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261 results, page 1 of 6
Review: Burning Stars (2024)
Burning Stars 孤星计划 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 104 mins. Director: Xu Zhanxiong 徐展雄. Rating: 7/10. Smoothly assembled, suitably twisty package centred on CPC/KMT shenanigans in 1920s Shanghai. STORY…
Review: 1921 (2021)
1921 1921 China, 2021, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 135 mins. Director: Huang Jianxin 黄建新. Associate director: Zheng Dasheng 郑大圣. Rating: 5/10. Celebration of the centenary of the CPC’s founding is…
Review: So Long for Love (2023)
So Long for Love 再见，李可乐 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 103 mins. Director: Wang Xiaolie 王小列. Rating: 7/10. Light drama, in which a dog replaces the deceased male member…
Review: Big World (2024)
Big World 小小的我 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 130 mins. Director: Yang Li’na 杨荔钠. Rating: 5/10. Over-long drama centred on a son with cerebral palsy is a great opportunity…
Review: Unstoppable (2025)
Unstoppable 天马星空 China, 2025, colour, 2.35:1, 93 mins. Director: Yang Feng 杨锋. Rating: 3/10. Totally generic sci-fi drama, about an invasion of Earth by aliens, doesn’t have a…
Review: Honey Money Phony (2024)
Honey Money Phony ‘骗骗’喜欢你 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 114 mins. Director: Su Biao 苏彪. Rating: 7/10. A rom-com posing as a scamming comedy, this is smartly written and…
Review: Hot Pot Artist (2025)
Hot Pot Artist 火锅艺术家 China, 2025, colour, 2.35:1, 97 mins. Director: Cui Zhijia 崔志佳. Rating: 5/10. Comedy about a wannabe film artiste who’s actually better as a hotpot…
Review: Yuanyanglou (2024)
Yuanyanglou 鸳鸯楼•惊魂 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 94 mins. Director: Wang Shenghe 王晟赫. Rating: 6/10. Surprisingly effective horror film, anchored by undervalued actress Li Meng, simmers for an hour…
Review: To Gather Around (2024)
To Gather Around 胜券在握 China, 2024, colour, 2.35;1, 135 mins. Director: Liu Xunzimo 刘循子墨. Rating: 7/10. A dark satire of big-business ethics and corporate culture that loses its…
Review: Johnny Keep Walking! (2023)
Johnny Keep Walking! 年会不能停！ China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Dong Runnian 董润年. Rating: 7/10. Sharp satire on corporate bureaucracy and office politics, as a nobody rises…
Review: A Long Shot (2023)
A Long Shot 老枪 China, 2023, colour, 16:9, 116 mins. Director: Gao Peng 高朋. Rating: 6/10. Intimate drama set in depressed northeast China during the 1990s has strong…
Review: Welcome to the Game (2024)
Welcome to the Game 绑架游戏 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 89 mins. Director: Zhang Zhe 张哲. Rating: 7/10. Twisty-turny drama of a fake kidnapping and multiple game-playing has strong…
Review: Cesium Fallout (2024)
Cesium Fallout 焚城 Hong Kong/China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 135 mins. Director: Pan Yaoming 潘耀明 [Anthony Pun]. Rating: 6/10. Technically polished disaster movie doesn’t reach down very far in…
Review: Panda Plan (2024)
Panda Plan 熊猫计划 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 98 mins. Director: Zhang Luan 张栾. Rating: 3/10. A lazy, throwaway attempt at a comic action movie, with an aged-looking Cheng…
Review: The Untold Story (2024)
The Untold Story 那个不为人知的故事 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 101mins. Director: Zhang Yan 张岩. Rating: 7/10. A terrific performance by actress Lang Yueting is the glue that holds this…
Review: All Suspects (2024)
All Suspects 全员嫌疑人 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 95 mins. Director: Fu Dong 傅鸫. Rating: 5/10. An okay period whodunit with two good leads but let down by a…
Review: The Unseen Sister (2024)
