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The News Lens International

The News Lens International is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): CJ Sheu.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
A Great Ride: Adventures in LGBT Aging (2018) CJ Sheu Directors Deborah Craig and Véronica Duport Déliz know how to keep things lively.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down (2019) CJ Sheu Memories, Drinks shows how Hong Kong’s turbulent history is still very much with us.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (2021) CJ Sheu Scarlet Bullet ... rigidly adheres to the formula ... This formula can make it a blast to view the film with a large crowd. ... The plot, always hit or miss, is a miss this time[.]
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Moonlight Shadow (2021) CJ Sheu This first act also introduces us to the film’s style: elliptical and dynamic like Terrence Malick, and static and gorgeous like Hou Hsiao-hsien.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? (2022) CJ Sheu Did you think the pretentious epicness stopped there?
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Shalom Taiwan (2019) CJ Sheu The film itself doesn’t amount to much, despite a narrative structure and locations that are of some interest. But it is, amid its unrelenting mediocrity, thought-provoking.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Mama Boy (2022) CJ Sheu [T]he intriguing story and talented cast are undermined by the mismatched tone of romantic fantasy. ... I was constantly and painfully aware of the better film that could’ve been crafted from this material.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Bad Education (2022) CJ Sheu Bad Education has become a popular title these past few years. Most such stories focus on how bad teachers lead their students astray. Bad Education ... starts from the opposite end: What if the students are the amoral ones?
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Jeong-Sun (2023) CJ Sheu Jeong-sun is a masterful work of social realism that brings us fully into the protagonist’s life and crisis. The symbolism is rare, so it hits harder when it does appear.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Coo-Coo 043 (2022) CJ Sheu It’s set in the fascinating world of legal pigeon racing. Intriguing as this sounds, the maudlin plot is unfocused, and the protagonist is toxic in boringly predictable ways.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
The Sunny Side of the Street (2022) CJ Sheu No part of the plot makes sense, but we only notice that during the slow moments thanks to the two captivating lead performances. It’s two actors and a worthy sketch in search of a story.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Roleless (2022) CJ Sheu The truth is suggested unambiguously, and it’s outlandish. The ending, on the other hand, is a particularly Japanese flavor of moral copout.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Eye of the Storm (2023) CJ Sheu [M]elodrama is the perfect genre for this story. ... Despite some unconvincing contrivances, Eye of the Storm powerfully evokes the dread and uncertainty of the early days of a communicable viral outbreak.
Posted Mar 14, 2026  Edit critic review
La Chimera (2023) CJ Sheu Not just Arthur, the film itself is immersed in the past.
Posted Nov 12, 2024  Edit critic review
Gavagai (2018) CJ Sheu Cerebrally intriguing but somniferously monotonous, watching Gavagai feels just like reading the first half of this sentence.
Posted Nov 05, 2024  Edit critic review
My First Film (2024) CJ Sheu Anger’s coming of age isn’t about arriving at the answers, but about knowing how to ask the questions.
Posted Oct 31, 2024  Edit critic review
Clytaemnestra (2021) CJ Sheu We know that Clytaemnestra’s pressure cooker will explode; the fun is in seeing how the cracks form.
Posted Sep 23, 2024  Edit critic review
Benediction (2021) CJ Sheu Transcendent performances and visionary direction make for a numinous final film by Terence Davies.
Posted Sep 06, 2024  Edit critic review
Showing Up (2022) CJ Sheu Reichardt is one of the few directors who truly knows how to use Williams, and the resulting portrait is detailed, deep, and compassionate.
Posted Aug 26, 2024  Edit critic review
The Idea of You (2024) CJ Sheu The film in general has a reasonable proximity to realist logic, but it’s still a rom-com, so there’s at least some fantasy involved. . . . It’s just a really good film.
Posted Aug 20, 2024  Edit critic review
Hit Man (2023) CJ Sheu As the object of desire, what Powell gives is less chemistry than capybara, but that’s okay, because Arjona’s performance is so hot that I was surprised the screen didn’t start smoking.
Posted Aug 01, 2024  Edit critic review
Civil War (2024) CJ Sheu If beauty is the sole standard for their work, then the film’s view of war photography is as an aesthetic death cult.
Posted Jul 15, 2024  Edit critic review
Godzilla Minus One (2023) CJ Sheu Almost all the men are veterans who’ve seen the horrors behind the old lie, Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori ("It’s sweet and fitting to die for one’s country"). . . . "Not having been to war is something to be proud of[.]"
Posted Jun 26, 2024  Edit critic review
Soviet Bus Stops (2022) CJ Sheu Indelible bus stops and a retro soundtrack from behind the Iron Curtain can’t hide the fact that this film is essentially a 57-minute commercial for the two photography books from which it’s adapted.
Posted Jun 12, 2024  Edit critic review
Challengers (2024) CJ Sheu Tashi’s beautiful, but the boys aren’t attracted to HER. What they want is to be near her greatness, to have it, to be great; they don’t want to be in her, they want to BE HER.... No, the real source of sexual chemistry is between the boys.
