O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Feb 2, 2001Depression-Era Version of The Odyssey
The Coen Brothers hilariously adapt The Odyssey into the Depression Era with George Clooney leading a trio of escaped convicts as he tries to return to his wife
Tim Blake Nelson
Minority Report (2002)
Jul 15, 2002Future Precognitive Police Force
Steven Spielberg takes on Philip K. Dick in a much grittier film than he usually makes. In the strong and intelligent script, Tom Cruise is an officer on a police force that predicts crime before it happens only to then be hunted by his own side
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
Apr 19, 2004Ghostbusting Team/Cartoon in Live-Action
Sequel to the live-action Scooby-Doo, this is at least a better film than its predecessor, being more polished in its slapstick and effects but still has no more ambition beyond being a silly no-brain film
Fido (2006)
May 19, 2010Domesticated Zombies Comedy
Charmingly droll film that posits an alternate version of the 1950s where zombies have been domesticated. This has a perfect sense of mood and admirable deadpan playing by all involved
The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
Mar 20, 2009Man Builds His Own Rocket
The Polish Brothers are a greatly underrated force in US filmmaking. Here they make a fine film with Billy Bob Thornton as an everyday farmer who decides to build and launch his own space rocket
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Jun 15, 2008Comic-Book Adaptation/The Rampaging Monster Within
Sequel to the Ang Lee Hulk with Edward Norton inheriting the roles of Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Ang Lee gave the first film a visual brio but this often seems by the numbers and never too inspired
Child of God (2013)
Dec 8, 2014Necrophile Serial Killer
Actor James Franco directs an adaptation of a novel about a necrophile serial killer by Cormac McCarthy. Any McCarthy adaptation is doomed by an inability to visually replicate his incredible prose but Franco tries valiantly
Fantastic Four (2015)
Aug 15, 2015Comic-Book Superheroes
Despite all the hate this received, I am maybe the only person out there that liked it. It is three-quarters of a good film that strips the Four of costumes and tells a character-driven story about people dealing with powers
Colossal (2016)
May 7, 2017Woman's Actions Are Mimicked by a Giant Monster
Nacho Vigalondo film with a head-scratchingly wacky premise – Anne Hathaway finds that a giant monster mimics her movements. Vigalondo plays this surprisingly seriously and spins it through some appealing twists
The Institute (2017)
Jun 9, 2017Sinister 19th Century Asylum/"True Story"
James Franco co-directs and stars as a sinister psychiatrist in a 19th Century asylum who subjects patients to drugs and mind control so they can play in elaborate orgies. Supposedly based on a true-life incident but considerably embellished, this fails entirely at making its setting convincing
Ghosts of the Ozarks (2021)
Aug 5, 202219th Century Village Beset by Mysterious Monsters
Worthwhile film that has a strong vibe of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village about a post-US Civil War town that comes under attack by mysterious creatures
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Dec 17, 2022Living Puppet Boy/Stop-Motion Animation
Guillermo Del Toro offers up his dark, more adult take on the classic children’s story in this beautifully made stop-motion animated film. Winner of that year's Academy Award for Best Animated Film.
The Invisibles (2024)
Jan 18, 2026Man Fades Away
This has an intriguingly original concept where milquetoast Tim Blake Nelson wakes up to find he has faded away and become invisible to other people - and then finds a secret world of other similar Invisibles
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Apr 26, 2025Comic-Book Superhero
The fourth Captain America film, where Anthony Mackie now takes over the shield and costume. And you really need to have been following MCU continuity to make sense of much of what is going on