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192 results, page 1 of 4
Review: Raid on the Lethal Zone (2023)
Raid on the Lethal Zone 绝地追击 China/Hong Kong, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 110 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 7/10. Half drugs-busting thriller, half disaster movie, this…
Review: Hidden Blade (2023)
Hidden Blade 无名 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 128 mins. Director: Cheng Er 程耳. Rating: 9/10. Cracking WW2 spy drama set among collaborationists in Japanese-controlled Shanghai is challenging but…
Review: What’s in the Zoo? (2024)
What’s in the Zoo? 动物园里有什么？ China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 94 mins. Director: An Xiaoman 安小满 [Bao Bei’er 包贝尔]. Rating: 4/10. Comedy centred on an ailing zoo in which…
Review: The Hotel (2022)
The Hotel 旅馆 Hong Kong, 2022, b&w, 1.33:1, 104 mins. Director: Wang Xiaoshuai 王小帅. Rating: 5/10. Sleekly-shot chamber drama about characters stranded in a hotel during the Covid…
Review: Leap (2020)
Leap 夺冠 Hong Kong/China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 134 mins. Director: Chen Kexin 陈可辛 [Peter Chan]. Rating: 8/10. Celebration of women’s volleyball in China’s modern development is shaded by…
Review: Us and Them (2018)
Us and Them 后来的我们 China, 2018, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 118 mins. Director: Liu Ruoying 刘若英 [René Liu]. Rating: 8/10. Long-limbed story, spread across 11 years, is an engaging reflection…
Review: Full River Red (2023)
Full River Red 满江红 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 156 mins. Director: Zhang Yimou 张艺谋. Rating: 6/10. A top cast, led by comedian Shen Teng, initially makes this costume…
Review: Shining for One Thing (2023)
Shining for One Thing 一闪一闪亮星星 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 105 mins. Directors: Chen Xiaoming 陈小明, Zhang Pan 张攀. Rating: 4/10. Good-looking but nonsensical teenage romantic fantasy spun off…
Review: If You Are the One III (2023)
If You Are the One III 非诚勿扰III China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 118 mins. Director: Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚. Rating: 6/10. Belated finale to the on-again/off-again love affair is made…
Review: One and Only (2023)
One and Only 热烈 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 123 mins. Director: Da Peng 大鹏 [Dong Chengpeng 董成鹏]. Rating: 6/10. Comedian Huang Bo’s performance as a wily manager is…
Review: Beyond the Clouds (2023)
Beyond the Clouds 我本是高山 China, 2023, colour, 1.85:1, 129 mins. Directors: Zheng Dasheng 郑大圣, Yang Jin 杨瑾. Rating: 6/10. Portrait of a pioneering Mainland teacher rises above simple…
Review: Endless Journey (2023)
Endless Journey 三大队 China, 2023, colour, 1.85:1, 132 mins. Director: Dai Mo 戴墨. Rating: 6/10. The best is in the first half in this performance-driven drama centred on…
Review: Moonlight Warrior (2023)
Moonlight Warrior 月光武士 China, 2023, colour, 16:9, 109 mins. Director: Hong Ying 虹影. Rating: 5/10. Decent but conventional light drama between a young teenage boy and an older…
Review: Seven Killings (2023)
Seven Killings 刀尖 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Gao Qunshu 高群书. Rating: 7/10. Low-key but absorbing WW2 spy thriller set in Japanese-occupied Nanjing, with a strong…
Review: Records without Words (2023)
Records without Words 沉默笔录 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 92 mins. Director: Hao Feihuan 郝飞环. Rating: 7/10. Psychodrama-cum-whodunit set in mid-1990s rural China is strongly written and nicely mounted,…
Review: Across the Furious Sea (2023)
Across the Furious Sea 涉过愤怒的海 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 142 mins. Director: Cao Baoping 曹保平. Rating: 3/10. Overheated drama-thriller about a father hunting his daughter’s killer is ludicrously…
Review: Revival (2023)
