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
3/5 Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) Wenlei Ma Sonic The Hedgehog doesn't set out to rewrite the rules of the kids' movies, and given its inauspicious start, you could call the end result a win. EDIT
Posted Feb 12, 2020
3/5 Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) Wenlei Ma Aggressively OK. EDIT
Posted Feb 5, 2020
4.5/5 1917 (2019) Wenlei Ma It's an immersive, visceral and meticulously crafted film that has the emotional stakes to match. EDIT
Posted Jan 19, 2020
3/5 Bombshell (2019) Wenlei Ma Bombshell is a fine enough movie, one that's entertaining and well-paced when you're watching it but forgettable as soon as you leave the theatre. EDIT
Posted Jan 19, 2020
2.5/5 The Gentlemen (2020) Wenlei Ma The parts are more than its sum. EDIT
Posted Dec 30, 2019
5/5 Little Women (2019) Wenlei Ma Greta Gerwig has an intrinsic understanding of Louisa May Alcott's story and she's retold it with great compassion. EDIT
Posted Dec 30, 2019
3.5/5 The Truth (2019) Wenlei Ma While The Truth isn't as refined or free-flowing as Kore-eda's other films, there is complexity and charm to it, and to Deneuve's performance. EDIT
Posted Dec 23, 2019
5/5 Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Wenlei Ma It was a privilege to have seen and experienced Portrait of a Lady on Fire. EDIT
Posted Dec 23, 2019
3.5/5 Sorry We Missed You (2019) Wenlei Ma Like many of Loach's films, Sorry We Missed You is stark and spare. He doesn't rely on visual flourishes, instead putting the onus on the power behind the performances and the story. EDIT
Posted Dec 23, 2019
3.5/5 Jojo Rabbit (2019) Wenlei Ma While Jojo Rabbit is a charming and entertaining film good for many laughs, its main problem is that it's two movies. EDIT
Posted Dec 23, 2019
4/5 The Irishman (2019) Wenlei Ma The Irishman is a much more deliberate and weighty gangster film - by comparison, Goodfellas is a riot. But it's a vibe that works in its gravitas. EDIT
Posted Dec 23, 2019
2.5/5 Cats (2019) Wenlei Ma You'll find that in the end, you're still a dog person. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2019
5/5 Marriage Story (2019) Wenlei Ma Marriage Story is so raw and emotionally burning that the experience is best savoured alone. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2019
1.5/5 6 Underground (2019) Wenlei Ma 6 Underground really is as terrible as you'd expect it to be, exactly the kind of brainless, bombastic and seizure-inducing fare Michael Bay is known for. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2019
2.5/5 The Addams Family (2019) Wenlei Ma This 2019 CGI remake misses the mark in the most crucial element of what has sustained The Addams Family all this time - its offbeat, macabre vibe. If you don't get that, you're really not going to get any of it. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2019
2.5/5 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Wenlei Ma If you want fan service, you got it. Two hours and 15 minutes of safe, unadulterated fan service. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2019
5/5 Knives Out (2019) Wenlei Ma This cracking mystery is a lean-forward experience, as the movie lures you deeper and deeper into its intricately plotted layers. In other words - You. Will. Be. Hooked. EDIT
Posted Nov 27, 2019
3/5 Frozen II (2019) Wenlei Ma Frozen 2 doesn't quite recapture the magic of its predecessor but it's a perfectly serviceable follow-up. EDIT
Posted Nov 27, 2019
3.5/5 Judy & Punch (2019) Wenlei Ma Judy and Punch would be a revenge story if it was a lesser film uninterested in the dynamics of power and gender. Rather, it's a nuanced and effective exploration of the social structures that oppress certain people - ahem, like women. EDIT
Posted Nov 27, 2019
4/5 The Report (2019) Wenlei Ma The Report is a masterclass in how you build to a climax, especially when you can't rely on some big third-act action extravaganza. EDIT
Posted Nov 27, 2019
3.5/5 Ready or Not (2019) Wenlei Ma It's wildly entertaining and at a tight 90 minutes, it crackles with energy, never letting your attention waver. EDIT
Posted Nov 27, 2019
3/5 Blinded by the Light (2019) Wenlei Ma While it's far from perfect, on balance, it's an inoffensive, feel-good and inspirational British dramedy with some charming performances and an emotionally affecting story about an immigrant teenager and how he finds salvation in Springsteen's music. EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2019
2.5/5 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) Wenlei Ma Maleficent: Mistress of Evil didn't lean on its greatest strength, instead almost downplaying that mischievous Jolie performance by giving her less to do, and then overblowing everything else. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
3.5/5 Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) Wenlei Ma The cars are bigger, the guns are bigger, and the zombies are faster and harder to kill. But this is a movie, and a genre, where being over-the-top actually works in its favour. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
4/5 Hustlers (2019) Wenlei Ma A heist thriller-cross-social drama, Hustlers' weight is wrapped in the veneer of diamantés and stilettos, but there is real substance here. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
3/5 Judy (2019) Wenlei Ma This is a movie that showcases Zellweger's considerable talents, and for that alone, Judy is worth the price of entry. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
