Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice (1988)
Rating: ★★★½
Jul 3, 2000Gonzo Afterlife Comedy
This was where the world took notice of Tim Burton in his second film. This throws the standard ghost story on its head with the dead trying to exorcise the living. The show is dominated by Burton's wild set-pieces and Michael Keaton's OTT title performance

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Rating: ★★★★
Jul 24, 2006Animation/Philip K. Dick Adaptation/Identity Bending Drugs
Richard Linklater conducts an animated adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel with extremely faithful results. Keanu Reeves is a police officer assigned to investigate what he realises is himself

Sex and Death 101 (2007)

Sex and Death 101 (2007)
Rating: ★★★
Jan 1, 2010Man Receives a List of All the Women He Will Ever Have Sex With
What starts out seeming like a frat boy comedy about a guy receiving a list of all the women he will sleep with turns into an intriguingly different beast altogether

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek (2009)
Rating: ★★
May 12, 2009Intergalactic Adventures
J.J. Abrams revives the Star Trek franchise by recasting it with younger faces and rewriting continuity. But in the appeal to a hipper, sexier vibe, it feels a long way from Gene Roddenberry’s creation – nowhere in evidence is the original's concern with galactic politics and social issues of the day

Frankenweenie (2012)

Frankenweenie (2012)
Rating: ★★
Nov 28, 2012Universal Frankenstein Homage/Boy Resurrects Dog/Stop-Motion Animation
Tim Burton's stop-motion animated expansion of his 1982 short film has a winning concept – a parody of the Universal Frankenstein films with a teenage boy resurrecting his dog

The Plot Against America (2020)

The Plot Against America (2020)
Rating: ★★★★
May 23, 2020Alternate History
You might be inclined to dismiss on the basis of its title as some of lunatic fringe YouTube conspiracy video. But what we actually have is a strong and powerfully written alternate history mini-series based around the idea of Charles Lindbergh becoming US President in 1940 and the country's subsequent slide into fascism