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Wael Khairy
Tomatometer-approved critic
Wael Khairy is an Egyptian film critic writing for a number of international publications. He was named by legendary film critic, Roger Ebert, as one of the reason we live in the golden age of film criticism in a Wall-Street Journal article. Ebert then hired him as foreign correspondent and he's been writing for him ever since. Wael has been writing reviews consistently on Ebert's website for over ten years now and counting. He has also written several reviews and essays in two World Film Locations books published in the UK. Khairy's work was even featured on The Criterion Collection website. He also regularly reviews films on cinephilefix.com, and previously contributed to The Spectator’s arts blog. He has discussed various film topics on Nile Fm and BBC Radio.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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On the Waterfront (1954) |
Even though there's not a single scene where sluggers dance around within the confines of a ring, Kazan's film is in fact a boxing film in disguise. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Dec 07, 2023
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Arrival (2016) |
The film not only discusses complex theories about time, but also exemplifies it by creating a circular sequence of events. Embarking on the mounting steps of Villeneuve’s hypnotic structure is assured to leave viewers spellbound. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 20, 2023
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Lilya 4-Ever (2002) |
The film left me completely devastated and Oksana Akinshina’s performance is absolutely heartbreaking....“Lilya 4-ever” was so powerful it helped reshape laws within society. This is as important and urgent as cinema gets.
- The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 20, 2023
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Whiplash (2014) |
Here the classroom is the battlefield and dropping a drumstick feels just as devastating and crucial a moment as a grenade falling between your feet. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 06, 2023
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The Grey (2012) |
"The Grey" explores man's most frightening questions...if there's an afterlife or if "dead is dead"...our fear of heights, flights, drowning or dying alone. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Nov 06, 2023
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The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) |
The photographic images in this film are on par with the greatest paintings ever made. The warm lighting and earthy texture within each perfectly composed shot are so vivid, rich and layered, you could almost smell the scent of soil as it rains... - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Oct 22, 2023
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Macario (1960) |
I was immersed in the beauty of Mexican tradition and culture. It also happens to have one of the greatest “last shot” twist endings ever committed to film.
- The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Oct 22, 2023
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Godzilla (2014) |
Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla is a beast of a film, and while it does brush its thick tail close to greatness, it is not without its flaws. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Oct 08, 2023
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In Bruges (2008) |
With "In Bruges." it feels like Martin McDonagh opened a window in a room where the air has been recycled endlessly. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Sep 15, 2023
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Heat (1995) |
Michael Mann's "Heat" ranks right up there with the best of the crime genre from "Rififi" to "The Godfather". In fact, it is the single greatest Los Angeles crime epic of all time. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Aug 29, 2023
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Das Boot (1981) |
...enough nerve-wracking suspense to make your heart pound against your chest like depth charges rupturing a submarine's hull. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Jul 30, 2023
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The Look of Silence (2014) |
...at the end of each interview, Rukun reveals his identity to the former killers. The camera captures the most extraordinarily reaction shot, the look of silence. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jul 30, 2023
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The Act of Killing (2012) |
"The Act of Killing” is unquestionably the most innovative piece of documentary filmmaking to come out this decade. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jul 30, 2023
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Enter the Void (2009) |
...unlike anything you have ever and most likely will ever see. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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Cairo Station (1958) |
Chahine is judging an entire system by forcing us to see that city through the eyes of a psychopath. It is extremely difficult for a director to handle a picture from both a macro and micro perspective, but Chahine manages to pull it off beautifully. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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Moon (2009) |
the film is rich with philosophical ideas grandeur in scope...it presents them in a tightly focused and efficiently structured psychological thriller - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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The Young and the Damned (1950) |
...this film was the main inspiration behind “City of God”, and I can see how. It is just as brutal, if not more so. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jun 20, 2023
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The Lighthouse (2019) |
...you can almost taste the sea-salt and smell the stench of booze in the air. Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” is a sea yarn full of sailor superstitions; it could be the most haunting film about sea-lore ever made. Save it for a cold stormy night. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jun 20, 2023
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Shutter Island (2010) |
Teddy Daniels walks the dark empty hallway of a mental institution. The tiny flame of his match goes off. He lights another one. A couple of minutes later a man behind bars tells him “Don’t you get it? You’re a rat in a maze.” So is the viewer. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Jun 20, 2023
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May December (2023) |
...even though the dialogue is sharp witted and searingly discomforting, I do believe the film is flawed. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Jun 20, 2023
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Perfect Days (2023) |
Koji Yakusho delivers a heartfelt performance that could very well be the best of his career. Compassionate but never succumbing to sentimentality, Yakusho’s presence brings a gentleness that left me hanging on every line. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Jun 11, 2023
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La Chimera (2023) |
Like her previous work, the past and present, life and death, as well as humans and spirits exist synchronously. Rohrwacher again challenges normative storytelling by queering with cinematic time, blurring the line between reality and fantasy. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted May 30, 2023
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About Dry Grasses (2023) |
