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Rich Cline

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

California-born freelance journalist living in London since 1992, reviewing films for the BBC, Shadows on the Wall, magazines, newspapers and radio. Chair of London Critics' Circle; member of Galeca, Online Film Critics Society and Fipresci.

Favorites:

La Strada, Rear Window, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Citizen Kane, The Stunt Man

Critics' Group:
Location:

London, UK

Official Website:

http://www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Heavyweight (2025) 4/5 EDIT “The sheer machismo on display is perhaps a bit exhausting, but it's balanced by a terrific sense of underlying emotion.” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 22, 2026 Full Review H Is for Hawk (2025) 78% 4/5 EDIT “This is a warmly emotional film that avoids even a hint of sentimentality, capturing our interest with arresting imagery and resonant themes.” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 22, 2026 Full Review The Rip (2026) 80% 3/5 EDIT “There's enough going on beneath the beefy surface to hold the interest, although writer-director Joe Carnahan never bothers to meaningfully grapple with the central themes.” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 17, 2026 Full Review Kokuho (2025) 100% 4/5 EDIT “ It's a riveting look into the culture of a distinctive art form, with glorious on-stage performances and even more involving back-stage interaction. It's very long, but powerfully well-made.” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 14, 2026 Full Review Sound of Falling (2025) 95% 4.5/5 EDIT “With sparse dialog, director Mascha Schilinski hones in on the characters' innate curiosity. And a subtle whiff of surrealism creates an almost overpoweringly mesmerising vibe. ” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 14, 2026 Full Review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 92% 3.5/5 EDIT “ Gifted director Nia DaCosta infuses the film with intriguing soulfulness amid the flurries of gruesome nastiness.” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 14, 2026 Full Review People We Meet on Vacation (2026) 75% 3.5/5 EDIT “It's colourful and over-slick, but also funny and sweet.” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 9, 2026 Full Review The Chronology of Water (2025) 90% 3.5/5 EDIT “For her writing-directing debut, Kristen Stewart crafts an ambitiously artful adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir. It's an impressive approach to storytelling that stresses senses and feelings rather than details and plot. ” – Shadows on the Wall Jan 9, 2026 Full Review The Plague (2025) 97% 3.5/5 EDIT “Writer-director Charlie Polinger reveals unnerving details in seemingly innocuous situations, leaning toward horror as he explores a particularly dark side of adolescence.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 30, 2025 Full Review Marty Supreme (2025) 93% 4/5 EDIT “Shot in period style with grainy 35mm imagery and earthy sets and costumes, the film races through its narrative by the seat of its pants, matching the energy of the central character.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 30, 2025 Full Review Song Sung Blue (2025) 78% 4/5 EDIT “Writer-director Craig Brewer and the gifted cast adeptly navigate this narrative with insightful storytelling and complex characters, and it does get seriously wrenching.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 30, 2025 Full Review Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) 81% 4/5 EDIT “Writer-director Jim Jarmusch is particularly skilled at capturing the offhanded rhythms of human interaction, especially when things get rather awkward.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 30, 2025 Full Review The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) 88% 4/5 EDIT “To recount the life of the founder of the Shakers, filmmaker Mona Fastvold boldly embraces period-style music and apocryphal anecdotes, crafting a heady epic that is eerily mesmerising and often engulfing.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 30, 2025 Full Review The Vile (2025) 100% 3.5/5 EDIT “With stunningly dark-hued 16mm cinematography, director-cowriter Majid Al Ansari inventively evokes an unnerving atmosphere, deploying cinematic flourishes involving sound and light without the usual cheap tricks.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 17, 2025 Full Review The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) 95% 3.5/5 EDIT “It's a hauntingly current film that walks a very fine tightrope between exploiting victims of a tragedy and calling attention to a complex, horrific situation.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 17, 2025 Full Review The Housemaid (2025) 74% 3.5/5 EDIT “This a silly, super-slick film that takes several severe turns along the way, giving the audience whiplash as we try to keep up with these people and their dark secrets.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 17, 2025 Full Review The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) 81% 3/5 EDIT “The plot is so pointless that it's barely worth pondering, but the ridiculous characters will connect to the 10-year-old inside us all. The key is to avoid trying to make sense of it.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 17, 2025 Full Review Is This Thing On? (2025) 86% 5/5 EDIT “Scenes feel improvised on the spot, and there's never a false note. The actors clearly relish playing unusually complex and likeable people who are simply trying to do the best they can.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 17, 2025 Full Review Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) 66% 3/5 EDIT “James Cameron reveals stunning advances in performance-capture technology, as terrific details bring the characters to life. But aside from a few personal journeys, the plot never feels like it goes somewhere new.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 17, 2025 Full Review Preparation for the Next Life (2025) 97% 3.5/5 EDIT “Director Bing Liu, writer Martyna Majok and the gifted actors create a lovely sense that these characters are heading somewhere unknown. ” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 12, 2025 Full Review My Father's Shadow (2025) 97% 4/5 EDIT “It's a warm, involving odyssey that's so authentic that it almost feels like a collection of home movies.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 12, 2025 Full Review Sirāt (2025) 92% 5/5 EDIT “Creating a loose but vividly driving narrative, director Oliver Laxe fills the screen with stunningly tactile details that continually take us aback with unusual beauty and deeper meaning.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 12, 2025 Full Review Scarlet (2025) 69% 4/5 EDIT “The imagery is often spectacular, rendered with a cinematic sensibility that continually takes us aback with unusual details. ” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 12, 2025 Full Review Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025) 98% 4/5 EDIT “Even if the narrative sometimes feels a little too pointed, this movie is utterly gorgeous to look at, and warmly moving too.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 12, 2025 Full Review Ella McCay (2025) 22% 3/5 EDIT “While it's talky and perhaps overly screwball, the extended family dynamics create a fizzy tone that's both entertaining and thought-provoking.” – Shadows on the Wall Dec 12, 2025 Full Review
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