Subgenre Sampler

Show: All FilmsRental Rental DVD Rental Blu-Ray Rental VHSSales Sales DVD Sales Blu-Ray Sales VHS

Barbie (2023): Dir. Greta Gerwig
Feat. Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera…; Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are perfectly cast as “perfect” dolls Barbie and Ken facing an existential crisis in Barbieland in Greta…
Batman, The (2022): Dir. Matt Reeves
Feat. Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell…; Robert Pattinson is Bruce Wayne in this impressively dark and epic reboot of DC comics' iconic knight in shining latex.
Blaze (2022): Dir. Del Kathryn Barton
Feat. Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone; A powerful, imaginative Australian drama from Archibald–winning artist Del Kathryn Barton about a twelve–year–old girl conflicted…
Annette (2021): Dir. Leos Carax
Feat. Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg…; A magnificent musical–drama which marks the English language debut of French director Leos Carax (HOLY MOTORS). Adam Driver gives another…
Black Widow (2021): Dir. Cate Shortland
Feat. Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour…; Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow gets deserved time in the spotlight in this belated, but very much welcomed, Marvel movie. Set before the events…
Encanto (2021): Dir. Jared Bush, Byron Howard; Colourful Disney musical following a multi–generational Colombian family who recieve magical gifts that help them serve their rural community,…
Eternals (2021): Dir. Chloé Zhao
Feat. Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani…; Sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster, with director Chloé Zhao (NOMADLAND) bringing an enormous amount of humanity and maturity to the…
Free Guy (2021): Dir. Shawn Levy
Feat. Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery…; Unabashedly sweet sci–fi comedy with Ryan Reynolds playing a clueless bank teller who discovers he is a non–player character in an open…
Jungle Cruise (2021): Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
Feat. Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez…; Good old fashioned fantasy adventure based on the Disney theme park ride of the same name, with Dwayne Johnson playing a steamboat skipper who takes…
Lamb (2021): Dir. Valdimar Johannsson
Feat. Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snaer Gudnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson…; An Icelandic folk horror of haunting, pastoral beauty with Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snaer Gudnason playing a couple who live on a remote farm with…
Old (2021): Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
Feat. Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell…; Thriller from director M. Night Shyamalan (THE SIXTH SENSE) about a family on vacation at a luxury resort who discover that the secluded beach…
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021): Dir. Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada; A sophisticated Disney animated feature set in a re–imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization known as Kumandra, where a feisty…
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): Dir. Jon Watts
Feat. Tom Holland, Zendaya , Benedict Cumberbatch…; Spider–Man adventure which acts as a sequel to both FAR FROM HOME (2019) and HOMECOMING (2017), and slots into the bloated Marvel Cinematic…
Suicide Squad, The (2021): Dir. James Gunn
Feat. Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena…; The standalone sequel to SUICIDE SQUAD is this bold, bright and chaotic superhero movie based on the DC Comics characters. Harley Quinn (Margot…
Craft: Legacy, The (2020): Dir. Zoe Lister Jones
Feat. Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone…; Sequel to the 1996 film THE CRAFT, following four high school students who form a coven of witches. After the original's all–male creative…
Love and Monsters (2020): Dir. Michael Matthews
Feat. Dylan O’Brien, Michael Rooker, Jessica Henwick; After a Monsterpocalypse forces humans into underground colonies, a young man decides against all logic to brave the surface and face the monsters…
Onward (2020): Dir. Dan Scanlon; Slick animated fantasy adventure following two elf brothers who go on a quest to find a magic magic gem that will bring their deceased father. A…
Save Yourselves! (2020): Dir. Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
Feat. John Paul Reynolds, Sunita Mani, John Early…; A light hearted sci–fi comedy about a young Brooklyn couple who disconnect and unplug their lives while on a remote holiday, and are unaware…
Show, The (2020): Dir. Mitch Jenkins
Feat. Tom Burke, Siobhan Hewlett, Alan Moore…; Highly imaginative British fantasy noir based on a screenplay by brilliant English graphic novelist Alan Moore (V FOR VENDETTA, WATCHMEN). Set in…
Witches, The (2020): Dir. Robert Zemeckis
Feat. Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci…; Robert Zemeckis' re–imagining of Roald Dahl’s beloved story that tells the darkly humorous yet heartwarming tale of a young orphaned boy who,…
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020): Dir. Patty Jenkins
Feat. Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig…; Israeli actress Gal Gadot is as charismatic as ever in this sequel to the 2017 DC Comics hit WONDER WOMAN, with Patty Jenkins (MONSTER) returning as…
Avengers: Endgame (2019): Dir. Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Feat. Robert Downey Jnr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo…; A love letter to fans of this humongous mythology, this 22nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ambitious, three–hour sprawl…
Captain Marvel (2019): Dir. Anna Campion, Ryan Fleck
Feat. Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn…; Thoroughly enjoyable entry into the bloated Marvel Franchise, notable for being the first one to be female–led and female co–directed.…
Cats (2019): Dir. Tom Hooper
Feat. James Corden, Judi Dench, Idris Elba…; Vilified remake of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a group of cats competing at an elaborate ceremony to decide who will be reincarnated. A…
Children of the Sea (2019): Dir. Ayumu Watanabe; Powerfully resonant Japanese animated adventure reflecting on the connections between humanity and the natural world. Centered around a troubled…
Dumbo (2019): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny De Vito…; Tim Burton's colourful live–action reboot of the beloved Disney classic set in a travelling circus where a family discovers that a baby…
Extra Ordinary (2019): Dir. Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman
Feat. Maeve Higgins, Barry Ward, Will Forte…; A pleasingly off–kilter Irish supernatural comedy about a sweet–natured but lonely driving instructor who uses her paranormal talents to…
Game of Thrones - Season 8 (TV Series) (2019): The struggle for the iron throne continues in the eight and final season of the rightly acclaimed HBO series derived from George R.R. Martin's…
Hellboy (Hellboy: Call of Darkness) (2019): Dir. Neil Marshall
Feat. David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane…; Reboot of the film franchise featuring Mike Mignola's beloved comic book character Hellboy, the half–demon who works for the USA in paranormal…
His Dark Materials (TV Series) (2019): Feat. Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Anne-Marie Duff…; TV adaptation of the acclaimed fantasy novels by Phillip Pullman, thankfully much darker and more detailed than 2007's perfunctory feature THE GOLDEN…
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (How to Train Your Dragon 3) (2019): Dir. Dean Deblois; The beloved Dreamworks series comes to a fitting close with this third delightful fantasy film following the adventures of Hiccup, who has…
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019): Dir. Jake Kasdan
Feat. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan …; The cast of the successful, enjoyable reboot return for more jungle fantasy adventure, this time to rescue one of their own through braving parts…
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019): Dir. Joachim Roenning
Feat. Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Harris Dickinson…; Sequel to the 2014 Disney fantasy, with Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and her goddaughter Aurora (Elle Fanning) returning to new adventures, this time…
Pinocchio (2019): Dir. Matteo Garrone
