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Zhuo-Ning Su
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Harvest (2024) |
A nightmarish parable for the horrors of fascism, xenophobia and what happens when good people stand by and do nothing. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 16, 2024
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Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) |
Gaga doesn’t have as much to work with, but her Grammy-winning vocals do help propel the biggest set pieces to explosive heights. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 16, 2024
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April (2024) |
There’s great mystery to April. You don’t understand it so much as intuit or inhabit it. Kulumbegashvili’s storytelling is based on a visual language all her own, for me the true mark of a great director. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 16, 2024
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Queer (2024) |
By turns sexy, heartbreaking, and extraordinarily trippy, the film mutates in front of our eyes in its exploration of this strange, strange thing called love... Queer is a triumph. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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The Room Next Door (2024) |
Fans can breathe a sigh of relief that that rare mix of intelligence and unabashed emotions which makes [Pedro Almodóvar's] films so special didn’t get lost in translation here. The Room Next Door enchants. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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The Brutalist (2024) |
Nothing could have prepared us for The Brutalist, a film so layered in meaning, staggering in craftsmanship and -- despite its length and book-like structure -- so magically uncluttered, you feel like you’re watching a classic. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 01, 2024
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Three Friends (2024) |
A rewarding, if not downright cathartic watch for all who have suffered for love. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Aug 31, 2024
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Babygirl (2024) |
With un-moralistic candor and plenty of zest, Reijn made an insightful, exciting film that eschews cheap payoff at every turn - Awards Daily
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| Posted Aug 31, 2024
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Maria (2024) |
Bless Larraín for continuing to give complex, fascinating women the unconventional, individually tailored cinematic treatment that they deserve. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Aug 29, 2024
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) |
After a series of massive Disney misfires, [Tim Burton]’s got his creative juices flowing again by going back to his roots. All the ghosts and undead corpses notwithstanding, nothing he’s put out has felt so wildly alive in a long time. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Aug 28, 2024
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All We Imagine as Light (2024) |
All We Imagine as Light dazzles with its lyrical, quietly moving dissection of womanhood and the immigrant experience in Mumbai today. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Grand Tour (2024) |
Hypnotically strange and beautiful, Grand Tour travels across borders of time and space, fiction and documentary, reality and dream, and ends on an appropriately poetic note. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Caught by the Tides (2024) |
Its free-flowing, image-driven form will no doubt alienate many viewers, but those willing to just let its singular cinematic language wash over them would be rewarded with something barely articulated yet quietly profound. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Anora (2024) |
Written and directed with an infectious, propulsive energy and featuring a star-making performance by Mikey Madison, it’s one wild joyride you don’t want to miss. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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The Apprentice (2024) |
A sometimes funny, sometimes sobering character study that never veers into comedy/thriller territory. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Armand (2024) |
Some of its themes and plot devices feel déjà vu, but that doesn’t make this intense, strikingly stylistic first film any less impressive. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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The Substance (2024) |
Relentless, thought-provoking and morbidly fun, The Substance is a new horror classic. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Kinds of Kindness (2024) |
Although Kinds of Kindness is much more malevolent in tone than say, Poor Things or The Favourite, Lanthimos still managed to craft LOL moments that catch you completely off guard. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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An Unfinished Film (2024) |
A fascinating formal hybrid that deals with censorship, COVID and civil courage. It’s the work of a group of fearless artists that gives you rare insights into the challenges faced by creatives in China today. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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The Girl with the Needle (2024) |
The historical drama provides a chilling, comprehensive account of the serial infanticides that happened in early 20th century Copenhagen. But I suspect a pared-down version would have made for a leaner, meaner period horror that works even better. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Bird (2024) |
Adams is a natural and a star, while Rogowski charms once again with the creation of yet another memorably unique character. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Megalopolis (2024) |
The film’s second half features gorgeously eloquent visual flourishes which make it increasingly clear that Coppola is addressing some big, essential ideas and the sheer scope of his ambition stuns. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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When The Light Breaks (2024) |
I think Rúnarsson’s screenplay falls a bit on the thin side even for a 82-min film. Having said that, I do like how the story organically turns into one about the two women and how it depicts this dynamic haunted by both rivalry and understanding. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Wild Diamond (2024) |
It’s a hard-hitting, hot-blooded social drama/character study that shows promise of a new, fiercely assured cinematic voice, even if the story it tells isn’t breaking any ground. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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The Second Act (2024) |
