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 Digital Spy SFX Magazine Filmstar Magazine The National (UAE) The List South China Morning Post
Publications: Total Film, Film4, Digital Spy, SFX Magazine, Filmstar Magazine, The National (UAE), The List, South China Morning Post, iNews.co.uk

Movie Reviews Only

T-Meter Title | Year
3/5 91% Introduction (2021) A character study and sly family portrait, the film doesn't really reveal its intentions until late on, with Hong deliberately sidestepping audience expectations. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 2, 2021
3.5/5 95% Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) Awkwafina's rat-a-tat-tat patter (something of an equivalent to Robin Williams' Genie in Aladdin) brings the story alive, adding another memorable character to the Disney canon. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 1, 2021
4/5 72% The World to Come (2020) Boasting fiercely committed performances, subtle direction and painterly design,The World to Come is brimful of passion and pain. - Total Film EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2021
4/5 91% Enola Holmes (2020) With plenty of conspiracies and clue-solving in a brisk and engaging story, all cut to Daniel Pemberton's rousing score, it's a hugely entertaining romp that will bring out the sleuth in you. - Total Film EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 14, 2021
4.5/5 72% The Mauritanian (2021) A long, exhausting but ultimately exhilarating watch, fleshed out with excellent performances and a director who offers a measured and absorbing account of Slahi's fate. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 14, 2021
4/5 88% News of the World (2020) What results is not a film that offers up too many surprises, but one that reveres and respects the western genre. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 11, 2021
4/5 59% Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Wonder Woman 1984 again showcases just why Wonder Woman is the brightest spark in the recent DC movies. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 15, 2020
3/5 51% The Midnight Sky (2020) There are thrilling moments ... but the ensemble cast are all left a little underfed by the script. What results is something more solidly entertaining than spectacular. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 9, 2020
4/5 77% The Croods: A New Age (2020) Here's a good example of a sequel you probably didn't know you wanted, but now it's here you'll be rather pleased that it is. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 7, 2020
4/5 55% The Prom (2020) What The Prom does very well is lampoon actors for vanity and willingness to bandwagon-hop - albeit in an affectionate way that never feels spiteful. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 1, 2020
4/5 98% Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) It's a combustible performance, full of anger and rage; even without his death, it would be right up there with the best of Boseman's career. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 21, 2020
3/5 77% Military Wives (2020) You won't be surprised one jot by the entirely predictable plotting or outcome ... But the mix of realism, song, humour and warmth still make this a touching experience. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 11, 2020
3.5/5 25% Hillbilly Elegy (2020) It's a terrifically captivating performance from Close, and one that - awards bait or not - more than merits her winning that long overdue Oscar. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 10, 2020
4.5/5 83% Mank (2020) For Fincher, Mank is a triumph - right alongside Fight Club and Zodiac as the best of his career. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 6, 2020
3/5 50% The Craft: Legacy (2020) The audience the new film is aimed at - teenage girls - should be spellbound. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 30, 2020
3.5/5 49% The Witches (2020) Dahl's own dark sensibilities are kept intact. Additionally, it's pleasing to see an unhinged Hathaway reunite with Tucci, all those years after The Devil Wears Prada. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 21, 2020
4.5/5 95% Soul (2020) A hugely inventive tale about living life to the full that never, ever feels saccharine. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 11, 2020
4/5 100% The Duke (2020) It's a gentle, old-fashioned tale of working-class rogues that's been perfectly engineered for a cosy night at the pictures. - iNews.co.uk EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 6, 2020
4.5/5 90% The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) This is a powerful broadside from one of Hollywood's most talented writers that you won't want to miss. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 24, 2020
5/5 94% Nomadland (2021) Nomadland is every bit as powerful [as The Rider]: an ode to pioneer spirit and a lament for the communities and lives that were decimated after the financial recession of 2008. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 11, 2020
4/5 100% Wife of a Spy (Supai no tsuma) (2020) Wife of a Spy may be too old-fashioned or ponderous for some tastes, but this is undeniably a cultured and considered work. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 10, 2020
3.5/5 96% The Disciple (2020) Featuring some beguiling interludes of Hindustani music, The Disciple is a challenging and complex tale of personal growth and self-realisation. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 4, 2020
4/5 73% Mulan (2020) Caro's take is one of the most beautiful films you'll see all year. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 3, 2020