Feat. Federico Lelapi, Roberto Benigni, Rocco Papaleo; A new, live–action imagining of the iconic fairytale that focuses on the authentic roots of the Carlo Collodi story. Shot in stunning Italian…
Shazam! (2019): Dir. David F. Sandberg
Feat. Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong; Playful DC comics movie about a teenage boy who can transform into an adult superhero by shouting one word: SHAZAM! Naturally he goes about…
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): Dir. Jon Watts
Feat. Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal…; Marvel–lous sequel to the hugely successful reboot 'Spider–Man: Homecoming', this follows the events of 'Avengers: Endgame', with Peter…
Vivarium (2019): Dir. Lorcan Finnegan
Feat. Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg; A young couple shopping for their first home find themselves in a housing development where every house looks exactly the same, and with no idea how…
What Men Want (2019): Dir. Adam Shankman
Feat. Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree…; A mildly raunchy, gender–switched remake of the 2000 romantic comedy, WHAT WOMEN WANT, following a woman who, after drinking a potent…
A Discovery of Witches (TV Series) (2018): Dir. Juan Carlos Medina
Feat. Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Malin Buska…; A romantic thriller series adapted from Deborah Harkness' trilogy of novels that uncovers a secret underworld of vampires, witches and daemons hiding…
A Wrinkle in Time (2018): Dir. Ava DuVernay
Feat. Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Storm Reid…; High–pitched Disney fantasy that follows a young woman and friends through space in search of her missing father who is held in the clutches of…
Avengers: Infinity War (2018): Dir. Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Feat. Robert Downey Jnr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo…; Bombastic Marvel Universe blockbuster teaming The Avengers with the Guardians of the Galaxy (and many more!) against the villain Thanos, who wants to…
Black Panther (2018): Dir. Ryan Coogler
Feat. Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o…; Another massive hit, and considered one of the best of the eighteen films in the Marvel Comic Universe, and the first to feature a predominantly…
Border (Gräns) (2018): Dir. Ali Abbasi
Feat. Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jörgen Thorsson; Remarkable Swedish black comedy about a customs officer with an extraordinary sense of smell who sniffs out a suspicious–looking traveller with…
Deadpool 2 (2018): Dir. David Leitch
Feat. Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison…; Ryan Reynolds returns for the sequel to the 2016 X–men blockbuster, delivering another round of bleakly comic jokes and…
Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, The (2018): Dir. Ken Scott
Feat. Dhanush , Bérénice Bejo, Erin Moriarty; Whimsical comedy following a street magician from Mumbai who sets out to find his estranged father but finds himself adventuring around the world in…
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018): Dir. David Yates
Feat. Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler…; Second installment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, following Newt Scamander and Albus Dumbledore as they go up against the dark wizard Gellert…
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018): Dir. Ari Sandel
Feat. Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Madison Iseman…; Following on from the popular 2015 big screen adaptation, two young boys accidentally unleash a cacophony of monsters and demons after they open an…
Happy as Lazzaro (2018): Dir. Alice Rohrwacher
Feat. Adriano Tardiolo, Nicoletta Braschi, Sergi Lopez…; It's summer at Inviolata, an isolated rural estate, where an extended family of tobacco farmers toil under the rule of a domineering marchesa, and…
House With the Clock in its Walls, The (2018): Dir. Eli Roth
Feat. Jack Black, Cate Blanchett; Gore maestro Eli Roth changes pace with this kids fantasy horror about a young orphan who teams up with his magical Uncle to find a clock that could…
Judy & Punch (Judy and Punch) (2018): Dir. Mirrah Foulkes
Feat. Mia Wasikowska, Damon Herriman; A gorgeously carnivalesque and blackly comic Australian period drama in which the traditional fairy tale of Punch and Judy is turned on its head. The…
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018): Dir. Juan Antonio Bayona
Feat. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall…; Sequel to JURASSIC WORLD (2015) and part of a planned trilogy, this creature feature blockbuster keeps the franchise alive with a fun, if…
Mary Poppins Returns (2018): Dir. Rob Marshall
Feat. Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw…; Emily Blunt couldn't be more perfectly cast as the delightful Mary Poppins in this sequel that proves it's worth. Set in 1930's London, 25 years…
Mirai (2018): Dir. Mamoru Hosoda; Gorgeous anime from director Mamoru Hosoda (SUMMER WARS, WOLF CHILDREN) where a 4–year–old boy discovers he can travel through time to…
Mortal Engines (2018): Dir. Christian Rivers
Feat. Hera Hilmar, Hugo Weaving, Robert Sheehan; Peter Jackson produced fantasy epic set in a post–apocalyptic future, where cities survive by moving around on giant wheels and devouring…
New Legends of Monkey, The (TV Series) (2018): Feat. Chai Hansen, Luciane Buchanan; A 10–episode spin–off to the highly regarded cult TV series MONKEY, co–produced by TVNZ. Featuring the same beloved characters…
Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The (2018): Dir. Lasse Hallstrom, Joe Johnston
Feat. Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy, Eugenio Derbez…; Lavish but hollow Disney retelling of E.T.A. Hoffmann's short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and Marius Petipa's "The Nutcracker" about a…
Ready Player One (2018): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn…; Director Spielberg plays to his strengths in this adrenaline–filled love letter to 80's pop culture and video games. Set in the year 2045, most…
Relaxer (2018): Dir. Joel Potrykus
Feat. Joshua Burge, David Dastmalchian; Grungy downbeat comedy set in 1999 in a haze of Y2K paranoia, where a slacker is challenged by his older brother not to leave the couch until he has…
Requiem (TV Mini-series) (2018): Feat. Lydia Wilson, Joel Fry, James Frecheville; 6–part British supernatural thriller following the mysterious connection between a toddler who disappeared from a Welsh village in 1994, and…
Venom (2018): Dir. Ruben Fleischer
Feat. Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed…; The Marvel comics character Venom, an alien symbiote usually associated with Spider–Man, is the subject of this superhero movie with Tom Hardy…
Beauty and the Beast (2017): Dir. Bill Condon
Feat. Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans…; A live–action re–telling of Disney's own animated classic which refashions the original French fairy tale for a contemporary audience,…
Britannia (TV Series) (2017): Feat. David Morrissey, Kelly Reilly, Nikolaj Lie Kaas…; A historical fiction series set in 43AD, following the Roman conquest of Britain and it's opposition by the wild warrior women and powerful Druids of…
Changeover, The (2017): Dir. Stuart McKenzie, Miranda Harcourt
Feat. Erana James, Timothy Spall, Melanie Lynskey…; Maragret Mahy's beloved fantasy romance novel is translated into a post–earthquake Christchurch setting, and marks an impressive debut from…
Dark Tower, The (2017): Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
Feat. Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor…; Stephen King adaptation which simplifies the author's acclaimed fantasy series into a watchable battle of good vs evil – represented by Idris…
Downsizing (2017): Dir. Alexander Payne
Feat. Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau…; Dir. Alexander Payne (NEBRASKA, SIDEWAYS) pulls another one from outside the box with a satiric fantasy in which a man joins the ranks of a…
Fireworks (Fireworks: Should We See It from the Side or The Bottom?) (2017): Dir. Nobuyuki Takeuchi; Beautifully romantic Japanese anime set during a school summer vacation, based on Shunji Iwai’s 1993 TV series, “Fireworks”. Refreshingly…
Game of Thrones - Season 7 (TV Series) (2017): The struggle for the iron throne continues in the seventh season of the rightly acclaimed HBO series derived from George R.R. Martin's fantasy novels.
