Matador (1986)
Mar 6, 1999Sex and Death/Serial Killers/Black Comedy
Cheerfully outrageous early Pedro Almodovar black comedy where virginal Antonio Banderas confesses to a series of murders conducted by his death obsessed lawyer
Antonio Banderas
The House of the Spirits (1993)
Apr 18, 2001Latin American Family Saga/Magical Realism
A star-studded but ponderous adaptation of Isabel Allende's cross-generational family saga set in an unnamed South American republic that comes with Magical Realist elements
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Jun 19, 2001Vampires/Anne Rice Adaptation
Most of the attention this drew at the time was over the controversy of casting Tom Cruise as the vampire Lestat; otherwise Neil Jordan conducts an excellent adaptation of the Anne Rice novel
Four Rooms (1995)
Nov 12, 2002Black Comedy Portmanteau
An anthology of blackly funny tales, including episodes directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, all centred around Tim Roth as a long-suffering hotel bellboy
Never Talk to Strangers (1995)
Feb 24, 1999Psycho-Sexual Thriller
A tawdry erotic thriller copy of Basic Instinct where psychologist Rebecca De Mornay is drawn in to become involved with possible stalker Antonio Banderas
The 13th Warrior (1999)
Aug 31, 1999Vikings vs Neanderthals/Michael Crichton Adaptation
Michael Crichton was hot as a result of Jurassic Park. Although mostly seen as an historical spectacle, this is an adaptation of his novel that attempts to retell the legend of Beowulf with Vikings against Neanderthals
Spy Kids (2001)
Apr 3, 2001Juvenile Spy Adventures
Robert Rodriguez has a huge amount of fun by recasting James Bond antics with kids. The film was a success that spawned several sequels
The Body (2001)
Jun 21, 2001Archaeological Discovery of Christ's Body
Thriller in which Antonio Banderas is a Catholic priest dispatched to Jerusalem to deal with the apparent archaeological discovery of Jesus Christ's body
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
Dec 12, 2004Action/Rival Assassins Showdown
An action film that sets Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu up as rival assassins. Despite a reasonable budget thrown at it, the film comes strangely without enervation
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
Jan 25, 2002Juvenile Spy Adventures
The second of Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids films is slightly the lesser of its predecessor – it makes the mistake of stripping out the gadgets – but is still fun and has the wacky surrealism Rodriguez gave the first film
Femme Fatale (2002)
May 26, 2010Psycho-Thriller
Brian De Palma makes a return to the classic psycho-thrillers where he made his name, shouting virtuoso directorial flourish from the rafters and pulling off an amazingly contrived plot
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Jan 13, 2004Adventures Inside a Videogame
The third in the series is no longer even a Spy Kids film but a Virtual Reality videogame film. Robert Rodriguez has some fun creating the virtual worlds but the parody that the other films engaged in is missing
Shrek 2 (2004)
Jul 5, 2004Animation/Fairytale Spoof
Shrek was a fresh and original hit. The first of four insipid sequels, this seems to merely coast by on our liking of the characters while upping the fairytale parody
Shrek the Third (2007)
Jun 24, 2007Animation/Fairytale Spoof
The third of the Shrek films settles in with a formulaic blandness where the characters turn up more because everyone expects them to than the film finds much for them to do
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Jun 19, 2010Animation/Fairytale Spoof
The fourth of the Shrek films. By this point, the freshness and originality of the first film has been buried under animated film formula, while the plot is a tired rehash of It's a Wonderful Life
Puss in Boots (2011)
Nov 17, 2011Animation/Talking Cat Adventurer
Spinoff of the popular Antonio Banderas voiced character from the Shrek sequels, this is lightweight and amiable but can be quickly forgotten
The Skin I Live In (2011)
Oct 9, 2011Mad Surgeon and His Woman Prisoner
Pedro Almodovar's exquisitely lush homage to the mad surgeon fiilm Eyes Without a Face features a superb left field twist to become an extraordinary meditation on gender and identity
Ruby Sparks (2012)
Aug 1, 2012Writer Brings His Ideal Woman to Life
The Little Miss Sunshine directors follow their hit up with a film about a writer who brings his ideal woman to life. Scriptwriter Zoe Kazan sparkles in the title role but the film never pushes its central concept too much beyond being a quirkily sweet indie romance
Machete Kills (2013)
Oct 12, 2013Gonzo Action Film
Robert Rodriguez turns his earlier action film into an insanely creative comic-book overflowing with SF devices (and homages). The casting alone is side-splitting and Rodriguez's visual absurdism wins the day
Automata (2014)
Oct 8, 2016Robots Develop Artificial Intelligence
This Blade Runner-influenced work about robots that develop artificial intelligence is exceptional, featuring a particularly captivating last half with Antonio Banderas journeying with strangely alive robots
Black Butterfly (2017)
Oct 22, 2018Sinister Stranger Invades a Writer’s Home
Antonio Banderas is a writer with a block, Jonathan Rhys Meyers a sinister stranger who moves in. Lots of tense psychological games between the two begin only for the film to almost immediately blow the premise
Bullet Head (2017)
Mar 8, 2022Killer Dog
A film with a great set-up where three criminals on the run (which include Adrien Brody and John Malkovich) take refuge in a warehouse only to find they are trapped with a maddened killer dog
Dolittle (2020)
Feb 29, 2020Doctor That Can Speak to Animals
This revival of the classic children's character who can speak to animals took a critical battering but I kind of liked it. It has a completely madcap slapstick tone and more crucially returns to the stories and banishes any bad memory of Eddie Murphy
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Sep 9, 2023Adventure Film
At age 80, Harrison Ford returns for what looks like being the last ever Indiana Jones film. It’s not perfect but when you compare to all the other contemporary franchises, this still has the good old adventure spirit
Paddington in Peru (2024)
Feb 21, 2025Talking Bear
Third of the Paddington series, this has more of an adventure film feel as it takes Paddington and the Browns to Peru in search of a lost city