Mad About Men (1954)
Mermaid Comedy
A sequel to the charming British mermaid comedy Miranda with Glynis Johns again owning the show with her flirtatiously coy sparkle as she swaps places with a lookalike relative
Film Series and Sequels
Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)
Filipino Exploitation/Mad Scientist/Monster Amok
The original Filipino exploitation classic, this pumps the 1940s mad scientist film up with gore, toplessness and tropical locations. A reasonable hit but surprisingly dull and sedate despite
Mad Max (1979)
Near Future Road Rage
The first of the Mad Max films and a considerable jolt if one comes to it after any of the sequels. This is an altogether different film – a grim and violent road movie more in the vein of Death Wish
Mad Max 2 (1981)
Post-Holocaust Action
A sequel that makes an extraordinary leap over its predecessor. It created an entire genre of films – even its own design and clothing aesthetic – and is one of the most kinetic, exciting action films ever made
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Post-Holocaust Action
The third of the Mad Max films sees the series becoming increasingly more mainstream in focus, along with the conscious resignation that it is impossible to top the previous film
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Post-Holocaust Action
30 years in the making and the results are sensational. An action film so relentlessly foot-to-the-floor and full of kinetic wildness that it blows all its contemporaries away and sets the bar anew
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
Animation/Talking Animals
A reasonable sequel to DreamWorks’ Madagascar that this time actually takes the characters to Africa where it determines to give each of them their own story
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)
Animation/Talking Animals
The Madagascar series was a cute idea first time around but has been stretched more than its worth by the sequels. Nevertheless, this works at you with a colourful light-heartedness that is hard to resist
Madagascar (2005)
Animation/Talking Animals
Enjoyably silly DreamWorks animated film concerning a group of talking zoo animals that are released into the wilds of Africa for the first time. This spawned a series of sequels
Magic in the Mirror (1996)
Alternate Dimension/Talking Ducks
One of the best children’s films from Charles Band, an utterly bizarre effort about a world through a magic mirror ruled by talking ducks
Magic in the Mirror: Fowl Play (1996)
Talking Ducks
Sequel to the delightfully madcap Magic in the Mirror set in a world of talking ducks
The Magnetic Monster (1953)
Radioactive Isotope Amok
One of the most unique 1950s atomic monster movies – in which the monster is an amok radioactive isotope. Low-budget SF film that is pushed into the decidedly watchable by a driving documentary-like urgency and in being one of the few 1950s SF films reasonably grounded in scientific methodology
Maid-Droid (2008)
Human-Android Sexual Relations
Really odd, even at times touching, Japanese film about a man’s thwarted attempts to have sex with his android maid
Majin, Monster of Terror (1966)
Stone Deity Awakens
One of the more unusual Japanese monster movies, one that operates just as much a samurai film, concerning the stone god of a mountain that awakens to defend downtrodden peasants
Maleficent (2014)
Live-Action Prequel to Disney's Sleeping Beauty
Another in the early 2010s fad for fairytales rewritten as dark adult fantasy films – in this case, a version of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty told from the viewpoint of the witch
Maleficent, Mistress of Evil (2019)
Sleeping Beauty Continuation
Nobody much liked Maleficent but did make a reasonable amount of money, hence a sequel. The surprise is that in the hands of Norwegian director Joachim Rønning, it is far better than one expected
The Man From Earth (2007)
Immortal Man
Beautifully written film about an immortal. The result is an entirely captivating SF film whose whole effect emerges simply from people sitting in a living room talking
The Man From Earth: Holocene (2017)
Immortal Man
The Man from Earth built up a reasonable reputation with a simple concept – a 14,000 year old man tells his life story that comes with a killer of a twist. This sequel far less interestingly becomes a detective story about a group of students trying to find if their professor is the same character
The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)
Martial Arts/Shaw Brothers Homage
RZA of rap group Wu-Tang Clan fame (with the aid of Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino) makes a dual acting/directing appearance with this homage to Shaw Brothers martial arts films … not quite the genuine article but a solid effort where RZA certainly doesn’t embarrass himself