The Unseen Sister 乔妍的心事 China, 2024, colour, 2:1, 111 mins. Director: Zhao Deyin 赵德胤 [Midi Z]. Rating: 4/10. Uninvolving, pointless drama of a film star whose life starts…
Review: The Wig (2024)
The Wig 戴假发的人 China/Hong Kong, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Dong Yue 董越. Rating: 6/10. Huang Xiaoming gives a strong, atypical performance as a lawyer-with-a-secret, but his…
Review: Another Day of Hope (2023)
Another Day of Hope 又是充满希望的一天 China, 2023, colour, 1.66:1, 131 mins. Director: Liu Taifeng 刘泰风. Rating: 6/10. Promising light drama about an ambitious middle manager whose life starts…
Review: The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death (2024)
The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death 志愿军 第二部 存亡之战 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 142 mins. Director: Chen Kaige 陈凯歌. Rating: 6/10. Second part of…
Review: Untouchable (2024)
Untouchable 逆鳞 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Da Qing 大庆 [Wang Daqing 王大庆]. Rating: 8/10. Cat-and-mouse gangster drama, set in 1990s pre-handover Macau, is stylishly written…
Review: Tiger Wolf Rabbit (2024)
Tiger Wolf Rabbit 浴火之路 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 125 mins. Director: Wubai 五百 [Guo Shubo 郭书博]. Rating: 7/10. Tough desert drama with mysterious characters has a strong cast…
Review: Bureau 749 (2024)
Bureau 749 749局 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 123 mins. Director: Lu Chuan 陆川. Rating: 4/10. Sci-fi monster movie is a wannabe blockbuster holed by a shapeless script, colourless…
Review: Be My Friend (2024)
Be My Friend 我才不要和你做朋友呢 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: He Nian 何念. Rating: 8/10. Cleverly packaged, well-played light comedy about a teenager who travels back in…
Review: World’s Greatest Dad (2023)
World’s Greatest Dad 二手杰作 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Wang Zizhao 王子昭. Associate director: Li Ji 李季. Rating: 7/10. A sardonic black comedy about the hollowness…
Review: The Hutong Cowboy (2024)
The Hutong Cowboy 爆款好人 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 112 mins. Directors: Ning Hao 宁浩, Xu Lei 徐磊. Rating: 8/10. A well-structured screenplay and top cast led by veteran…
Review: The Movie Emperor (2023)
The Movie Emperor 红毯先生 China/Hong Kong, 2023, colour, 1.78:1, 121 mins. Director: Ning Hao 宁浩. Rating: 4/10. Promising satire on the film-star ego, and the industry in general,…
Review: Enjoy Yourself (2024)
Enjoy Yourself 祝你幸福 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Kang Bo 康博. Rating: 6/10. Relationship-cum-legal drama sports some good performances but is hampered by a messily constructed…
Review: We Are Forever (2024)
We Are Forever 我们永远是我们 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 100 mins. Director: Xia Meng 夏孟. Rating: 5/10. Good-looking distaff road movie sports good leads but lacks emotional depth and…
Review: Gone with the Boat (2023)
Gone with the Boat 乘船而去 China, 2023, colour, 1.85:1, 98 mins. Director: Chen Xiaoyu 陈小雨. Rating: 5/10. Family portrait centred on the wife’s dying mother is well played…
Review: Upstream (2024)
Upstream 逆行人生 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Xu Zheng 徐峥. Rating: 6/10. A black but ultimately warm comedy, set among Shanghai’s community of food deliverers, shows…
Review: Evacuate from the 21st Century (2024)
Evacuate from the 21st Century 从21世纪安全撤离 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 1.55/2.1/2.4/3.77:1, 97 mins. Director: Li Yang 李阳. Rating: 6/10. Sci-fi fantasy-cum-VFX head trip is an eclectic spin on youth…
Review: Land of Broken Hearts (2024)
Land of Broken Hearts 负负得正 China, 2024, colour, 2:1, 99 mins. Director: Wen Shipei 温仕培. Rating: 5/10. Odd-couple rom-com between a young salaryman and his kooky flatmate is…
