Nick De Semlyen
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Air (2023) |
It’s a lot of fun, way more than a film about a large company striving to make even more money should be. But it could have paid a little more heed to #3 on Nike’s famous list of ten corporate principles: “Break the rules.” - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Mar 21, 2023
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
It’s a leap beyond even what he pulled off with the first film, a phantasmagorical, fully immersive waking dream of a movie in which something impossible is happening on-screen at almost every moment. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 13, 2022
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Decision to Leave (2022) |
A spry police procedural fused with an achingly intense romance, Decision To Leave keeps you off-kilter throughout, in the best possible way. Make a decision to see it. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Oct 19, 2022
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Spiderhead (2022) |
You can feel the strain of its expansion from novella form, but it’s just about worth a visit. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) |
Reminiscent of The Happytime Murders but actually watchable, this zippy, highly amiable rodent noir turns out to be a delightful surprise. It flings a lot of ideas at the screen — and most of them stick. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted May 18, 2022
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Uncharted (2022) |
A film based on a game inspired by films that are much better than this one, Uncharted is watchable enough but could have been so much better. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Feb 13, 2022
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Boiling Point (2021) |
A fast-paced and hectic kitchen thriller that, though it tries to spin a few too many plates, pulls you deep into a fascinating, detailed world most of us know little about. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jan 09, 2022
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Wrath of Man (2021) |
Guy Ritchie delivers a nice surprise: an LA neo-noir with high-voltage action and an ice-cube-cool Statham. If it gets a bit tangled up in its time-hopping reveals, it's largely an enjoyable, rattlesnake-mean thriller. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 09, 2021
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The Many Saints of Newark (2021) |
A busier proposition than its HBO forefather, this sets up more than it can pay off. But it does manage to balance fan-service with plenty of rich, original, complex material. Bada? Bing. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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Free Guy (2021) |
Not quite 'Ready Player One Star', but this is an odd duck: a Black Mirror-ish concept played for laughs, which ends up getting tangled up in its own code. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Aug 05, 2021
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Black Widow (2021) |
It shouldn't really have taken 11 years for the Widow to get her own standalone adventure. But thanks to some zesty new character dynamics and smart twists, Marvel have finally done her right. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jun 29, 2021
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Luca (2021) |
A strange hybrid of Italian neorealism and fish-based fantasy, Luca is beautiful to behold but plays it too safe to make a real impact. Still, great CG linguine. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jun 16, 2021
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The Father (2020) |
Hopkins is extraordinary as a man flailing against a condition that's taking everything from him. And Zeller proves he's a natural filmmaker, orchestrating a Wagnerian opera of emotion based entirely around an old man in a flat. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jun 10, 2021
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Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (2021) |
The action is sharp and imaginative, and Jordan strongly establishes his action-flick credentials. But story-wise it's all very familiar and more than a little dour. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Apr 30, 2021
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Palm Springs (2020) |
A wonderful, witty and weird spin on an old favourite, which seems destined to become a classic itself. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Apr 07, 2021
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Willy's Wonderland (2021) |
Come for Nic Cage fighting a robot alligator with a mop. Stay for some inventive licks on the dead-by-dawn horror-movie template, though the other characters are nothing to shriek about. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Feb 10, 2021
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The Midnight Sky (2020) |
Swinging between ice and space, Clooney has upped his directorial ambition and delivered a big-scale, big-hearted story, even if it struggles to match the films it riffs on. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 09, 2020
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Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020) |
Dahl's story still sings, but like a potion missing eye of newt, this new take is slightly undercooked. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Oct 21, 2020
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Hubie Halloween (2020) |
The concept of combining Adam Sandler and horror is not a bad one. But this is no Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein. Instead, Hubie Halloween inspires mild dread for all the wrong reasons. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Oct 08, 2020
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The Jesus Rolls (2019) |
Fair play to Turturro for going in such a strange direction, and assembling a pretty killer cast, but it's unlikely to satisfy even the most ardent Quintana enthusiast. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Apr 06, 2020
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Color Out of Space (2019) |
It's not as effective as Mandy or The Mist, both of which it evokes at points. But Color Out Of Space is still an audacious and admirably out-there attempt at cosmic horror. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Feb 24, 2020
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Uncut Gems (2019) |
A monumental thriller, which vividly captures its world's specifics and calibrates its snaky plot for maximum nail-bitability. Also easily the best film to ever extensively feature Adam Sandler yelling at a TV. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jan 06, 2020
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21 Bridges (2019) |
A refreshing break from VFX-laden spectaculars and a throwback to the pulpy cop thrillers of yesteryear, if not quite strong enough to ensure that Boseman's righteous cop gets his own franchise. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Nov 18, 2019
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Ford v Ferrari (2019) |
A mid-1960s corporate rivalry may not seem like the stuff of fist-pumping, crowd-pleasing cinema, yet the battle is sketched with such élan, all high-gloss surfaces, scotch-swilling intrigue and rat-a-tat dialogue, that it's impossible not to be drawn in. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Nov 11, 2019