The Man with the Iron Fists 2 (2015)
Martial Arts
I had a liking for RZA’s Shaw Brothers homage The Man with the Iron Fists more than most other critics.This sequel has been handed over to a generic action direction, which certainly leaves it more slickly polished than the original but also quickly forgettable
The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)
Star Wars Spinoff Film
A spinoff film from The Mandalorian tv series, this is the best film set in the Star Wars universe this side of the 2000s for the simple reason that it has invested in characters rather than slavish fanboy callbacks
The Mangler (1995)
Possessed Laundry Press/Stephen King Adaptation
The single worst Stephen King adaptation ever made. Director Tobe Hooper fails to approach the story of a possessed laundry press with the same drollness that King did and inflates it into something ridiculous
The Mangler 2 (2001)
Artificially Intelligent Computer Virus Amok
Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler was one of the worst of all Stephen King adaptations and this is modern sequel generating of the worst order where the Mangler now becomes an A.I. and a computer virus
Manhunter (1986)
Hannibal Lecter Film
The very first Hannibal Lecter film. Under Michael Mann, this comes with a stylistic flourish very different to what the films became when Anthony Hopkins took the role
Maniac Cop (1988)
Disfigured Psycho Cop
The first in a series of films starring Robert Z’dar as an hulking, deformed ex-cop seeking revenge. Not as effective as the sequels but is lifted above the routine by a quirky Larry Cohen script
Maniac Cop II (1990)
Disfigured Psycho Cop
Standout sequel to Maniac Cop, the best of the series, where Larry Cohen turns in a remarkable script and William Lustig delivers incredible action sequences
Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1992)
Disfigured Psycho Cop
The third of the Maniac Cop films had production problems and now feels more like a regular slasher film, although is still boosted by a characteristically witty Larry Cohen script
Mannequin (1987)
Romance with a Mannequin Come to Life
It is hard to believe this ever received a greenlight, a film in which Andrew McCarthy falls for a storefront mannequin (Kim Cattrall) who comes to life. The comedy has an excruciating inanity
Mannequin on the Move (1991)
Romance with a Statue Comes to Life
A sequel to the Mannequin, the inane comedy about a romance with a storefront dummy come to life. Here Kristy Swanson plays a princess who is turned into a statue before being awoken in the present
Manos Returns (2018)
Bad Movie Sequel
Manos: The Hands of Fate is considered one of the worst films of all time. 42 years later some of those involved in the original decided to make a sequel that manages to be just as bad a film
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
Backroads Sinisterness/Undead Warlock
Regarded as one of the worst films ever made, more than anything this is just dull and boring. The plot concerns a couple straying into a desert home where a warlock is about to be resurrected
Mark of the Devil (1970)
Historical Witch Persecutions and Tortures
Another depiction of the Middle Ages witch persecutions that becomes a catalogue of the cruelties enacted – Torture Porn way back before anybody ever invented the term
The Marsupials: The Howling III (1987)
Australian Werewolves
Third of The Howling films where director Philippe Mora travels to Australia to show us marsupial werewolves. A conceptually wild mix that fails abysmally due to cheap effects and Mora not taking things seriously
The Marvels (2023)
Marvel Comics Superheroes
This ended up being the lowest rated of all MCU films. One wondered whether this was just fannish hyperbole but no what we end up with is the Batman & Robin of The MCU, the single worst film that franchise has produced
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Flying Nanny Frolics
Mary Poppins was one of the greatest of all Disney live-action films, made with nonsensical charm and has become a much loved favourite. As part of the ongoing firesale that involves resurrecting almost all of their properties, this is a sequel. Its an exacting replication/homage to the original but that is the problem – it is a recapturing rather than seems to create its own sparkle
The Mask (1994)
Zany Comic-Book Superhero
Comic-book adaptation featuring a ballistically OTT Jim Carrey who becomes a zany figure of chaos whenever he puts on a mask. The film has been designed to emulate cartoon physics but its lack of any grounding reality proves annoying
The Matrix (1999)
Virtual Reality