2/5 Gemini Man (2019) Wenlei Ma For a movie so reliant on its 3D pizzazz, Gemini Man is two-dimensional in every other way. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
3/5 Joker (2019) Wenlei Ma Joker is a jumble - sometimes brilliant and sometimes trite. Among its flashes of excellence is a self-serious movie that isn't nearly as deep as it thinks it is. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
2/5 The Goldfinch (2019) Wenlei Ma A flat and lumbering albeit beautifully filmed drama that bores more than it entertains. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
3/5 The Dead Don't Die (2019) Wenlei Ma It's mildly amusing, mostly thanks to Swinton's swanning and the dry-as-bone exchanges between Murray and Driver. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
4.5/5 Ad Astra (2019) Wenlei Ma Brad Pitt is nothing short of phenomenal in this remarkable, poignant and visually arresting film from James Gray. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
4/5 Good Boys (2019) Wenlei Ma The jokes come thick and fast and they're on point, a mix of sharp, squirm and brash vibes, but it's perfectly balanced. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
4.5/5 The Farewell (2019) Wenlei Ma This is an intricately constructed, deeply personal and surprisingly funny story - one of the real highlights of 2019 in cinema EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
3/5 It: Chapter Two (2019) Wenlei Ma There's a grandness to its scale and production values that still makes It Chapter Two an enjoyable romp, but it's not the ghoulish scarefest it could be. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
4.5/5 The Nightingale (2018) Wenlei Ma A powerful, emotionally shattering experience, and one of the most memorable movies so far this year. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
1/5 The Kitchen (2019) Wenlei Ma Its hodgepodge mix of styles and tones isn't genre-defying, it's the mark of a movie that either started with a terrible script or lost any sense of coherence in the editing suite EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
3/5 Downton Abbey (2019) Wenlei Ma Was the Downton Abbey movie necessary? Of course not. But that doesn't mean the package won't delight Downton enthusiasts who'll take any excuse to revisit this opulent world EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
4/5 Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019) Wenlei Ma Less of a plot-driven story and more of an opulent mood piece, Once Upon a Time is a love letter, an evocation of a specific time and place. EDIT
Posted Aug 14, 2019
4/5 Midsommar (2019) Wenlei Ma Ari Aster's approach to horror filmmaking seeps into your subconsciousness with great effect, lingering like an uninvited guest. EDIT
Posted Aug 14, 2019
3.5/5 Late Night (2019) Wenlei Ma Mindy Kaling wrote the screenplay with Emma Thompson in mind and you can see the character was crafted for exactly her talents. EDIT
Posted Aug 14, 2019
3/5 Palm Beach (2019) Wenlei Ma Palm Beach is a movie that falls square in the "it's fine" category. EDIT
Posted Aug 14, 2019
3/5 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) Wenlei Ma If you're expecting Hobbs & Shaw to be anything other than a ridiculous, over-the-top action extravaganza that defies all logic and gravity, then shame on you. You should know better by now. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
3/5 The White Crow (2018) Wenlei Ma The White Crow offers up all these elements of Nureyev - his past, his heat, his vulnerabilities - but all those parts are dancing around each other incongruously rather than as a well-choreographed ensemble piece. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
3/5 The Lion King (2019) Wenlei Ma Though by no means a bad movie, The Lion King would've been better off trying to be more of its own movie, do something different in terms of story and character, and aim as high narratively as it achieved with its extraordinary visuals. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
4.5/5 Booksmart (2019) Wenlei Ma It sounds like such a cliche but you will literally laugh and cry, and flash back to your own teenage days with fondness, not horror. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
2/5 Stuber (2019) Wenlei Ma Stuber is a lumbering, tired and dumb comedy, but if that's what you're looking for, then have at it. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
Aziz Ansari: Right Now (2019) Wenlei Ma His show is funny and insightful, but it's also emotional. It's enough to make you forgive him for his sins. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
2/5 Yesterday (2019) Wenlei Ma Yesterday is billing itself as a feel-good movie, buoyed by its Beatles-fuelled soundtrack and quirky premise. But will it make you feel good? Only if your personal bar is pretty low to clear. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
5/5 Parasite (2019) Wenlei Ma Bong uses everything in his bag of cinematic tricks to craft a dazzling and devastating movie that is part modern-day parable and part family drama. Parasite will variously shock you, make you laugh (guiltily) and make you think. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019
3/5 Ophelia (2018) Wenlei Ma A middling romantic drama about female empowerment with gorgeous visuals and a strong performance from Ridley, but is often lost among the reeds in terms of pacing and narrative cohesion. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2019