Series 7: The Contenders (2001)
Mar 2, 2010Human-Hunting Reality TV Show
Blackly funny film that predates the advent of reality tv about a tv show where people are licensed to hunt each other
Will Arnett
Ice Age 2 (2006)
Jun 21, 2006Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals
The first in a series of interminable sequels to Blue Sky Studios' animated prehistoric adventure. Everything has a tediousness that feels as though it is created by a script generating computer
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)
May 24, 2009Afterlife for Suicides
Oddball film set in an afterlife for suicides. You keep expecting the film to burst out into a vein of rich black comedy that never comes and you are left with a film that feels as though it is being eccentric for the sake of it.
Ratatouille (2007)
Sep 9, 2007Pixar Animation/Talking Rat Chef
The eighth film from Pixar and Brad Bird's follow-up to the hit of The Incredibles. Telling the story of a rat that becomes a gourmet chef, this is slightly the lesser among the high standard that Pixar have set nevertheless still immensely enjoyable
Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Apr 21, 2008Dr Seuss Adaptation/Animation
Animated adaptation of the Dr Seuss book is an amiable effort that captures a certain zaniness but ultimately seems to be forcing Seuss's slim original to inhabit the formula of the modern animated film
G-Force (2009)
Oct 20, 2009Talking Guinea Pig Secret Agents
Imagine a Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible spy caper played out with talking guinea pigs. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, no less, this offers appealingly energetic silliness
Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
Apr 4, 2009Animation/Friendly Monsters vs Alien Invaders
Cutley appealing DreamWorks animated film that brings together a bunch of oddball creatures clearly intended as an affectionate homage to various 1950s sf films
Jonah Hex (2010)
Jun 19, 2010Western Comic-Book Adaptation/Supernatural Bounty Hunter
This is an adaptation of the DC comic-book character of a supernatural avenging Western gunslinger that fails to burn with the grim mood it should have
Despicable Me (2010)
Jul 17, 2010Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
An animated effort about a mad scientist and three orphans. One entered this with zero expectation only for it to unexpectedly emerge as a side-splitting and completely charming pleasure
When in Rome (2010)
Apr 17, 2014Romantic Comedy/Fountain of Love
Agonisingly awful romantic comedy about a Fountain of Love. The plot is utterly vapid, its resolution never in the slightest doubt, while director Mark Steven (Daredevil, Ghost Rider) Johnson sets the entire film up around a series of painfully unfunny slapstick routines
The Lego Movie (2014)
Feb 7, 2014Animation/Adventures in the Lego Universe
How much fun can a film based around Lego characters be? A film that overflows with cleverness, wit and energy. The most fun is in the film's creating a madcap mix-up of characters from different franchises
The Nut Job (2014)
Jan 17, 2014Animation/Talking Animal Heist Film
I went into this with zero expectations, expecting no more than a work of formula family entertainment and came out gently surprised. Essentially a talking cartoon animals variant on a heist plot, it does the formula likeably and with none of the relentless smart-ass cynicism of too many contemporaries
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Aug 9, 2014Comic-Book Superheroes
This reboot of the pop culture icons of 80s/90s is an ugly failure on almost every level. The Turtles I remember were hip, funky and bubbled with boyish enthusiasm; these Turtles seem sinister oversized creations, while the film's adrenalised over-production and emphasis on grit seems to have missed the essential element of fun
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
Jun 12, 2016Comic-Book Superheroes
Nobody has good things to say about the 2014 reboot of the Turtles. This sequel is stuck with its legacy – giant over-sized Turtles that lacked the cuteness of the originals; bitchy non-acting Megan Fox – but comes out winningly by doing one thing – emulating the spirit of the original cartoon series
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
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)
Mar 16, 2020Animation/Comic-Book Superhero Team
Film spinoff from the animated tv series Teen Titans Go! This hits in with an hilairous barrage of one-liners wickedly spoofing the superhero genre and jokes at DC Comics canon
The Lego Movie 2 (2019)
Mar 23, 2019Animation/Adventures in the Lego Universe
Sequel to The Lego Movie. This time the idea of the Lego universe, the crossovers and fourth-wall breaking gags are not as fresh but this still gets good mileage out of them