A film that was as groundbreaking when it came out as Star Wars was in its day. The Wachowskis create a defining work on Virtual Reality themes and do so with a sublime cool and a series of breathtaking action moves that blew everybody away
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Virtual Reality
The first of the sequels to The Matrix inevitably disappointed on the massive build-up. The Wachowskis leave more questions than answers, while the new action scenes are often jaw-dropping they also feel boiler-plated on
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Virtual Reality
One of The Wachowskis returns to the world of The Matrix and rather wittily turns it into an anti-blockbuster about her reluctance to do so
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Virtual Reality
Third of The Matrix sequels and the weakest of the series. This offers one showstopping effects sequence, on the other hand it also leaves a host of unanswered questions dangling
MaXXXine (2024)
1980s Hollywood Psycho Film
Ti West and Mia Goth round out their trilogy of films begun with X with a psycho film set in 1980s Hollywood
May the Devil Take You: Chapter Two (2020)
Possessed Dead in an Abandoned Orphanage
May the Devil Take YouThe Evil Dead. Here Timo Tjajjanto makes a sequel and goes absolutely demented
May the Devil Take You (2018)
Possessed Dead in the Cellar
Indonesia’s Timo Tjahjanto has emerged as a Must Watch director on the basis of his jaw-dropping brutal action films plus assorted ventures into horror. Here he pays homage to the 1980s horror films in particular to The Evil Dead
The Maze Runner (2014)
Young Adult/Maze World/Conceptual Breakthrough Story
One of the better among the current fad for Young Adult dystopian SF works post-The Hunger Games. This dispenses with dystopian Coming of Age stories and gives us a fascinating conceptual mystery even if the answers prove underwhelming
Meatball Machine: Kodoku (2017)
Gonzo Japanese Splatter Film/Bio-Mechanoid Mutations
A sequel to Meatball Machine, the film that started the gonzo Japanese splatter genre, filled with wild mutations, over-the-top splatter, a surreal sense of humour and an obsession with schoolgirls in panties
Meatballs III: Summer Job (1987)
Teen Comedy/Angelic Intervention
Unrelated to the Bill Murray film in anything but name, this is a moronic teen summer camp comedy in which Patrick Dempsey is aided in trying to lose his virginity by angel Sally Kellerman
Meatballs Part II (1984)
Summer Camp Comedy/Alien Visitor
No-one is pretending that the Bill Murray summer camp comedy Meatballs was a masterpiece but it looks a work of art in comparison to this unfunny sequel, which also throw in a stiff E.T. lookalike
Meet the Santas (2005)
Santa's Son Gets Married
Sequel to Single Santa Seeks Mrs Claus where here Santa’s son (Steve Guttenberg) ties the knot – amazingly traditional and conservative in its sentiments and with everything so predictable that there is no real drama
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
Giant Prehistoric Killer Sharks
The sequel to the Jason Statham starring killer shark film, bigger and more over the top than before. The surprise is seeing cult director Ben Wheatley turning to making a big, dumb film
Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus (2010)
Giant Monsters
The first sequel to The Asylum’s Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus and marginally a better film. This is less sparing with the cheap effects, while in every other regard it plants tongue-in-cheek and tries to make a virtue out of the sheer ridiculousness of the action
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (2009)
Giant Monsters
The Asylum’s first venture into the gonzo shark movie that would spin off a series of sequels and culminate in the Sharknado phenomenon. Despite one of the great attention grabbing titles of all time, this is an unmemorable affair
Mega Shark vs Kolossus (2015)
Giant Monsters
The fourth of The Asylum’s Mega Shark films and the best of the series where they get the balance of tongue-in-cheek absurdity just right and the low-budget effects prove surprisingly good
Mega Shark vs Mecha Shark (2014)
Giant Shark vs Giant Robot Shark
Third in The Asylum’s series of Mega Shark films where they borrow the Godzilla series’ idea of Mecha-Godzilla and pit the Mega Shark against a robot copy of itself. Here the Mega Shark series is starting to approach the entertaining silliness of their Sharknado films but still flounder amid tatty effects
Megalodon (2018)
Giant Prehistoric Shark
The Asylum’s low-budget mockbuster copy of The Meg, which is an irony in that The Meg was really an Asylum killer shark film with an A-budget. Two sequels followed.