Gifted, The (TV Series) (Marvel's The Gifted) (2017): Feat. Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker; TV series set in the X–Men universe, but in a timeline in which the X–Men have all but disappeared, as mutants are treated with derision…
I Kill Giants (2017): Dir. Anders Walter
Feat. Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Zoe Saldana; A magical–realist coming–of–age movie following an independent young girl who escapes the troubles of her reality by retreating…
Justice League (2017): Dir. Zack Snyder
Feat. Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot…; DC Comics' answer to Marvel's Avengers combines the forces of their superhero properties; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The…
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Allwyn, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey…; Charlie Hunman plays the Arthur of legend, unaware of his royal lineage until drawing the sword Excalibur from the stone. Director Guy Ritchie brings…
Legion (TV Series) (2017): Feat. Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza…; The first TV Series based on the X–Men franchise follows Haller, the mutant son of Charles Xavier, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia from a…
Logan (2017): Dir. James Mangold
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, Patrick Stewart…; Passionate, mature X–Men spin–off featuring the surly Wolverine. Withdrawn and noticeably older (but still ass–kicking), Logan…
Mummy, The (2017): Dir. Alex Kurtzman
Feat. Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella…; Tom Cruise plays a US military man who accidentally unearths Princess Ahmanet's tomb and unleashes unspeakable evil. A fun mish–mash of monster…
Shape of Water, The (2017): Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Feat. Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins…; At a top secret research facility in the 1950s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in…
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Dir. Jon Watts
Feat. Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau…; Excellent (and third) big–screen reboot of the Marvel Comics franchise that picks up after the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. Spidey…
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017): Dir. Rian Johnson
Feat. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill…; Refreshing and self–assured entry into the franchise, which pays respectful homage to both the franchise and the expectations of…
Tokyo Ghoul (2017): Dir. Kentaro Hagiwara
Feat. Masataka Kubota, Fumika Shimizu; A live–action adaptation of the manga series by Sui Ishida. In modern day Tokyo, flesh–eating ghouls live among humans, and after…
Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (TV Series) (2017): Animated TV series created by Guillermo Del Toro, following the adventures of an ordinary teenager who becomes endowed as a Trollhunter after…
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Ethan Hawke…; Expensive and extravagant space opera set in the 28th Century, where a team of special operatives investigate a dark force that threatens peace in…
Wonder Woman (2017): Dir. Patty Jenkins
Feat. Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright…; Israeli actress Gal Gadot dazzles as the charismatic warrior princess who must leave her mythical island paradise and sail into WWI–embattled…
A Cure for Wellness (2016): Dir. Gore Verbinski
Feat. Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth; An ambitious Manhattan stockbroker is blackmailed to retrieve a company boardmember from a wellness spa in the Swiss Alps in this visually stunning…
A Monster Calls (2016): Dir. Juan Antonio Bayona
Feat. Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones…; A splendid and skillfully–told fantasy drama in which a 12–year–old boy faces his mother's terminal illness, his strict…
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016): Dir. James Bobin
Feat. Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter…; Effects heavy sequel to Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND has Alice returning to the whimsical world of Wonderland and travelling back in time to help…
Assassin's Creed (2016): Dir. Justin Kurzel
Feat. Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons…; Movie adaptation of the enormously popular video game where a man unlocks his "genetic memory", allowing him to access the memories, knowledge and…
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016): Dir. Zack Snyder
Feat. Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams…; Dour superhero spectacle sees DC comic's finest face off after Batman becomes concerned with Superman's unchecked powers.
Death and Life of Otto Bloom, The (2016): Dir. Cris Jones
Feat. Xavier Samuel, Rachel Ward, Matilda Brown; The chronicle of the life and great love of Otto Bloom, an extraordinary man who experiences time in reverse – passing backwards through the…
Doctor Strange (2016): Dir. Scott Derrickson
Feat. Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams…; The fourteenth film from the Marvel superhero franchise stars Cumberbatch as the title hero, a neurosurgeon disabled in a car crash who turns to a…
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016): Dir. David Yates
Feat. Eddie Redmayne, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler…; This 1920's period fantasy adventure is the first in the HARRY POTTER universe to be adapted for the screen by J. K. Rowling herself. Eddie Redmayne…
Game of Thrones - Season 6 (TV Series) (2016): The struggle for the iron throne continues in the sixth season of the rightly acclaimed HBO series derived from George R.R. Martin's fantasy novels.
Gods of Egypt (2016): Dir. Alex Proyas
Feat. Brenton Thwaites, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gerard Butler…; Ill–conceived fantasy epic in which a mortal hero must do battle with the god of darkness who has taken over the Egyptian empire.
Huntsman, The: Winter's War (2016): Dir. Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Feat. Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron…; Visually arresting prequel to SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN tells the tale of Eric and Freya two warriors trying to conceal their forbidden love.
Living and the Dead, The (TV Mini-series) (2016): Feat. Colin Morgan, Charlotte Spencer; Spooky anglophile escapism set in picturesque Victorian–era Somerset, following the supernatural afflictions of a pioneering psychologist after…
Lucifer (TV Series) (2016): Feat. Tom Ellis, Lauren German, D.B. Woodside…; Dark fantasy series based on the Neil Gaiman comic has a bored devil set up shop in Los Angeles running a piano bar and aiding the L.A.P.D. in the…
Lucky Man (TV Series) (Stan Lee's Lucky Man) (2016): Feat. James Nesbitt, Amara Karan, Sienna Guillory…; CONTRABAND TITLE. Not legally available for sale, rent or trade in New Zealand unless submitted for approval to the NZ Office of Film & Literature…
Luke Cage (TV Series) (2016): Feat. Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Simone Missick…; Marvel series launching black superhero Luke Cage, who tries to rebuild his regular life in Harlem after a sabotaged experiment bestows him super…
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson…; Tim Burton's spectacular adaptation of the young adult fantasy novel about a teenager who discovers a portal to a different time in coastal Wales…
Moana (2016): Dir. John Musker, Ron Clements
Feat. Aulii Cravalho, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Jemaine Clement…; An epic CGI Disney adventure about a Polynesian girl who sets sail on a daring ocean voyage to find a home for her people. Features Kiwi voice…
Monster Trucks (2016): Dir. Chris Wedge
Feat. Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Amy Ryan…; A truck–obsessed teen builds a monstrous vehicle out of spare parts in an attempt to escape his troubled small town existence.
