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Natasha Alvar
Tomatometer-approved critic
Natasha is a Singapore-based critic and writer. She is the film editor over at Cultured Vultures, and is the resident (self-proclaimed) rom-com expert. Find Natasha @litmysoul
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Longlegs (2024) |
Longlegs is beautifully framed and shot. A thoughtful, well-made horror that does not quite connect the dots at the end, but leaves us with enough to chew on. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jul 18, 2024
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A Sacrifice (2024) |
The movie sacrifices characterisation in favour of a twisty plot, but that ultimately backfires since we feel nothing when they are plunged into treacherous situations. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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A Family Affair (2024) |
The scenes in A Family Affair drag more than they dazzle. Even actors like Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron can't save this tepid rom-com. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jul 02, 2024
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Firebrand (2023) |
While Firebrand struggles a little when it comes to direction, the performances from Vikander and Law are superb. They evoke a burning tension when they are on screen together, a tension steeped in the wrestle for power, not love. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jun 29, 2024
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The Present (2024) |
The Present is pleasant and affable enough to be fairly entertaining. The cast have good chemistry together. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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Longing (2024) |
Richard Gere delivers a sincere, moving performance as a father who mourns the loss of a son he never had the chance to know. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jun 16, 2024
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What You Wish For (2023) |
What You Wish For is tasty good fun - a film that will make you rethink your desires for a better life. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jun 06, 2024
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Atlas (2024) |
I would rather watch all of J.Lo's generic rom-coms than this misfire of a movie. Not original nor striking in any way. It's a clear 'skip-it' even if you're bored. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Babes (2024) |
Babes may be a portrayal of the unglamourous truth of pregnancy, but the film itself is joyous. It's warm and hilarious, and the female friendship at the centre of it makes this well worth a watch. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 26, 2024
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Mother of the Bride (2024) |
There's nothing real about Mother of the Bride. The conflict's contrived, the set pieces drag, and the characters so paper-thin that it feels more like marketing for Phuket than a proper film. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 18, 2024
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Aisha (2022) |
Frank Berry's film moves like a docudrama. It is quietly affecting, and bolstered by terrific performances from Letitia Wright and Josh O'Connor. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 18, 2024
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New Life (2023) |
While the horror moments in the film are far more effective than the dramatic moments, New Life keeps viewers hooked and engaged throughout. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 10, 2024
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The Idea of You (2024) |
The Idea of You works because it has Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine as romantic leads. They make the love story feel credible, and you feel the anguish when they are apart. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 10, 2024
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Challengers (2024) |
Challengers is truly sexy stuff. The cast is stellar, the score fantastic, and the story is paced like the most riveting game of tennis. Simply put, Challengers is game, set, smash. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted May 03, 2024
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The Fall Guy (2024) |
At this point, Ryan Gosling could be reading the phonebook and we would still be entertained. Gosling and Blunt are electric together, and the love story between their characters is actually more affecting than what we usually get in action movies. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 29, 2024
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Sting (2024) |
Sting has a talented cast - Alyla Browne in particular is a standout - but it's a bit too tame to be a competent creature feature. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 19, 2024
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LaRoy, Texas (2023) |
The cast does excellent work in LaRoy, Texas. Magaro excels at playing the sad, hapless husband, while Zahn entertains as the hilarious and slightly idiotic Skip. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 19, 2024
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Scoop (2024) |
Scoop isn't quite on the level of recent journalism films like Spotlight or She Said, but the talented ensemble makes this well worth a watch. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 11, 2024
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Música (2024) |
Mancuso’s directorial debut Música is truly a breath of fresh air. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 11, 2024
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How to Date Billy Walsh (2024) |
How to Date Billy Walsh attempts to be this generation's answer to John Hughes' Some Kind of Wonderful. It doesn't succeed, but it does entertain in a superficial way. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 10, 2024
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The Listener (2022) |
The Listener reminds us about the importance of connection in our lives. While it has its affecting moments, visually it does feel a bit empty, and might have worked better in a different format. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 02, 2024
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Lousy Carter (2023) |
The cast delivers on the sardonic, dry wit of the screenplay. At the centre of it all is David Krumholtz's fantastic performance as the narcissistic, self-involved Carter. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 02, 2024
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In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023) |
Sometimes a simple script can work if you have a stellar cast to do all the heavy lifting. With Liam Neeson, Kerry Condon and Jack Gleeson on board, In the Land of Saints and Sinners becomes a real treat. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Apr 02, 2024
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Road House (2024) |
A film needs more than just a charismatic Jake Gyllenhaal to be competent. Road House (2024) is a better film than the original, but ironically, that's what makes it forgettable. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Mar 25, 2024
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Irish Wish (2024) |
Irish Wish thinks that if you place two beautiful people in scenic locations, that effort is enough to produce a spark. That does not a good rom-com make. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Mar 19, 2024
