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Yip Wai Yee
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Blueback (2022) |
It is a universal all-ages call to environmental activism, because the passion of just one girl does make a difference. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Kill Boksoon (2023) |
The betrayals build to a bar-room ambush of shattering martial arts violence.
- The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Someone Great (2019) |
Here is another cute romantic comedy on Netflix worth watching. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jun 14, 2019
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Rampant (2018) |
The problem here is that so much attention is spent on the period setting that the zombies often feel like an afterthought, when they really should have been crucial to the story. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Feb 22, 2019
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One Cut of the Dead (2017) |
It is an ultra low-budget Japanese film featuring a zombie apocalypse and it is often very, very funny. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jan 23, 2019
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More Than Blue (2018) |
Given how unlikable K is, this reviewer only finds such dialogue puke-worthy. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jan 04, 2019
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Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018) |
The movie may be titled The Ip Man Legacy, but it really should have given Tin Chi the chance to shine on his own. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jan 04, 2019
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Second Act (2018) |
Feels like it is stuck in the late 1990s. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jan 04, 2019
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Last Letter (2018) |
While he may not have managed to inject this movie with an authentic Chinese flavour, what he gets right, as expected, is the tone. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 07, 2018
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Life Itself (2018) |
Fogelman understands human emotions and relationships, even if this film gets so tragic at times that it borders on the morbid and ridiculous. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 07, 2018
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Unstoppable (2018) |
What is also thrilling are the moments where Ji-soo actively thinks of ways to escape and is unafraid to stand up for the other kidnapped women. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 07, 2018
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Venom (2018) |
This mess of an origin story does not deserve the brilliance that is Tom Hardy. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Oct 10, 2018
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The Negotiation (2018) |
Hyun is so good here that he threatens to steal the limelight from Son, although she is equally terrific in her role. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Oct 04, 2018
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Destination Wedding (2018) |
Much of the film is laugh-out-loud funny - there are plenty of verbal misunderstandings, while the lanky 1.87m-tall male lead delivers on the physical gags. But the small bittersweet moments throughout their relationship are what make this movie shine. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Sep 25, 2018
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Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) |
The main problem is how overstuffed the story is, as if the director was trying to cram whatever he could not before into the sequel all at once. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 29, 2018
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May We Chat (2014) |
Too quickly afterwards, however, the movie heads straight into melodrama, losing any of that edge that it had set up in the beginning. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Filial Party (2014) |
The premise of the film barely stands. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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A Fantastic Ghost Wedding (2014) |
Hong Kong actress [Sandra] Ng, best known for her loony comic roles, carries the entire movie here, turning in a fine performance that is equal parts restrained and downright eccentric. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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I Fine... Thank You Love You (2014) |
Thai film-makers, already well known for their horror flicks, are proving to be just as adept in the romantic comedy genre. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Walking on Sunshine (2014) |
An idyllic seaside holiday, a bright-eyed ingenue, a cheery retro soundtrack - all incorporated into a big-hearted musical. Sounds familiar? - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Brotherhood of Blades (2014) |
Drama aside, the wuxia action sequences - choreographed by Lin Sang (Red Cliff, 2009) - are truly satisfying to watch, crucially without the aid of lavish visual effects or fanciful weaponry. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Iceman (2014) |
Hopefully, the second instalment of this two-parter film, slated for release later this year, has got the puerile humour out of its system to focus on only the action. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Obsessed (2014) |
Take Song out of the equation and the movie is just a typical romantic melodrama, the type that South Korea has been churning out by the dozens every year for the big and, especially, small screens. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014) |
Had these sub-plots been spread out over multiple episodes of a TV series, they may have seen more life. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Temporary Family (2014) |
How nice it is to see Nick Cheung do a proper comedy again. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Very Good Girls (2013) |
The actresses try all they can to breathe life into their poorly drawn characters, but there is little they can do with the uninspired material that they have to work with. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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Gangnam 1970 (2015) |
But as hard as he tries, Lee fails to convince as a truly cold-blooded gangster - his boyish face and puppy-dog eyes are the complete opposite of menacing. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 24, 2018
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The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) |