Pete's Dragon (2016): Dir. David Lowery
Feat. Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley…; Inspired Disney remake vastly improves upon its own forgotten 70's adventure that tells the tale of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend…
Shannara Chronicles, The (TV Series) (2016): Feat. Austin Butler, Manu Bennett; Filmed in New Zealand fantasy series follows a group of heroes as they battle to stop an evil Demon army from destroying the universe. Based on Terry…
This Beautiful Fantastic (2016): Dir. Simon Aboud
Feat. Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Irvine…; A talented but reclusive girl develops a friendship with her cantankerous neighbour in this contemporary fairy tale set against the backdrop of a…
Warcraft: The Beginning (2016): Dir. Duncan Jones
Feat. Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster…; Stilted live–action rendering of the gaming phenomenon has an Orc horde invading the planet Azeroth and a few humans and dissenting Orcs are…
Wynonna Earp (TV Series) (2016): Feat. Melanie Scrofano, Shamier Anderson, Tim Rozon…; Canadian supernatural Western series based on the IDW Comic, that follows Wyatt Earp's great granddaughter as she battles demons and other creatures…
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016): Dir. Bryan Singer
Feat. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence…; The franchise roles on with the X–Men confronting a resurrected mutant determined to re–make the world.
April and the Extraordinary World (2015): Dir. Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci
Feat. Marion Cotillard, Jean Rochefort, Olivier Gourmet…; Steampunk–infused tale set in an alternate world where France is a country under the iron rule of Napoleon V, a young girl goes in search of…
Arabian Nights (2015): Dir. Miguel Gomes
Feat. Crista Alfaiate; Wildly original and ambitious triptych of films set in modern–day Portugal but structured on the sprawling Arabic fairy–tale collection…
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): Dir. Joss Whedon
Feat. Robert Downey Jnr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo…; More Marvel mayhem has the team forced to reassemble after Tony Stark and Bruce Banner awaken a long dormant peacekeeping program.
Cemetery of Splendour (2015): Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Feat. Jenjira Pongpas Widner; Mesmerising film in the director's indefinable style, set in and around a rural Thai hospital which may be haunted. A group of soldiers…
Cinderella (2015): Dir. Kenneth Branagh
Feat. Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden…; Dir. Kenneth Branagh re–imagines the classic tale of young Ella who finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters, and…
Fantastic Four, The (2015): Dir. Josh Trank
Feat. Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara…; Contemporary re–imagining of Marvel's original and longest–running superhero in which transported to an alternate universe, four young…
Forbidden Room, The (2015): Dir. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson
Feat. Roy Dupuis, Clara Furey, Jacques Nolot…; Maverick director Guy Maddin applies his wild and deliciously demented imagination to this fantastic fantasy, telling a range of almost…
Game of Thrones - Season 5 (TV Series) (2015): Feat. Peter Dinklage; The struggle for the iron throne continues in the fifth season of the rightly acclaimed HBO series derived from George R.R. Martin's fantasy…
Goosebumps (2015): Dir. Rob Letterman
Feat. Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush…; Fantastical spin on the popular kidult horror series with Jack Black perfectly cast as horror maestro R.L. Stine whose imaginary demons come to life.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (TV Series) (2015): Feat. Eddie Marsan, Bertie Carvel, Marc Warren…; Ripping historical fantasy based on the Susanna Clarke novel, concerns the adventures of two magicians during the Napoleonic wars.
Last Days in the Desert (2015): Dir. Rodrigo Garcia
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Ciaran Hinds, Ayelet Zurer…; Ewan McGregor plays both Jesus Christ and the Devil in this humanistic portrait of Jesus during his 40 days fasting and praying in the Judean desert.
Last Witch Hunter, The (2015): Dir. Breck Eisner
Feat. Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood…; Vin Diesel lugs himself though this dark fantasy as a witch–hunter, cursed with eternal life, trying to prevent a plague from ravaging modern…
Lure, The (2015): Dir. Agnieszka Smoczynska
Feat. Marta Mazurek; Utterly beguiling musical horror set in Poland in the 1980's, following the fate of a pair of mermaid sisters as they struggle to integrate into a…
Magicians, The (TV Series) (2015): Feat. Jason Ralphs, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley; Fantasy series about a group of twenty–somethings studying magic in New York discover a world that poses a great threat to humanity in this…
Pan (2015): Dir. Joe Wright
Feat. Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund…; Visually dazzling but widely panned prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic tale has a young orphan spirited away to the magical world of Neverland to…
Supergirl (TV Series) (2015): Feat. Melissa Benoist; Enjoyable new take on the adventures of Supergirl sent to Earth to watch over her younger cousin.
Tale of Tales (2015): Dir. Matteo Garrone
Feat. Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Toby Jones…; Wonderfully imaginative, cohesive portmanteau film comprised of three unusual, somewhat grotesque fairy tales featuring sea monsters, lustful kings…
Tomorrowland (2015): Dir. Brad Bird
Feat. George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie…; Disney live–action adventure that allies a scientifically–curious teenage girl and a former boy–genius inventor (Clooney) who…
Victor Frankenstein (2015): Dir. Paul McGuigan
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay…; Mary Shelley's classic is given an interesting twist, this time told from the perspective of Igor, the hunchbacked assistant who teams with Dr…
Barbie: The Pearl Princess (2014): Dir. Ezekiel Norton; Entry into the Barbie film series where the fashion doll is a mermaid who has the power to change the colour of pearls and make them dance.
Beauty And The Beast (2014): Dir. Christophe Gans
Feat. Vincent Cassel, Léa Seydoux, Andre Dussollier…; Opulent re–telling of the fairytale romance that blossoms between the youngest daughter of a merchant who has fallen on hard times and the…
Cobbler, The (2014): Dir. Tom McCarthy
Feat. Adam Sandler, Dan Stevens, Ellen Barkin…; The director of THE STATION AGENT and THE VISITOR helms this slice of magic realism about a frustrated shoemaker who finds a magical sewing machine…
Dracula Untold (2014): Dir. Gary Shore
Feat. Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon…; Another definitely–not–untold Dracula story, revamped in typical Hollywood action–adventure style that may leave you yearning for…
Hobbit, The - Battle of Five Armies (2014): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage…; Spectacular concluding chapter of the trilogy has Bilbo and company forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely…
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014): Dir. Dean Deblois
Feat. Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler…; Splendid sequel to the medieval animated hit about the ongoing mission of a pair of vikings to maintain the peace between dragons and men.
