Founder & Editor · Film & Culture
Kaiser Khan is Founder & Editor of Celluloid and founder of Elite Digital AI Solutions Ltd, which owns CelluloidScore.com. An entrepreneur and cultural producer, he sets the site’s answer-first editorial standard and transparent four-input Celluloid Score.
Founder & Editor, Celluloid · Elite Digital AI Solutions Ltd
Author page (E-E-A-T): Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor
External profile: mrkaiserkhan.com
904 reviews published on Celluloid
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★★★★½
The Godfather Part II sets young Vito Corleone's rise against Michael's cold grip on power, a colder, more ambitious sequel that rivals and deepens the 1972 original.
Yes. It is essential for anyone who loved The Godfather, though its length and chilly second half make it a film to plan for rather than start on a whim.
★★★★½
The Goldman Case is Cédric Kahn's gripping French courtroom drama about a 1975 appeal, confined to one Paris courtroom and driven by Arieh Worthalter's volatile lead.
Yes. It is one of the best courtroom dramas of recent years, ideal for viewers who enjoy sharp argument, political history and a lead performance with real danger.
★★★★½
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Sergio Leone's sprawling 1966 spaghetti western about three gunmen chasing buried gold through a Civil War landscape of ruin.
Yes. It is the grandest of the spaghetti westerns and a landmark of film style; allow for its length and leisurely middle and it rewards every minute.
★★★½☆
The Gospel of the Beast is Sheron R. Dayoc's bleak Filipino coming-of-age drama about a teenager undone by one terrible accident, tough to watch but hard to shake.
Yes, with reservations. It suits viewers drawn to grim, morally serious world cinema; those wanting hope or clear answers will find it heavy going.
★★★☆☆
The Grandmaster is Wong Kar-wai's rain-soaked martial arts elegy about Ip Man and a lost era of kung fu: ravishing to look at, frustrating as a story.
It depends. Wong Kar-wai admirers and lovers of beautifully shot fight scenes will find plenty to savour; viewers wanting a clear Ip Man biopic may leave puzzled.
★★★★½
The Great Beauty is Paolo Sorrentino's dazzling, melancholy portrait of an ageing Roman socialite, a Fellini-inspired drama that finds grief beneath the party.
Yes. It is a lush, witty and moving modern Italian classic for viewers who enjoy mood, image and ideas more than plot; impatient viewers may find it indulgent.
★★★★½
The Green Mile is Frank Darabont's Stephen King prison drama about death-row guards and a gentle giant with a gift, a long, sentimental film that earns its tears.
Yes. It is a deeply moving, superbly acted prison fable for viewers ready for a three-hour commitment and a good cry; cynics may find it heavy-handed.
★★★★½
The Handmaiden is Park Chan-wook's lavish erotic thriller about a pickpocket, an heiress and a swindle, relocated from Victorian England to colonial-era Korea.
Yes. It is a sumptuous, witty and twisty thriller-romance for adult viewers who enjoy clever plotting; its explicit sex and violence will not suit everyone.
★★★★☆
The Heirs is Kim Eun-sook's glossy 2013 high-school chaebol romance with Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye, overstuffed and sagging mid-run but powered by star wattage.
Yes, with reservations. A defining, addictive K-drama romance for fans of rich-boy-poor-girl stories, as long as you can forgive a saggy middle and heavy melodrama.
★★★☆☆
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey brings Peter Jackson back to Middle-earth with a charming Martin Freeman as Bilbo, but pads a small adventure into a very long film.
It depends. Middle-earth devotees will enjoy the return visit and Freeman's Bilbo; anyone wanting the drive of The Lord of the Rings will find it slow and stretched.
★★☆☆☆
The Battle of the Five Armies ends Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy with one long digital siege, and Thorin's gold-fever aside, there is little heart left under the noise.
Mostly no. Watch it only if you have seen the first two Hobbit films and want to close the story; everyone else can skip this effects-heavy finale.
