The Darkest Hour (2011)
Jan 20, 2012Alien Invasion
An alien invasion film set in Moscow. This is nothing more than a special effects vehicle about how the culturally self-absorbed twentysomething computer geeks and party girls save the world
Jon Spaihts
Prometheus (2012)
Jun 9, 2012Alien Prequel
Ridley Scott's promised prequel to Alien. The first half creates epic mystery but the answers provided are not nearly as interesting as promised, while the latter half disappointingly settles for doing the Alien standard with decidedly lesser effect
Passengers (2016)
Jan 21, 2017Cryogenic Sleepers Awake Aboard a Space Voyage
The gratifying pleasure of a solid conceptually-driven science-fiction film – all based around the premise of "what if a cryogenic sleeper woke up halfway through a deep space voyage?" and the moral choices he must make. Strong, intelligent character-driven science-fiction and possibly the best designed film of the year
Doctor Strange (2016)
Nov 19, 2016Marvel Comics Magician Superhero
Scott Derrickson acquits himself well taking on one of Marvel's magician superhero. He replicates well the psychedelic esoterica that gained the comic book a cult following and Benedict Cumberbatch anchors the show perfectly
The Mummy (2017)
Jul 22, 2017Revived Mummy
The reboot of the Mummy series emerges as a wannabe Michael Bay film where even star Tom Cruise plays second banana to the CGI eye candy. Equally, an attempt to jumpstart a shared universe out of Universal's Famous Monsters with the inclusion of Dr Jekyll seems awkward
Dune Part One (2021)
Oct 30, 2021Desert World/Intergalactic Politics/Precognitive Messiah
Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic SF novel comes with a determination to give the story and its richly detailed world faithful life on screen. Villeneuve adapts freely in many areas but gets the complexity of the saga
Dune Part Two (2024)
Apr 20, 2024Desert World/Intergalactic Politics/Precognitive Messiah
The second part of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic SF novel Dune, this delves more deeply into the world of the Fremen, although starts to diverge more from the book
A Minecraft Movie (2025)
May 31, 2025Videogame Adaptation
A live-action film based on the popular videogame with Jack Black and Jason Momoa venturing into a brick-based otherworld. This was a reasonable hit.