Maleficent (2014): Dir. Robert Stromberg
Feat. Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley…; Angelina Jolie plays Sleeping Beauty's iconic villain in this visually striking update of the Disney animated classic.
Night at the Museum 3:Secret of the Tomb (2014): Dir. Shawn Levy
Feat. Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson…; Concluding chapter in the trilogy has museum guard Stiller trying to decipher why the exhibits are behaving so erratically.
Resurrection (TV Series) (2014): Feat. Omar Epps, Frances Fisher; A small Missouri town is the site of a number of unexplained resurrections in this thought–provoking drama, reminiscent of – though…
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014): Dir. Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin…; A return to the hard boiled caricatures of Frank Miller's graphic "Sin City". Tales of vengeance, torture and infidelity are woven together into an…
Song of the Sea (2014): Dir. Tomm Moore; From the director and production team behind THE SECRET OF KELLS comes another distinctive hand–made animated feature from Ireland that serves…
Winter's Tale (2014): Dir. Akiva Goldsman
Feat. Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe…; This mythic New York romance centres on an Irish burglar (Farrell) who falls for an aristocrat's dying daughter, and seeks a miracle to save her life.
Witches of East End (TV Series) (2014): Feat. Julia Ormond, Madchen Amick; TV series about a family of witches who live in the seaside town of East End. Based on the book of the same name by Melissa de la Cruz.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014): Dir. Bryan Singer
Feat. Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender…; This latest installment in the X–Men saga sees Wolverine travel back in time to prevent a world changing event.
Adventurer, The - The Curse of the Midas Box (2013): Dir. Jonathan Newman
Feat. Aneurin Barnard, Lena Headey, Sam Neill…; Spiffy period adventure set in Victorian England about a teenager racing to find the eponymous 'Midas Box', a treasure which can turn any object to…
Atlantis (TV Series) (2013): Feat. Jack Donnelly, Mark Addy, Juliet Stevenson; An epic drama based around the stories of Greek mythology and the lost city of Atlantis. Jason, is sucked into a vortex and transported back to the…
Game of Thrones - Season 3 (TV Series) (2013): Feat. Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley…; Further episodes from the justifiably acclaimed HBO medieval series, with realism and violence dictating its dark hued, anti–romantic take on…
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013): Dir. Tommy Wirkola
Feat. Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen…; The Brothers Grimm fairytale is re–imagined as an action vehicle for the fantasy set, with the grown up siblings now self–employed as…
Hobbit, The - The Desolation of Smaug (2013): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage…; Chapter two of Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of The Hobbit, which sees the party's quest to reclaim their homeland from Smaug continue. Bilbo…
I, Frankenstein (2013): Dir. Stuart Beattie
Feat. Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto…; Chaotic and at times incoherent action fantasy following Frankenstein's creature Adam in the centuries old war to prevent evil demons from taking…
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013): Dir. Bryan Singer
Feat. Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor…; 'Jack and the Beanstalk' is reimagined for the big screen in this hulking fantasy adventure about a naïve farm boy who attempts to rescue a…
Knights of Badassdom (2013): Dir. Joe Lynch
Feat. Ryan Kwanten, Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau…; Bumbling comedy parody of a group of live–action role players (LARPs) who inadvertently conjure up a demon and must raise swords to defeat it…
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2013): Dir. Will Finn
Feat. Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi…; A lightweight animated 'sequel' to the original Wizard of Oz film finds Dorothy returning to help her old friends Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man to…
Mood Indigo (2013): Dir. Michel Gondry
Feat. Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh…; Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris star in this wild interpretation of Boris Vian’s cult novel 'Froth on the Daydream' from dir. Michel Gondry.
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013): Dir. Harald Zwart
Feat. Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Kevin Zegers…; A teenage girl joins a league of demon slayers in this dark New York–set fantasy, another epic tween franchise in the making. Based on the…
Nowhere Boys (TV Series) (2013): Feat. Darci McDonald, Dougie Baldwin, Joel Lok…; Australian fantasy action–adventure series that follows four teenage boys who get lost in the forest and discover, when they return home, that…
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013): Dir. Sam Raimi
Feat. James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz…; Sam Raimi directs this spectacular re–imagining of the Wizard of Oz legend for Disney studios – an origin story centred on the coming of…
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013): Dir. Thor Freudenthal
Feat. Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith…; Another young adult fantasy franchise rolls on, this time continuing the adventures of the titular Percy Jackson and his demigod friends as they race…
Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The (2013): Dir. Ben Stiller
Feat. Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Kathryn Hahn…; Ben Stiller directs and stars in this splashy adaptation of James Thurber's short story about a meek proofreader who finds solace and empowerment in…
Tale of the Princess Kaguya, The (2013): Dir. Isao Takahata; Studio Ghibli co–founder Takahata directs this beautiful adaptation of a classic Japanese folk tale with a distinctly different flavour to that…
Thor: The Dark World (2013): Dir. Alan Taylor
Feat. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston…; In this predictably bombastic sequel, the action relocates from Earth to the Nine Realms, where the Norse God must team up with nemesis Loki…
Wolverine, The (2013): Dir. James Mangold
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima…; Hugh Jackman returns as X–Men's cult anti–hero in this Japan–set saga centred on deadly samurai and an old nemesis.