The line between truth and fiction becomes deliciously blurred. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
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Who Do I Belong To (2024) |
That a first-time feature writer/director made a film that works on just about every level is pretty remarkable. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Crossing (2024) |
Crossing never preaches; it speaks to empathy and decency. When there’s so much hate that seeks to segregate and deny, I for one am grateful for such merciful, quietly urgent storytelling. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Langue Étrangère (2024) |
More on the mainstream side, which often means no jury love, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Burger made a consistently enjoyable film that has a lot to say and introduces the revelatory performance of a promising new talent. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Dying (2024) |
The last hour of Dying struggles to find the same level of sharpness so the whole thing doesn't land on a high note. That said, I'm impressed overall by Glasner's writing and the individual performances from this talented ensemble. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Dahomey (2024) |
Clocking in at just 67 minutes, Dahomey provides a compact, thought-provoking look at the restitution of looted African art by former colonial powers. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Cuckoo (2024) |
Both Schafer and Stevens deliver 100% committed performances. The former brings grit and a youthful alertness to inject some much needed sense of reality into this mad story. The latter goes all in playing the gleefully over-the-top villain. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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My Favourite Cake (2024) |
Both principal actors are superb. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Small Things Like These (2024) |
I do wish the film would have more of a distinctive style or be more adventurous narratively, but ultimately the performances provide it with the human touch essential for such a human story. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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The Beast (2023) |
“What if Bertrand Bonello adapts Henry James by way of David Cronenberg and a general helping of Lynch”? Well, the result is The Beast and it is – I’m using this of course as the ultimate term of endearment and admiration – batsh*t crazy. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 09, 2023
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Evil Does Not Exist (2023) |
There are more layers to this film than meets the eye. As for what does meet the eye, it’s pure beauty. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 09, 2023
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Coup de Chance (2023) |
A jazzy little charmer. Doesn't aim too high, but hit all its intended marks with the effortless dexterity of a master. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Io Capitano (2023) |
Garrone directs the film with a lovely blend of realism and fancy. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Origin (2023) |
I expect there to be detractors of the film, both for its central thesis and the almost scholarly storytelling, but to me it’s an engrossing, more-than-worthy attempt at deconstructing systemic oppression throughout history. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Green Border (2023) |
Green Border isn’t always as subtle as it could be and probably didn’t find the most graceful ending, but I was riveted through its 147-min runtime and can’t imagine anyone with even an iota of empathy not being affected by it. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Gasoline Rainbow (2023) |
For all the monkey business the kids get into, the film never condescends. If anything, you sense the filmmakers’ determination to record an as yet unjaded generation’s capacity for fun. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Holly (2023) |
As a cross between coming-of-age story and spooky mood piece, Holly intrigues but ultimately fails to surprise. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 08, 2023
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Maestro (2023) |
[Maestro] didn’t grab me from the get-go but, powered by two compelling, charismatic lead performances, it did win me over in the emphatically emotional second half where all the high notes are hit. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 07, 2023
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Poor Things (2023) |
Sharp, wildly imaginative and jaw-droppingly naughty, the film takes you on a fantastical odyssey of female self-discovery and casually eviscerates the patriarchy in ways Barbie never managed to. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 01, 2023
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Oceans Are The Real Continents (2023) |
Oceans Are the Real Continents is a dazzling film to look at and -- better yet -- to lose yourself in. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 01, 2023
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Comandante (2023) |
The lack of historical context aside, De Angelis’ direction is moodily efficient. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 01, 2023
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DogMan (2023) |
The framing device is obviously not super inventive -- we essentially get a story told in flashbacks -- but it sure is effective as writer/director Luc Besson keeps you guessing how the fierce and fearsome Dogman came to be. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted Sep 01, 2023
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Perfect Days (2023) |
Considering how little the protagonist speaks, it takes a performance of great charisma for the film to work, and Yakusho radiates such elegance and humanity he just about glows. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted May 26, 2023
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Last Summer (2023) |
Those who have a cursory knowledge of Breillat’s filmography would not be surprised by her decision to remake this particular film, the subject matter is right up her alley. - Awards Daily
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| Posted May 26, 2023
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Sleep (2023) |
Written and directed with an unerring sense for rhythm, Sleep builds its tension with continuous, propulsive momentum. - Awards Daily
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| Posted May 25, 2023
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Omen (2023) |
While a little rough around the edges, it’s daring, ambitious, visually arresting, all of which signs of promise one looks for in a first-time filmmaker. - Awards Daily
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2023
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