The Phantom of the Megaplex (2000)
Jun 25, 2009Phantom in the Multiplex/Kid's Caper Movie
A Disney Channel film, this has the amusing idea of translating The Phantom of the Opera to a modern multiplex and telling it as a children's story
Joe Pingue
Repo Men (2010)
Mar 21, 2010Future Organ Repossession
SF film set in a future where agents are sent to repossess artificial organs when the owner's fall behind on payments. Sort of Sicko by way of Logan's Run but lacking the necessary sense of black humour to work
The Night Chronicles 1: Devil (2010)
Sep 20, 2010Trapped in an Elevator with The Devil
Clever concept of five people trapped in an elevator where one of them is The Devil. One of the better films to come out under the much debased name of M. Night Shyamalan who lends his name as producer
Antiviral (2012)
Oct 5, 2012Future World of Celebrity Viruses
Brandon Cronenberg makes an impressive writing-directing debut, taking up the thematic reins of his father's earlier films in a darkly satiric future escalation of contemporary celebrity culture
The Nut Job (2014)
Jan 17, 2014Animation/Talking Animal Heist Film
I went into this with zero expectations, expecting no more than a work of formula family entertainment and came out gently surprised. Essentially a talking cartoon animals variant on a heist plot, it does the formula likeably and with none of the relentless smart-ass cynicism of too many contemporaries
Anon (2018)
May 13, 2018Mass-Surveillance Future
Andrew Niccol is one of the consistently intelligent and original directors out there. This, set in a world where mass surveillance has erased the concept of anonymity, is the most fascinating and original depiction of a future in some time
Station Eleven (2021-2022)
Mar 11, 2022Post-Apocalyptic World
A beautifully-made post-apocalyptic story told as a mandala of threads and surprise connections that stretch over twenty years
Star Trek: Section 31 (2025)
Feb 8, 2025Intergalactic Adventures
A Star Trek film spun off around Michelle Yeoh and the secret service that appears in the modern revival series