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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.
Ben Affleck returns as a mob-trained, autistic accountant in this convoluted sequel that, despite some good action, is disappointingly thin.
This story of a CIA analyst looking for vengeance has all the elements necessary for success, but somehow fails to pull them together.
Slow Cinema’s Diaz, known for extremely long movies, often about death, talks about his unique directing style and surviving the Trump era.
Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge bring the laughs in this zany adaptation of the world’s most successful video game.
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Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis, is part of a wave of non-Hollywood animated films telling hard-hitting stories aimed at adult audiences.
Alex Garland teams up with his military supervisor from Civil War for this survival tale based on the latter’s experience of the war in Iraq.
Lacking the magic of some other live-action remakes of Disney classics, Snow White is missing the heart you expect from the House of Mouse.
After 2 Avengers films that were the 2nd and 7th highest grossing of all time, the Russos’ output has been disappointing in recent years.
Sex, love, spies, fame, family, trauma and plenty of politics were on the menu at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.
Korean director’s film examines, with humour, the difficulties of artistic life through the lens of a man meeting his girlfriend’s family.
Richard Linklater’s new film sees long-time collaborator Ethan Hawke play the American lyricist Lorenz Hart as he struggles with fading fame.
Director drew from his own experiences for Queerpanorama, about a man meeting foreign men for sex in Hong Kong. It’s got Berlin buzzing.
Robert Pattinson plays the titular Mickey, a loser sent into space, where he is cloned with hilarious results in this cult-novel adaptation.
Jessica Chastain plays the rich lover of an illegal immigrant in Michel Franco’s exploration of America’s relationship with poorer neighbour.
Bridget Jones is back for a fourth film, and director Michael Morris brings a freshness to the franchise while nodding to the earlier movies.
Mackie does not have big expectations of his new Marvel outing, co-starring Harrison Ford – he just wants his children to think it is cool.
A reboot, Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man is momentarily intriguing – but a shallow story and zero thrills makes this film all bark and no bite.
From new Jurassic Park and Avatar films to Korean blockbusters and A-listers in horror movies, here are 9 box office predictions for 2025.
Timothée Chalamet excels in this reverential take on Bob Dylan’s rise to fame and electric-guitar performance at the Newport Folk Festival.
Disney’s Polynesian heroine and Maui the demigod, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, meet again in a sequel that looks spectacular but lacks suspense.
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.
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).
