James Mottram

James Mottram
James Mottram's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s): Total Film Film4 Time Out Digital Spy Filmstar Magazine The National (UAE) The List South China Morning Post
Publications: Total Film, Film4, Time Out, Digital Spy, Filmstar Magazine, The National (UAE), The List, South China Morning Post

Movie Reviews Only

T-Meter Title | Year
4/5 61% Child's Play (2019) A hugely enjoyable horror comedy that pays tribute to its predecessor but delivers something fresh out the box, too. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 20, 2019
4.5/5 98% Toy Story 4 (2019) Balancing action, comedy and misty-eyed emotion, this is yet another dazzling showcase of animation from the Pixar stable. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 17, 2019
2/5 23% Men in Black International (2019) Men in Black: International is so forgettable, by the time you've left your seat you'll feel like you've been zapped by the 'Neuralizer'. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 12, 2019
2/5 40% Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) The film is so dark and foggy, it makes that Game of Thrones episode everyone complained about look like a ray of sunshine. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 28, 2019
3/5 97% Thunder Road (2018) Like a one-stop shop, [Jim] Cummings writes, directs, edits, composes the music and, of course, acts. It's an impressive juggling act, although the end result is very mixed. - Metro (UK) EDIT
Read More | Posted May 28, 2019
5/5 98% Parasite (Gisaengchung) (2019) Parasite is bravura filmmaking at its finest. Heavenly. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 21, 2019
4.5/5 92% Once Upon a Time In Hollywood (2019) True, the film takes its sweet time; some scenes are overindulged. But the pay-off is explosive - a finale that's both grisly and strangely sad. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 21, 2019
4.5/5 74% A Hidden Life (Une vie cachée) (2019) Detailed and authentic, and never overstretching itself, this is a profoundly beautiful movie. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 19, 2019
4/5 89% Rocketman (2019) Fletcher stages the musical numbers with real panache, and Egerton is commanding on stage. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 16, 2019
4/5 52% The Dead Don't Die (2019) Jarmusch's film, lightweight though it is, is a smartly tooled tribute to both the horror genre and the director's own body of work. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 14, 2019
4/5 79% Never Look Away (2019) A film where politics, history, art and love collide into an almost operatic crescendo. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 7, 2019
3.5/5 69% Yesterday (2019) The likeable Patel sings Lennon/McCartney's songs with real soul, though the character is a little too morose to warm to. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 4, 2019
3.5/5 66% Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) Reynolds excels as Pikachu, playing a sort of watered-down version of his wisecracking R-rated Deadpool character. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted May 2, 2019
3/5 49% A Dog's Journey (2019) As it makes its pitch to become the modern-day Lassie, it has old-fashioned charm to spare. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted May 1, 2019
3/5 43% Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil) (2019) It's hard not to be swept up by a film that celebrates the indomitable female spirit with such gusto - and a story that came close to slipping through the cracks. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 30, 2019
4/5 95% Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) Peddling a brand of saucy postcard humor that wouldn't offend your granny, as well as the usual Aardman brand of wistful nostalgia, the story is also ripe with references to horror films... The result is close to perfection. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 26, 2019
4/5 67% The Mighty Celt (2005) Aside from Elliott's sprightly direction and unsentimental script, The Mighty Celt's chief pleasure is the quality of the performances. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 26, 2019
2/5 14% The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) A hollow-but-happy film that has no pretensions above its lowbrow station. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 25, 2019
2/5 40% The Island (2005) Two movies rolled into one, the dumb one wins hands down. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 25, 2019
3/5 59% Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) There's enough good humor to keep the clouds from forming for too long. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 24, 2019
3/5 44% The Jacket (2005) The film is energetic. But with a rather conventional love story at its heart -- not particularly convincingly acted by Brody and Knightley -- this is one jacket that doesn't fit. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 24, 2019
2/5 38% Sahara (2005) Operating with a machine-tooled efficiency, Sahara seems blithely unaware of its utter predictability. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
3/5 69% Criminal (2004) There's nothing stars John C. Reilly and Diego Luna can do to make you forget you're watching the same story. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 78% A Very Long Engagement (2004) With detail crammed into literally every frame, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more imaginative film this year. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 44% Hål i mitt hjärta, Ett (A Hole In My Heart) (2004) Not a film that's easy to enjoy, it's nevertheless one that you won't forget in a hurry. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