Zero Theorem, The (2013): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Thierry, David Thewlis…; Terry Gilliam presents this complex but colourful existential meditation. A reclusive computer genius has been given the task of finally proving that…
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Dir. Benh Zeitlin
Feat. Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry; An ambitious and unique dramatic fantasy centred on a motherless child who, together with her hard–drinking father and a group of loveable…
Blancanieves (2012): Dir. Pablo Berger
Feat. Daniel Giménez Cacho, Angela Molina, Maribel Verdu…; The legend of Snow White is transposed to the bullfighting, flamenco dancing netherworld of the Spanish provinces in this beautiful and beguiling…
Chronicle (2012): Dir. Josh Trank
Feat. Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan…; Amping up the 'found–footage' concept to even dizzier heights than CLOVERFIELD, this fantasy has three teens running amok after acquiring…
Dark Shadows (2012): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter…; Tim Burton directs Johnny Depp (for the eight time) in the cult role of Barnabas Collins, a 200–year–old vampire who reawakens in the…
Game of Thrones - Season 2 (TV Series) (2012): Feat. Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley…; Further episodes from the justifiably acclaimed HBO medieval series, with realism and violence dictating its dark hued, anti–romantic take on…
Hobbit, The - An Unexpected Journey (2012): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage…; Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth with this epic first chapter in The Hobbit saga, which follows Bilbo Baggins' quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf…
Imaginaerum by Nightwish (2012): Dir. Stobe Harju
Feat. Marianne Farley, Quinn Lord, Francis X McCarthy; Based on the album of the same name by Finnish metallers Nightwish. A coma sends an old man into his childhood's sinister fantasy world, where he…
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012): Dir. Brad Peyton
Feat. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson…; The Rock and friends return for this hammy, high–wire sequel to JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, with the intrepid explorers taking on the…
Life of Pi (2012): Dir. Ang Lee
Feat. Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu …; An Indian storyteller recalls the events of his extraordinary life, beginning as a boy shipwrecked along with animals from his family's zoo, in this…
Lord of the Elves (Clash of the Empires) (2012): Dir. Joseph J. Lawson
Feat. Christopher Judge, Ling Bai; A bargain bin knock off of LORD OF THE RINGS featuring has–been actors, lame–ass direction, and a cast of Thai midgets, this is best…
Mirror Mirror (2012): Dir. Tarsem Singh
Feat. Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer…; Supreme visualist Tarsem Singh (THE FALL) directs this striking adaptation of the Snow White fairytale, starring Julia Roberts as the iconic wicked…
Rise of the Guardians (2012): Dir. Peter Ramsey
Feat. Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law…; An imaginative spin on childhood mythology, this excellent animated fantasy casts Jack Frost, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, The Sandman, and…
Ruby Sparks (2012): Dir. Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Feat. Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina…; Real–life couple Dayton and Faris (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) direct real–life acting couple Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan in this zesty satire…
Sinbad (TV Series) (2012): Feat. Elliot Knight, Naveen Andrews, Timothy Spall…; Spiffy swashbuckling version of the Sinbad legend harnesses the best of blockbuster–style action and above–average special effects to…
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Dir. Rupert Sanders
Feat. Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron…; Dark re–imagining of the classic fairy tale with the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed becoming her protector and…
Thale (2012): Dir. Aleksander Nordaas
Feat. Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold; An artful, serious–minded horror fantasy based on the Norwegian legend of the Hydra – a seductive, shape–shifting Scandanavian…
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012): Dir. Bill Condon
Feat. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner…; Finally, the colossal vampire franchise meets its maker with this concluding chapter, with Bella and Edward fighting to protect their daughter from…
Werewolf Boy, A (2012): Dir. Sung-Hee Jo
Feat. Joong-ki Song, Bo-yeong Park, Young-nam Jang; One of a kind fantasy in which a teenage girl is sent to the country for her health, where she befriends and attempts to civilize a feral boy she…
Wolf Children (2012): Dir. Mamoru Hosoda; This beautiful, serious–minded take on werewolf folklore focuses on a young woman and her struggle to raise two children of mixed…
Wrath of the Titans (2012): Dir. Jonathan Liebesman
Feat. Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes…; Perseus (Worthington) returns to slay more Greek demigods in this bombastic sequel to the recent CGI–laden remake of the 1981 fantasy film.
Beastly (2011): Dir. Daniel Barnz
Feat. Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen…; Tween stars Pettyfer and Hudgens angst up a storm in this modernised BEAUTY AND THE BEAST that will fill the gap nicely until the next TWILIGHT movie…
Chinese Ghost Story, A (2011): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Louis Koo, Yifei Liu, Shao-gun Yu…; A lowly scholar falls in love with a beautiful ghost, but in order to win her freedom must do battle with the supernatural. Kinetic remake of the…
Conan the Barbarian (2011): Dir. Marcus Nispel
Feat. Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols…; Meat–axe revival of Arnold Schwarzenegger's B–movie breakthrough, which mashes modern CG effects with a low–rent 80s sensibility…
Game of Thrones - Season 1 (TV Series) (2011): Feat. Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Michelle Fairley…; Justifiably acclaimed medieval series applies the magic HBO touch to the often–ridiculed world of sword and sorcery, with realism and violence…
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (2011): Dir. Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba…; Vrrmm, vrmmm....Nicolas Cage races with the devil in this unnecessary sequel to Marvel's mediocre GHOST RIDER. Despite CRANK directors Neveldine and…
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Dir. David Yates
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane…; This eighth and final Harry Potter installment concludes the boy wizard's epic journey from Hogswart apprentice to world savior.
Legend of the Millennium Dragon (2011): Dir. Hirotsugu Kawasaki; An impressively animated young–adult fantasy, centred on a 15–year–old school kid who is transported back to medieval Japan, and…
Lost Christmas (2011): Dir. John Hay
Feat. Eddie Izzard, Jason Flemyng; BBC drama set in Manchester over two Christmases that shows a group of people who are brought together by a mysterious drifter who helps them find…
Midnight in Paris (2011): Dir. Woody Allen
Feat. Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates…; High class whimsy from Woody Allen with Woody–surrogate honours going this time to Owen Wilson as a frustrated hack screenwriter magically…
Neverland (TV Mini-series) (2011): Dir. Nick Willing
Feat. Rhys Ifans, Anna Friel, Bob Hoskins…; Clever prequel to "Peter Pan" from the producers of TIN MAN and ALICE that gives a fresh, alternative take on the origins of Peter Pan and Captain…
Once Upon a Time (TV Series) (2011): Feat. Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Joshua Dallas…; A mature, densely layered serial based on popular folklore, set in a fictional seaside town where characters from various fairy tales have been…
Priest (2011): Dir. Scott Charles Stewart
Feat. Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q…; Priests battle vampires in this post–apocalyptic fantasy based on the popular graphic novel.
