News.com.au

News.com.au is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Wenlei Ma
Rating Title/Year Author
4.5/5 Burning (2018) Wenlei Ma Lee hypnotises with his story of a love triangle, crafting a movie that could be described as visual poetry. EDIT
Posted Apr 21, 2019
3/5 The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) Wenlei Ma It's exactly the kind of odd, reality-skewing fantasy you'd expect from the inventive Gilliam. EDIT
Posted Apr 21, 2019
2/5 Hellboy (2019) Wenlei Ma The anticipated reboot of the cult comic book character is, well, intense. And not in a good way, unless you really love your movies to be disjointed, tonally confused and really, really gory. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
4/5 The Kindergarten Teacher (2018) Wenlei Ma Maggie Gyllenhaal never disappoints, and that's certainly true in The Kindergarten Teacher, an understated character study with a lot to say but no easy answers. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
2.5/5 Little (2019) Wenlei Ma There are many sequences that are funny and winsome on their own, but as a movie, it doesn't cohere. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
2/5 The Aftermath (2019) Wenlei Ma A shallow excuse for attractive actors to get their kit off. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3.5/5 Shazam! (2019) Wenlei Ma Charming, high-spirited and embraces its youthful, goofy side. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
4/5 Us (2019) Wenlei Ma Us is more sensory experience than thinkpiece. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3.5/5 Dumbo (2019) Wenlei Ma This Dumbo is certainly a visual spectacle, and it could've gone awry if not for the one key thing required to make this movie work: Dumbo is really, really cute. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3.5/5 Fighting With My Family (2019) Wenlei Ma Fighting With My Family is a rousing crowd-pleaser, guaranteed to make you smile, at least once. You may even leap out of your seat and whoop, if such undignified public displays are your kind of thing. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3.5/5 Destroyer (2018) Wenlei Ma A masterful performance by Kidman, who has proven over the last few years that she has deep reserves of talent. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3/5 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) Wenlei Ma It's only really in the last 20 minutes of the film that it all comes together and you can appreciate what the movie is trying to say about working collaboratively and sharing something you love EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3/5 Hotel Mumbai (2018) Wenlei Ma Done sensitively, there is something redemptive in these films that help us make sense of something senseless, and to remind us that when you observe these real-life, atrocious attacks from afar, a little empathy can go a long way in the world. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3.5/5 Sometimes Always Never (2018) Wenlei Ma You'd expect a drama about loss, love and regret to be heavy and dramatic, but Sometimes Always Never is not. EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2019
3.5/5 Cold Pursuit (2019) Wenlei Ma It nails its tone as an offbeat black comedy, managing to balance the macabre and the silly. EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2019
2.5/5 Alita: Battle Angel (2019) Wenlei Ma If only the story of Alita: Battle Angel had been as impressive as its technical achievements. EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2019
4.5/5 If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Wenlei Ma It's a stunning and sensuous film, gorgeously crafted and performed - the story of young lovers in an unjust world. It'll make your heart flutter and ache. EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2019
3/5 Isn't It Romantic (2019) Wenlei Ma It's way better than you would expect for a movie with the description "Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth rom-com". EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2019
3/5 Greta (2018) Wenlei Ma Greta functions like a dark fairytale, a story the Grimm brothers would've happily collected for their tome. EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2019
2/5 King of Thieves (2018) Wenlei Ma The Hatton Gardens heist was a ballsy operation. You can't say the same about King of Thieves. EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2019
4/5 Captain Marvel (2019) Wenlei Ma We are still at the point where the visuals of such a powerful female hero are rare enough that its sheer existence makes you giddy. EDIT
Posted Mar 5, 2019
2.5/5 The Front Runner (2018) Wenlei Ma A misguided defence of a man and an attitude that feels particularly ludicrous in 2019. EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2019
3.5/5 The Hate U Give (2018) Wenlei Ma The Hate U Give features a strong and incredibly moving performance from Amandla Stenberg, who never holds anything back from the audience and never overplays a moment. She's a star in the making. EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2019
3/5 Ben Is Back (2018) Wenlei Ma Ben is Back is a fairly rote drama - it ticks the boxes and it occasionally veers into over-sentimentality. Julia Roberts' performance is what makes it stand out. EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2019