Slow, reflective, and heavy on dialogue, the film beautifully delves into the ethics of morality. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted May 27, 2023
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Goodbye Julia (2023) |
The opening scenes in Khartoum are filmed with the tension of a ticking time bomb, but as it approaches the second and third acts, it stumbles and treads familiar ground. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted May 27, 2023
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Maverick (1994) |
"Maverick" is the kind of old-fashioned western comedy we rarely see nowadays. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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Death in Venice (1971) |
“Death in Venice” is a film about humanity’s slow transcendence into nothingness and everything. It exists in the space between life and death, between youth and old age, between ignorance and wisdom. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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Canoa: A Shameful Memory (1976) |
This brutal film is a complex psychological study of group hysteria, mob mentality, and religious fanaticism. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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A One and a Two... (2000) |
Yang has graced us with a thought-provoking film about the uncertainties awaiting us in the span of a lifetime. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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Do the Right Thing (1989) |
Over 30 years later, Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” remains more relevant than ever. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Shame (2011) |
Steve McQueen’s painful cinematic display of loneliness in the city features acting of the highest caliber. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Koyaanisqatsi (1982) |
“Koyaanisqatsi” is one of the most eye-opening works of art created in the late 20th century. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Silent Running (1972) |
...more relevant today than it was back in 1972 - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Mar 02, 2023
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Talk to Me (2023) |
Deeply grotesque imagery and a relentless pace elevates Talk to Me’s otherwise generic plot line into a rollercoaster ride of shocks and thrills. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Feb 17, 2023
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In My Mother's Skin (2023) |
...takes quite a few pages off Guillermo del Toro’s far superior "Pan’s Labyrinth". This macabre fable from the Philippines shamelessly wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but falls short in capturing the imagination. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Feb 10, 2023
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birth/rebirth (2023) |
The themes of motherhood and childbirth seem a bit undercooked when compared to the film’s clever ideas on the potential hazards of medical advancements. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Feb 10, 2023
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Past Lives (2023) |
Past Lives perfectly captures the shared feeling of melancholic longing between two souls. It basks us in the yearning for forbidden love better than any film I’ve seen this decade. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Feb 02, 2023
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Eileen (2023) |
William Oldroyd has crafted yet another absurd gem destined to grow a cult following. I just wish the plot was a bit more fleshed out. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Feb 02, 2023
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Stephen Curry: Underrated (2023) |
Even though the game footage is absolutely thrilling, it’s the quieter moments of Steph at home that will have you emotionally invested...This A24 and Apple co-production reveals a rare peek into how Steph Curry became the baby-faced assassin that he is. - The Cairo Scene
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| Posted Feb 02, 2023
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Animalia (2023) |
"Animalia" aims for a holistic view of the world, the oneness of all things. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Jan 25, 2023
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Lessons of Darkness (1992) |
The visuals here pack the grandiosity of anything we’ve seen in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The only difference is, this is real, and it’s not outer space, it’s the tip of the Persian Gulf. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Dec 30, 2022
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Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) |
This study of what it means to be human is one of the most empathetic documentaries out there. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Dec 30, 2022
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Amarcord (1973) |
Like a record you listen to on a cold winter night, or a soup that reminds you of your grandma’s fireplace, “Amarcord” is a mood piece above anything else. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Dec 11, 2022
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Three Colors: Blue (1993) |
“Blue” is the rarest of all films, a film that reveals its knowledge on humanity through melodic rhythm and artistic imagery. It should be regarded as one of the most insightful and inventive films ever made. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Dec 11, 2022
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Three Colors: Red (1994) |
...the film’s most impressive feat is its metaphysical connection with the medium itself, the cinema, which is also about coming together and sharing experiences. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 24, 2022
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The Irishman (2019) |
In a lot of ways, this film is the antithesis to “Goodfellas”, a eulogy to the gangster genre the same way “Unforgiven” was a eulogy to the western genre. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 24, 2022
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And Life Goes On... (1992) |
...an absolutely beautiful film from a filmmaker who knows how to capture the human spirit. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 11, 2022
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Land Without Bread (1933) |
...the imagery captured in this anthropological expedition is quite unsettling, but nothing is more disturbing than the truth behind the making of this film. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 11, 2022
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Through the Olive Trees (1994) |
The entries in this multi-layered trilogy are short and sweet, but when consumed together, you get an explosion of flavours that only a master chef could put together. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Nov 11, 2022
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Landscape in the Mist (1988) |
“Landscape in the Mist” is a work of art that comes from the feelings, dreams, sorrows, and flashes of life that we experience every day. - RogerEbert.com
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| Posted Oct 27, 2022
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Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) |
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” is a gateway to another world; it exists in the space between life and death, between past and present, between reality and fantasy. - The Cinephile Fix
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| Posted Oct 27, 2022
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