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James Mottram
James Mottram's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s):
Total Film
Radio Times
Digital Spy
Film4
The List
South China Morning Post
The National (UAE)
SFX Magazine
Filmstar Magazine
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Snow Leopard (2023) |
You might say it’s a film that recognises the best and worst in humanity. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (2023) |
With his music capable of both soothing and searing the soul, as it does here, audiences will simply have one task at hand: find a cinema with a first-rate surround-sound system. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 05, 2023
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Priscilla (2023) |
With pitch-perfect production design and costumes at her disposal, Coppola truly captures the era, and even dives into Elvis’ brush with spiritualism, gurus and LSD. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 05, 2023
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Evil Does Not Exist (2023) |
An engaging but elusive rural drama. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 04, 2023
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The Killer (2023) |
It’s a lurid crime thriller that, to some degree, chimes with Fincher’s 1995 masterpiece Se7en. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 04, 2023
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Maestro (2023) |
While Cooper’s film is traditional – it’s nowhere near as radical as Todd Field’s TÁR – it’s a bravura tribute to the creativity and artistry. You don’t need to be a student of Bernstein or his work to find this richly rewarding. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 03, 2023
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Poor Things (2023) |
Frequently hilarious, Poor Things is ribald and bawdy. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 03, 2023
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Ferrari (2023) |
This isn’t really a film about motorsport, or even a biopic, as such. This is an operatic look at Ferrari, the man rather than the machine, and how one of the most iconic car brands of all time came so close to disaster. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Sep 03, 2023
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Blue Beetle (2023) |
Maridueña makes for an appealing lead, and the back-and-forth with his Blue Beetle personality (voiced by Becky G) is fun. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Aug 17, 2023
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Haunted Mansion (2023) |
Anyone expecting anything more than a few jump scares and bumps in the night is going to be disappointed; in that sense, it is a credible attempt to channel the mild frights of the Disney ride into a movie. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 26, 2023
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Oppenheimer (2023) |
Detailing the way in which the world opened Pandora’s nuclear box, Oppenheimer is more than just a historical biopic. It feels like a movie for our times. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 20, 2023
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Barbie (2023) |
It’s a wild and wacky pink-hued comedy-musical about the world’s most famous doll.
Like The Lego Movie before it, Barbie is a meta-movie that both wallows in nostalgia and challenges it. In that sense, it’s mission accomplished. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 19, 2023
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) |
This is a hugely entertaining blockbuster, led by a fighting fit Tom Cruise, who has not lost one iota of his action-hero verve. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 06, 2023
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Both Sides of the Blade (2021) |
Being incarcerated in this hermetically sealed world for nearly two hours is a suffocating experience at times, despite the impressively mature performances of Binoche, Lindon and Colin. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) |
Without Bay at the helm, the ear-screeching carnage is taken down a decibel or two. With Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) directing, this latest battle between alien robots, clocking in at around two hours, is ever so slightly more bearable. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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Run Rabbit Run (2023) |
A little less than the sum of its parts, Run Rabbit Run is ultimately more intriguing than outright terrifying. - Total Film
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| Posted Jul 01, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) |
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse more than matches its predecessor. Deeper, darker, crazier, funnier, it’s The Empire Strikes Back of animated sequels. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Jun 01, 2023
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Cobweb (2023) |
Far too indulgent, the lengthy 135-minute running time is not merited; a much crisper, leaner story would have served the humour far better. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 29, 2023
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Elemental (2023) |
It’s true that after all that lovely world-building, the film flags in the middle section, but there are moments of true beauty in Elemental that will appeal to incurable romantics everywhere. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 29, 2023
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Perfect Days (2023) |
Yakusho revels in a performance where gestures, not words, are key. It’s a sublime piece of acting in a film that charms you with its simplicity. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 26, 2023
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Hopeless (2023) |
Hopeless is a competently made and acted drama that is moodily shot. It simmers with tension. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 26, 2023
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Kubi (2023) |
Even if you fail to grasp the nuances, Kubi is such an exhilarating ride at times that it scarcely matters. From mid-air fights to vast battles, from female ninja assassins to castles set ablaze, there’s plenty to feast your eyes upon. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 24, 2023
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Asteroid City (2023) |
This is Anderson at his most off-kilter. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 24, 2023
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May December (2023) |
It is not top-tier Haynes, weighed down as it is by heavy-handed symbolism. But for all the flaws, cinema enthusiasts will delight in picking it apart. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) |
Following Scorsese’s mournful hymn to mob rule in his last film, 2019’s The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon is every bit as powerful – a late-career masterpiece. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