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Ricky Stanicky (2024) |
John Cena is in peak comedic form here. Unfortunately, he is the best part of this film, with everything else pretty mediocre. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Mar 14, 2024
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Damsel (2024) |
Despite Millie Bobby Brown's committed performance as Elodie, Damsel doesn't have quite enough spark to keep audiences entertained. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Mar 14, 2024
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Spaceman (2024) |
Spaceman tries too hard to be profound, telling us how life should be lived, instead of letting the film's visuals and narrative flesh this out in a nuanced way. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Mar 04, 2024
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Mea Culpa (2024) |
This film doesn't succeed as an erotic thriller, nor can it be labelled a guilty pleasure. I can accept the ridiculous, what I can't accept is a soulless film with characters so paper-thin that there's nothing to stand on. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024) |
Jennifer Lopez is dazzling onscreen, and this is clearly more of a sentimental than vanity related project. However, it's missing that genuine sense of pathos that would have given this film much-needed resonance. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 23, 2024
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Players (2024) |
Gina Rodriguez saves Players from being one of those Netflix rom-coms that you should just avoid. Her charisma livens up the screen, and her performance actually brings much-needed pathos to the film. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 23, 2024
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Marmalade (2024) |
The movie's shot well, and the actors do what they're supposed to do, but a film's twist isn't supposed to be the only exciting part of the entire film. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 13, 2024
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Upgraded (2024) |
What do you call a rom-com when the romance is the least interesting thing about it? Upgraded might have been better off in a different genre. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 13, 2024
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Fitting In (2023) |
McGlynn’s coming of age flick is content to be what it is and doesn’t strive to check boxes, and that’s the most feminist thing of all. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 09, 2024
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Cold Copy (2023) |
Cold Copy might be a bit one-note in terms of screenplay and characterisation, but at least Jacob Tremblay's performance is very good. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 02, 2024
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Beautiful Wedding (2024) |
Considering the popularity of the After movies, I guess there's demand for movies like this, but I can't imagine anyone tolerating this movie enough to find any sense of enjoyment in it. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Feb 02, 2024
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Sunrise (2024) |
Sunrise has one good performance, and that's Guy Pearce as the villain. But that isn't enough to merit a watch, not when the film's pace is sluggish and the characters are barely developed. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jan 27, 2024
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Role Play (2023) |
I know Role Play is standard streaming fare, but did it have to be so run of the mill dull? There is a better movie lurking here, but the film never puts in the work to get there. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jan 18, 2024
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Which Brings Me to You (2023) |
Director Peter Hutchings knows that the success of any rom-com lies in the chemistry of its stars. Both Hale and Wolff bring their A-game, though at times the movie does feel more romantic drama than rom-com. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jan 18, 2024
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I.S.S. (2023) |
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite shows us that even for movies set in space, our worst enemy is still ourselves. I.S.S. is a potent glimpse into the future, of what awaits if we let tribalism take root. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jan 18, 2024
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Good Grief (2023) |
Dan Levy's Good Grief struggles to communicate its message and intention. The film ends on very tidy terrain that feels contrived more than earned. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Jan 08, 2024
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Wonka (2023) |
It is Timothée Chalamet's earnest and quirky performance as the young Willy Wonka that is truly the beating heart of this film. The leading man charms his way through the film, with a song on his breath and a pep in his step. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Dec 17, 2023
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Leave the World Behind (2023) |
Not everyone will appreciate the apocalytic world director/writer Sam Esmail has created here, but the material is resonant and the cast is exceptional enough to recommend. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Dec 11, 2023
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Candy Cane Lane (2023) |
With a bizarro plot, and characters that are poorly developed, Candy Cane Lane is not quite a holiday treat. More like lukewarm eggnog. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Dec 05, 2023
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Family Switch (2023) |
Family Switch isn't going to be that special holiday movie you put on every year, but it's fun enough to be enjoyed in the moment. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Dec 05, 2023
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Genie (2023) |
It feels ironic that a movie about magic and wishing doesn't feel all that magical. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Nov 30, 2023
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Leo (2023) |
Leo stresses the importance of the lessons we learn in the classroom, and has enough feel-good charm to overcome its formulaic structure. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Nov 27, 2023
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May December (2023) |
Todd Haynes' May December is about the ugliness that permeates human nature, and our leanings towards the salacious, practically ignoring the very real people at the centre of it all. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Nov 21, 2023
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Best. Christmas. Ever! (2023) |
The title of the movie feels ironic here, when it's probably closer to being one of the worst Christmas movies ever. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Nov 20, 2023
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The Marvels (2023) |
If we cut through all the noise surrounding the film, and look at it for what it does and what it is, the easy conclusion is that it’s an entertaining, mid-tier MCU flick. - Cultured Vultures
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| Posted Nov 15, 2023
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