anyone will remember from their own adolescence — and wish they could forget.
Posted Mar 10, 2024
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2.5/5
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Spaceman
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Adam Sandler is not given enough material in this under-baked film that might have worked better as an episode of Black Mirror.
Posted Mar 01, 2024
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5/5
|
American Fiction
(2023)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
Anchored by a tour de force performance from Jeffrey Wright, writer and first-time director Cord Jefferson’s film is a confident work that delights in exploring thorny concepts through humour and clear-minded irreverence.
Posted Feb 27, 2024
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3.5/5
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Dune: Part Two
(2024)
|
Wenlei Ma
|
The sequel, while impressive, loses the restraint and elegance of the first film, leaning more towards a blockbuster experience. The quiet confidence of Part One has morphed into unshackled bravura in Part Two.
Posted Feb 22, 2024
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