Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Rating: ★★★½
Jun 21, 2006Spy/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

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek (2009)
Rating: ★★
May 12, 2009Intergalactic Adventures
J.J. Abrams revives the Star Trek franchise by recasting it with younger faces and rewriting continuity. But in the appeal to a hipper, sexier vibe, it feels a long way from Gene Roddenberry’s creation – nowhere in evidence is the original's concern with galactic politics and social issues of the day

Super 8 (2011)

Super 8 (2011)
Rating: ★★½
Jun 16, 2011Alien Monster/1980s Coming of Age Tale
J.J. Abrams makes a homages to 8mm filmmaking and the films of his youth – you could easily imagine this as a Steven Spielberg-produced film of the era. On the other hand, after the obsessive secrecy in pre-release, the results emerge as underwhelming

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
Rating: ★★
May 17, 2013Intergalactic Adventures
I had mixed feelings about J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek This time around the actors seem more at home in the characters and the plot works a good deal better (for the most part), while Abrams creates a hurtling effects spectacle that is the most action-oriented of the Trek films

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Rating: ★★★
Dec 26, 2015Space Opera
Ok so it's not another Empire Strikes Back but it makes up for the prequels. A good part fanservice homage to the original – if overly reliant on rehashing elements from Star Wars – this also does many things right and feels a welcome return to the sort of adventure we kept wanting George Lucas to resdiscover