How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
Mar 24, 1999Talking Boil/Black Comedy
An hilarious black comedy written with a biting savagery where advertising executive Richard E. Grant has his life taken over by a ruthless boil on his shoulder
John Shrapnel
Fatherland (1994)
Apr 17, 2001Alternate History/Nazi Rule
Disappointing film version of Robert Harris’s excellent novel depicting an alternate history where the Nazis won World War II. On screen, the book is watered down and given an upbeat happy ending
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Nov 22, 2001Live-Action Disney Remake/Dognapping Villainness
This live-action remake of the classic Disney animated film benefits from Glenn Close chewing scenery in grand style as Cruella De Ville but the latter half essentially degenerates into no more than a series of Home Alone-styled slapstick violence scenes
The 10th Kingdom (2000)
Dec 26, 2014Fairytale Parody Mini-Series
Hallmark mini-series set in a world 200 years after the classic fairytales have occurred, this wittily deflates or contrasts classic story elements with the present-day, even if a certain amount trails off into comic silliness
The Body (2001)
Jun 21, 2001Archaeological Discovery of Christ's Body
Thriller in which Antonio Banderas is a Catholic priest dispatched to Jerusalem to deal with the apparent archaeological discovery of Jesus Christ's body
Chemical Wedding (2008)
Nov 18, 2015The Reincarnation of Aleister Crowley
Ostensibly about occultist Aleister Crowley reincarnating in the present, this overflows with mad ideas involving quantum physics, VR, alternate worlds and a heap of classic references – and moreover, is written by the lead singer of Iron Maiden
Mirrors (2008)
Nov 22, 2008Haunted Mirrors
Alexandre Aja film about haunted mirrors. Aja is more a director of physical horror and seems less attuned to the supernatural mood