Revival 回廊亭 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 98 mins. Director: Lai Mukuan 来牧宽. Rating: 4/10. Atmospheric, well-cast whodunit, set in a remote villa, is severely unbalanced by an over-twisty…
Review: Trending Topic (2023)
Trending Topic 热搜 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Xin Yukun 忻钰坤. Rating: 8/10. Actress Zhou Dongyu shines in a quality mainstream drama centred on corporate corruption…
Review: Lose to Win (2023)
Lose to Win 好像也没那么热血沸腾 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 133 mins. Director: Gao Hu 高虎. Rating: 5/10. Remake of a Spanish hit about a tricky basketball trainer and his…
Review: Only the River Flows (2023)
Only the River Flows 河边的错误 China, 2023, colour, 1.85:1, 101 mins. Director: Wei Shujun 魏书钧. Rating: 5/10. Darkly-shot psychodrama-cum-whodunit is a brave stab at a China Noir but…
Review: Last Suspect (2023)
Last Suspect 拯救嫌疑人 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 118 mins. Director: Zhang Mo 张末. Rating: 4/10. Remake of Korean crime thriller 7 Days, about a hot-shot lawyer and her…
Review: Death Stranding (2023)
Death Stranding 困兽 China/Hong Kong, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 96 mins. Director: Peng Fa 彭发 [Danny Pang]. Rating: 5/10. Generic, Hong Kong-style crime drama is poorly scripted, but watchable…
Review: All Ears (2023)
All Ears 不虚此行。 China, 2023, colour, 16:9, 117 mins. Director: Liu Jiayin 刘伽茵. Rating: 4/10. Over-long study of an introverted funeral eulogist and his various clients doesn’t go…
Review: Dust to Dust (2023)
Dust to Dust 第八个嫌疑人 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Li Zijun 李子俊 [Jonathan Li]. Rating: 7/10. Complexly structured, psychological crime drama is largely involving, with scene-stealing…
Review: Wonder Family (2023)
Wonder Family 超能一家人 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Song Yang 宋阳. Rating: 5/10. Ma Hua FunAge comedy about a crazy family with super powers has a…
Review: Lost Love (2022)
Lost Love 流水落花 Hong Kong, 2022, colour, 2.35:1, 92 mins. Director: Jia Shengfeng 贾胜枫. Rating: 5/10. Over-schematic story of a wife who devotes her life to fostering kids…
Review: Love Never Ends (2023)
Love Never Ends 我爱你！ China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 114 mins. Director: Han Yan 韩延. Rating: 5/10. Initially offbeat oldies rom-com becomes more and more generic as it progresses,…
Review: Flaming Cloud (2023)
Flaming Cloud 三贵情史 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 106 mins. Director: Liu Siyi 刘斯逸. Rating: 6/10. Mainland actress Yao Chen is the main delight in this post-modern fairytale that…
Review: The Ex-Files 4: Marriage Plan (2023)
The Ex-Files 4: Marriage Plan 前任4 英年早婚 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 128 mins. Director: Tian Yusheng 田羽生. Rating: 7/10. A direct sequel (in real time) to the…
Review: Death Notice (2023)
Death Notice 暗杀风暴 Hong Kong/China, 2023, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 99 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 6/10. Despite a shapeless script, this serial-killer mystery is largely entertaining…
Review: Moscow Mission (2023)
Moscow Mission 93国际列车大劫案 莫斯科行动 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 127 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 6/10. Action-packed crime story, based on a real event, with Chinese…
Review: The Volunteers: To the War (2023)
The Volunteers: To the War 志愿军 雄兵出击 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 140 mins. Director: Chen Kaige 陈凯歌. Rating: 6/10. Korean War blockbuster, as Chinese troops battle US-led western…
Review: Under the Light (2023)
Under the Light 坚如磐石 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 127 mins. Director: Zhang Yimou 张艺谋. Rating: 7/10. Stygian drama of municipal corruption and deadly powerplay has a terrific first…
Review: Cliff Walkers (2021)