4/5 98% Ash Is Purest White (2019) If the final act is perhaps too ponderous, it's typical of Jia: this is no ordinary gangster film but one that's filled with poignancy and longing. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
3/5 48% Bel Canto (2018) Despite adeptly handling a multilingual scenario, Weitz can't seem to decide what kind of film he wants Bel Canto to be, although the haunting finale still hits home. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
1/5 48% The Triumph of Love (2002) This story of false identities set in the grounds of a luxurious (and remarkably empty) stately home feels like a rehearsal for the real thing. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 22, 2019
3/5 36% Shark Tale (2004) As it is, it's an adequate time-killer that benefits from an impressive voice cast... Best of the bunch is Martin Scorsese as puffer-fish Sykes, sounding like he's sucked on helium. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 22, 2019
3/5 17% Hellboy (2019) Like the name of the fish'n'chip shop that fronts the B.P.R.D., Hellboy may be "codswallop" but you'll have fun getting there. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 11, 2019
3.5/5 47% Dumbo (2019) Alongside the lavish production design, the star of the show is Dumbo, who is beautifully realised by the film's visual effects team. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 26, 2019
3.5/5 91% Shazam! (2019) The innocent nature of it all is hugely enjoyable. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 23, 2019
4/5 57% Pet Sematary (2019) The film sits neatly among the best movies made from Stephen King's lurid library. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 20, 2019
4/5 94% Us (2019) Peele has conjured up a creepy tale that plunges deep into the Hollywood horror well and pulls out something quite icky. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 19, 2019
3/5 55% Five Feet Apart (2019) What Five Feet Apart does well is detail the daily drudgery endured by those with CF without ever turning it into a dreary disease-of-the-week movie. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 14, 2019
3.5/5 78% Captain Marvel (2019) The humour is nicely played, with some neat '90s gags to accompany a grungy soundtrack. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 5, 2019
4/5 100% Öndög (2019) Ondog is a playful but purposeful rumination on our place in the universe. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 10, 2019
3.5/5 60% Alita: Battle Angel (2019) From the production design to the visual effects, Alita: Battle Angel is a rich advert for Hollywood craftsmanship. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 1, 2019
3.5/5 85% The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) The inventive humour that made the first film so special is still very much present. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 30, 2019
2.5/5 37% Glass (2019) Bringing [the trio of intriguing characters] back was a good idea, but this reunion isn't quite the story they deserve. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 14, 2019
3/5 66% Lizzie (2018) Retelling the story from the female perspective, it's rather sterile at times, hampered by flaccid pacing. But Sevigny is unforgettable as Borden. - Metro (UK) EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 19, 2018
3/5 93% Bumblebee (2018) Backed up by some terrific visual effects, which crucially never overwhelm, the performances are also credible. When Steinfeld looks at Bumblebee, you believe her attachment to him. Now if only Michael Bay had tried that. - Metro (UK) EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 19, 2018
4/5 84% Girl (2018) Whether you agree with Dhont's approach to the transgender subject, his skills as a filmmaker are impressive. Girl will hit you with an almighty force. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 17, 2018
4.5/5 79% Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Emily Blunt [plays] Mary Poppins and she could not be more perfect. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 14, 2018
2.5/5 65% Aquaman (2018) This is a competent enough origin story, but its oddball nature means that it's unintentionally hilarious at times. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 14, 2018
3/5 93% Bumblebee (2018) Bumblebee is a surprisingly enjoyable ride for a franchise that felt like it'd long since rusted over. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 11, 2018
5/5 No Score Yet Roma (2008) Cuarón has created one of the great films of this century. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 11, 2018
4.5/5 97% Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Not since the first Sam Raimi-directed live-action Spider-Man has there been a movie about Marvel's web-slinging superhero that's been so darn fun. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 10, 2018
4.5/5 91% Widows (2018) Rendered with real pace and power, the film weaves sexual, racial and social politics into a gripping, muscular story. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 4, 2018
3.5/5 98% 3 Faces (2019) What results is a film that witheringly observes the complexities and moral conundrums of contemporary Iran, albeit through the muddied windscreen of Panahi's car. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 26, 2018