Megalodon Rising (2021)
Giant Prehistoric Shark
The Asylum make a sequel to their earlier giant prehistoric shark film Megalodon
Megalodon: The Frenzy (2023)
Giant Prehistoric Sharks
The third of The Asylum’s trilogy of films about giant prehistoric sharks
Megiddo (2001)
The Biblical End of the World
Sequel to the Biblical End Times/Antichrist film The Omega Code, this dispenses with preaching faith but still slips into absurdity
Men Behind the Sun (1988)
Atrocities in a Japanese Concentration Camp
One of a rare handful of films that can be considered the most extreme ever made, this a catalogue of the true-life atrocities and experiments inflicted on prisoners during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in WWII. An intensely uncomfortable watch not recommended for the faint-hearted
Men in Black II (2002)
Alien Coverup Conspiracy Agency
Sequel that turns a witty original into overblown slapstick that never consists of anything more than absurd gags with aliens and technology popping up from behind everyday objects
Men in Black 3 (2012)
Alien Coverup Conspiracy Agency
One hardly greets the attempt to generate another entry out of this franchise with any enthusiasm. This mostly consists of tired and familiar gags, where maybe the most generous compliment you can pay is that it is better than Men in Black II was
Men in Black (1997)
Alien Coverup Conspiracy Agency
A huge box-office hit, this comedy turns UFO conspiracy of
Men in Black: International (2019)
Alien Coverup Conspiracy Agency
The original Men in Black was a witty parody of alien coverup conspiracies; the sequels became slapstick films about pop-up aliens and gadgets hidden behind everyday things. This offers little that is new
Merlin’s Apprentice (2006)
Arthurian Legends Adventure
Sequel to Hallmark’s earlier tv mini-series Merlin featuring a return performance from Sam Neill in the title role, this is otherwise a generic and unmemorable work of Arthurian fantasy
The Messengers (2007)
Haunting
The Pang Brothers, two of the most exciting genre directors in the world, have their distinctive style swallowed up in their bland US mainstream debut produced by Sam Raimi
Messiah (2001)
Serial Killer Thriller
A strong and worthwhile serial killer thriller mini-series from the BBC with a killer targeting victims with the names and professions of the apostles
The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967)
Female Super-Villain/All-Women World Domination Plot
Sax Rohmer created the super-villain Fu Manchu, less well-known was his character of the female super-villain Sumuru who leads an all-woman army in a world domination plot. This was one of two Sumuru films
Mimesis (2011)
Characters Trapped in a Simulation of Night of the Living Dead
This comes with an interestingly different premise wherein characters are abducted and wake up inside a simulation of Night of the Living Dead and realise they are meant to replay the roles of the people in the farmhouse at siege from the zombie onslaught
Mimesis: Nosferatu (2018)
Mysterious Group Restage Nosferatu
Sequel to Mimesis, which had people trapped in a simulation of Night of the Living Dead, where this time people are trapped in a recreation of Nosferatu
Mimic (1997)
Evolved Insects
This was the second film from Guillermo Del Toro, a modest and quite good Alien copy with Mira Sorvino hunting evolved insects in the New York subway tunnels
Mimic 2 (2001)
Evolved Insect Monster
This was the first of two sequels to Guillermo Del Toro’s intelligent insect film Mimic, although this has now becomes more of a regular and unexceptional monster movie
Minions (2015)
Animation/Cute Mischievous Creatures
The incomprehensibly manic antics of the Minions have a cuteness appeal that has overspilled the Despicable Me films and seemed like it is in danger of taking over pop culture in the last couple of years; here they get a film all to themselves with amiably lightweight results
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Animation/Super-Villain and Cute Mischievous Creatures
The cutely nonsensical Minions have become a pop culture phenomenon. Here we get more of them, although this is more as a Gru origin story
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Santa in Court
Classic Christmas film with Edmund Gwenn as a man who is placed on trial after he insists he is the real Santa Claus
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Santa in Court
A John Hughes written remake of the classic Christmas film where a man (Richard Attenborough) claiming to be Santa ends up tried in court.
