Reckless Kelly (1993)
Dec 28, 2004Gonzo Bank Robber Comedy
The second of the films directed, written by and starring Yahoo Serious where he plays a descendant of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly who discovers fame in Hollywood
Hugo Weaving
Babe (1995)
Sep 16, 2005Talking Animals
Runaway hit produced by George Miller of Mad Max fame that conducts what in any other terms would be an animated talking animals film in live-action with CGI and animatronics. The results are utterly charming.
The Matrix (1999)
May 11, 1999Virtual Reality
A film that was as groundbreaking when it came out as Star Wars was in its day. The Wachowskis create a defining work on Virtual Reality themes and do so with a sublime cool and a series of breathtaking action moves that blew everybody away
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Dec 19, 2001Epic Fantasy Adventure
Peter Jackson wowed the world with this first part of his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy. This is epic filmmaking and one that shows Jackson in full command of his craft
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Dec 24, 2002Epic Fantasy Adventure
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings saga truly gains its feet here, expanding out onto an epic scale where he has fused special effects and story into a singular vision
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
May 23, 2003Virtual Reality
The first of the sequels to The Matrix inevitably disappointed on the massive build-up. The Wachowskis leave more questions than answers, while the new action scenes are often jaw-dropping they also feel boiler-plated on
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Nov 11, 2003Virtual Reality
Third of The Matrix sequels and the weakest of the series. This offers one showstopping effects sequence, on the other hand it also leaves a host of unanswered questions dangling
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Dec 23, 2003Epic Fantasy Adventure
The weakest of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. This is the most variant from the source material and the one where Jackson allows his tendency to visual effects bloat to take over
Happy Feet (2006)
Feb 11, 2007Animation/Talking and Dancing Penguins
George Miller of Mad Max fame makes a motion-capture animated film about a young penguin who sets out to fulfill his dream of tap-dancing. This ends up being a film of unexpectedly winning charms
V for Vendetta (2006)
Apr 2, 2006Graphic Novel Adaptation/Totalitarian Future England
Adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel with a script from The Wachowskis. Moore's repudiation aside, this is a fine and literate work that retells the story of an anarchist trickster and potently politicises it for the era of the George W. Bush.
Transformers (2007)
Jul 3, 2007Live-Action Transformer Robots
Michael Bay takes on the 1980s toy phenomenon, turning it into a massive blockbuster filled with copious mass destruction and machines beating the metal crap out of each other
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Jun 30, 2009Live-Action Transformer Robots
The first of Michael Bay's Transformers sequels has even better effects and more copious mass destruction to the point it washes over you without any effect
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010)
Sep 21, 2010Animation/Talking Owls
Zack Snyder makes an exquisite motion-capture animated film for adults about talking owls. This has a story that comes with a sweeping mythic arc
The Wolfman (2010)
Feb 15, 2010Werewolf Film
The 1941 Lon Chaney Jr The Wolf Man is given the remake treatment in a way that builds out on the creaky original with lavish sets and state of the art transformation effects
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Jul 25, 2011Comic-Book Superhero
One of the more disappointing of the Marvel Comics adaptations. Despite all the elements assembled, this never comes to life in director Joe Johnston's hands and takes forever to get into action
Happy Feet Two (2011)
Nov 19, 2011Animation/Talking and Dancing Penguins
George Miller had a charming and delightful hit with his dancing penguin film Happy Feet. He returns to make a sequel here that merely tries to repeat the same
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Jun 30, 2011Live-Action Transformer Robots
The third of Michael Bay's Transformers films. While the human scenes opt for a ghastly miscalculated sense of humour, the effects houses are at the peak of their game, even if Bay allows them to drag the mass destruction out to a numbing excess
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Oct 24, 2012Cross-Historical Epic
A cross-historical epic from The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. An uneven film driven more by its determination we view it as an epic. Surely a studio publicist's nightmare, it grasps at the meaning of it all yet eludes telling audiences what it is about
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Dec 14, 2012Epic Fantasy Adventure
Peter Jackson returns to J.R.R. Tolkien and epic-sized adventure in the first of his Hobbit films. The visual sweep is there but the film feels over-extruded and over-burdened by its own self-importance.
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
Mortal Engines (2018)
Feb 23, 2019Post-Holocaust World of Mobile Cities
Peter Jackson written-produced film that creates a fascinatingly original world. As always with a Jackson film, all the fun is in the massively scaled effects sequences and the design of the world. Alas, Jackson is not as well attuned in the story department, which often drags up corny cliched scenes
Loveland (2022)
Feb 15, 2024Cyberpunk Future
Modest and interesting Cyberpunk film that works as a melancholy future-set romance with Ryan Kwanten as a hitman. Minimalist but with some striking conceptual twists