Posted May 31, 2024  Edit critic review
Hotel by the River (2018) CJ Sheu So that’s the plot, and it only exists so that the characters can hold forth on gender dynamics in the second act. But before that, we get to luxuriate in the muted winter beauty of the river scenery, accentuated by the crisp black-and-white digital image
Posted May 24, 2024  Edit critic review
Eileen (2023) CJ Sheu The film’s story and character arcs are broadly predictable, and there are few noteworthy plot details to speak of. ... Once logic goes out the window, it doesn’t come back.
Posted Apr 26, 2024  Edit critic review
The Woman Who Ran (2019) CJ Sheu Though only one woman has run in The Woman Who Ran, it seems like every woman wants to.
Posted Apr 18, 2024  Edit critic review
The Holdovers (2023) CJ Sheu Absolutely nothing new happens in Alexander Payne’s surprisingly warm and fuzzy film, but it’s a perfectly fine way to while away 135 minutes. And — who knows? — you might even remember some well-worn yet valuable life lessons.
Posted Apr 01, 2024  Edit critic review
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) CJ Sheu At the end of the film’s 150 minutes, there’s a verdict, but Sandra is still the only person who knows if she killed Samuel. The only thing we can be sure of is that the trial, and any such trial, is a farce.
Posted Mar 24, 2024  Edit critic review
Girls and Panzer the Finale: Part II (2019) CJ Sheu The girls are funny and cute, the tanks are historically accurate, and the battles are fierce and competently portrayed for the most part.
Posted Mar 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part IV (2023) CJ Sheu Despite its ridiculous premise, this hit anime franchise has action, humor, historical accuracy, and heart — though the latest installment takes a slight dip.
Posted Mar 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part 3 (2021) CJ Sheu The girls are funny and cute, the tanks are historically accurate, and the battles are fierce and competently portrayed for the most part.
Posted Mar 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Girls und Panzer: This is the real Anzio Battle (2014) CJ Sheu These cultural and military stereotypes don’t just inform the respective battle tactics; they’re also incredibly funny.
Posted Mar 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Girls und Panzer: The Movie (2015) CJ Sheu The girls are funny and cute, the tanks are historically accurate, and the battles are fierce and competently portrayed for the most part.
Posted Mar 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part 1 (2017) CJ Sheu The girls are funny and cute, the tanks are historically accurate, and the battles are fierce and competently portrayed for the most part.
Posted Mar 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Leave the World Behind (2023) CJ Sheu The film has more impossible shots than the Harlem Globetrotters.
Posted Mar 06, 2024  Edit critic review
Poor Things (2023) CJ Sheu Set against colorfully artificial production design and a weird premise that’s typical of Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things masters the coming of age vibe.
Posted Feb 29, 2024  Edit critic review
Anyone But You (2023) CJ Sheu Anyone but You is a standout return to rom-com form powered by the acting chops, wit, and frankly stunning looks of its two leads.
Posted Feb 26, 2024  Edit critic review
Afire (2023) CJ Sheu Petzold has gotten less subtle over the years, and this is probably his bluntest film yet. But his trademark haunting conflicted poignancy is still there in the ending.
Posted Jan 30, 2024  Edit critic review
Ferrari (2023) CJ Sheu The film portrays characters mostly running smoothly in the face of death around every corner, of the road and of life.
Posted Jan 24, 2024  Edit critic review
Fair Play (2023) CJ Sheu Effective sound design and solid acting anchor an overdetermined and melodramatic plot.
Posted Jan 03, 2024  Edit critic review
Napoleon (2023) CJ Sheu The main cast does excellent work, no thanks to the slow pacing and underlit imagery. Ridley Scott can’t decide if Napoleon is tortured, pitiable, or just plain silly.
Posted Dec 19, 2023  Edit critic review
May December (2023) CJ Sheu A farcical black social comedy, Todd Haynes’s May December offers a catty and campy twist on Bergman’s Persona, satirizing Hollywood along the way.
Posted Nov 30, 2023  Edit critic review
TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR (2023) CJ Sheu Small imperfections aside, the film succeeds beyond our wildest dreams at its two aims: to offer a religious experience for us Swifties, and to spread the gospel of Swift far and wide[.]
Posted Nov 14, 2023  Edit critic review
The Boy and the Heron (2023) CJ Sheu At its core, this is Miyazaki’s The Tempest[.]
Posted Oct 30, 2023  Edit critic review
A Haunting in Venice (2023) CJ Sheu A Haunting in Venice elevates well-worn genre tropes with exceptional casting and filmmaking flair to create a satisfying experience.
Posted Oct 25, 2023  Edit critic review
Inspector Sun (2022) CJ Sheu I hope Chieng was paid handsomely.
Posted Oct 06, 2023  Edit critic review
The Moon (2023) CJ Sheu Is it good? Not really. But the excitement and explosions still manage to deliver.
Posted Aug 31, 2023  Edit critic review
Past Lives (2023) CJ Sheu [F]or all the talk of in-yun, the true past life is the one Nora left behind in Korea[.]
Posted Aug 17, 2023  Edit critic review
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