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Nguyên Lê
Tomatometer-approved critic
Nguyên Lê loves films so much he decided to write about them, despite the fact that English isn’t his first language. He can cover both the highest profile of titles or those with Asian/Southeast Asian/Vietnamese elements. Since 2013, Nguyên has written for publications such as TheScriptLab, InSessionFilm, Houston Chronicle, FANGORIA, AwardsWatch, /Film and more, or anywhere that wants a fresh perspective on a film. You can also find him guesting on podcasts such as Action For Everyone, Reel Spoilers, Cinemania World and more. When not writing, he will be on the search for the next boba tea spot, recipe to make or an idea to turn into a script.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023) |
The story is so prepared to bite into the more serious second half that it makes the livelier first artificial. But perhaps it’s in this readiness that Sitting in Bars with Cake is the most punctual and careful for the task of piping out key tearjerkers. - The Spool
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| Posted Sep 10, 2023
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Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023) |
Aside from being a captivating and heartfelt experience, the film allows me to feel fine to never know where a stream starts and ends; I can just lie in it, with both ears underwater — just like Thiện — and know that there is a flow. - Saigoneer
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| Posted Aug 15, 2023
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Satan's Slaves: Communion (2022) |
The sequel to Indonesia’s hit horror title emphasizes scares and, from there, conjures a double-edged ride. - The Spool
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| Posted Nov 10, 2022
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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) |
Under James Friend’s supervision, all of All Quiet’s images are composed to affect. - The Spool
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| Posted Oct 28, 2022
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The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) |
A paltry brew of a Vietnam comedy that expects a big pat on the back for effort. - The Spool
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| Posted Oct 03, 2022
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Lou (2022) |
Stagnant direction trips up an otherwise decent woman of war, played with intensity by Allison Janney. - The Spool
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| Posted Sep 30, 2022
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Carter (2022) |
Jung’s primary task isn’t to make a Russian Ark of action but instead a reason for Hardcore Henry to jolt. [Carter does] not reach the dizzying heights of Jung’s prior feature The Villainess, but that film doesn’t have a helicopter doing a butterfly kick. - The Spool
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| Posted Aug 08, 2022
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The Deer King (2021) |
Production I.G’s film fumbles whenever it has to address something else besides its epic attributes. - The Spool
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| Posted Jul 21, 2022
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The Princess (2022) |
Joey King stars as fantasy-adventure royalty so fun in combat she rises above the hyper-simplicities of her fight. - The Spool
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| Posted Jul 01, 2022
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Roh (2019) |
Lathered with earthen tones by day and pitch black by night, Roh tantalizes under the direction of its cinematographer Saifuddin Musa. - diaCRITICS
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| Posted Jun 03, 2022
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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) |
While The Secrets of Dumbledore is miles from ideal, it at least clears the bar of not leaving a foul, confusing taste like its immediate predecessor. - Inverse
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| Posted Apr 17, 2022
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Umma (2022) |
But through thick or thin, or whether Amanda is sane or slipping, Umma stays on track because of Oh. - The Spool
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Windfall (2022) |
For some, Windfall can be a one-and-done affair ... but there's no stopping the feeling that it's all by design... - The Spool
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| Posted Mar 20, 2022
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Free Chol Soo Lee (2022) |
Julie Ha and Eugene Yi's documentary is a work full of empathy and encouragement. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Mar 13, 2022
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Turning Red (2022) |
Domee Shi's feature debut is a lively and wise adventure with kindness to spare. - Inverse
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| Posted Mar 08, 2022
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They Live in the Grey (2022) |
The result is a dragged-out two hours that mostly matches its title for tone and feeling, despite the occasional bloody streak and sadness buildup. - The Spool
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| Posted Mar 08, 2022
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Uncharted (2022) |
There is a problem with your video game adaptation when all it does is evoke everything else besides its source material, or at the least the joys within it. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Feb 17, 2022
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Breaking (2022) |
892 joins the fray of media, drama and documentary alike, to keep the spotlight on the most enduring kind of rot right below the star-spangled surface. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Feb 01, 2022
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Swan Song (2021) |
...as Cleary's direction and scripting assert that the film's unfolding is dependent on whoever embodies Cameron, these flaws in turn double as more space for Ali to prove that a person is at their most human at curtain call. - The Young Folks
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| Posted Dec 27, 2021
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Nightmare Alley (2021) |
...despite regrettably faint emotions and rocky beginnings, Nightmare Alley ultimately still retains its shape as a luscious and dangerous affair. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Dec 07, 2021
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The Deep House (2021) |
In its current state, these waterlogged premises have more value as an attraction than a stay. More entertaining than haunting. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Nov 30, 2021
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House of Gucci (2021) |
A lack of cohesion makes this beautiful, awkwardly stacked house less of a genuine Italian legacy, and pushes it more toward "Italian-knockoff" status. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Nov 24, 2021
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King Richard (2021) |
This is Smith's finest dramatic hour, and it is with hope he will bring Ellis along to celebrate. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Nov 05, 2021
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The Medium (2021) |