★★★☆☆
The Desolation of Smaug is the liveliest Hobbit film, with a thrilling barrel chase and Benedict Cumberbatch's superb dragon, though padding still slows the journey.
It depends. It is the best of the Hobbit trilogy and a treat for fantasy fans who enjoyed the first film, but it is long, padded and ends mid-story.
★★★★☆
The Host is Bong Joon Ho's anarchic Korean creature feature about a hapless family hunting a river monster, as funny and angry as it is frightening.
Yes. It is one of the best monster movies of the century for viewers who enjoy genre films with satire and heart, though its wild tonal swings will not suit everyone.
★★★½☆
The House of the Spirits is Prime Video's Chilean, Spanish-language take on Isabel Allende's family saga: lush, angry and faithful in spirit, if hurried in places.
Mostly yes. A handsome, heartfelt literary epic for fans of Allende and generational sagas, though eight hours can only skim some of the novel's decades.
★★★★☆
The Immortal Ascension is a 30-episode xianxia drama in which Yang Yang's untalented village boy climbs toward immortality by patience and cunning rather than fate.
Yes, with reservations. A smart, grounded cultivation drama for xianxia fans and newcomers alike, though the dense sect politics and slow start need patience.
★★★★☆
The Inbetweeners is the crude, painfully accurate British sitcom about four suburban sixth-formers failing to be cool. Endlessly quotable, though some jokes have aged.
Yes, with reservations. A brilliantly awkward, very funny teen comedy for adults with a strong stomach for crude humour, though some of its banter has aged badly.
★★★★☆
The Incredibles is Brad Bird's Pixar superhero comedy about a family of retired heroes stuck in suburbia, a sharp, stylish action film that works for all ages.
Yes. It is one of Pixar's best, a family film with real action chops and adult wit; only its slightly conventional final act keeps it from the very top tier.
★★★★★
The Intouchables is the French comedy-drama about a paralysed aristocrat and his irreverent carer, a joyous odd-couple friendship powered by Omar Sy and François Cluzet.
Yes, wholeheartedly. It is a warm, very funny crowd-pleaser that almost anyone can enjoy, and an ideal introduction to French cinema for subtitle-shy viewers.
★★★★½
The IT Crowd is Graham Linehan's Channel 4 sitcom about two tech-support misfits and their clueless boss, a tightly built farce that is still hugely funny today.
Yes. It is one of the great British studio sitcoms, perfect for anyone who loves quick, silly, quotable comedy and short episodes to rewatch.
★★★★☆
The K2 is a glossy 2016 Korean action thriller: Ji Chang-wook's fugitive mercenary guards a politician's hidden daughter amid blackmail, bruising fights and romance.
Yes, with reservations. A slick, hard-hitting action melodrama for fans of Ji Chang-wook and political intrigue, if you can accept plotting that favours momentum over logic.
★★★★½
The King's Speech is Tom Hooper's warm British drama about George VI's stammer and his unlikely therapist, lifted by superb turns from Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.
Yes. It is a moving, funny and beautifully acted crowd-pleaser for almost any audience, even if its history is polished and its storytelling plays safe.
★★★★☆
The Knockout is China's sprawling 2023 crime saga about a stubborn cop and a fishmonger turned gang boss, powered by Zhang Songwen's mesmerising, star-making villain.
Yes, with reservations. A gripping, epic-scale crime drama for fans of gangster sagas and slow-burn rivalries, though its later episodes feel rushed.
★★★½☆
The Lamb is Kutluğ Ataman's wry Turkish village drama about a poor family, a circumcision feast and a boy's terror, small in scale but sharp about pride and poverty.
Yes, with reservations. It suits viewers who enjoy quiet, observational world cinema with dark humour; those wanting a strong plot may find it slight.
★★★★½
The Last of Us is HBO's adaptation of the post-apocalyptic game, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as a smuggler and teen crossing a ruined America. Devastating TV.
Yes. It is the best video-game adaptation yet and a superb survival drama in its own right, ideal for viewers who value character over zombie action.