The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)
Aug 25, 2002Toy Indian Comes to Life
A quite delightful film from former Muppeteer Frank Oz in which a boy receives the gift of a magic cabinet that brings his toy Indian and any other toy that is placed inside it
Steve Coogan
The Wind in the Willows (1996)
Aug 18, 2015Talking Animals/Absurdist Adventures
Monty Python's Terry Jones conducts a live-action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic children's story
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Aug 21, 2014Jules Verne Comedy Adaptation
Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel is turned into a comedy vehicle for Jackie Chan. One of Chan’s biggest flops, an overblown turkey packed with celebrity cameos and replacing Verne’s adventure with incredibly unfunny slapstick
Ella Enchanted (2004)
Dec 12, 2004Revisionist Cinderella Comedy
Excruciatingly awful take on Cinderella, which overruns the fairytale with hip contemporary in-jokes and pop culture references, shredding any suspension of disbelief in its desire to appeal to a modern teen cool
Night at the Museum (2006)
Feb 11, 2007Museum Exhibits Come to Life
Popular family hit with Ben Stiller as a night watchman at New York’s Museum of Natural History who discovers that the exhibits come to life at night. More a cute idea than a full film, there is some fun to the characters and effects
Night at the Museum 2 (2009)
May 24, 2009Museum Exhibits Come to Life
Sequel to the Ben Stiller hit offers more of the same with a bigger museum and more exhibits come to life but little else
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
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
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Jul 2, 2013Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
Despicable Me was a charming lightning in the bottle hit. Here Illumination Entertainment merely recyclethe familiar and already the cute sweetness and gags of the original are starting to feel like processed formula
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)
Jan 24, 2015Museum Exhibits Come to Life
The third entry in a franchise that seems to be stretching to find anything to do with its premise beyond the first film. Everyone involved seems to have only turned up to collect a paycheque and be going through the motions in a show that entirely coasts by solely on your familiarity with the characters
Minions (2015)
Jul 12, 2015Animation/Cute Mischievous Creatures
The incomprehensibly manic antics of the Minions have a cuteness appeal that has overspilled the Despicable Me films and seemed like it is in danger of taking over pop culture in the last couple of years; here they get a film all to themselves with amiably lightweight results
The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
Nov 21, 2016Animation/Talking Animals
I really enjoyed Illumination Entertainment's debut film Despicable Me but thereafter they just seemed to slip into formula and following what every other animation studio is. Despite low initial enthusiasm, they regain their form here, doing nothing radically out of the ordinary but producing a modestly engaging work
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
Sep 9, 2017Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
Despicable Me was a delightful debut for Illumination Entertainment but has come close to making the studio a one-hit wonder they have milked that one hit for all they can
Despicable Me 4 (2024)
Aug 16, 2024Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
More from the world’s cuddliest super-villain and those manic ritalin-deprived kids that are the Minions. Is there are life and creativity left in a franchise that has been milked for six films now?
Joker: Folie a Deux (2024)
Nov 9, 2024Comic-Book Super-Villain
Joker was a huge hit with Joaquin Phoenix winning an Academy Award for his role. This sequel emerged to very mixed reception, partly due to its rejection of the first film and then heading off to become a musical