1.5/5 35% The New Mutants (2020) This baffling tale comes off like a supernatural Breakfast Club, with mild doses of horror and even a same-sex romance subplot that feels entirely cynical. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 31, 2020
5/5 70% Tenet (2020) Happily, Tenet exceeds our already sky-high expectations. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 21, 2020
3.5/5 48% Unhinged (2020) Imposing and utterly compelling, Crowe never wavers in his portrayal of pure evil, offering up one of his best turns in years. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 30, 2020
97% Tell Me Who I Am (2019) Filled to the brim with horror and humanity, it's unforgettable. - The National (UAE) EDIT
Read More | Posted May 23, 2020
4/5 92% Holy Motors (2012) Denis Lavant shows just why he's one of the best French actors alive. - SFX Magazine EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 28, 2020
2/5 50% 2nd Date Sex (2019) Despite their talent, MacKay and Roach struggle with what is, for much of its duration, a two-hander. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 20, 2020
3.5/5 86% Emma. (2020) Led by the charming Taylor-Joy, this gentle film deserves to introduce Austen to a whole new generation. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 20, 2020
3/5 70% Trolls World Tour (2020) Trolls World Tour is brightly rendered, ludicrously jolly and full of sing-a-along tunes. In other words, it's probably what the world could do with right now. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 5, 2020
2/5 30% Bloodshot (2020) Vin Diesel can have his off days, and this derivative sci-fi is one of them. His turn as Ray Garrison is about as one note as they come. All muscles and mumbles and not much up top. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 11, 2020
2.5/5 57% The Hunt (2020) This bloody tale of human sport isn't half as clever as it thinks it is. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 11, 2020
3.5/5 48% My Spy (2020) Segal just about keeps the action scenes ticking over. There's more fun to be had here than we had any right to imagine. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 11, 2020
3.5/5 100% Days (Rizi) (2020) As impenetrable as the film can be, Tsai explores humanity with great sensitivity and depth. If you have the patience, there is much to savour in Days. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 27, 2020
3.5/5 43% The Roads Not Taken (2020) Through it all, there's a potent portrayal of the bond between a parent and a child, and how it can never be taken for granted. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 27, 2020
4/5 88% Onward (2020) One of the best original Pixar movies in a while, Onward is very funny but also touchingly sentimental. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 21, 2020
4/5 71% Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue (2020) A sensitive and spiritual depiction of China. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 21, 2020
3.5/5 74% My Salinger Year (2020) Featuring an impressive central turn from the increasingly visible Margaret Qualley, there's something marvellously old-fashioned about this tale set on the cusp of the digital age. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2020
3/5 62% The Call of the Wild (2020) There's a lot of humour and warmth to the film ... A few gripes aside, Sanders manages to bring this classic story to a new generation. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 18, 2020
3/5 63% Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) This is the one kids' film where obligatory chase sequences should actually be encouraged. It also benefits hugely from the presence of Jim Carrey, as Sonic's enemy Dr Robotnik. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 12, 2020
3/5 78% Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) A comic grotesque with a big dose of "ker-pow!". - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 5, 2020
3/5 77% Bad Boys for Life (2020) For once, the laughs make more of an impact than the explosions. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 16, 2020
3/5 75% The Gentlemen (2020) The Gentlemen is a Ritchie film for all those who grew up on his early laddish crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 19, 2019
2/5 19% Cats (2019) Doubtless lovers of Andrew Lloyd Webber will flock to see it, but it's as messy as a cat's litter tray. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 18, 2019
4.5/5 51% Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) By the end, as the twin suns set on cinema's greatest ever sci-fi series, it's near-impossible to hold back the tears. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 18, 2019
4.5/5 98% Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) (2020) Anyone who has ever felt burning passion for another person will relate to and fall for this spine-tingling work. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 9, 2019
4/5 68% Bombshell (2019) Bombshell sets you on edge and won't let go until it concludes. The result is a timely and absorbing drama. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 9, 2019
97% Knives Out (2019) Knives Out is thoroughly watchable entertainment that never lets the social commentary overpower the fun. More a howdunnit than a whodunnit, it'll have you scratching your head and trying to second-guess actions right up until the end. - The National (UAE) EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 27, 2019
5/5 89% 1917 (2020) 1917 is a visceral World War I movie that is both technically masterful and emotionally devastating. It's easily the best film of Mendes' career. - South China Morning Post EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 25, 2019