James Marsh
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Ping Pong: The Triumph (2023) |
While perhaps not a sporting classic for the ages, Ping Pong: The Triumph should get its intended audience on its feet. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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A Man (2022) |
Ishikawa’s measured direction of A Man keeps the thrills to a bare minimum, instead exploring the moral consequences of living a lie. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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Full River Red (2023) |
A visually ravishing blend of palace intrigue and knockabout humour. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Gaga (2022) |
Gaga offers a fascinating window into a way of life that is in serious danger of disappearing completely. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 22, 2023
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Unlocked (2023) |
Few things in life are more frustrating than losing your phone, but Kim Tae-joon’s insipid new thriller Unlocked comes painfully close. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 14, 2023
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Ajoomma (2022) |
A frothy, somewhat disposable, but emotionally rewarding caper about second chances and living life to the fullest. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 08, 2023
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The Point Men (2023) |
Action sequences are surprisingly sparse in The Point Men, which always appears more invested in its tried and tested (even tired) mismatched central partnership than in broaching any more intriguing propositions. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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The Wandering Earth II (2023) |
In sci-fi terms, The Wandering Earth II feels less obviously derivative of Hollywood forerunners than its predecessor, raising a number of intriguing themes and engaging with them intellectually. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Jung_E (2023) |
As with so many South Korean productions operating in this ideas-driven genre, Jung_E shows a reluctance to explore science, technology or futurism themes except in the most superficial and speculative way, as if merely acknowledging them is sufficient. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jan 19, 2023
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M3GAN (2022) |
A wonderful physical performance from Amie Donald, coupled with Jenna Davis’ chillingly deadpan voice delivery, together ensure that M3GAN will enter the pantheon of beloved horror icons. It may well have given life to yet another successful franchise. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jan 14, 2023
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The Pale Blue Eye (2022) |
The entire story is shot through with the same sense of dread and foreboding that emanates from so much of Poe’s writing, which is only heightened further by Poe’s presence within the narrative. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 23, 2022
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Babylon (2022) |
Recreating the unbridled hedonism of early Hollywood in a heady cocktail of sex, drugs, and iconic roles, Damien Chazelle’s indulgent three-hour epic Babylon is both a love letter to and cautionary tale of the excesses of cinema’s golden age. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 17, 2022
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) |
The Last Wish flaunts a vast knowledge of fairy tales and folklore from across Europe, reinterpreting childhood favourite characters into anarchic new creations that propel the proceedings onwards with a palpable air of fun and freshness. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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And, the Baton Was Passed (2021) |
The myriad challenges faced by a young woman from primary school to marriage are chronicled in Japanese director Tetsu Maeda’s And So the Baton Is Passed, an agonising odyssey of bad parenting and mawkish melodrama that long outstays its welcome. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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Troll (2022) |
While the effects work is first-rate and the action efficiently handled, there is a frustrating lack of Scandinavian specificity on display. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 05, 2022
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Disenchanted (2022) |
The humour is painfully absent. What was previously a sly, self-effacing satire has been replaced by a complicit campiness which, while occasionally fun, is rarely funny. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Nov 22, 2022
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Fast & Feel Love (undefined) |
Nat Kitcharit and Urassaya Sperbund play the ill-fated couple, but it is the hilarious supporting cast that keeps this unnecessarily long film from toppling. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Nov 22, 2022
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Falling for Christmas (2022) |
Lohan deserves far better material than this vacuous vehicle, as sickly sweet as a six-foot candy cane and with all the emotional depth of a Hallmark Christmas card. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Nov 15, 2022
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) |
The intention is all there, to address [Boseman’s death] and be respectful, but it goes overboard. The film spends far too much time mourning T’Challa and not enough exploring how moving forward impacts these characters. - Deep Dive Movie Reviews (YouTube)
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| Posted Nov 12, 2022
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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) |
“Like a direct response to Mendes’ 2017, the film is beautifully shot and slickly handled, without sanding down the rough edges, while the performances are incredibly authentic” - Deep Dive Movie Reviews (YouTube)
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| Posted Nov 09, 2022
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Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022) |
"Witness one of the most accomplished filmmakers working today unload a lifetime of personal grievances and insecurities, writ large for all the world to see, in an intoxicating parade of cinematic bombast" - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Nov 09, 2022
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Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) |
The simple plotting and broad characterisation is bolstered by some pretty effective special effects work, and performer interaction with the towering, computer-generated crocodile is impressively seamless throughout. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Nov 02, 2022
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Enola Holmes 2 (2022) |
Deftly blending action, intrigue and a dash of romance, Enola Holmes 2 also champions the emerging women’s rights movement, while remaining faithfully in lockstep with Arthur Conan Doyle’s distinctive style of deductive detective work. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Oct 31, 2022
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Bones and All (2022) |
Bones And All is imbued with a heightened sense of emotional resonance, as every interaction and altercation pulsates with the rawness of naive idealism and inexperience. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Oct 27, 2022
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Prey for the Devil (2022) |
The Devil’s Light seems content to congregate crowds of stern-faced priests around a shrieking bedridden child and have them spout erroneous incantations for 90 minutes. Even with the most forgiving of horror fans, it doesn’t have a hope in hell. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Oct 27, 2022
