The Kid (2000)
Jul 9, 2000Man Meets His Boyhood Self
Likeable and appealing Disney film in which Bruce Willis is an asshole executive who suddenly finds a kid in his apartment who turns out to be his nerdier boyhood self
Emily Mortimer
Scream 3 (2000)
Feb 16, 2000Slasher Sequel Parody/Deconstruction
By the time of this third film and the departure of screenwriter Kevin Williamson, creativity in the Scream series seems to be flagging even though this has critic-proofed itself by calling itself a parody of a sequel
Match Point (2005)
Jun 21, 2006Murder and Conscience
One of Woody Allen's strongest films in years, a London-set work about conscience and murder over which the spirit of Dostoevsky hangs
Harry Brown (2009)
Dec 14, 2010Aging Vigilante
A British version of Gran Torino featuring Michael Caine as an aging man who becomes fed up with youth crime in the neighbourhood and takes up arms to go all Charles Bronson on them
Shutter Island (2010)
Mar 9, 2010Sinister Psychiatric Institution/Reality Bender
Martin Scorsese and an impressive A-list cast make a 1940s-styled psycho-thriller about a sinister asylum that soon starts into a series of major reality bending turns
Hugo (2011)
Dec 15, 2011Children's Film/Georges Melies Tribute
Martin Scorsese’s venture into making a children’s film is a beautiful production but must have been a studio nightmare – while they try to sell it as a magical fantasy film, Scorsese wants to pay tribute to silent filmmaker Georges Melies
Cars 2 (2011)
Jun 23, 2011Pixar Animation/Talking Vehicles
Sequel to Pixar’s Cars. While the original was a cutely appealing concept with a gentle contemplative message, this plays as more of an out-and-out spy caper making a virtue of its international locations
Spectral (2016)
Jul 29, 2017Soldiers vs Spirit Beings
Highly original piece that works as a supernatural version of Black Hawk Down with a unit of soldiers cut off in rebel territory and surrounded by spirit beings. Grippingly effective both in terms of the tension and a script that treats the phenomenon with scrupulous rationalism
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mar 22, 2019Flying Nanny Frolics
Mary Poppins was one of the greatest of all Disney live-action films, made with nonsensical charm and has become a much loved favourite. As part of the ongoing firesale that involves resurrecting almost all of their properties, this is a sequel. Its an exacting replication/homage to the original but that is the problem - it is a recapturing rather than seems to create its own sparkle
Relic (2020)
Jul 24, 2020Mysterious Happenings in a House
A beautiful slow burn of a film that avoids almost any labels one tries to apply. It could be a film about dementia, it starts out seeming like a work about a haunted house but refuses to adhere to any of the tropes and instead heads for a remarkable and unique place of its own
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