Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Sep 16, 2005Absurdist Parody of the Arthurian Legends
The first of the Monty Python films, a wickedly funny, willfully nonsensical take on King Arthur and the knightly quest. Contains many classic Python gags
John Cleese
Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979)
Jul 15, 2002Accidental Messiah Absurdist Comedy
The Monty Python team's finest hour, a wickedly irreverent spoof on Christianity that contains some of their most side-splitting gags
Time Bandits (1981)
Jul 29, 2002Gonzo Adventures Throughout Time
Highly enjoyable Terry Gilliam film about a young boy who joins a group of dwarves on a series of adventures though time
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Dec 6, 2002Muppet Movie
The second of the Muppet films made when Jim Henson was alive and one of the best, this bubbles with a double level of sly grown-up humour that many of the later post Henson entries miss
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983)
Jun 1, 2001Absurdist Comedy Skits
The third and last of the Monty Python films, a variety of skits that are variously outrageous and frequently leave behind all good taste
Erik the Viking (1989)
Jun 14, 2002Norse Myth Comedy-Adventure
Terry Jones of Monty Python fame makes a comedy with Tim Robbins as a non-violent Viking on a quest to bring about Ragnarok. A film that seems to think it is funnier than it ends up being
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)
Aug 1, 2000Animation/Talking Mice Adventures
Amblin make a sequel to An American Tail minus the involvement of Don Bluth this time. The story now becomes an amiable animated parody of a Western
The Swan Princess (1994)
Jun 22, 2000Animated Fairy-Tale
Nicely animated film from Richard Rich that tells the story of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake in which a princess is turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer
The Jungle Book (1994)
Jul 19, 2000Jungle Hero
The first in an ongoing trend where Disney began remaking their animated films in live-action. Stephen Sommers abandons the talking animals and instead gives us a film that it more Tarzan than Rudyard Kipling, all set in a lushly created fantasy version of India
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)
May 8, 2000Frankenstein Adaptation
An adaptation of Frankenstein made as companion piece to Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. As director, Kenneth Branagh creates a lush production but the attempts to emulate Coppola's sensuality go off-balance
The Wind in the Willows (1996)
Aug 18, 2015Talking Animals/Absurdist Adventures
Monty Python's Terry Jones conducts a live-action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic children's story
George of the Jungle (1997)
Jan 19, 2008Cartoon in Live-Action/Jungle Hero Parody
Likeable live-action adaptation of the animated series, which was construed as a parody of Tarzan. The sight gags work well and the creature effects are accomplished
The World is Not Enough (1999)
Nov 20, 1999James Bond Film
The third and best of Pierce Brosnan's outings as James Bond. All the aspects of the formula are contained within a strong plot and Sophie Marceau proves a standout in a role that combines both villain and love interest
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Dec 6, 2002Young Wizard
The second of the Harry Potter films and better than its predecessor. Chris Columbus has his tendency to overblown effects more in check but that does leave the film more dependent on J.K. Rowling's contrived deus ex machina plotting
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Apr 1, 2003Lunar Comedy-Thriller
Huge flop comedy for Eddie Murphy in which he plays a nightclub owner on The Moon. There is an almost good SF film hiding inside and depiction of a surprisingly detailed Lunar culture but the unnfunny comedy elements kill it
Die Another Day (2002)
Jan 11, 2003James Bond Film
Pierce Brosnan's final outing as James Bond lacks the sharpness of the preceding entries and is hampered by Halle Berry who is given great presence but nothing to do. Despite which this has some of the best action scenes of any Bond film
Shrek 2 (2004)
Jul 5, 2004Animation/Fairytale Spoof
Shrek was a fresh and original hit. The first of four insipid sequels, this seems to merely coast by on our liking of the characters while upping the fairytale parody
Valiant (2005)
Jan 7, 2006Animation/Talking Carrier Pigeons
Amiable British animated film set amongst the Allied Resistance during World War II, all cast with talking carrier pigeons
Charlotte’s Web (2006)
Feb 11, 2007Talking Barnyard Animals
Charlotte's Web gets the Babe treatment and is turned into a live-action film with CGI barnyard animals and name actors. Here the enormous charms of the original are replaced by cute and mawkish cues
Shrek the Third (2007)
Jun 24, 2007Animation/Fairytale Spoof
The third of the Shrek films settles in with a formulaic blandness where the characters turn up more because everyone expects them to than the film finds much for them to do
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Dec 14, 2008Alien Visitor
An interesting if uneven remake of the 1950s SF classic from Scott Derrickson that smartly updates the story from the Atomic Age to a post-9/11 era that delivers a modern environmental warning
Planet 51 (2009)
Nov 30, 2009Animation/Human Astronaut Seen as an Invader on an Alien Planet
A one-gag animated film that essentially reverses the plot of E.T, and has a human astronaut stranded on a planet of aliens and adopted by one boy. More likeable than it has a right to be.
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Jun 19, 2010Animation/Fairytale Spoof
The fourth of the Shrek films. By this point, the freshness and originality of the first film has been buried under animated film formula, while the plot is a tired rehash of It's a Wonderful Life
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Jul 14, 2011Disney Animation/Talking Animals
On the slight side as a Disney theatrical film, nevertheless this keeps to the essence of the original tales and comes with some appealingly playful fourth-wall breaking visuals
A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman (2012)
Oct 26, 2012Absurdist Animated Biopic
The death of Graham Chapman put paid to any idea of a Monty Python reunion. Not to be deterred, a group of Python fans have brought Chapman's autobiography to life as an animated film in the absurdist Python style with most of the remaining Pythons returning to provide voice work
World of Cars: Planes (2013)
Aug 10, 2013Disney Animation/Talking Aircraft
A spinoff from Pixar's Cars series (although is not in itself a Pixar film but comes from Disney) that sets out to do the same with anthropomorphic planes. Amiable, even likeable but more a wannabe that seems like it is trying to be than actually hits the cleverness and creative heights of Pixar
Trolls (2016)
Feb 6, 2017Animation/Small Cute Creatures
A perfect example of all the things I hate about modern animation. Based around the popular Troll dolls, this is vapidly designed, content-free product based solely around simplistic storylines, manic slapstick sequences, song and dance numbers, and inane contemporary pop culture in-jokes
Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)
Nov 26, 2021Cute Giant Dog
The best-selling children’s book series come to the screen with a big red CGI dog, which proves more enjoyable than the low-expectation film you initially expect going in