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Hedwig Tam in a still from Smashing Frank (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Trevor Choi. Locker Lam and Sham Ka-ki co-star.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Smashing Frank: Hedwig Tam robs the rich and powerful in slick drama

Director Trevor Choi tries to explore Hong Kong’s generational and class divide with a film that sees the poor and young steal from the rich.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Once Upon a Lie: Irene Wan chases much younger man in unconvincing romance

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Bullet Train Explosion, nail-biting remake of Japanese disaster thriller

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American cinema

Review | Drop: date night dilemma in Happy Death Day director’s new thriller

The White Lotus’ Meghann Fahy plays a widow on a first date who faces a terrifying quandary in Christopher Landon’s implausible film.

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Meghann Fahy as Violet in a still from Drop. Photo: Universal Pictures
American cinema

Review | The Amateur: Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne in muddled revenge thriller

This story of a CIA analyst looking for vengeance has all the elements necessary for success, but somehow fails to pull them together.

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American cinema

Review | A Minecraft Movie: video game adaptation is nonsensical but fun

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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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Last Dance (extended version): what the deleted scenes entail

The highest grossing Hong Kong film ever returns with 12 minutes of extra scenes that add some comedy, but do they warrant a re-release?

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Dayo Wong as Dominic and Catherine Chau as Jade in a still from The Last Dance (extended version). The film (category III, Cantonese) is directed by Anselm Chan. Photo: Emperor Motion Pictures
American cinema

Review | Warfare, one of the most authentic combat movies of modern times

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.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Grand Maison Paris: Takuya Kimura goes to France in Japanese chef drama

TV show La Grande Maison Tokyo spin-off with Ok Taec-yeon and Kyoka Suzuki a feast for the eyes but not the ears as Kimura butchers French.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Peg O’ My Heart: great visuals, awful story in Nick Cheung horror thriller

Andy Lau cameo can’t save Cheung’s film starring himself, Fala Chen and Terrance Lau that is heavy on style but lacks convincing backstories.

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Fala Chen and Nick Cheung in a still from Peg O’ My Heart (category: IIB, Cantonese). Directed by Nick Cheung and co-starring Terrence Lau.
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | In 1st Kiss, Japanese time-travel romance, Takako Matsu woos a younger man

Director Ayuko Tsukahara’s story follows a middle-aged woman who travels back in time to save her marriage and her husband’s life.

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Hokuto Matsumura as Kakeru (left) and Takako Matsu as Kanna in a still from 1st Kiss.
American cinema

Review | Snow White: Rachel Zegler carries Disney’s bland live-action remake

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.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | In fencing-themed drama Pierce, Liu Hsiu-fu and Tsao Yu-ning are brothers

Singaporean filmmaker Nelicia Low’s feature film debut has some visual flourishes but is let down by glaring weaknesses in its narrative.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Revelations: Ryu Jun-yeol leads Yeon Sang-ho’s disappointing Netflix thriller

A flimsy plot and sketchy logic spoil this story of a pastor and a detective who go after a recently released sex offender.

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Ryu Jun-yeol as Sung Min-chan in a still from Revelations. Photo: Cho Wonjin/Netflix
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | The Solitary Gourmet review: beloved Japanese TV food comedy hits cinemas

Directed by and starring Yutaka Matsushige, The Solitary Gourmet movie gives a warmhearted tour of traditional Japanese small-town cuisine.

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Yutaka Matsushige in a still from The Solitary Gourmet (Category I; Japanese).
American cinema

Review | Novocaine sees Jack Quaid play a bank manager aroused in action thriller

Quaid plays a timid introvert who dates a colleague, sees her abducted by a brutal gang and takes matters into his own hands to get her back.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | True Love, for Once in My Life: self-indulgent Hong Kong romance

A self-financed autobiographical story, this film about a wife’s devotion to a love-cheat ex-husband is melodramatic and ill-judged.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | In Salli, a dating scam leads Esther Liu to find her worth

Lien Chien-hung’s film follows a lonely chicken farmer who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after being scammed on a dating app.

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Esther Liu in a still from Salli.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Little Red Sweet: Stephy Tang, Simon Yam in Hong Kong family drama

A family and their dessert shop are turned upside down by illness in a film that chooses nostalgia over substance.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | What Does that Nature Say to You: Hong Sang-soo finds humour in domesticity

Korean director’s film examines, with humour, the difficulties of artistic life through the lens of a man meeting his girlfriend’s family.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Ne Zha 2, record-breaking Chinese animated film, is the real deal

Complicated and convoluted, this sequel to the most successful animation ever continues the wild ride of half demon Ne Zha.

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The titular character (voiced by Lü Yanting) in a still from Ne Zha 2 (category I, Mandarin), directed by Jiaozi.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Way We Talk: Chung Suet-ying shines as a deaf woman finding herself

Chung Suet-ying delivers a powerful performance in Adam Wong’s The Way We Talk, which explores identity and deaf culture with great humanity.

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Neo Yau (left) and Chung Suet-ying in a still from The Way We Talk.
American cinema

Review | Blue Moon: tender drama starring Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley

Richard Linklater’s new film sees long-time collaborator Ethan Hawke play the American lyricist Lorenz Hart as he struggles with fading fame.

Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Forbidden Fairytale: bubbly Korean sex comedy is closed-minded and prudish

Park Ji-hyun plays a youth protection officer who starts writing pornography to pay for car repairs in this non-risqué erotic comedy.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Girls on Wire: Wen Qi shines in Vivian Qu’s uneven genre blender

Taiwanese actress shows her versatility as a soap star turned stuntwoman in a film marred by narrative confusion and a sudden tonal change.

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Liu Haocun (left) and Wen Qi in a still from Girls on Wire (category to be confirmed; Mandarin and Sichuanese), directed by Vivian Qu. Photo: L’Avventura Films
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Mickey 17, wild sci-fi satire from Parasite’s Bong Joon-ho

Robert Pattinson plays the titular Mickey, a loser sent into space, where he is cloned with hilarious results in this cult-novel adaptation.

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Robert Pattinson as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 in a still from Bong Jooh-ho’s sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, screened at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. Naomi Ackie and Mark Ruffalo co-star. Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
American cinema

Review | Dreams, chilling film with Jessica Chastain about US-Mexico ties

Jessica Chastain plays the rich lover of an illegal immigrant in Michel Franco’s exploration of America’s relationship with poorer neighbour.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Living the Land a captivating tale of upheaval in 1990s rural China

Non-professional actors and stunning camerawork lift this engrossing story of the drastic changes experienced in rural China.

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