Absolution (1981)
Apr 8, 1999Catholic Boys' Boarding School Psycho-Thriller
Obscure but worthwhile psycho-thriller with Richard Burton as a priest at a Catholic boy's school dealing with a pupil playing taunting psychological games
Billy Connolly
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Dec 24, 2002Muppet Movie
Another of the desultory 90s Muppet films, which fits them into a retelling of Treasure Island. Missing is the humour and creativity from back when Jim Henson was alive.
Paws (1997)
Jul 5, 2004Talking Dog
Australian-made children's film about a kid who creates a computer program so his dog can talk where it then becomes voiced by Billy Connolly
Prince Charming (2000)
Dec 22, 2005Fairytale Prince in the Modern Day
Fairly silly fairytale parody with a prince transformed into a frog trying to find a modern girl to give him the kiss of true love
The Man Who Sued God (2001)
Feb 26, 2002Man Sues the Churches Comedy
Australian comedy where Billy Connolly sues God for all the supposed Acts of Gods on insurance forms
Timeline (2003)
Feb 1, 2004Time Travel/Michael Crichton Adaptation
Michael Crichton adaptation that flopped at the box-office. Crichton tells a story about time travel to the Mediaeval period where he spends a good deal of time researching the era. The film ditches all of this to make no more than an historical film with an SF gimmick
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Dec 28, 2004Gothic Children's Fantasy
Film adaptation of the popular children's books expends much effort on the design and look and casts a wildly over-acting Jim Carrey as the villain. Beyond that, the show never much goes anywhere
Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (2006)
Nov 10, 2006Lazy Talking Cat
Where the first live-action Garfield film approximated the original comic-strip and its focus on a cat delivering sarcastic lines, this sequel pitches everything down to the level of an inane children's film
Open Season (2006)
Feb 11, 2007Animation/Talking Animals
Passable animated film from Sony Pictures Animation, although the story arcs too closely resemble every other animated film for it to have much in the way of notability
Fido (2006)
May 19, 2010Domesticated Zombies Comedy
Charmingly droll film that posits an alternate version of the 1950s where zombies have been domesticated. This has a perfect sense of mood and admirable deadpan playing by all involved
The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Sep 24, 2008The X Files Film Spinoff/Psychic Priest/Organ Harvesting
The second theatrical spinoff from The X Files, a dismally dull entry where one wonders how the people who created one of the great tv shows of the 1990s got it all wrong
Gulliver’s Travels (2010)
Jan 13, 2011Land of Little People
Jonathan Swift's classic tale of a man in a land of miniature people is turned into a comedy vehicle for Jack Black and outfitted with a series of vulgar and pop culture gags
Brave (2012)
Jun 21, 2012Pixar Animation/Animal Transformation
A real head-scratcher from Pixar that seems to have been pitched as a cross between Braveheart and Disney's Brother Bear. The usual Pixar humour and polish makes for a mostly amiable film but never lifts the show out of a lame duck premise
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Dec 20, 2014Epic Fantasy Adventure
After two bloated and over-padded Hobbit films, Peter Jackson finally gets it together and produces what everyone was expecting him to deliver, even if it means dragging one battle scene out to last an entire film