O Lucky Man! (1973)
Nov 4, 2000Social Satire
The second of Lindsay Anderson and Malcolm's McDowell's social satires with coffee salesman McDowell passing through increasingly more surreal adventures
Helen Mirren
Blue Remembered Hills (1979)
Jan 27, 2021Depiction of Childhood/Adults Play Children
I have said it before and will say it again – Dennis Potter was the greatest writer to ever work in television. This is his classic work depicting childhood where all the roles of the children are played by adults
The Fiendish Plot of Dr Fu Manchu (1980)
Jul 4, 2002Fu Manchu Spoof
Peter Sellers’ last film and usually lambasted by his fans. Spoofing the great villain, Sellers indulges his penchant for playing multiple roles and the result is some likeable silliness
Excalibur (1981)
Jun 28, 2002Arthurian Legends
The definitive film version of the Arthurian legends. John Boorman gives us a magnificent and soaring work of beautiful impassioned imagery that delves deep into the rich mythology of the cycle
2010 (1984)
May 5, 20012001: A Space Odyssey Sequel
2001: A Space Odyssey did not need a sequel but this fits the bill surprisingly well. A warmer and much more human film than Stanley Kubrick made, this has some of the very best effects of its era.
When the Whales Came (1989)
Aug 10, 2015Period Drama/Preventing a Whale Curse
This is what might result if Greenpeace were allowed to take over the BBC arts division. Nicely made but not necessarily a great period drama about a whale curse
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Aug 18, 2001Fine Dining and Brutality/Surrealism
Peer Greeaway's finest film, an elegant, surrealistic satire on fine dining with Michael Gambon as the mob boss owner of a restaurant with Helen Mirren as his unfaithful wife
The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
May 9, 2001Psycho-Sexual Obsession in Venice
A Paul Schrader director psycho-sexual thriller set in a beautifully brooding Venice as a couple are befriended by menacing husband and wife Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren
The Hawk (1993)
Jan 5, 2003Wife Believes Husband May Be a Serial Killer
BBC produced film with Helen Mirren as a housewife who believes her husband might be a serial killer. Despite promise, this never digs in like a good thriller should
The Snow Queen (1995)
Nov 5, 2010Animation/Fairy-Tale
Lightweight British animated adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale made for children
The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999)
Sep 5, 2004SF Writer-Philosopher Biopic
Biopic about controversial philosopher/SF writer Ayn Rand or at least one that focuses on the extra-marital affair she had throughout her life. Given that the film is based on a book by other man's wife, it does come with the odd axe to grind
Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999)
Aug 22, 1999Pupils vs Teacher Psycho-Thriller
Scream writer Kevin Williamson's made his directorial debut with this playful thriller in which Katie Holmes and fellow students imprison a teacher who has marked down her grades
The Pledge (2001)
Jan 19, 2001Psycho-Thriller
Slow and subtle Sean Penn directed thriller where Jack Nicholson plays a retired detective haunted by a child murder case
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
May 2, 2005Gonzo SF
The big-budget film version of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide phenomenon is a disaster that fumbles Douglas Adams’s absurdist wit and blows everything up with big-budget effects and a pitch to American audiences
Inkheart (2008)
Apr 27, 2010Man Can Bring Fictional Characters to Life
Another failed attempt to start a fantasy franchise. However, the interesting premise of someone who can bring fictional characters to life ends up going goes precisely nowhere
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010)
Sep 21, 2010Animation/Talking Owls
Zack Snyder makes an exquisite motion-capture animated film for adults about talking owls. This has a story that comes with a sweeping mythic arc
The Tempest (2010)
Jul 10, 2011Shakespeare Adaptation
Version of the Shakespeare play that gives us a female Prospero (Helen Mirren) but is otherwise surprisingly faithful. Director Julie Taymor opens the play up with considerable visual extravagance
Hitchcock (2012)
Dec 1, 2012The Making of Psycho
A non-fiction film about Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho. The script does a great job nailing the psychological undertows and the parts are brought to life with several tour-de-force performances
Monsters University (2013)
Jun 21, 2013Pixar Animation/Monsters in the Closet
Pixar's creative decline has been the point they started making these sequels to their hits. This is a disappointing prequel to Monsters, Inc. that largely recycles the cliches of the Revenge of the Nerds films and seems lacking in any of the wacky humour or moments of cuteness we expect of a Pixar film
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Apr 9, 2017Inspirational Drama/Fantastic Twist
Gigantic flop starring Will Smith and a reasonable cast line-up that has the most ridiculous screenplay ever written. Mostly a positive inspirational drama about grief but does definitely arrive at a bizarre fantastical ending
Winchester (2018)
Apr 28, 2018Real-Life Haunted House
Winchester House with its eccentric designs and strange history is reputedly one of America's most haunted locales. From Australia's Spierig Brothers who made the likes of Daybreakers and Predestination, this attempts to tell its story but emerges as far less than it could have been
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
Feb 22, 2019Fairytale Adaptation
Big, no-expense-spared Disney production of the fairytale. The film is stunning to look at it in terms of design and costuming but has a simplicity that leaves little for adults to engage with
Fast & Furious 9 (2021)
Jul 29, 2024Action Film
The Fast and the Furious series has escalated from films about illegal street racing to essentially superhero films involving ridiculous stunt work that defies the laws of physics. This takes the characters into orbit
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
Apr 14, 2023Comic-Book Superhero
Shazam! was one of the more enjoyable DCEU superhero offerings, placing a light-hearted spin on the superheroics. This is the sequel
Barbie (2023)
Sep 23, 2023Doll Enters the Real World
Less a film than a phenomenon, there is something ironic about a doll that is accused of promoting negative body standards ending up leading a women’s movement. Moria has just one or two issues with this.
