The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
Feb 12, 2001Miraculous Child/Meta-Fiction
Peter Greenaway film about a woman claiming her baby is divinely conceived. As fascinating for Greenaway's constant visual games as for the film's brutal taboo-defying impact
Ralph Fiennes
Strange Days (1995)
Feb 2, 2003Near Future Social Disorder/The Millennium/Virtual Memories
A Kathryn Bigelow directed Cyberpunk film scripted by James Cameron concerning an illicit technology that can replay memories. This offers a powerful vision of a socially divided L.A. on the eve of the millennium
The Avengers (1998)
Dec 16, 1999Chic Spies/TV Series Remake
The Avengers was the height of 1960s chic. Amid the 90s/00s fad for big screen remakes of tv shows, this was a miscalculated disaster that gets everything about the original wrong from the casting to the droll humour
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
May 10, 1999Animation/The Biblical Exodus
The second animated film from DreamWorks, an impressively produced retelling of The Book of Exodus and the story of Moses.
Red Dragon (2002)
Nov 1, 2002Hannibal Lecter Prequel
Following the success of the Hannibal Lecter films, Dino de Laurentiis smartly repackaged Thomas Harris's earlier novel as a Hannibal Lecter prequel
Spider (2002)
Feb 8, 2003Inside a Mentally Ill Man's Mind
David Cronenberg film that subjectively takes place in the mind of mentally ill Ralph Fiennes, a bewildering film with no easy handholds
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Sep 16, 2005Aardman Animation
Aardman Animation spread the seemingly universal appeal of their Wallace and Gromit short films out onto the big screen with deliriously nonsensical results
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Nov 26, 2005Young Wizard
Fourth of the Harry Potter films and one that feels much more seamless and sure of itself as a story. The problem is the absurd contrivation of J.K. Rowling's weak story that wheels out every sports movie cliche in the book
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Jul 11, 2007Young Wizard
The fifth and in my opinion the best of the Harry Potter films. It is the first film where we see the darkening of emotions and the children growing up as storm clouds gather. Much of the show is stolen by Imelda Staunton
Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang (2010)
Sep 16, 2010Magical Nanny
I never much cared for Nanny McPhee. This is a sequel that replicates the original in fairly much the same amount mix of plot elements, slapstick sequences and nonsensical absurdism
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Apr 3, 2010Greek Mythology Adventure
Heavily disappointing remake of the Ray Harryhausen film where the replacement of Harryhausen's stop-motion animation with CGI fails to achieve any magic
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
Nov 17, 2010Young Wizard
The penultimate chapter in the Harry Potter series surprisingly strips out most of the effects and is much slower, more character driven, while moving the saga towards an epic conclusion
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)
Jul 15, 2011Young Wizard
I've never been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series but the final chapter rounds out the boy wizard saga in rousing style, mounting an epic-sized battle and finding characters depths that hold some of the best writing of the series
Wrath of the Titans (2012)
Mar 29, 2012Greek Mythology Adventure
Sequel to the Clash of the Titans remake. Much the same as before except with bigger monsters and more explosions … flash and spectacle that washes over you with all the substance of the light from a disco ball
Spectre (2015)
Nov 14, 2015James Bond Film
The fourth Daniel Craig James Bond film welcomely resurrects one of the great nemeses from the series past – only to fall flat on its face. This is a Bond film severely hampered by a director unattuned to the classical elements of the series and the need to cripple everything by giving Bond backstory and character development
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Dec 17, 2016Stop-Motion Animation/Boy's Epic Journey
Beautiful stop-motion animated feature from Laika. This takes a big bite and tells an epic adventure. The only flaw is that the stop-motion is so flawless that audiences cannot tell the difference between regular animation
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Jun 3, 2017Animation/Lego Universe Superheroes
Following the success of The Lego Movie, where he was a scene-stealing supporting character, Batman gets a whole Lego film to himself. Less a Batman film than it is a parody of Batman
Spielberg (2017)
Oct 23, 2017Steven Spielberg Documentary
Documentary made for HBO about director Steven Spielberg in which he reflects on his life and films. The documentary tends to focus more on his major hits and skips his minor films but does give worthwhile insight into Spielberg, his life and formative years
Dolittle (2020)
Feb 29, 2020Doctor That Can Speak to Animals
This revival of the classic children's character who can speak to animals took a critical battering but I kind of liked it. It has a completely madcap slapstick tone and more crucially returns to the stories and banishes any bad memory of Eddie Murphy
No Time to Die (2021)
Nov 19, 2021James Bond Film
Daniel Craig’s swansong as James Bond but it no longer seems a Bond that Ian Fleming would recognise leading to the question of whether James Bond still has any relevance in 2021
The Menu (2022)
Jan 14, 2023Fine Dining and Horror
Hilariously black horror comedy that works as a sublime satire of fine dining – with a nasty sting underneath
28 Years Later … (2025)
Aug 9, 2025Post-Holocaust/The Zombie Apocalypse
28 Days Later was the work that started the modern zombie film revival. Twenty-three years later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to make a third film and still wring some creativity out of the set-up
28 Years Later … The Bone Temple (2026)
Feb 28, 2026Post-Holocaust/The Zombie Apocalypse
A follow-up to 28 Years Later …, made even before the first film was released. This gives a deeper exploration of the character of Dr Kelson and proves a surprisingly good complement to its predecessor