Serenity (2005)
Nov 13, 2005Firefly Film Spinoff/Space Opera
The tv series Firefly gained a cult following before being cancelled before its time. This was a theatrical film intended to wrap the story up.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Children of Men (2006)
Oct 31, 2006Infertile Future
Alfonso Cuaron film set in a near-future afflicted by an epidemic of infertility. Cuaron’s depiction of a dystopian world comes with a richness of casually layered detail that makes for a stark and powerful film
2012 (2009)
Nov 14, 2009The End of the World/Disaster Movie
Roland Emmerich mass destruction spectacle loosely based around the supposed Mayan prophecies about the end of the world in 2012. Mostly just an excuse for massively scaled disaster sequences.
The Martian (2015)
Oct 24, 2015Astronaut Stranded on Mars
This year's Gravity. A film that has worked out the science to the nth degree (and made it digestible for mass audiences). Ridley Scott rides the drama like a pro and makes one of his most enjoyable films in some time
Z for Zachariah (2015)
Sep 24, 2015Post-Holocaust Love Triangle
This starts promisingly but it soon becomes apparent the classic story, which only takes place between two people, has been rewritten for the Young Adult audience with the addition of a third character and the focus on a love triangle, while abandoning most of the book's themes
Doctor Strange (2016)
Nov 19, 2016Marvel Comics Magician Superhero
Scott Derrickson acquits himself well taking on one of Marvel's magician superhero. He replicates well the psychedelic esoterica that gained the comic book a cult following and Benedict Cumberbatch anchors the show perfectly
Sherlock Gnomes (2018)
Aug 4, 2019Animation/Talking Garden Gnomes Adventures
Sequel to Gnomeo & Juliet, which retold Shakespeare with garden gnomes. This for some reason adds a garden gnome Sherlock Holmes to the mix. The high speed whirring you hear is probably Arthur Conan Doyle rotating in his grave,
The Lion King (2019)
Oct 19, 2019Disney Live-Action Remake/Talking Animals
Jon Favreau had success recreating The Jungle Book in live-action with CGI animals and does the same with The Lion King - only to produce an exacting, lifeless replication missing the charms of the original
Maleficent, Mistress of Evil (2019)
Jan 11, 2020Sleeping Beauty Continuation
Nobody much liked Maleficent but did make a reasonable amount of money, hence a sequel. The surprise is that in the hands of Norwegian director Joachim Rønning, it is far better than one expected
The Old Guard (2020)
Jul 25, 2020Immortal Mercenaries
Huge Netflix hit adapted from a comic-book about a team of immortal mercenaries
Infinite (2021)
Jun 19, 2021Reincarnation Action Film
High concept action film not dissimilar to Highlander with Mark Wahlberg discovering that he is a reincarnated soul engaged in a secret war through the ages
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Jul 1, 2022Marvel Comics Magician Superhero
Doctor Strange was one of the better MCU films. Here Sam Raimi takes over in the director's chair. This readily delves into multiverse themes but requires a major crash course in a plethora of Marvel tv series to follow
The Pod Generation (2023)
Dec 15, 2025Future Where Babies Can Be Born Externally
SF film that plays out like it should be an episode of Black Mirror where Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor play a couple who sign up for a process where a baby can be gestated and born externally inside an egg
Venom: The Last Dance (2024)
Dec 21, 2024Marvel Comics Superhero
The third of the Venom films, which has become one of the worst of the modern Marvel spinoffs. By this point any pretence that the films are taking themselves seriously has been long forgotten
The Life of Chuck (2024)
Aug 8, 2025Stephen King Adaptation
A Mike Flanagan adaptation of a Stephen King story, this received a great deal of acclaim, but comes with a very peculiar story structure that opens out into a series of unfolding revelations
The Old Guard 2 (2025)
Jul 18, 2025Immortal Mercenaries
The Old Guard about a team of immortal mercenaries was a hit when it was released a few years ago. Now most of the principals reunite for a sequel
Backrooms (2026)
Jul 25, 2026Labyrinth of Other Dimensional Rooms
A fascinating word-of-mouth hit based on a YouTube series about the exploration of a labyrinth of extra-dimensional office rooms built on an eerily alien design scheme