James Mottram is a film critic and journalist based in London. As well as writing for the SCMP for over 10 years, he’s also written a number of books on cinema including The Sundance Kids, The Making of Memento and Die Hard: The Ultimate Visual History.
In this stunning movie, a baby goose must find a way off a soon-to-be inhospitable island – and his only help comes from a large, mysterious robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) that washes ashore in a box.
Premiering at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and starring Daniel Craig as a homosexual drug addict, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer is a faithful dive into the universe of author William Burroughs.
Tilda Swinton stars as a cancer patient who wants to end her life and asks her old friend (Julianne Moore) to be near her when she takes a euthanasia pill, in this Pedro Almodóvar drama.
A wife in China, suspecting her husband of an affair, hires a woman to break it up. Remarkable for the access she, the couple, and the mistress grant filmmaker Elisabeth Lo, its finale is extraordinary.
Playing no-name guys who dress and talk the same, Pitt and Clooney bring bonhomie to Wolfs, a slick crime story with a clever set-up where the story is secondary to the entertainment.
The lead character’s get-rich-quick schemes rebound on him, and when a mob turns up the guns come out. Well enough acted and with atmospheric settings, Cloud is somehow less than the sum of its parts.
Pablo Larraín’s elegant Maria stars a stunning Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas, one of the greatest opera singers of all time, and tells the story of the final week before her fatal heart attack.
The plot is a bit of a grab bag, but the wacky characters and strong acting, from Monica Bellucci especially, make this film a more than acceptable sequel to Burton’s 1988 fantasy Beetlejuice.
Tatum plays an oily tech billionaire in actress Kravitz’s first film as director, a compelling story of survival with a message about the male-female dynamic and an ending worthy of David Cronenberg.
With Alien: Romulus seeing the series’ return to form, we rank the entire franchise from worst to best, including the Alien vs Predator films, Prometheus, the classic original, and the new movie.
Cate Blanchett shines in this video game adaptation, but the sci-fi shoot-’em-up is let down by a faltering plot, some annoying characters and a lack of emotion.