Thor (2011): Dir. Kenneth Branagh
Feat. Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman…; Engaging superhero escapism with The God of Thunder banished to earth where his skills with a hammer soon come in handy. Flitting between godly…
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011): Dir. Bill Condon
Feat. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner…; Penultimate installment of the Gothic fantasy phenomenon teases out the conclusion to the romantic saga in lucrative and popular fashion with Bella…
Witches of Oz, The (TV Mini-series) (2011): Dir. Leigh Scott
Feat. Christopher Lloyd, Sean Astin, Ethan Embry…; Disappointingly shoddy re–imagining in which Dorothy, now a best–selling children's book author discovers, upon moving to New York, that…
X-Men: First Class (2011): Dir. Matthew Vaughn
Feat. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence…; The X–MEN juggernaut rolls on, benefiting from a spring clean of the principal cast, in this hugely entertaining origin movie set against the…
Your Highness (2011): Dir. David Gordon Green
Feat. Danny McBride, Natalie Portman, James Franco…; Deeply irreverent fantasy romp clearly conceived in a cloud of pot smoke has Franco and McBride desperate to rescue Deschanel from an evil wizard…
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter…; Dir. Tim Burton goes down the rabbit hole in this feverish retelling of Lewis Carroll's classic tale told with his customary visual brio. Bonham…
Arrietty (The Secret World of Arrietty) (2010): Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Feat. Mirai Shida, Ryunosuke Kamiki; Studio Ghibli's latest animated triumph respectfully borrows from the classic English children's tale of 'The Borrowers', about a family of tiny…
Black Heaven (L'autre monde) (2010): Dir. Gilles Marchand
Feat. Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud; An innocent young man becomes entangled with a suicidal beauty and is lured into a "Black Hole" – an eerie cyberworld of avatars with deadly…
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010): Dir. Michael Apted
Feat. Ben Barnes, Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson…; Rollicking third installment has the children returning to Narnia to join Prince Caspian for a voyage on the majestic royal vessel known as The Dawn…
Clash of the Titans (2010): Dir. Louis Leterrier
Feat. Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes…; Beefy, special effects–saturated blockbuster reworks the 1981 fantasy film (and Ray Harryhausen’s beloved stop motion animations), based on…
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Dir. David Yates
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane…; Seventh and penultimate film in the H.K. Rowling–penned franchise now finds Harry and pals Ron and Hermione on the lam as Lord Voldemort…
How to Train Your Dragon (2010): Dir. Dean Deblois, Chris Sanders
Feat. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson…; Top–flight animated feature about a hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons but becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself,…
Jonah Hex (2010): Dir. Jimmy Hayward
Feat. Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox…; Josh Brolin revives DC Comics' anti–hero gunslinger in this acidic western, centred on the titular character's rage–fueled quest to…
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010): Dir. Susanna White
Feat. Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Ewan McGregor…; Emma Thompson again pens and stars in the second installment about the otherworldly nanny, accompanied again by a staggering array of British…
Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (2010): Dir. Chris Columbus
Feat. Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario…; Striking fantasy that follows a gangly teenager who discovers that he's the son of Poseidon and has inherited some of Dad's powers. Percy soon finds…
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010): Dir. Mike Newell
Feat. Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley…; Jake Gyllenhaal flexes his pecs in this extravagant adaptation of the popular 'Arabian adventure' video game.
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010): Dir. Edgar Wright
Feat. Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anna Kendrick…; Wearing its super–coolness on its sleeve, this precocious action–comedy stars archetypal geek Michael Cera as a gawky bass–player…
Sorcerer's Apprentice, The (2010): Dir. Jon Turteltaub
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina, Jay Baruchel…; Playing to type, Jay Baruchel is the average, unassuming new recruit of a master sorcerer (Nicholas Cage) who needs the help of a protégé to defeat…
Terry Pratchett's Going Postal (2010): Dir. Jon Jones
Feat. Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Claire Foy…; Lavish adaptation of a Terry Pratchett novel set once again in the discworld universe. A convicted conman gets a fate worse than death, in this case…
Vanishing on 7th Street (2010): Dir. Brad Anderson
Feat. Hayden Christensen, Thandiwe Newton, John Leguizamo…; Low–wattage shocks abound as Hayden Christensen wakes up one morning to find everyone has disappeared. Brad Anderson directs with customary…
Alice (TV Mini-Series) (2009): Dir. Nick Willing
Feat. Caterina Scorsone, Andrew Lee Potts, Matt Frewer…; Modernist re–imagining of the Lewis Carroll classic with wonderland portrayed as a dystopian netherworld that sucks the emotions from the 'real…
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009): Dir. Paul Weitz
Feat. Chris Massoglia, Josh Hutcherson, John C. Reilly…; Disjointed family friendly fright fest has a teenager accidentally trigger a war between two vampire factions. Despite an excellent cast and a great…
Cold Souls (2009): Dir. Sophie Barthes
Feat. Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Lauren Ambrose…; A existentialist tragi–comedy in which Paul Giamatti plays himself, a New York actor in crisis, who literally has his soul extracted, only to…
Coraline (2009): Dir. Henry Selick
Feat. Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders…; The prodigious talents of fantasy writer Neil Gaiman and animator Henry Selick combine for this wonderful – though admittedly creepy –…
Daybreakers (2009): Dir. The Spierig Brothers
Feat. Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill…; Inventive take on the vampire genre has a world populated with the fanged undead facing a food shortage with the human population rapidly dwindling.…
From Time to Time (2009): Dir. Julian Fellowes
Feat. Alex Etel, Timothy Spall, Maggie Smith…; Charmingly old–fashioned family film set at the tail end of the second world war has a young boy discovering a portal back to 1805, where he…
Gentlemen Broncos (2009): Dir. Jared Hess
Feat. Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Jennifer Coolidge…; Call us biased, but Jemaine Clement is worth the price of admission alone to this zany yet well–aligned comedy from the creator of NAPOLEON…
Goemon (2009): Dir. Kazuaki Kiriya
Feat. Yosuke Eguchi, Takao Osawa; The dir. of CASSHERN helms this visionary medieval spectacle, based on a 16th century bandit whose Robin hood–style exploits are steeped in…
Green Lantern: First Flight (2009): Dir. Lauren Montgomery
Feat. Christopher Meloni, Victor Garber, Tricia Helfer…; A solid animated outing for one of the lesser–known superheros of the DC Universe, The Green Lantern, who gains his powers through a magical…
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009): Dir. David Yates
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent…; The epic sixth movie in the Harry Potter franchise sees Harry prepare for the final battle against his nemesis Voldemort while struggling with his…
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The (2009): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Andrew Garfield…; Firing on all imaginative cylinders, dir. Terry Gilliam delivers what is possibly his magnum opus – an original, mind–bending fantasy…
Imagine That (2009): Dir. Karey Kirkpatrick
Feat. Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, Ronny Cox; A magic blankie transforms Eddie Murphy's prospects on the stock market in this pleasantly surprisingly family movie, recommended for its healthy…
Kings (TV Series) (2009): Feat. Ian McShane, Christopher Egan, Susanna Thompson…; A bold and enjoyably bizarre drama fantasy series loosely based on the biblical story of King David (played by Chris Egan), but set in a kingdom that…
Lovely Bones, The (2009): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan…; Peter Jackson’s errant, though wonderfully imagined murder mystery begins with the brutal death of a teenage girl in small town Pennsylvania,…
