A Christmas Carol (1984)
Dec 25, 2024Miser’s Redemption
Well-made and extremely faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’s perennial Christmas story starring George C. Scott as Scrooge. This brings out story elements other versions skip over
Liz Smith
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986)
Jan 25, 2017Jilted Woman's Elaborate Revenge
An acclaimed mini-series about a frumpy woman taking gleeful revenge on the husband who abandoned her. Essentially Fatal Attraction rewritten with a feminist manifesto with hilariously barbed results
Apartment Zero (1988)
May 1, 1999Sinister Roommate/Weird Psychological Games
Psychological thriller where an uptight Colin Firth gets a handsomely charming roommate in Hart Bochner who proceeds to seduce everybody in the building with sinister intent
High Spirits (1988)
Feb 27, 2003Haunted Castle Comedy
Neil Jordan has shown himself as an excellent director elsewhere but seems to have little aptitude for comedy when it comes to this raucous knockabout farce about a haunted castle
A Christmas Carol (1999)
Oct 31, 2008Miser's Redemption
For my money, the best adaptation of the multiply-filmed Charles Dickens tale. Patrick Stewart is a great Scrooge and the film respects the story, giving its milieu and central character life as a tale for adults
Keeping Mum (2005)
Jun 21, 2006Murderous Old Dear Black Comedy
Comedy in which reverend Rowan Atkinson's home is invaded by murderous nanny Maggie Smith. A promisingly black idea ends up being delivered as a quaintly mumsy British rural comedy
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Sep 16, 2005Gonzo Children's Film/Fantastical Candy Factory
Tim Burton's remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a peculiarly lifeless confection that fails to find any of the zaniness of the original, something that one would have thought would have been Burton's forte
City of Ember (2008)
Aug 13, 2009Young Adult/Underground City
Excellent Young Adult adapted work about teenagers in a vast underground city coming to an awareness of the forgotten surface world. The underground world is a production designer's marvel