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Get Santa (2014) |
With farting reindeer and frugal budgets, Christopher Smith, the man behind Triangle and Severance, has forged something almost as terrifying. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Nov 05, 2019
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Abominable (2019) |
If you like E.T. and Bumblebee, chance are you'll have a good time with this slightly homogenous but sweet-natured kids' adventure. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Oct 08, 2019
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The Goldfinch (2019) |
Frankly, you might have more fun watching a pigeon for 149 minutes. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Sep 23, 2019
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The Farewell (2019) |
Both a vehicle for Awkwafina's formidable talents and an incredibly charming ensemble piece. If there's any justice, it'll be remembered when it comes to award-scattering season. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Sep 16, 2019
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Midsommar (2019) |
Midsommar is the horror movie to beat in 2019. Caution: contains distressing amounts of folk music. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jun 27, 2019
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John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum (2019) |
Combat-heavy pulp of the highest order, this is the most enjoyably over-the-top entry so far. Where else can you get samurai dogs and a Tarkovsky reference? - Empire Magazine
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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Dragged Across Concrete (2018) |
Impossible to dismiss, but hard to warm to. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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The Sisters Brothers (2018) |
An eccentric, funny yarn filled with eccentric, funny characters, Audiard's oater deftly twists Western tropes, sending its charming, ramshackle heroes scurrying from one bizarre incident to the next. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Apr 01, 2019
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The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) |
More proof that Cornish is a wizard at re-energising tired tropes. The characters are a delight, the action sequences thrum with invention, and when it's funny, it's very funny indeed. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Feb 04, 2019
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Glass (2019) |
Essentially a Split sequel with an Unbreakable topping, this is weaker than either of those films but still has a decent amount of entertaining and creepy sequences, most of them due to McAvoy's high-commitment performance. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jan 09, 2019
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Holmes & Watson (2018) |
You'll need a magnifying glass to find the jokes in this send-up of other, better Holmes screen adaptations. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 27, 2018
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Wildlife (2018) |
A beautifully observed study of an American family coming apart at the seams, it not only establishes Dano as a director to watch, but features an extraordinary performance by Mulligan. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Nov 05, 2018
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King of Thieves (2018) |
An old-school film about an old-school crime that brings together an impressive array of British legends. Solid, but sadly the results don't exactly blow the bloody doors off. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Sep 11, 2018
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Beirut (2018) |
Kudos to Anderson and Gilroy for making a low-action, dialogue-heavy geopolitical thriller in this day and age. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Terminal (2018) |
Even with Margot Robbie in full scheming-vixen mode, Terminal feels interminable. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jul 02, 2018
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Mom and Dad (2017) |
As satire, it's hit and miss; as a Nicolas Cage mayhem delivery system, it's highly effective. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Mar 07, 2018
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Isle of Dogs (2018) |
If you're playing Wes Anderson bingo, you can tick off 'droll whimsy', 'visual pizzazz' and 'Bill Murray'. Yet, thanks to the Far East setting and a rollicking story, this is a fun and fresh-feeling experience. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Feb 25, 2018
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Lies We Tell (2017) |
A well-meaning look at the issue of arranged marriage, garnished with some Hollywood star power, but it's too meandering and sluggish to grip. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Jan 30, 2018
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Brad's Status (2017) |
A droll and vigorous psychological study of an everyday egomaniac, but we've seen Stiller do this sort of thing before, and better. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 26, 2017
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All the Money in the World (2017) |
Two men in their 80s power the month's most pulse-pounding thriller. Who could have seen that coming? - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 21, 2017
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Brigsby Bear (2017) |
A film about a cult that might well attract a cult following itself. But it's only moderately successful, with the early scenes hinting at a bolder, more satisfying tale that could have been. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Dec 07, 2017
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Beach Rats (2017) |
Powered by a taciturn, soulful performance by its young star, this meditation on fear, shame and sexual repression packs a wallop. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Nov 27, 2017
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Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017) |
The lesser of 2017's two Wonder Woman movies, this attempt to explore a complex three-sided relationship is let down by bland storytelling. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Nov 06, 2017
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The Merciless (2017) |
An ultraviolent Korean crime film with plenty of swagger and visual brio, but still too generic to really stand out from the pack. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Oct 26, 2017
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6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) |
Given the story is based on reality, it's understandable why the makers of 6 Below didn't want to throw in embellishments, but a bear attack really wouldn't have gone amiss. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Oct 09, 2017
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The Death of Stalin (2017) |
Iannucci's brand of political satire is applied to one of the darkest chapters in modern history, with sensational results. - Empire Magazine
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| Posted Sep 11, 2017
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