Bolt Neck (1999)
Oct 31, 2000High School Frankenstein
The amusing idea of the Frankenstein story relocated to a modern high school – and with no less than later-to-be superstar Ryan Reynolds as the monster
Ryan Reynolds
Blade Trinity (2004)
Jan 6, 2005Comic-Book Vampire Hunter
Third of the Blade films with Wesley Snipes. As director, series screenwriter David S. Goyer emulates the same exhilarating, kinetic moves that Guillermo Del Toro infused the second film with, while the script zings with his wryly cynical dialogue
The Amityville Horror (2005)
Jun 3, 2005Haunted House/"True Story"
Remake of the 1979 film that still persists with the claim that the Amityville hoax was true. This embellishes the rather dull original with the baggage of trick effects of the modern horror film
The Nines (2007)
Jul 17, 2009Reality Bender
Fascinating directorial debut from screenwriter John August that tells three stories about Ryan Reynolds who gradually makes mind-boggling discoveries about the nature of reality
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Apr 29, 2009Comic-Book Superhero
After the disaster of X-Men: The Last Stand, the decision was made to give a whole film over to the series’s most popular character, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and to go with a prequel that told his origin story. Largely a film that exists as a series of superheroic action scenes
Buried (2010)
Nov 17, 2010Man Buried in a Coffin
A thriller with Ryan Reynolds buried in a coffin where the camera remains inside with him for the entire running time. This must be commended for its rigour in generating suspense while never cheating on its idea
The Change-Up (2011)
Sep 10, 2011Bodyswap Comedy
A raucous and eminently predictable variant on the bodyswap comedy that also manages to be expertly played by leads Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds and pulls off some genuine laugh-out-loud moments
Green Lantern (2011)
Jun 17, 2011Comic-Book Superhero
This received a lot of bad flak, including from star Ryan Reynolds, but I'm not one of the haters. There is the terrible CGI suit and a miscast Reynolds but it does get a good deal of the comic-book mythos right
Ted (2012)
Jun 28, 2012Foul-Mouthed Teddy Bear
Comedy about a foul-mouthed talking teddy bear. This gets its laughs from much scatological, decidedly non-PC humour that occasionally manages to be funny, especially when it comes to some of the 80s pop culture jokes
The Croods (2013)
Mar 31, 2013Animation/Prehistoric Comedy
What gives the expectation of being a formulaic animated film about a prehistoric cave family instead comes with a fresh and naturalistic sense of humour that proves oddly appealing
R.I.P.D. (2013)
Jul 20, 2013Afterlife Police Force
This feels like someone has simply copied the idea of a secretive law enforcement agency from and substituted the dead escaped from Hell for aliens. The two have remarkably similar story arcs, although this is far more goofily entertaining that the absurdly overblown slapstick that overtook the Men in Black sequels
Turbo (2013)
Jul 26, 2013Animation/Racing Snail
The 24th film from DreamWorks Animation – the studio that once offered a reasonable challenge to Disney is now starting to slip into the bland formula of competitors like Blue Sky. While passable, this feels like a film substantially lacking in originality and where you can predict its every move
The Voices (2014)
May 10, 2015Inside a Mentally Ill Man's Mind/Black Comedy
On the scale of weird movies, this is about as out there as it gets – Ryan Reynolds has conversations with his cat and dog who urge him to cut people's heads off, which continue to talk as he keeps them in his refrigerator. A mind-bogglingly warped film and quite brilliant in its dark funniness when you work out what is going on
Self/less (2015)
Jul 11, 2015Bodyswap and Rejuvenation Thriller
Tarsem Singh is one of the most extraordinary visual stylists at work today. The disappointment here is that he has abandoned this to make a regular chase and shootout film that any other director could have. What we get is an uncredited rehash of the Rock Hudson film Seconds stripped down to an action film
Criminal (2016)
May 28, 2016Transplanted Memories/Action Film
Everything indicates this should have been a hit – an impressive star line-up, big polished action sequences – only it tanked. Much has been assembled in the service of a hackneyed idea where the memories of an FBI agent are implanted into criminal Kevin Costner
Deadpool (2016)
Feb 14, 2016Marvel Comics Superhero
Maybe the smartest and wittiest of the modern Marvel Comics adaptations, this takes every opportunity to deflate its own seriousness, not to mention frequently breaks the fourth wall with side-splitting results
Life (2017)
Jun 10, 2017Alien Organism Amok on the International Space Station
This is essentially Alien reworked for the fad for scientifically grounded space travel films we have had in recent years with Gravity and The Martian. The film features an original alien menace and contains itself to a series of exciting set-pieces about the International Space Station
Logan (2017)
Mar 25, 2017X-Men Film
Both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart take the opportunity to bid farewell to the X-Men franchise. One of the strongest films in the series, having been stripped of much in the way of epic superheroics and allowed to play out as a character drama that allows both actors to shine
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Nov 10, 2018Marvel Comics Superhero
Deadpool was an hilarious breath of fresh air amid the Marvel Comics adaptations. This sequel is even better, with the self-deflating, fourth-wall breaking humour even funnier and more slickly polished action
Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)
Jun 16, 2019Cute Creatures/Videogame Adaptation
Live-action film version of the popular videogame phenomenon, this is capably made but almost entirely content free for anyone with an age in the double digits
The Croods: A New Age (2020)
Aug 13, 2021Animation/Prehistoric Comedy
The sequel to DreamWorks' animated prehistoric film. For a very low expectation effort - the modern animated sequel - this emerges as far more colourful and entertaining than one expects
Free Guy (2021)
Oct 2, 2021Man Discovers He is a Videogame Character
Ryan Reynolds discovers he is a character inside a videogame. This has a conceptual ingenuity and originality and is the most fun and outrightly enjoyable mainstream film seen of recent
The Adam Project (2022)
Mar 26, 2022Time Travel
Likeable but lightweight time travel film where Ryan Reynolds gains the aid of his twelve year-old self after travelling back in time to the present on a mission to save the future
Spirited (2022)
Dec 25, 2022Modernised A Christmas Carol
Imagine A Christmas Carol retold as a bromance where Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present abandon hauntings and become besties
IF (2024)
Jun 29, 2024Imaginary Companions
Ryan Reynolds and director John Krasinski combine to make a film about imaginary companions, an appealingly quirky effort where a young girl befriends a large furry invisible creature
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Oct 12, 2024Comic-Book Superheroes/Crossover
In his third cinematic outing, Deadpool gets into the multiverse game, creating a rather hilarious crossover and team-up with Wolverine, along with an assortment of other superheroes from cancelled Marvel franchises