Solaris (2002)

Solaris (2002)
Rating: ★★½
Apr 1, 2003Enigmatic Alien Planet/Ghosts of Memory
Steven Soderbergh's English-language remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's epic SF film. Soderbergh trims Tarkovsky's long-windedness and makes the plot tighter, more intimate but this still emerges as a lesser version than the original

The Andromeda Strain (2008)

The Andromeda Strain (2008)
Rating: ★★
Jun 15, 2008Virus from Space/Michael Crichton Adaptation
TV series remake of Michael Crichton's novel about the attempts to contain a viral outbreak from space. Crichton's story was a straightforward work, whereas the mini-series has been absurdly overburdened with other plots

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Rating: ★★
Nov 2, 2009Jailed Genius Enacts Vigilante Justice
Vigilante film where Gerard Butler exacts revenge against the justice system while imprisoned in a jail cell. The dispatches become entertainingly improbable to the point that Butler almost becomes a Batman villain in all but name

Prisoners (2013)

Prisoners (2013)
Rating: ★★★½
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

Ender’s Game (2013)

Ender’s Game (2013)
Rating: ★★
Nov 2, 2013Space Military Recruits in Training
I will defend Orson Scott Card as an exceptional science-fiction writer, his controversies aside. While this is an extremely faithful adaptation of his book, it works unevenly as a film and never soars dramatically

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
Rating: ★★
Jan 13, 2024Future Televised Human Hunting
The Hunger Games was one of the biggest franchise of the 2010s. Here a number of the key talents return to make a prequel to the events, telling a story from the early days of the Hunger Games