Star Wars (1977)
Dec 16, 2000Space Opera
The single most influential science-fiction film of all time, one that created a massive industry of sequels and spinoffs, not to mention copycats, and changed the way that people thought of science-fiction
Mark Hamill
Wizards (1977)
May 3, 2003Post-Holocaust Sword and Sorcery/Animation
Ralph Bakshi left behind counter-culture animation to embark on this original fantasy film that comes with a trippily surreal quality, mixing fantasy tropes with a science-fictional rationalisation
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
Oct 8, 2005Star Wars Variety Show
The tv special that George Lucas would have all copies destroyed, a work of legendary badness - a Star Wars Thanksgiving special featuring most of the original cast and a series of variety performances that are mind-boggling in their ineptitude, not to mention complete and utter fumbling of everything that Star Wars was
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Apr 4, 2001Space Opera
George Lucas’s first sequel to Star Wars and a work that holds up every bit as well as its predecessor, in many places betters it. The story darkens the mythos and introduces new characters, while the special effects sequences are the peak of the series
Britannia Hospital (1982)
Jan 1, 2001British Social Satire
The third in a trilogy of satirical films from director Lindsay Anderson and star Malcolm McDowell, this takes a biting crosscut of British society as a hospital prepares for a royal visit
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Mar 21, 2001Space Opera
A disappointing end to George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy. The script lazily wraps up loose ends while sidelining the new characters introduced the last time, and the climax rehashes the climaxes of the two other films
Slipstream (1989)
Jan 20, 2001Post-Holocaust Adventure
The only film that Steven Lisberger made after Tron. Though impressively cast and with a decent budget, it is an oddly unconvincing effort that tells the story of an android's quest across a post-apocalyptic world
Midnight Ride (1990)
Dec 13, 2002Psycho Hitchhiker/Action
Cheaply made Cannon Film that plays out like an action version of The Hitcher featuring a completely over-the-top Mark Hamill as the psycho
The Guyver (1991)
Jun 14, 2003Power-Suit Superhero
US-made live-action adaptation of a popular manga/anime about a power-suit superhero. Directed by two makeup effects artists mostly as a vehicle for their creature creations
Black Magic Woman (1991)
Mar 8, 2001Voodoo Curse
Essentially Fatal Attraction with voodoo in which Mark Hamill engages in an affair with Apollonia and breaks it off only to find a voodoo curse has been placed on him
Body Bags (1993)
Sep 7, 2013Horror Anthology
A pilot for a never sold horror anthology tv series featuring John Carpenter as a pun-cracking narrator. The two Carpenter directed episodes have some tension, while Tobe Hooper's third episode has a clumsy heavy-handedness
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Feb 23, 2002Comic-Book Superhero/Animation
Theatrically released film based on the 1990s animated Batman tv series. This allows the series to stretch its wings and do things it never could on tv, although the creation of a new super-villain never quite comes off
Village of the Damned (1995)
Jun 22, 2002Telepathic Alien Children
Director John Carpenter did amazing things with his remake of The Thing but was not able to replicate such with his remake of Village of the Damned, which misses the taut atmosphere of the 1960 film
The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1998)
Jul 4, 2000Comic-Book Superhero Teamup/Animation
Film crossover between the 1990s Batman and Superman animated tv series from Bruce Timm. The script does an interesting job in playing the characters, their secret identities and principal villains off against each other
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
Jun 30, 2003Batman of the Future/Animation
Film spinoff of Batman Beyond, an animated tv series set in the future as a youngster inherits a hi-tech Batsuit from an aging Bruce Wayne. The film resurrects The Joker but fails to do anything interesting with the character
Comic Book: The Movie (2004)
Apr 21, 2008Comic-Book Fandom Mockumentary
An hilarious mockumentary directed by Mark Hamill set at the San Diego Comic Con, this spoofs various aspects of comic-book fandom and includes assorted celebrities sending themselves up
Ultimate Avengers II (2006)
Sep 21, 2010Marvel Comics Superhero Team/Animation
Follow-up to the previous animated Marvel Comics film featuring The Avengers, this serves to introduce Black Panther to the screen for the first time
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Feb 21, 2015Spy Film/Comic-Book Adaptation
This rescues the spy film from the silliness of Austin Powers. The film's sly mocking of its Englishness, with Colin Firth going into action as an impeccably mannered gentleman, along with explosive action sequences is irresistible
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Dec 26, 2015Space Opera
It's not another Empire Strikes Back but it makes up for the prequels. A good part fanservice to the original – if overly reliant on rehashing elements from Star Wars – this also does many things right
Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
Aug 6, 2016Comic-Book Superhero/Animation
Adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel, one of the most famous comic-book titles of all time. The notoriously cranky Moore need have no reason to shun this film version, which recreates his work right down to preserving his dialogue and replicating the set-up of individual panels
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Mar 17, 2018Space Opera
I'm not one of the haters on this. It's the first Star Wars sequel since the 1980s to invigorate the series with fresh action sequences and place more focus on the characters instead of the action
Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom (2017)
Jun 8, 2020Animation/Young H.P. Lovecraft’s Adventures
The second in a series of animated children's films about the young H.P. Lovecraft and his encounters with the various denizens of the Cthulhu mythos
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018)
Jan 25, 2022Animation/Young H.P. Lovecraft's Adventures
The third of the trilogy of animated films from Arcana Studios based around the adventures of a young H.P. Lovecraft
Child’s Play (2019)
Sep 20, 2019Evil Artificially Intelligent Doll
The controversial remake of Child's Play where Chucky is no longer possessed but become an artificially intelligent smart toy. This seems to misconstrues everything that the fanbase of the series celebrates by a mile
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Mar 21, 2020Space Opera
The concluding chapter of the third trilogy of Star Wars films. After the critically divided The Last Jedi, J.J. Abrams opts for a return to the safety of familiarity and nostalgia
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
Nov 18, 2023Edgar Allan Poe Adaptation
Mike Flanagan mini-series that expands on the story to incorporate a host of other Poe stories. More like another of Mike Flanagan’s cross-generational ghost stories by way of tv’s Succession with a lot of Poe-esque margin notes
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three (2024)
Jul 26, 2024Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes
The third and final part of the adaptation of DC Comics’ classic title Crisis on Infinite Earths featuring an epic battle to prevent the destruction of the multiverse
The Wild Robot (2024)
Nov 16, 2024Animation/Robot’s Adventure
A winning animated film about a robot trying to find its way among the animals on an island. Tender and heart-warming, the sort of film that Pixar used to do so well
The Life of Chuck (2024)
Aug 8, 2025Stephen King Adaptation
A Mike Flanagan adaptation of a Stephen King story, this received a great deal of acclaim, but comes with a very peculiar story structure that opens out into a series of unfolding revelations
The Long Walk (2025)
Nov 1, 2025Future Death Walk
An adaptation of Stephen King’s Richard Bachman novel set in a future where youths compete in a race where they must walk hundreds of miles without stopping or else be shot