Director James Mangold, stepping in for Steven Spielberg, brings the character’s adventures to a satisfying close, while Ford revels in reprising the role for one last hurrah. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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Monster (2023) |
Monster is cleverly engineered, subtle and supple. It’s a film that hides its true intentions until the very last. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
It’s not perfect, but for big, dumb MCU fun the Guardians still deliver. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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No Bears (2022) |
A typically tricksy and self-reflective work from Jafar Panahi, No Bears marks the fifth film the Iranian director has made covertly since the authorities banned him from filmmaking and international travel in 2010. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 19, 2023
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Beau Is Afraid (2023) |
That Aster has even got a film this wilfully perverse made is miraculous. Violent, hallucinogenic, twisted – there are not enough adjectives to even scratch the surface of this hugely ambitious psychological drama ... A once-in-a-generation kind of movie. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 11, 2023
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
An impressive Hollywood A-list voice cast and a script filled with nods to the video game series adds to the appeal, although by about the hour mark, you might well feel this is just one long chase movie. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Apr 11, 2023
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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) |
Director Chad Stahelski delivers an insanely outrageous action film, clocking in at two-and-three-quarter hours. Is that excessive? Yes. But the John Wick franchise thrives on excess. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 21, 2023
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Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) |
A muddled sequel that gets more tiresome by the minute despite some worthy additions to the cast. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) |
Visually impressive, fast-moving, and often funny, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves should please hardened players and newbies alike. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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Art College 1994 (2023) |
Liu’s unique animation style is stunning, made more so with odd artistic flourishes such as a painting of Lili filled with babies, fish, cameras and more. And for all its flaws, it’s still a one-off in the world of animation. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Creed III (2023) |
The obligatory training montage sizzles (complete with a joyful moment at the Hollywood Sign), while the fight scenes have a real stinging quality to match anything in the original Rocky films. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Suzume (2022) |
Weaving fantasy elements into a contemporary story, one that takes audiences on a picaresque journey around Japan, Shinkai creates yet another smart, sassy look at the world around us. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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In Water (2023) |
In Water works best when it focuses on the trio of friends as they sit around drinking and eating. ... Where the film falls down is an irritating decision to shoot most of the scenes out of focus. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Past Lives (2023) |
Tender and moving, Past Lives will touch the depths of your soul with its honesty and integrity. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 22, 2023
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The Shadowless Tower (2023) |
This gentle tale of soul-searching has some moments and images to savour. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 22, 2023
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Kill Boksoon (2023) |
There’s a visceral quality to the fight scenes and a rock-solid performance at its core from Jeon Do-yeon. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 19, 2023
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Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) |
This new Ant-Man outing truly lives up to its title. The manic multi-coloured world makes it feel like you’ve just stepped in the Star Wars cantina, while weird and wonderful creatures fill the screen. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 15, 2023
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Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023) |
Magic Mike’s Last Dance, the third and hopefully final escapade for Tatum’s buff stripper, feels like a bizarre, Downton Abbey-inspired fantasy that may appeal to ageing American audiences but few others. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 14, 2023
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Knock at the Cabin (2023) |
While it’s often the case that Shyamalan’s narratives lack substance beneath the flash, Knock at the Cabin does enough to prompt thought-provoking debate: What would you sacrifice for the world? And is it worth saving? - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Feb 02, 2023
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M3GAN (2022) |
It may not make a ‘scariest movies ever’ list, but it’s thoroughly entertaining – funny, offbeat and surprising. - metro.co.uk
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| Posted Jan 14, 2023
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A Man Called Otto (2022) |
The film narrowly avoids tipping over into mawkish sentimentality. Just occasionally, its embers will warm your heart. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 29, 2022
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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022) |
A dignified look at one of the greatest divas we ever had. - metro.co.uk
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| Posted Dec 23, 2022
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The Pale Blue Eye (2022) |
A class act from start to finish. - metro.co.uk
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| Posted Dec 23, 2022
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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022) |
Whether viewers buy Lemmons’ upbeat approach in the film’s final third remains to be seen, but this is an honourable attempt to give Houston’s story a respectable cinematic telling. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 22, 2022
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
The film can jar when oscillating between the CG-realised worlds and sequences with actors playing non-Na’vi characters, but for the most part The Way of Water is a sumptuous visual tapestry. - South China Morning Post
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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