The rumours are true. Paul Thomas Anderson’s ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is an absolute banger. Although inspired by a novel penned in the 80s, this couldn’t have been tailored better to fit our tense uncertain times. Thrilling, terrifying and frequently hilarious, this needs to be seen big & loud.

If they ever make an RFK jr biopic, and Lord I hope that never happens, it’s a role Sean Penn was born to play.

Today:

DOLLHOUSE: Packed with jumps, scares, skin-crawling stand-offs and breathless belly laughs, Masami Nagasawa stars as a grieving mother who adopts a possessed doll in this absolute gift of a J-horror comedy. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/en...

New movies out today in Hong Kong: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, ALPHA, DOLLHOUSE, CHAINSAW MAN - I’ve got some serious catching up to do when I get back!

The 18 films I saw at Busan 2025, ranked and rated: letterboxd.com/marshy00/lis...

BUGONIA: a perfect example of how to put an original spin on a remake while staying faithful to the original. Three great performances combined with understated yet stylish direction and a deft recontextualisation of the central themes to perfectly address pressing issues of the day.

Last day at Busan:

THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS: Ha Jung-woo directs and stars in this frequently funny sex comedy, adapted from the Spanish film SENTIMENTAL, that debuted at Busan this past week. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-...

Today at Busan:

A fantastically tense slice of competency porn from the mighty Kathryn Bigelow. Even more chilling than imminent nuclear war was realising how significantly this infrastructure has been dismantled, with precious few experts left in place to execute this intricate cascade of “best case” protocols.

Seated for the new Kathryn Bigelow movie! 🔥🔥🔥

THE GREAT FLOOD: the high water mark of Kim Byung-woo Netflix extravaganza is its bravura opening, before all that good will is swept away in a torrent of baffling sci-fi twists and turns. The film premiered at Busan this past week, and drops on the streamer December 19. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-...

Today at Busan:

Today at Busan:

NO OTHER CHOICE: Lee Byung-hun is on hilarious form as a desperate family man pushed to the brink in Park Chan-wook's visually ravishing and riotously entertaining new black comedy, that was the opening night film at the 30th Busan International Film Festival. screenanarchy.com/2025/09/busa...

GOOD NEWS: Sol Kyung-gu tops a star-studded international ensemble in this hilarious political satire inspired by a real-life hijacking. The Korean film arrives on Netflix October 17th. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-...

Starting today with this:

THE RESURRECTED: Shu Qi and Angelica Lee Sinje star in Netflix’s new supernatural revenge drama series that, in just its first two episodes, broached such diverse themes as euthanising teenagers and reanimating monkeys. It just premiered at Busan and drops October 9th www.scmp.com/lifestyle/en...

Back in Korea for the 30th Busan International Film Festival. First up is the press screening for tonight’s opening film: the Asian premiere of Park Chan-wook’s NO OTHER CHOICE

Robert Redford, Screen Idol Turned Director and Activist, Dies at 89 www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/m...

THE UGLY: Really enjoyed Yeon Sang-ho’s latest…until I didn’t. This welcome change of pace for the Train to Busan director sees him return to the socially-conscious dramas on which he made his name, as a mismatched pair investigate a murder cold case dating back decades. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-...

Witnesses Assumed Charlie Kirk Shooter Was Just Ordinary Gunman On School Campus

Lots of people who’ve seen this sliding into my DMs eager to discuss. Still collecting my thoughts before I file later today, but in a word: Mixed

TEMPEST: Gianna Jun, Gang Dong-won and John Cho become embroiled in an international political conspiracy that stretches from the 38th Parallel to The White House in Disney+’s ambitious new K-drama series. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-...

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE PART 1 AKAZA RETURNS: An awful lot of anime to sit through in one go. Really kicks into gear in the second half when the story focuses on Level 3 demon Akaza, but otherwise gets bogged down in a lot of repetitive fights, flashbacks & tearful monologuing

Tonight:

YOU AND EVERYTHING ELSE: I'm a big fan of actresses Kim Go-eun (Exhuma) and Park Ji-hyun (Hidden Face), who just about kept me invested during this often infuriating new Netflix series about two life-long friends who are also each other's biggest rival and worst enemy. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-...

Tonight:

New movies out today in Hong Kong: DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE, THE REMNANT, OPERATION HADAL, THE SHADOW’S EDGE, KOWLOON GENERIC ROMANCE, UTA NO PRINCE-SAMA MOVIE: TABOO NIGHT KISSES

OPERATION HADAL: I consider myself a fan of Dante Lam and have even found entertainment value in his most jingoistic of war epics, but this latest deep sea misadventure is a waterlogged dud. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/en...

Tonight:

Today:

A lovely revealing interview with Adam Torel, who has worked tirelessly to get the sort of Japanese films most other distributors aren’t even aware of to be released. What a legend!

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST: A wildly different take on the same material that inspired Kurosawa’s High & Low, foregrounding the desperation and inner struggle faced by a man of money forced into finding value in something other than material success. Morally flawed Denzel will always be the best Denzel.

A pair of incredible new film series kick off this weekend, courtesy of HKIFF’s Cine Fan programme: a full 10-film retrospective of David Lynch and a fantastic selection of vampire movies, ranging from Hammer classics to modern masterpieces. Don’t miss out! cinefan.hkiff.org.hk/period/2025/...

Out today in Hong Kong

New movies out today in Hong Kong: THE CONJURING: LAST RITES, THE ROSES, ATONEMENT, PRETTY CRAZY, EXIT 8, JUJUTSU KAISEN: HIDDEN INVENTORY/PREMATURE DEATH, DEAD TO RIGHTS

UK/US: A female corporate tycoon is kidnapped and forced to live with a gruff fisherman, insisting she is his runaway wife, in Kim Soo-yong’s SPLENDID OUTING Featuring a new 4K restoration, our release also contains a new interview with award-winning filmmaker Lee Chang-dong

Tonight’s double bill:

Was starting to think we’d never get the chance to see Dante Lam’s latest military extravaganza in Hong Kong, but this is exactly what’s happening tonight:

Won’t be picking up all of these Golden Princess restorations, but absolutely thrilled that they exist and Ringo Lam’s action classic was a no-brainer.

Nobody did it better

Tonight:

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST: A wildly different take on the same material that inspired Kurosawa’s High & Low, foregrounding the desperation and inner struggle faced by a man of money forced into finding value in something other than material success. Morally flawed Denzel will always be the best Denzel.

The last 10 batshit minutes are ample pay off for sitting through all that Pete Davidson

Tonight:

Tonight:

Tonight:

DONGJI RESCUE: Inspired by the true WWII story of the Lisbon Maru, this epic tale of heroism and selflessness positions a pair of ridiculously handsome Chinese fishermen at its centre and takes massive liberties with historical fact. It's preposterous, but rather fun. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/en...