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James Mottram
SCMP Contributor
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.
Jon M. Chu’s film career spans genres such as action with GI Joe Retaliation to romance with Crazy Rich Asians and musicals with Wicked.
Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal star in Ridley Scott’s violent sequel to his 2000 tale of ancient Roman slaves and emperors.
Movie sees Paddington bear and his adoptive family fly to the rescue of his aunt in South America, where they have some knockabout fun.
US filmmaker Baker talks about winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Anora and how he ensured it was filmed with sensitivity.
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Directed by Parker Finn and with a cast including Rosemarie DeWitt and Lukas Gage, Smile 2 will make you wince but won’t leave you grinning.
Izaac Wang and Joan Chen star in Sean Wang’s Sundance winner about a teen navigating adolescence as kids begin living their lives online.
Steve McQueen’s Blitz places a young black boy at the centre of this second world war-set film as he makes his way back to his mother.
Director Wim Wenders recalls the shoot for his 1984 American masterpiece, which is being re-released in cinemas in 4K in October 2024.
Ni Ni excels as Xia You, whose partner (Liao Fan) physically abuses her, and who falls in love with the terminally ill Xu Zitai (Zhou You).
Starring Riccardo Scamarcio as painter Amedeo Modigliani, Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness sees Johnny Depp try out directing again.
Noémie Merlant is inscrutable as Emmanuelle in this Hong Kong-set update of the cult 1974 erotic film that’s more tasteful than titillating.
Stranger Eyes, Happyend and 2073 take a worrying look at surveillance in Singapore, Japan and a Chairperson Trump-led future, respectively.
Here is our pick of the best movies from the 2024 Venice Film Festival, including Golden Lion winner The Room Next Door.
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.
Takeshi Kitano blissfully does his own thing as an ageing hitman in short-and-sweet yakuza comedy Broken Rage.
Wang Bing spent three years compiling this documentary about migrant workers in Hebei and the moments of joy they find in their harsh lives.
Yeo Siew Hua muses over Singapore’s use of security cameras in his voyeuristic anti-thriller about surveillance of a missing child’s parents.
Lady Gaga plays music teacher and more to Phoenix’s Joker behind bars in a highly original sequel that’s menacing and beautifully styled.
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.
Austrian director Jessica Hausner talks about Club Zero and its themes of manipulation, radicalisation, anorexia and other eating disorders, and why we should value carers and teachers much more.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t had this much fun in years. Reynolds and Jackman find instant chemistry in a romp through the multiverse that’s packed with unexpected cameos and full of in-jokes.
