Richard Griffiths Archives

King Ralph (1991)

Rating: ★★

May 7, 2000American Slob Becomes the King of England Comedy

A comedy where the Royal Family is wiped out and vulgar American nightclub singer John Goodman inherits the crown. Much comedic play between American vulgarity and British ceremony ensues.

Director: David S. Ward

Actors: John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, John Hurt, Richard Griffiths, …

Category: Science Fiction

7 May 200012 June 2026 by Roog

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Rating: ★★★

Jan 4, 2000Headless Horseman Killings

Tim Burton adapts the classic Washington Irving ghost story, although throws most of it out, to make his own beautifully designed period piece spearheaded by another eccentric Johnny Depp performance

Director: Tim Burton

Actors: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, …

Category: Horror

4 January 200018 March 2025 by Roog

Gormenghast (2000)

Rating: ★★

May 27, 2007Imaginary Castle World

I enjoyed Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast books far more than J.R.R. Tolkien. Alas, the sublime texture and eccentricity is completely missing in this BBC tv version, which aims for colourful silliness

Director: Andy Wilson

Actors: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christopher Lee, John Sessions, Warren Mitchell, …

Category: Fantasy

27 May 20071 March 2026 by Roog

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

Rating: ★★

Nov 18, 2001Young Wizard

The first of the Harry Potter films. The first is the weakest and lumbers due to being placed in the hands of the perpetually banal Chris Columbus who allows visual effects wow and simplistic emotional cues to dominate

Director: Chris Columbus

Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, …

Category: Fantasy

18 November 200114 March 2026 by Roog

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Rating: ★★

Dec 6, 2002Young Wizard

The second of the Harry Potter films and better than its predecessor. Chris Columbus has his tendency to overblown effects more in check but that does leave the film more dependent on J.K. Rowling's contrived deus ex machina plotting

Director: Chris Columbus

Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, …

Category: Fantasy

6 December 20021 July 2021 by Roog

The Brides in the Bath (2003)

Rating: ★★★

Nov 10, 2006True Life Multiple Wife Murderer

British true crime tv drama based on the George Joseph Smith who in the early years of the 20th Century would marry women, get them to sign life insurance policies and then drown them in the bath

Director: Harry Bradbeer

Actors: Martin Kemp, Richard Griffiths, Jennifer Calvert, Susan Brown, …

Category: Horror

10 November 20069 March 2020 by Roog

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Rating: ★★★

Jun 15, 2004Young Wizard

The third Harry Potter film where it seems all that it took for the series to become quite good was the exit of the perpetually banal Chris Columbus and the entry of a new director in Alfonso Cuaron

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Robbie Coltrane, …

Category: Fantasy

15 June 200430 October 2025 by Roog

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Rating: ★

May 2, 2005Gonzo SF

The big-budget film version of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide phenomenon is a disaster that fumbles Douglas Adams’s absurdist wit and blows everything up with big-budget effects and a pitch to American audiences

Director: Garth Jennings

Actors: Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def, …

Category: Science Fiction

2 May 200529 December 2023 by Roog

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Rating: ★★★½

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

Director: David Yates

Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Rupert Grint, …

Category: Fantasy

11 July 200714 March 2026 by Roog

Bedtime Stories (2008)

Rating: ★

Dec 28, 2008Bedtime Stories Come True Comedy

An unfunny Adam Sandler film in which he plays a guy whose bedtime stories come true. Sandler regards himself as the funniest guy in the room and doesn't even seem to be making an effort.

Director: Adam Shankman

Actors: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, …

Category: Fantasy

28 December 200823 November 2022 by Roog

Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)

Rating: ★★½

Nov 1, 2012Nazis Invade England/Satiric Alternate History/Puppet Film

A puppet film about a satiric Nazi invasion of England in World War II. Imagine It Happened Here by way of Team America. This has its amusements but is uneven

Director: Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry

Actors: Ewan McGregor, Timothy Spall, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West, …

Category: Fantasy

1 November 201212 May 2026 by Roog

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Rating: ★★

May 20, 2011Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is revived for a fifth outing. There is a new director in Rob Marshall but bar an energetic comic opening, he never does much that hits the zany heights of the previous entries

Director: Rob Marshall

Actors: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, …

Category: Fantasy

20 May 20116 February 2025 by Roog

Hugo (2011)

Rating: ★★★★

Dec 15, 2011Children's Film/Georges Melies Tribute

Martin Scorsese’s venture into making a children’s film is a beautiful production but must have been a studio nightmare – while they try to sell it as a magical fantasy film, Scorsese wants to pay tribute to silent filmmaker Georges Melies

Director: Martin Scorsese

Actors: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, …

Category: Fantasy

15 December 201110 June 2020 by Roog

About Time (2013)

Rating: ★★★

Nov 3, 2013Time Travel Romantic Comedy

Time travel film that feels like a romantic comedy version of The Time Traveler's Wife (with Rachel McAdams in the same role in both films). Played with a good deal of feelgood warmth and likeability by all

Director: Richard Curtis

Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, …

Category: Fantasy

3 November 20136 November 2025 by Roog