Turbulence (1997)
Oct 21, 2007Serial Killer on a Plane
Ridiculous disaster movie where air hostess Lauren Holly must deal with serial killer Ray Liotta while trying to land the plane
Brendan Gleeson
The Butcher Boy (1997)
Jun 19, 1999Disturbed Irish Childhood
Neil Jordan makes a film about an abusive childhood that actually ends up asking us to cheer on the central character's emergence as a murderer. Maybe the most cheerfully entertaining film ever made about child abuse.
Lake Placid (1999)
Jul 21, 1999Giant Killer Crocodile
David E. Kelley, better known as a high-profile tv producer, turns his hand to writing a killer crocodile film, although the result never ends up satisfying either as a monster movie or the jokey tone Kelley wants to take
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Jun 30, 2000Spy/Action Film
The second of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films where he has the smarts to hire John Woo as director who brings his customary stylish flair with action to transform the film into something exhiliraing
A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) (2001)
Jun 29, 2001Android Boy’s Quest
Steven Spielberg directs an unfinished Stanley Kubrick project about an android boy's quest. The result is a beautiful and intelligent SF film where the sensibilities of either director merge with magnificent results
28 Days Later (2002)
Oct 9, 2003The Downfall of Civilisation/Infected Zombies
Danny Boyle's sleeper hit presaged a big return for the zombie film during the 2000s/2010s. Not a bad film even if Boyle is conducting major borrowings from other works like The Day of the Triffids and Day of the Dead
The Village (2004)
Sep 5, 2004Pioneer Town/Mysterious Creatures in the Woods
M. Night Shyamalan creates three-quarters of a tense and eerie film about a 19th Century village under siege from mysterious creatures only for it to fall apart when he produces a damp squib of a twist ending
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Nov 26, 2005Young Wizard
Fourth of the Harry Potter films and one that feels much more seamless and sure of itself as a story. The problem is the absurd contrivation of J.K. Rowling's weak story that wheels out every sports movie cliche in the book
The Tiger’s Tail (2006)
May 10, 2009Doppelganger Film
John Boorman makes a film where Brendan Gleeson has his life taken over by a doppelganger
Beowulf (2007)
Dec 2, 2007Epic Legend/Animation
After the success of the motion captured animated The Polar Express, Robert Zemeckis turned his attentions to the classic legend. Armed with a Neil Gaiman script and a host of name actors in the mocap suits, the result is a soaring fantasy
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Jul 11, 2007Young Wizard
The fifth and in my opinion the best of the Harry Potter films. It is the first film where we see the darkening of emotions and the children growing up as storm clouds gather. Much of the show is stolen by Imelda Staunton
The Secret of Kells (2009)
Mar 23, 2015Animation/Celtic History and Mythology
Beautifully made animated film that won surprise recognition at the Academy Awards. More a festival film than necessarily a box-office one
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
Nov 17, 2010Young Wizard
The penultimate chapter in the Harry Potter series surprisingly strips out most of the effects and is much slower, more character driven, while moving the saga towards an epic conclusion
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
May 12, 2012Aardman Animation/Gonzo Pirate Adventure
Amiable effort from England's Aardman Animations that doesn't quite scale the heights of their other films but still has an entertainingly nonsensical charm that is far more enjoyable than most Hollywood competition
The Raven (2012)
May 11, 2012Edgar Allan Poe vs a Serial Killer
This has the great idea of pitting Edgar Allan Poe against a serial killer imitating his stories but instead produces a desultory murder mystery that has done only the most cursory reading about Poe and is ill-informed about the historical period
The Smurfs 2 (2013)
Aug 11, 2013Cute Blue-Skinned Creatures
The first film was vaguely passable but this is an agonising piece of commercial product that has reduced everything to lazy slapstick sequences, cutsie laughs and smartass lines played for the single-digit age groups
Song of the Sea (2014)
Mar 28, 2015Animation/Selkies and Celtic Mythology
An Oscar nominees for Best Animated Film – a unique and exquisitely drawn dive into Celtic mythology that comes with wit, humour and the emotional tenderness of a Hayao Miyazaki. This deserves to be seen far more widely than it ended up being
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Jun 7, 2014Man Forced to Repeat the Same Day Over/Alien Invasion
A summer blockbuster with smarts - think Groundhog Day by way of Battle Los Angeles. The timeloop idea is dealt with in clever ways making for an action film driven by an original SF story
Eliza Graves (2014)
Nov 22, 2015Victorian Asylum Taken Over by the Inmates
Brad Anderson adapts an Edgar Allan Poe story about an asylum where the inmates are posing as the staff. This is lush period piece with an amazing cast line-up – the only surprise is that it did no box-office
Assassin’s Creed (2016)
Mar 4, 2017Videogame Adaptation/Quest Through Past Lives
Adaptation of the popular videogame that is lumbered with the game's inherently uncinematic premise where people only sit around and watch what has already happened in the past
Paddington 2 (2017)
Mar 18, 2018Talking Bear
Sequel to the 2014 film based on the much loved children's books … This comes with exactly the same mix of silliness, overblown slapstick and sweetness that made the first film work – albeit on a more elaborate budget – and succeeds with the same winning charms
Joker: Folie a Deux (2024)
Nov 9, 2024Comic-Book Super-Villain
Joker was a huge hit with Joaquin Phoenix winning an Academy Award for his role. This sequel emerged to very mixed reception, partly due to its rejection of the first film and then heading off to become a musical