Review: Go for Broke (2024)
Go for Broke 重生 China/Hong Kong, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Ma Yuke 马浴柯. Rating: 7/10. Another tough, twisty crime drama by Mainland actor-turned-director Ma Yuke, with…
Review: Decoded (2024)
Decoded 解密 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 155 mins. Director: Chen Sicheng 陈思诚. Rating: 8/10. Belated return to form by film-maker Chen Sicheng is a strongly written, subtly played…
Review: Mozart from Space (2022)
Mozart from Space 外太空的莫扎特 China, 2022, colour, 2.35:1, 135 mins. Director: Chen Sicheng 陈思诚. Rating: 4/10. A way over-long, way over-blown yarn about a teenager, his naggy dad,…
Review: Welcome to My Side (2024)
Welcome to My Side 欢迎来到我身边 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 101 mins. Director: Song Haolin 宋灏霖. Rating: 6/10. An odd-couple rom-com with a goofy premise that only just makes…
Review: Water Boys (2021)
Water Boys 五个扑水的少年 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 110 mins. Director: Song Haolin 宋灏霖. Rating: 7/10. Very free re-make of the 2001 Japanese hit comedy about a male synchro…
Review: Mr. Zhu’s Summer (2017)
Mr. Zhu’s Summer 猪太狼的夏天 China, 2017, colour, 2.35:1, 87 mins. Director: Song Haolin 宋灏霖. Rating: 5/10. Light character study of a primary-school teacher with a chronic lack of…
Review: Love Life Light
Love Life Light 照明商店 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 98 mins. Director: Cai Erduo 蔡耳朵 [Cai Jing 蔡婧]. Rating: 8/10. Classy directing debut by former a.d. Cai Erduo, aka…
Review: Give Me a Ride (2024)
Give Me a Ride 出门在外 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 101 mins. Directors: Fan Chao 范超, Chen Yizi 陈一孜. Rating: 5/10. Blackly comic mystery centred on various shady characters…
Review: A Place Called Silence (2024)
A Place Called Silence 默杀 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 118 mins. Director: Ke Wenli 柯汶利 [Sam Quah]. Rating: 6/10. Serial-killer whodunit centred on a girls’ high school is…
Review: Life Hotel (2024)
Life Hotel 来福大酒店 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 118 mins. Director: Liu Bowen 刘博文. Rating: 7/10. A strong, characterful cast, led by Huang Xuan and Liu Yan, make this…
Review: Black Dog (2024)
Black Dog 狗阵 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Guan Hu 管虎. Rating: 8/10. Elemental story of re-birth and renewal in a run-down town in northwest China…
Review: Moments We Shared (2024)
Moments We Shared 云边有个小卖部 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 130 mins. Director: Zhang Jiajia 张嘉佳. Rating: 8/10. Return-to-roots light comedy is an impressive second outing as a director by…
Review: Reversed Destiny (2024)
Reversed Destiny 沙漏 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 109 mins. Director: Wen Jing 温婧. Rating: 7/10. Good-looking, well-played story of two high-school BFFs would have been even better with…
Review: I Miss You (2024)
I Miss You 被我弄丢的你 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Han Yan 韩琰. Rating: 6/10. Promising odd-couple two-hander is let down by a weak, uninvolving script, and…
Review: Crisis Negotiators (2024)
Crisis Negotiators 谈判专家 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 8/10. A cracking, Hong Kong-set re-make of US drama-thriller The Negotiator that’s…
Review: End Game (2021)
End Game 人潮汹涌 China/Hong Kong, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Rao Xiaozhi 饶晓志. Rating: 6/10. A remake of the Japanese Key of Life, this swapped-identities crime comedy…
Review: Awakening Spring (2023)
Awakening Spring 温柔壳 China, 2023, colour/b&w, 16:9, 103 mins. Director: Wang Mu 王沐. Rating: 5/10. Drama centred on two young people with mental problems has strong lead performances…