The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Apr 19, 2004Alternate Timelines
This was dismissed at the time because of its star Ashton Kutcher but is a surprisingly good film in which Kutcher finds the ability to travel back in time and alter his past
Logan Lerman
The Number 23 (2007)
Feb 3, 2008Numerological Obsession and Paranoia/Reality Bender
Demented Joel Schumacher film in which Jim Carrey sees occurrences of the number 23 everywhere and finds his life is being predicted by a book. Featuring one of the most absurd scripts ever written
Gamer (2009)
Jan 30, 2010Future Live-Action Videogames
Film somewhere between Counterstrike and The Running Man where convicts are controlled as avatars inside a live-action videogame. A difficult to believe premise that is pumped up with hyper-adrenalised action visuals
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Feb 14, 2010Greek Myth in the Present Day
Chris Columbus seeks to emulate the success of the Harry Potter films with this adaptation of a Young Adult series about the children of Greek gods. The film falls apart due to Columbus's typical banal cues and effects overkill
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)
Aug 16, 2013Greek Myth in the Present Day
This sequel is marginally better than the first film (largely due to Chris Columbus no longer being in the director's chair), being more dramatically engaged and with effects that feel less like random eye candy. That still doesn't disguise the fact that the Percy Jackson series is no more than a lightweight and forgettable Harry Potter knockoff
Noah (2014)
Apr 12, 2014Biblical Legend
Darren Aronofsky's adaptation of the Biblical legend was mired in controversy. I can only applaud his decision to defy those who claim ownership of the story and set out to make an interesting film. Yet Noah remains an epic that never seems to quite fill the screen and a human drama that never quite comes to life
Shirley (2020)
Jun 12, 2020Horror Author Biopic
A biopic based on the life of horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson, best known as the author of the novel that became The Haunting/The Haunting of Hill House. Elisabeth Moss goes mad with entertaining regard