Taking Lives (2004)
May 12, 2004Serial Killer Thriller
Serial killer thriller with Angelina Jolie as an FBI profiler tracking a killer in Montreal and becoming involved with suspect Ethan Hawke. The plot falls apart in some shabby twists
Paul Dano
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Nov 2, 2009Boy Frolics With Friendly Monsters
Spike Jonze conducts his own unique and individualistic adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book about a young boy who sails away to an island of friendly monsters
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
Jul 9, 2011Western/Alien Invasion
High-concept Jon Favreau directed film that has a winning title concept, overflows with star power and is made on a big budget. But the script feels like it had no idea what to do after setting up its title conceptual mash-up
Ruby Sparks (2012)
Aug 1, 2012Writer Brings His Ideal Woman to Life
The Little Miss Sunshine directors follow their hit up with a film about a writer who brings his ideal woman to life. Scriptwriter Zoe Kazan sparkles in the title role but the film never pushes its central concept too much beyond being a quirkily sweet indie romance
Looper (2012)
Oct 29, 2012Time Travel Film
From Rian Johnson, a time travel film that is uneven but is mostly conducted with considerable cleverness and intelligence. One of the few multiplex films driven by plot and some clever twists rather than action
Prisoners (2013)
Sep 23, 2013Vigilante Parent Tortures Child Abduction Suspect
Dark and gripping thriller from Denis Villeneuve about child abductions and a distraught parent who decides to torture a suspect to find their whereabouts.; Superbly well written thriller that raises some big contemporary issues about the legitimacy of torture. Both Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal give utterly convincing performances
Spaceman (2024)
Mar 16, 2024Astronaut Befriends an Alien
Adam Sandler plays a lone astronaut who befriends an alien. This falls somewhere between E.T. and Interstellar
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Oct 1, 2016Castaway Befriends a Talking Corpse
A ridiculously off the wall and heartwarming film. Imagine a crosshatch between Weekend at Bernie's and Cast Away – where Wilson the beachball is replaced by Daniel Radcliffe as a farting talking corpse
Okja (2017)
Jul 23, 2017Genetically-Engineered Super-Pigs
Boon Jong Ho's version of E.T., albeit one where E.T. is a genetically-engineered pig the size of an SUV, not to mention one with an oddball sense of humour that it is hard to imagine being enjoyed by young age groups
The Batman (2022)
Apr 30, 2022Comic-Book Superhero
The reboot of the Batman franchise post Zack Snyder returns to the Christopher Nolan conception with Robert Pattinson as an emo Batman who resembles The Cure’s Robert Smith. Not completely successful on all fronts but a promising start