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Werewolf by Night (2022) |
Kudos must be given to Marvel president Kevin Feige for allowing Giacchino creative freedom in this project, as Werewolf by Night is undeniably eccentric, and exhibits a ravenous bloodlust that would be far from fitting for an Avengers movie. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Oct 06, 2022
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Do Revenge (2022) |
Do Revenge is considerably more than gushy fanfiction for better movies from generations past. It displays a keen understanding of 21st century teenage life, albeit from within a cloistered microcosm of wealth and privilege. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 23, 2022
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Before, Now & Then (2022) |
The production design of Before, Now & Then is lavish and entirely immersive. Andini transports us back in time to a community that is at once teeming with life yet simultaneously cut off from the powers that dictate the nation’s fate. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 14, 2022
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Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022) |
Despite its rather generic action beats, the humour is first rate and the laughs come thick and fast. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 08, 2022
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Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) |
Like Forrest Gump, Khan’s film lives or dies on your tolerance for its cloying, somewhat patronising central performance, which remains here just as polarising as ever. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 31, 2022
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Me Time (2022) |
That the antics in Me Time descend so quickly into lap dances and pool parties is a real shame, as Hart’s character, Sonny, raises some genuinely promising topics. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 26, 2022
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Seoul Vibe (2022) |
While it may not find top gear as an action movie, ’80s kids should find Seoul Vibe warrants a few spins round the block. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 24, 2022
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Alienoid (2022) |
The effects work here is first-rate, as one would expect from one of Korea’s most expensive productions to date, but the script’s central conceit starts to buckle under the slightest scrutiny. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 17, 2022
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Carter (2022) |
Never has a film tried so hard to emulate the look and feel of a video game than Jung Byung-gil’s dizzyingly ridiculous Carter. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 04, 2022
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Prey (2022) |
What is immediately evident is how effectively Prey recaptures the spirit of the first film. It stands proud as the best addition yet to the franchise’s original. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 04, 2022
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Ballad of a White Cow (2021) |
While not always an easy watch, Moghadam’s film is a haunting and vital piece of work. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 11, 2022
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The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020) |
Ben Hania’s film exposes a number of different ties that bind us, be they social, religious, political or economic. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 06, 2022
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The Black Phone (2021) |
Deliberately paced and restrained with its infrequent yet perfectly placed scares, The Black Phone is primarily a character piece, and Derrickson has assembled an impressive ensemble of child performers. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jun 15, 2022
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Hustle (2022) |
There may be precious few surprises served up along the way, but Hustle is a sincere and successful celebration of the game that never takes its eye off the prize. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jun 03, 2022
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Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
While not Jurassic Park III levels of bad, Dominion concludes not so much with a triumphant roar as the exhausted whimper of a child ready to go home. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jun 02, 2022
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The Roundup (2022) |
What appears to be just the latest in a long and increasingly exhausting line of Korean action vehicles ... The Roundup is elevated to legitimate must-see status by captivating performances and a relentlessly disarming sense of humour. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 23, 2022
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RRR (2022) |
It’s an action movie, a romcom, a historical drama and it all works. There’s such an enthusiasm, a shameless bombast to the scale of this story…It’s so exhilarating, over-the-top and explosive…it’s mythic, elemental, larger-than-life…this is pure cinema.
- Deep Dive Movie Reviews (YouTube)
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| Posted May 20, 2022
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Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie (2021) |
The Jujutsu Kaisen faithful should be sufficiently sated. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 19, 2022
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The Battle at Lake Changjin: Water Gate Bridge (2022) |
The relentless slaughter of decadent American insurgents by courageous and patriotic Chinese heroes continues on apace in The Battle at Lake Changjin II, the hastily released sequel to 2021’s record-breaking epic. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 12, 2022
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The Good Boss (2021) |
León de Aranoas impeccable writing and restrained direction work in harmony with Bardems pitch-perfect performance. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 03, 2022
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Bubble (2022) |
This cyberpunk retelling of The Little Mermaid boasts as much substance and narrative depth as the celestial bubbles that litter the dilapidated cityscape. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 17, 2022
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Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022) |
Sluggish, predictable and almost wilfully devoid of thrills, South Korean action drama Yaksha: Ruthless Operations offers none of the unpredictable or mischievous antics teased by its curious title. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 17, 2022
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Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021) |
Propelled by a pair of wonderfully complex and compelling lead performances that defy traditional gender roles and societal expectations, this is a defiant and joyous celebration of true love battling insurmountable odds, as can only happen in the movies. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 17, 2022
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The Bubble (2022) |
While fitfully diverting thanks to its ensemble of accomplished comic actors, The Bubble is bloated, too long and often achingly unfunny, and succumbs to many of the self-congratulatory tendencies it looks to satirise. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 17, 2022
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Love Like the Falling Petals (2022) |
Muddled and frustrating almost from the outset, Yoshihiro Fukagawas achingly sentimental weepie Love Like the Falling Petals struggles to tell its story with coherent clarity. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 21, 2022
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