Surrogates (2009)

Surrogates (2009)
Rating: ★★★
Nov 2, 2009Future Where People Inhabit Avatar Bodies
Interesting conceptual SF film where the populace of the future inhabit a series of perfect avatar bodies. Despite a few logical quibbles with the premise, this does a good job in exploring the idea of such a world

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
Rating: ★★
Feb 28, 2013Fairytale Adaptation/Epic Fantasy
A decade ago Bryan Singer was the great white hope of fanboy cinema but then seemed to lose his touch. This attempt to turn Jack and the Beanstalk into an epic fantasy does nothing to reverse that – the result feels exactly like a piece of formula studio product that could have been made by any hired director

A Monster Calls (2016)

A Monster Calls (2016)
Rating: ★★★
Jan 28, 2017Boy Befriends Giant Monster
The story of the relationship between a giant monster and a boy whose mother is dying of cancer, this is perhaps the darkest children's film ever made. The film is the weaker than the award-winning book it is based on because it never replicates the extraordinarily stark black-and-white illustrations of the original

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Rating: ★★½
Oct 29, 2016Secret Home for "Gifted" Youths
Tim Burton used to be the great hope of fantastic cinema but his efforts since 2000 have been greeted with general disappointment. This Young Adult adaptation, which plays out like a fantasy version of the X-Men, at least shows Burton making an effort to change direction and go back to basics (*)

Monster Trucks (2016)

Monster Trucks (2016)
Rating: ★★½
Apr 8, 2017Creatures Inhabit Vehicles
You can almost see the process that went off in the scriptwriters head "What if we had Monster Truck rallies where the trucks were actual monsters?". You are surprised that the film is not based on a toy line. The result proves to be way more entertaining than you ever expect it to be

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
Rating: ★★
Feb 22, 2019Fairytale Adaptation
Big and no-expense-spared Disney prestige production based on the fairytale. The film is stunning to look at it in terms of production design and costuming but has a simplicity to it that leaves little for adults to engage with