Don't think too much, to phrase it more succinctly. Rather fitting when you might need to do so too, to enjoy The Medium-or to see what's enjoyable in it. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Oct 19, 2021
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The Guilty (2021) |
Fuqua and Pizzolatto's intention might have been to "let's add more entertainment," but in the end it reads more like "we do not trust the concept enough." - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Sep 26, 2021
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) |
[Despite some last act stumbles,] there is more might to your dragon in seeing Shang-Chi as a blockbuster full of grace and values. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Aug 23, 2021
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The Protégé (2021) |
Maggie Q's presence alone can rep the Vietnamese element in The Protégé, but it's unreasonable to let her perform that role on her own. - The Young Folks
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| Posted Aug 21, 2021
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Jungle Cruise (2021) |
[Jungle Cruise has] plenty of swashbuckling charm and loaded spectacle to soak up - maybe even guide the vessel away from the rockier bits. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Jul 29, 2021
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Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021) |
Ah, fun never lasts. For this movie, it begins its departure at the halfway mark. - The Young Folks
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| Posted Jul 26, 2021
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Old (2021) |
Having no room to be reflective is thus not exactly an issue here; Shyamalan just wants to spin you and startle you in his own ways. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Jul 24, 2021
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Kandisha (2020) |
Kandisha is just Bustillo and Maury keeping their genre sensibilities busy before when they are needed. Just a rehearsal before the big show, to phrase it differently. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Jul 24, 2021
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The 8th Night (2021) |
A film with the style, the startles and the sight to certify deeper currents, even when burdened by hyper-caffeinated pacing and average English subtitling. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Jul 08, 2021
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The Tomorrow War (2021) |
The final product, at 140 minutes, warps back and forth between being a throwback with fancier effects and a fresh breeze with thrown-back irritants. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jul 02, 2021
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The Ice Road (2021) |
[A film] that's only good to the viewer who has never watched anything before... - The Young Folks
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| Posted Jun 27, 2021
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Luca (2021) |
Luca is an Italian getaway you should take when it's available, even when it will all-too-quickly become a haze once it's over. - InSession Film
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| Posted Jun 16, 2021
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Wish Dragon (2021) |
...the magenta deity houses plenty of lightness, lesson and laughter to be his own being - if you can keep up, that is. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Jun 11, 2021
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Bo Gia (Dad, I'm Sorry) (2021) |
It is from [Tran Thanh] and company's trust - and pride - in unruliness that the film's pros and cons surface, and unfortunately there is more of the latter than the former. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Jun 11, 2021
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Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) |
You do have a case here that Sheridan wants this to be his Speed, or Point Break, or The River Wild. The only problem is unlike those films there's no one to care for here. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted May 20, 2021
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Oxygen (2021) |
Sure, Oxygen is another filmic "escape room," but with clear control and tight cooperation Aja and company also have us appreciate the furniture, even if they resemble the current state of our lives. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted May 13, 2021
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Profile (2018) |
It's squarely paranoia-thriller from boot up to shut down, more to its detriment than benefit. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted May 12, 2021
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Separation (2021) |
There's only one proper way to settle with the film: split from it. - The Young Folks
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| Posted Apr 30, 2021
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Mortal Kombat (2021) |
Despite [being] the best-looking and best-sounding adaptation of the game to date - the visuals and direction are hampered by editors' ... damaging reliance on choppiness. - InSession Film
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| Posted Apr 29, 2021
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Nobody (2021) |
Thanks to Odenkirk, Nobody gets to rise above the bare-bones way it answers its what-ifs. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Apr 23, 2021
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Censor (2021) |
Bailey-Bond's Censor is simultaneously a complete descent into madness and a debut you won't want to slash any of its stylish, compelling minutes away. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Apr 23, 2021
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Sator (2019) |
There's only confidence in the way director Jordan Graham ... presents both sides of [Sator, as a creature of grief or grief in the form of a creature.] - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Mar 15, 2021
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Boogie (2021) |
Boogie, as a result, can be an effort to tango with. But ... it has much to offer to the Asian-American cinematic representation forum - as much as it is a notable-enough showcase of Huang's voice. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Mar 15, 2021
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Chaos Walking (2021) |
It's disturbing how often one expresses nothing when presented with information meant to advance the plot, seed the sequel or explore the subtext. - The Young Folks
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| Posted Mar 07, 2021
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Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) |
Raya and the Last Dragon is not just a wonderful animated film - it is a voyage I can place myself and my heart in to the fullest extent. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Mar 01, 2021
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The Queen of Black Magic (2020) |
Even if [Stamboel] doesn't actively seek it, the unpleasantries always show up first, paving the way for diminishing returns... - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Feb 07, 2021
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Luzzu (2021) |
Luzzu has been distinctively gripping throughout, then the climax arrives and it grows into something impactful and lingering. - JumpCut Online
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| Posted Feb 07, 2021
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