3/5 Green Book (2018) Wenlei Ma Where Green Book runs into trouble is if you scratch even a millimetre beneath its fuzzy, warm surface. EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2019
2.5/5 Glass (2019) Wenlei Ma Nineteen years is a long time to wait for a sequel that's so unsatisfying. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
3/5 Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Wenlei Ma Mary Queen Of Scots is a passable historical drama whose odd story choices are saved by a strong performance from Saoirse Ronan. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
2.5/5 Storm Boy (2019) Wenlei Ma There is something elemental about Storm Boy - but there's probably just not enough story to stretch the running time. It's more like a series of vignettes that soar but bundled together feels flat. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
4/5 Pick of the Litter (2018) Wenlei Ma This is exactly the movie we need right now. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
4/5 Eighth Grade (2018) Wenlei Ma Eighth Grade is one of the most thoughtful and nuanced films made about the teenage experience, an authentic story of angst, anxiety and confusion - in other words, what it's like to be 13 years old. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
3.5/5 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) Wenlei Ma It ends with a sweet but emotional climax with what is so rare in this franchise-obsessed industry - a proper conclusion that remains faithful to the story it's been trying to tell over three movies. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
3/5 Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Wenlei Ma Mary Poppins Returns plays it exceedingly safe, aping the original film beat by beat and note by note. It follows the exact structure of the 1964 movie to the point it starts to feel more like a remake than a sequel. EDIT
Posted Jan 17, 2019
4/5 Cold War (2018) Wenlei Ma Cold War is seductive and yet there is darkness at its heart, one that elevates the Polish film into a thoughtful piece about the complexities of love in a time of political oppression. EDIT
Posted Dec 25, 2018
4/5 Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) Wenlei Ma Ralph Breaks the Internet would've been a fun but soulless movie if not for its nuanced and necessary story about friendship. EDIT
Posted Dec 25, 2018
5/5 The Favourite (2018) Wenlei Ma Quite simply, an utter and hilarious delight. EDIT
Posted Dec 25, 2018
3.5/5 Vice (2018) Wenlei Ma While Vice can highlight all the ills with the system, and partly blame public apathy, its pessimism leaves you despairing as the credits roll - and not in a way that inspires action, only nihilism. EDIT
Posted Dec 22, 2018
3/5 Aquaman (2018) Wenlei Ma Aquaman is so unapologetically over-the-top, its madness is undeniably entertaining. EDIT
Posted Dec 22, 2018
3.5/5 Colette (2018) Wenlei Ma Colette features some wonderful performances, especially from Keira Knightley, who deftly, convincingly charts Colette's journey from "innocent" to authentic bohemian. EDIT
Posted Dec 22, 2018
3/5 Bumblebee (2018) Wenlei Ma Bumblebee works best when the story is focused on Charlie. For a Transformers movie, it's surprisingly serviceable. EDIT
Posted Dec 22, 2018
5/5 Roma (2018) Wenlei Ma A movie like Roma is rare - something that's intimate yet also grand. EDIT
Posted Dec 22, 2018
4/5 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Wenlei Ma Its trippy animated visuals is truly a comic book come to life, capturing the spirit and aesthetics of its source material better than any film before it. EDIT
Posted Dec 12, 2018
4/5 Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) Wenlei Ma Melissa McCarthy gives a brilliantly calibrated performance that should see her touted on the awards circuit. EDIT
Posted Dec 7, 2018
4/5 Sorry to Bother You (2018) Wenlei Ma Sorry to Bother You is a wake-up call to the uncomfortable truth that the world we already live in may be the real dystopia. A little movie with a mighty punch. EDIT
Posted Dec 5, 2018
3.5/5 Creed II (2018) Wenlei Ma Creed II does beat you over the head with its sentimentalism - too much text instead of subtext. But it's generally effective, EDIT
Posted Dec 5, 2018
5/5 Widows (2018) Wenlei Ma It's rare to come across a film that is both brilliant and brilliantly entertaining. EDIT
Posted Nov 24, 2018
3/5 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) Wenlei Ma Younger audiences will enjoy the bright colours and fun energy but it's unlikely to leave a lasting impression. Sometimes, that's enough. But don't expect it to become an instant favourite. EDIT
Posted Nov 24, 2018
3.5/5 The Children Act (2017) Wenlei Ma The Children Act is a mature and thoughtful film that is, above all, a wonderful showcase for a brilliant Emma Thompson. EDIT
Posted Nov 24, 2018
2/5 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) Wenlei Ma The movie jumps from one dizzying sequence to the next with little care about a cohesive story or throughline. It's a discombobulated mess. EDIT
Posted Nov 17, 2018
4/5 The Old Man & the Gun (2018) Wenlei Ma There's nothing here that's going to vex or perplex you, and you'll walk out of the cinema happy and satisfied. A real crowd-pleaser. EDIT
Posted Nov 17, 2018
4.5/5 Manbiki kazoku (2018) Wenlei Ma Hirokazu Kore-eda imbues his characters with so much empathy, no matter what they do (and some of it is quite questionable), you don't judge them, you understand. EDIT
Posted Nov 17, 2018