Little Monsters (1989)
Mar 1, 2001Secret World of Monsters Under the Bed
A very likeable children's film about a boy befriending the monsters under his bed. Made with a gleefully malicious anarchy and some great creature effects
Terry Rossio
The Puppet Masters (1994)
Dec 15, 2007Alien Body Snatchers
This adaptation of the Robert Heinlein novel was not a success when it came out but is a modest addition to the alien body snatchers genre with some undeniably effective moments
Godzilla (1998)
Jul 16, 1999Giant Atomic Monster
Much disliked English-language version of Godzilla from Roland Emmerich is a more watchable film than one might think. Emmerich does well when the film allows him to do what he does best - being a big, budget, massively scaled epic of mass destruction
Small Soldiers (1998)
Nov 5, 1999War Between Toys
Joe Dante has resorted to a rehash of his biggest hit Gremlins, seemingly conceptually slung together with Toy Story - concerning an army of malevolent toy soldiers come to life
The Road to El Dorado (2000)
Apr 4, 2000Animation/Lost City
Good-natured DreamWorks animated film set during the Conquistadors arrival in South America. Aztec culture undergoes some modern rewriting but this remains modestly enjoyable (*)
Shrek (2001)
May 22, 2001Animation/Fairytale Spoof
Before this was spun out into a series of ho-hum sequels, the original was an animated film that burst with a freshness and a series of winning voice characterisations
Treasure Planet (2002)
Dec 24, 2002Disney Animation/Treasure Island in Outer Space
Disney animated film that proved a flop, this lazily remakes Treasure Island set in space. The result is bad science-fiction with sailing ships in space, Ben Gumm as a malfunctioning robot and so on
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Nov 21, 2003Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler
Enjoyably tongue-in-cheek pirate swashbuckler based on the Disney theme park that proved an enormous hit and spun off a series of sequels, as well as giving Johnny Depp one of his iconic roles
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
Jul 24, 2006Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler
The second of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Johnny Depp and all the principals are back and much of the eccentric humour is present but the action has undergone budget bloat
Deja Vu (2006)
Feb 11, 2007Time Travel
Tony Scott directed time travel film with Denzel Washington viewing and then entering into events of the past in an effort to stop a terrorist bombing. Action driven as you might expect with Jerry Bruckheimer as producer
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
Jul 25, 2007Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler
Third of the Pirates of the Caribbean films and purportedly made without a completed script, this becomes bloated and sprawling
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
May 20, 2011Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is revived for a fifth outing. There is a new director in Rob Marshall but bar an energetic comic opening, he never does much that hits the zany heights of the previous entries
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Sep 16, 2017Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler
After the two last lacklustre entries, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise starts to recover where the two new directors pull off some spectacular comedy-action sequences that go a long way towards recapturing what the series used to be
Aladdin (2019)
Aug 17, 2019Live-Action Disney Remake/Arabian Nights
As part of the ongoing firesale, Disney offer up a live-action remake of their animated hit. where a mismatched Guy Ritchie delivers a mediocre rehash of what was an overrated classic in the first place
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Apr 10, 2021Giant Monster Bash
One of fantastic cinema’s great titles bouts is a spectacular effects show. At the same time, it also has one of the single most ridiculous script I have ever come across in the entire time I have been running this site
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
Jun 1, 2024Giant Monster Bash
A follow-up to Godzilla vs Kong, this tries to offer more of the same but suffers another ridiculous script. This ended up being overshadowed by the acclaim that the Japanese-made Godzilla: Minus One received