Cliff Walkers 悬崖之上 China/Hong Kong, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Zhang Yimou 张艺谋. Rating: 6/10. Period spy adventure, set in Japanese-occupied northeast China during the 1930s, is…
Review: Tainted Love (2023)
Tainted Love 鹦鹉杀 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 100 mins. Director: Ma Yingxin 麻赢心. Rating: 4/10. Ambitious but stylistically messy drama about a woman who hunts down her online…
Review: No More Bets (2023)
No More Bets 孤注一掷 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 129 mins. Director: Shen Ao 申奥. Rating: 7/10. A dark, often violent but mostly gripping drama centred on an online…
Review: Papa (2023)
Papa 学爸 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 117 mins. Director: Su Liang 苏亮. Rating: 5/10. A working-class widower becomes obsessed with his young son’s education in this light drama…
Review: The Woman in the Storm (2023)
The Woman in the Storm 我经过风暴 China, 2023, color, 2.35:1, 100 mins. Director: Qin Haiyan 秦海燕. Rating: 6/10. Drama on domestic violence promises more than it delivers, but…
Review: The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell (2023)
The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell 扫毒3 人在天涯 Hong Kong/China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 123 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 7/10. The bar stays high…
Review: One More Chance (2023)
One More Chance 别叫我“赌神” Hong Kong/China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Pan Yaoming 潘耀明 [Anthony Pun]. Rating: 5/10. Onetime Hong Kong superstar Zhou Runfa [Chow Yun-fat] makes…
Review: Never Say Never (2023)
Never Say Never 八角笼中 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 117 mins. Director: Wang Baoqiang 王宝强. Rating: 6/10. In his second outing as a director, popular goofy comedian Wang Baoqiang…
Review: Nobody But You (2023)
Nobody But You 不能错过的只有你 China, 2023, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Chen Chen 陈晨. Rating: 5/10. Odd-couple rom-com, with two strong leads, has a good first hour before…
Review: Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023)
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms 封神第一部 朝歌风云 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 148 mins. Director: Wuershan 乌尔善. Rating: 7/10. First segment of a trilogy set…
Review: Ocean Rescue (2023)
Ocean Rescue 深海危机 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 92 mins. Director: Shen Dong 沈东. Rating: 4/10. Routine, poorly plotted action movie, with Mainland operatives taking on terrorists with a…
Review: To Be Continued (2023)
To Be Continued 了不起的夜晚 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 107 mins. Director: Ma Kai 马凯. Rating: 4/10. Comedy-horror set one night in a film studio is let down by…
Review: The Possessed (2016)
The Possessed 中邪 China, 2016, colour, 16:9, 110 mins. Director: Ma Kai 马凯. Rating: 3/10. Low-budget horror, shot in fake-documentary style, about two student film-makers and a possessed…
Review: All These Years (2023)
All These Years 这么多年 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 116 mins. Director: Ji Zhuqing 季竹青. Rating: 7/10. A high school-to-adulthood unrequited love story that’s utterly generic but beautifully executed…
Review: Delicious Romance (2023)
Delicious Romance 爱很美味 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Directors: Chen Zhengdao 陈正道 [Leste Chen], Xu Zhaoren 许肇任. Rating: 6/10. This big-screen sequel to an online drama series…
Review: Faces in the Crowd (2023)
Faces in the Crowd 暴风 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 101 mins. Director: Chen Jiashang 陈嘉上 [Gordon Chan]. Rating: 5/10. Wang Qianyuan’s playing elevates this standard KMT vs CCP…
Review: Flashover (2023)
Flashover 惊天救援 China, 2023, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Peng Shun 彭顺 [Oxide Pang]. Rating: 5/10. Solid, procedural firefighting movie is short on character development and has a…