Miranda (1948)
Mermaid Comedy
The very first mermaid film, a wonderfully droll comedy in which a capricious Glynis Johns innocently wreaks havoc on all the men around her
Mirror Mirror (1990)
Cursed Mirror
A 1990s video release, a variant on Carrie where a bullied teen girl enacts vengeance against tormentors with the aid of a cursed mirror
Mirrors 2 (2010)
Haunted Mirrors
A sequel to Alexandre Aja’s Mirrors that abandons most of the basics of the first film and strips everything down to a series of gory, novelty deaths
Mirrors (2008)
Haunted Mirrors
Alexandre Aja film about haunted mirrors. Aja is more a director of physical horror and seems less attuned to the supernatural mood
Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack (1979)
Battlestar Galactica Movie
Episodes of the original Battlestar Galactica tv series that were recut and screened theatrically for international audiences
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Spy/Action Film
The second of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films where he has the smarts to hire John Woo as director who brings his customary stylish flair with action to transform the film into something exhiliraing
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Spy/Action Film
For his third outing in the series, Tom Cruise made a smart bet on giving the reins to J.J. Abrams who made his directorial debut and turned in the most enjoyable entry in the series to that point. One of the best moves is in the casting of Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain of the show
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Spy/Action Film
The seventh of Mission: Impossible films with Tom Cruise still on great form at age 61. He and the team raise the bar for the series to a new high
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Spy/Action Film
The sixth of the Mission: Impossible films. Not the best of the series but Tom Cruise and associates have everything polished to an expertly honed formula by now and the film is a kinetic ride of intensive and often jaw-dropping action sequences
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Spy/Action Film
The best of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films to this point. The live-action directorial debut of Pixar director Brad Bird proves an inspired move and Bird gets all the gadgetry just right along with a series of sensational action sequences
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Spy/Action Film
The Mission: Impossible films have become superbly polished vehicles with exotic locales, death-defying stuntwork and spectacular action sequences. This enacts it all well; the main problem is that Ghost Protocol is such a tough act to follow that this cannot help but fall in its shadow
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Spy/Action Film
The eighth of the Mission: Impossible films. The previous entry Dead Reckoning was a high point in the series and this is left wrapping up the storyline in what would appear to be Tom Cruise’s final outing for the series
Moana 2 (2024)
Disney Animation/Pacific Island Mythology
Disney make a sequel to Moana, their venture into Pacific Island mythology
Moana (2016)
Disney Animation/Pacific Island Mythology
Despite being a huge box-office and critical success and being nominated for an Academy Award, I am in a minority in disliking this. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that it appropriates the culture from my neck of the woods and only spins it out as a series of glib jokes and one-liners
The Moment After (1999)
The Biblical Rapture
One of a cluster of faith-based films made around the turn of the millennium dealing with the biblical apocalypse and The Rapture, this has not dated well
Mommy’s Day (1996)
Psycho Mother
Sequel to Mommy, which featured Patty McCormack as a psychopathic mother
Mommy (1995)
Psycho Mother
Patty McCormack played a psychopathic child in The Bad Seed. This is essentially a sequel where McCormack has grown up and become a mother
The Monkey King (2014)
Epic Chinese Legend
Enjoyably colourful and silly retelling of the classic Chinese legend. This is one Wu Xia film that leaps aboard the CGI and 3D bandwagon to create a wildly fantastical airbrushed world that comes out resembling a flying swordsman film by way of Avatar
The Monkey King 2 (2016)
Epic Chinese Legend
Sequel to the earlier The Monkey King, which was fun but this is altogether a better film. While the first film was more prelude to Journey to the West, this sets out on the journey and tells one of its stories. Directed with an immensely assured command of the live-action and CGi elements
The Monkey King 3 (2018)
Epic Chinese Legend
The Monkey King films are a series of extraordinary works that exists somewhere between CGI and live-action and have a lushness of design. That is balanced against a dated plot that basically rehashes Cat Women of the Moon
The Monkey’s Uncle (1965)
Teenage Inventor/Disney Comedy
One of the wacky inventor live-action comedies Disney made in the 1960s, a sequel to The Misadventures of Merlin Jones where Tommy Kirk variously adopts a chimpanzee and tries to sleep-coach football jocks
Monster Hunt 2 (2018)
Chinese Monsters and Hunters Comedy
Sequel to Monster Hunt, an audience pleasing comedy about a couple and a cute monster that became the biggest hit in Chinese box-office history. This offers more of the same
Monster Hunt (2015)
Chinese Monsters and Hunters Comedy
Apparently the biggest grossing film in China ever. What we get is not much more than a rehash of E.T. with the addition of flying swordsmen. What kills the film is an emphasis of excrutiating slapstick and low-res CGI that makes the various creatures resemble versions of Mr Blobby
Monsters (2010)
Alien-Infested Zone
Cloverfield by way of Stalker – a unique and original film about zones on Earth overrun by alien creatures. Director Gareth Edwards creates his own effects that far surpass many big budget efforts
Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)
Alien-Infested War Zone
This offers the expectation of a sequel to the sleeper hit of Monsters; what we instead get is not many monsters and a film about recruits in a Middle Eastern war zone. That said, you cannot deny that what we have is an undeniably well made film
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Pixar Animation/Monsters in the Closet
This was the fourth animated film from Pixar and is a winning and delightful Maurice Sendakian tale about the monsters in the closet and their friendship with a young girl