The driving force of any buddy cop comedy is the chemistry between the leads, so it is a big problemwhen Kunis and McKinnon display so little of it here. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jul 27, 2018
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Secrets in the Hot Spring (2018) |
Who knew that a goofy horror-comedy flick could contain so much heart? - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jul 25, 2018
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50 First Kisses (2017) |
Masami Nagasawa comes off equally sweet in the role, but there is no passion between her and leading man Takayuki Yamada at all. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jul 25, 2018
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Brother of the Year (2018) |
For all the ridiculous and extreme pranks that Jane and Chut get up to just to annoy each other, there is still a sense of realism to their kinship. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jul 12, 2018
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Blockers (2018) |
But rising above the crassness are sporadic moments of genuine emotion, as well as intelligent reflections of parenting and the fear of letting go. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted May 08, 2018
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Peter Rabbit (2018) |
[Domhnall] proves to be a natural comedian as he bumbles his way around the countryside trying to get rid of Peter. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Mar 02, 2018
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Game Night (2018) |
At least they looked like they had some fun along the way. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Feb 28, 2018
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Wonderful! Liang Xi Mei the Movie (2018) |
It is all so contrived, even by silly Chinese New Year movie standards. There is nothing wonderful about this at all. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Feb 15, 2018
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Monster Hunt 2 (2018) |
[Tony Leung] is the best thing about the film, consistently delivering the biggest laughs and never appearing as if he is trying too hard at it either. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Feb 15, 2018
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Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017) |
This fantasy drama may be soap-opera melodrama, but at least it is unapologetic about it. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jan 11, 2018
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Legend of the Demon Cat (2017) |
It starts on a promising note, with the first half being an intriguing murder mystery -- the emperor has just been killed and all signs point to his heir being the next target. But by the later half, everything spirals out of control. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Jan 04, 2018
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Take Me to the Moon (2017) |
But while those two earlier works - which went on to become huge hits in the region - were light, feel-good fun, there is a sense of melancholy that pervades this film. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 27, 2017
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Bleeding Steel (2017) |
It is not just the premise of the story that fails to convince. The design of the film, from the costumes to the set, is so nonsensical that it becomes unintentionally funny. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 20, 2017
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Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) |
The scary animals are still here, mind you... But they are only included as minor obstacles in the background since the central characters are often too busy squabbling among themselves to notice anything going on around them. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 20, 2017
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The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017) |
It is heartening to see director Yuen, who is known for his action movies, attempt something new, but it will be a while before he masters the art of making a CGI-heavy film. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Dec 13, 2017
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The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) |
Scrooge, as expected, is the star of the show, with a fantastic Christopher Plummer. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Nov 29, 2017
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Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! (2017) |
Still, there are some improvements here from the original anime. Visually, the animation is lovely to look at, with the glittering rainbow-coloured feathers of the mystical Ho-Oh character especially mesmerising. If only the story is as compelling. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Nov 22, 2017
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Paddington (2014) |
This film adaptation of Paddington is heartwarming and sweet, and makes you feel as warm and fuzzy as the original 1950s stories by Bond did for so many children at the time. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Nov 09, 2017
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A Bad Moms Christmas (2017) |
It is too bad that they get so little screen time because the snarky scene-stealing grandmothers are the only ones who are mildly funny in the movie. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Nov 01, 2017
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Sky Hunter (2017) |
... seems to be a thinly disguised showcase of China's military might in the skies. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Oct 18, 2017
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Mrs. K (2016) |
It is all just marvellous fun. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Sep 20, 2017
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Rough Night (2017) |
It is one thing to turn sexism on its head and show that women can still be real and funny; it is another thing altogether to gender-flip just for the sake of it. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 25, 2017
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The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) |
As much as the stars are having fun in their roles, they cannot hide the fact that the story they are working with here is completely unoriginal. There is something very oldfashioned about it all - and not in a meta, self-parodying way, either. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
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| Posted Aug 16, 2017
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