Cate Blanchett’s performance as Tár is phenomenal. The film also allows us to believe in Tár’s brilliance at the same time as loathing her disregard for everyone around her. A great film. ★★★★★

Less of a horror and more of a comedy, but better for it. It reminds me of Gremlins in some ways, but never reaches the darkness or madness that made that film so entertaining. A fun watch nevertheless.★★★☆☆

What begins as a stylishly-shot detective mystery slides into hallucination and confusion as the detective fails to make proper sense of 1990s China. Director Wei Shujun 魏书钧 clearly intended to leave the puzzle unsolved and it was never dull watching Zhu Yilong 朱一龙, though some might find it all a little portentous.★★★★☆

The plot is standard anti-imperialist fare, but the fighting is exceptional. Jackie Chan at his physical best: lightning-fast, acrobatic, and funny. Special mention also to Anita Mui, who is hilarious as Fei-Hong’s stepmother. ★★★★☆

It’s too long, the plot is silly, and the dialogue is awful, but it’s got a great final third. Some very good work also by Lorne Balfe on the score. ★★★★☆

Young drummer Andrew believes he can be a truly great jazz drummer; bandleader Fletcher believes that verbal and emotional abuse is necessary to elevate students beyond mediocrity. It is supposed to be about ‘art’ and the ‘artist’ but it is so po-faced about artistry that you can’t help but begin to doubt. Is all the effort worth it for a slightly different version of “Caravan”? Should I be impressed at the end or just sad that Andrew is so needy that he’ll perform for his abuser? Or am I just not sophisticated enough to understand the greatness of the solo?

I could read the film as an indictment of sad people trapped in jazz history’s shadow, but then in La La Land the director has another jazz obsessive stuck in a rut we are supposed to sympathize with. Does Chazelle really think these are underappreciated geniuses? Does he think he is an underappreciated genius? I should try Babylon to see for sure, I suppose. ★★★☆☆

Mad Max 1 is a curio, but this is really the film in which George Miller’s dystopian imagination revs all the way up. Villians Wez and Lord Humungus are ridiculous but also terrifying, and the leather fetish aesthetic is taken to glorious excess. This still stands up as a great action movie. ★★★★☆

It’s a perfect gem of a film. A wonderful setting that the crafted cinematography gives you time to appreciate; loving attention to the cooking and food; believable and non-showy performances from the cast. The film even made the pretentious twit of a male protagonist endearing by the end. Sit back, slow down, and enjoy. ★★★★★

Fury Road was amazing so I wanted to see where it all started. It’s clearly a proto-version of Miller’s vision for a road apocalypse movie, but thankfully there are enough weirdnesses and idiosyncrasies to carry us through the more amateur moments. Mel Gibson does the charismatic sensitive psycho so well already it is no surprise that it ended up his ticket to global stardom in Lethal Weapon a few years later. ★★★☆☆

(directed by Wong Kar-wai 王家衛) Wong Kar-wai’s first film is nothing special in terms of plot, but the intensely likeable performances of Andy Lau 劉德華 and Maggie Cheung 張曼玉 and the beautiful cinematography elevate it beyond the Hong Kong gangster formula. ★★★★☆

(directed by Chen Kaige 陈凯歌, Tsui Hark 徐克, and Dante Lam 林超賢) The box-office champion of 2021, this war film united three of the most famous Chinese directors. The complexity of war, however, is undermined by battle scenes taken to action-film excesses and the political necessity of portraying the battle as a great success regardless of the cost. ★★☆☆☆

(dir. Wilson Yip 葉偉信) The final outing for Donnie Yen as Ip Man, this doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessors. Worth watching if you’re a fan of the series, but I found this an effort to finish. ★★★☆☆

(dir. Andrew Lau 劉偉強) This film, based on a real incident in 2018, was a massive hit in China. Made with the full cooperation of Sichuan Airlines, it is an overwhelmingly positive portrayal of the Chinese aviation industry, and unironically employs every airplane-disaster movie cliché in the book. Hard not to think of Airplane! at moments, but nevertheless an enjoyable watch. ★★★☆☆

(dir. Edward Yang 杨德昌) Adults and children alike search for love and meaning in this Taiwanese film. Nien-Jen Wu 吳念真 is wonderfully understated as a father who is struggling with his marriage and career, and his interplay with Issey Ogata イッセー尾形 as Mr. Ota is a particular delight. ★★★★★

(dir. Stephen Chow 周星驰) I remember being underwhelmed when I saw this in Beijing on release, but now, having now seen much more of the kung fu cinema to which this pays loving tribute, I adore it. It’s the older actors who steal the show: Yuen Qiu 元秋 as the landlady and Bruce Leung 梁小龍 as the toad kung fu master amongst others are superb. ★★★★☆

(dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien 侯孝贤) One of Taiwan’s most celebrated directors does his version of a wuxia film, and it’s just as idiosyncratic as you would imagine. Static or very slow panning shots, minimal dialogue, and flat performances make this more of a meditation than an action movie. The cinematography and scenery is exquisite, though, and you can understand why Cannes rewarded Hou with a best director award. ★★★★☆

(dir. Tsui Hark 徐克) Cementing Jet Li’s popularity and Tsui Hark’s box-office power, Once Upon a Time was so successful it led to five sequels and a TV series, all about the late-Qing kungfu master Wong Fei-hung. It blends slapstick comedy and anti-imperialism in an entertaining package, and the ladder fight with the main villain is a particular highlight. ★★★★☆

(dir. Derek Tsang 曾國祥) This film, about a bullied high-schooler and a drop-out, was delayed because of censorship issues, but thankfully finally released in China and abroad in 2019. Based on a popular young adult novel, In His Youth, In Her Beauty《少年的你，如此美丽》, it is an often harrowing depiction of the difficulties facing many young Chinese people. Zhou Dongyu 周冬雨 deservedly won the best actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards, her co-star Jackson Yee 易烊千玺 won Best New Performer, and director Derek Tsang took home Best Film and Best Director. The film has been available on Netflix UK, and there is also an American blu-ray release. ★★★★★

(dir. Ang Lee 李安) Ang Lee’s first major film, this is the story of an elderly taiqi master who moves to America to live with his son and daughter-in-law. The dialogue-free first ten minutes sets up the tension in the suburban home wonderfully, and Sihung Lung 郞雄 is excellent throughout as the father. This, together with Ang Lee’s next two films, is available on blu-ray as his Father Trilogy. ★★★☆☆

(dir. Huang Bo 黄渤) Actor Huang Bo (known from films such as Crazy Stone 疯狂的石头 and Lost in Thailand 人再囧途之泰囧) directs and stars in this Lord of the Flies-type story about a tour group stranded on a deserted island. Wang Baoqiang 王宝强, as a bus driver-turned-despot, is the particular comic highlight. ★★★☆☆