Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek (2009)
Rating: ★★
May 12, 2009Intergalactic Adventures
J.J. Abrams revives the Star Trek franchise by recasting it with younger faces and rewriting continuity. But in the appeal to a hipper, sexier vibe, it feels a long way from Gene Roddenberry’s creation – nowhere in evidence is the original's concern with galactic politics and social issues of the day

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

A Perfect Getaway (2009)
Rating: ★★
May 3, 2011Tourist Psycho-Thriller
David Twohy has shown himself a standout screenwriter and director with the Riddick films but came unstuck with this effort where tourists in Hawaii come to believe their traveling companions are wanted killers. A film killed by far-fetched twists

The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers (2012)
Rating: ★★★★
May 4, 2012Marvel Comics Superhero Team-Up
The culmination of one of the most ambitious cinematic exercises ever conducted, with Marvel weaving storylines through several films to finally merge here with flawless regard. The characters get far more depth than in all of their previous films

Red Dawn (2012)

Red Dawn (2012)
Rating:
Nov 21, 2012North Korean Invasion of the USA
The idea of remaking John Milus's ridiculous 1984 survivalist fantasy about a Communist invasion of the USA maybe counts as one of the most absurdly unnecessary of all remakes. The film laughably tries to deal with the absence of a Soviet Union by creating a boogeyman out of North Korea

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Rating: ★★★½
May 13, 2012Meta-Fictional Horror Film
Joss Whedon scripted work that is less a horror film than a meta-horror film that is constantly deconstructing the genre and subverting its cliches. A rare genre entry less about visceral impact than it has brains to spare

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Rating: ★★
May 31, 2012Adult Fairytale Adaptation/Epic Fantasy
The second of 2012's Snow White films after Mirror Mirror, this turns the fairytale into an epic fantasy. Well produced but ultimately a film that lacks anything unique nor pushes far enough into the dark fantasy it promises to be

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Rating: ★★½
Nov 9, 2013Marvel Comics Norse God Superhero
Sequel to Thor that earranges the same basic elements much more satisfyingly than the first film – the actors (with the exception of a tranquilised Natalie Portman) seem more at home in their roles and a director who is more confident with the effects and superheroics. That said, it is starting to feel like Marvel is shuffling the same plot ingredients around between films

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Rating: ★★½
May 2, 2015Marvel Comics Superhero Team-Up
The first Avengers film came with a massive anticipation in seeing the characters come together and the snappiness of their interplay; here this seems more flat, while the rest is overrun by wall-to-wall action

The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016)

The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016)
Rating: ★★
Apr 30, 2016Snow White and the Huntsman Sequel
Sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman. Despite low expectations, this emerged better than one thought it would. It has a better director and seems much more at home being an epic fantasy than the first film

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Rating: ★★
Feb 3, 2018Marvel Comics Norse God Superhero
The third of the MCU's Thor films. This time Kiwi director Taikia Waititi gives much more of a comedic emphasis where you get the impression the intention has been to push the film in the direction of Guardians of the Galaxy. On the other hand, the superheroics are routine

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Rating: ★★
Nov 3, 2018Marvel Comics Superhero Team-Up
Marvel’s third Avengers film, uniting almost every superhero under their roof, resulting in some thirty characters on screen and a plot that becomes a blur of changing locations and superheroic punch-ups

Men in Black: International (2019)

Men in Black: International (2019)
Rating:
Aug 3, 2019Alien Coverup Conspiracy Agency
The original Men in Black was a witty parody of alien coverup conspiracies; the sequels became slapstick films about pop-up aliens and gadgets hidden behind everyday things. This offers little that is new

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Rating: ★★
Aug 10, 2019Marvel Comics Superhero Team-Up
Marvel conclude the cliffhanger they left Avengers: Infinity War on and offer up a bigger-than-big line-up, overspilling with just about every MCU character to ever appear on screen up to that point

Spiderhead (2022)

Spiderhead (2022)
Rating: ★★½
Nov 19, 2022Illicit Behaviour Modifying Pharmaceutical Experiments
From Joseph Kosinski, then riding high as the director of Top Gun: Maverick, Chris Hemsworth is cast in an interestingly ambiguous role as a scientist conducting illicit experiments with behaviour altering drugs

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Rating: ★★★★
Jul 6, 2024Post-Holocaust Action
45 years on, George Miller returns with a fifth entry in his Mad Max saga, a prequel to Fury Road. As to be expected from Miller, this an exhilarating action piece and makes a welcome return to his post-apocalyptic junkyard world