Micmacs (2009): Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Feat. Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Marielle…; The dir. of AMELIE and CITY OF LOST CHILDREN stays true to form(ula) with his visual chutzpah lavished upon another idealised scenario that this time…
Night At The Museum 2 (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) (2009): Dir. Shawn Levy
Feat. Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson…; Sequel to 2006 mega–hit NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM sees Ben Stiller return to his role as security guard, this time on a mission to infiltrate the…
Oblivion Island (Haruka and the Magic Mirror) (2009): Dir. Shinsuke Sato; Emulating Pixar's gold standard animation, this crowd pleasing 3D anime centres on a teenage girl who stumbles through a magical portal to a world…
Race To Witch Mountain (2009): Dir. Andy Fickman
Feat. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Tom Everett Scott, AnnaSophia Robb…; A flashy but bland reboot of the 1975 Disney film ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN that sees Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson play a cab driver who inadvertently…
Ricky (2009): Dir. Francois Ozon
Feat. Sergi Lopez, Alexandra Lamy, Mélusine Mayance; Intriguing fusion of kitchen–sink drama and magical realism by the mercurial Ozon with a young baby afflicted by an alarming physiological…
Solomon Kane (2009): Dir. Michael J. Bassett
Feat. James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Pete Postlethwaite…; Conan creator Robert E. Howard's pulpy fantasy gets a suitably bloody adaptation with James Purefoy donning the boots to star as the hell–bound…
Storm Warriors, The (Storm Riders II) (2009): Dir. Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
Feat. Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Simon Yam; The Pang brothers helm this flamboyant, effects–heavy sequel to the OTT Hong Kong hit, delivering a mixture of wushu and wizardry with…
Thin Match Man, The (L'uomo fiammifero) (2009): Dir. Marco Chiarini
Feat. Francesco Pannofino, Marco Leonzi, Gabriele Manfredi; Modern fairy–tale about a house–bound boy determined to find the thin–match man, a figure his mother once created who lights the…
Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure (2009): Feat. Kristin Chenoweth, Jesse McCartney, Anjelica Huston; Adequate sequel to 2008's TINKERBELL sees the feisty fairy and friends go on a journey to find the source of the Pixies mystical dust.The stellar…
Toys in the Attic (2009-2012): Dir. Vivian Schilling, Jirí Barta; Dark stop–motion animated fairytale following the adventures of a doll, a marionette, a teddy bear, a Mechanical Mouse and the plasticine…
Treasure Hunter, The (2009): Dir. Yen-ping Chu
Feat. Jay Chou, Chiling Lin, Eric Tsang…; Madcap fusion of Indiana Jones and martial arts mayhem, with Mandarin popstar Jay Chou leading the charge as a protector of relics on the hunt for a…
Vintner's Luck, The (2009): Dir. Niki Caro
Feat. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Jeremie Renier, Gaspard Ulliel…; Contentious, opulent NZ–made adaptation of the much–loved Elizabeth Knox novel, ostensibly about the relationship between a guardian…
Where the Wild Things Are (2009): Dir. Spike Jonze
Feat. Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini…; Expanding on the simple text of Maurice Sendak's modern children's classic, this glorious, visionary adaptation from director Spike Jonze and writer…
Wizards Of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009): Dir. Lev L. Spiro
Feat. David Henrie, Selena Gomez, Jake T. Austin; Feature–length spin–off from popular Disney series THE WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE, focused around a family of…
Wonder Woman (2009): Dir. Lauren Montgomery
Feat. Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina…; Excellent animated feature telling the origin story of Wonder Woman (voiced by Russell) and her quest to protect the world from Ares (Molina). The…
Woochi: Goblin Wizard (Jeon Woochi : The Taoist Wizard) (2009): Dir. Dong-hun Choi
Feat. Dong-won Kang, Yun-seok Kim, Su-jeong Lim…; Mayhem is unleashed in contemporary Seoul when Taoist wizards do battle with time traveling goblins.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009): Dir. Gavin Hood
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston…; Hugh Jackman reprises his role as wolfy superhero Wolverine, charting his origin–story from innocent child through to fully–fledged,…
Adventures Of Merlin, The (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Colin Morgan, Angel Coulby, Bradley James…; Ambitious drama series loosely based on the legend of King Arthur, following a young Merlin's arrival in Camelot where he must face great danger…
Bedtime Stories (2008): Dir. Adam Shankman
Feat. Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce…; Sure–fire Disney high–concept comedy starring Adam Sandler as a baby–sitting uncle whose bedtime stories start to influence his…
Being Human (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow, Aidan Turner; Supernatural sitcom has three British twenty–somethings struggling with their respective alter–egos as a vampire, ghost and werewolf.
Bonekickers (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Hugh Bonneville, Julie Graham, Adrian Lester; From the creators of LIFE ON MARS comes this hybrid of INDIANA JONES and THE DA VINCI CODE as a crack team of archaeologists are thrust into various…
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008): Dir. Andrew Adamson
Feat. Tilda Swinton, Ben Barnes, Sergio Castellitto…; This epic–leaning return to the fantasy world of Narnia finds the Pevensie children heading back through the wardrobe to help Prince Caspian…
City Of Ember (2008): Dir. Gil Kenan
Feat. Harry Treadaway, Saoirse Ronan, Tim Robbins…; Dystopian children's fantasy set in an underground city of the future that is threatened by eternal darkness but whose leaders protect their citizens…
CJ7 (Cheung Gong 7 hou) (2008): Dir. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
Feat. Stephen Chow (Chiao); Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow turns his directing talents to the family–friendly fantasy, playing a dirt–poor father who surprises his…
Colour of Magic, The (2008): Dir. Vadim Jean
Feat. Sean Astin, Jeremy Irons, David Jason…; A live–action return to Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld,' where an unfortunate wizard, enthusiastic tourist and fierce wooden box with legs must…
Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, The (2008): Dir. David Fincher
Feat. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton…; The screenwriter of FORREST GUMP expands upon F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story to tell the curious case of a man born on Armistice day as decrepit…
Delgo (2008): Dir. Marc F. Adler, Jason Maurer
Feat. Freddie Prinze Jnr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Malcolm McDowell…; Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt and others voice this fantasy animation about a magical world on the brink of destruction. Lacks subtely and…
Dragon Hunters (2008): Dir. Guillaume Ivernel, Arthur Qwak
Feat. Forest Whitaker, Vincent Lindon; French–produced animated tale of two dragon hunters in a world that has become infested with a terrible plague, with famished, mutant creatures…
Dragonlance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight (2008): Dir. Will Meugniot
Feat. Kiefer Sutherland, Lucy Lawless, Michelle Trachtenberg; Basic Fantasy adventure animation based on the novel and role–playing game of the same name about a group of heroes defending their land…
Inkheart (2008): Dir. Iain Softley
Feat. Brendan Fraser, Sienna Guillory, Paul Bettany…; An under–rated, imaginative rendering of German author Cornelia Funke's novel about a young girl and her father who have the ability to bring…
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (2008): Dir. Eric Brevig
Feat. Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem; A "rollercoaster" entertainment based very loosely on Jules Verne's famous novel, this version sees a contemporary trio embarking on an inadvertent…
Krabat (2008): Dir. Marco Kreuzpaintner
Feat. David Kross, Daniel Bruhl, Christian Redl; Faustian fantasy centred around a teenager who is lured into joining an elite circle of black magic practitioners in 18th Century Germany. A…
Legend of the Seeker, The (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Craig Horner, Bridget Regan, Bruce Spence…; Sword–and–Sorcery coming–of–age journey with The Seeker as he joins forces with a mysterious woman and a wise, powerful…
Lost in Austen (TV Mini-Series) (2008): Feat. Jemima Rooper, Alex Kingston, Hugh Bonneville…; Fizzy twist on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE has an ardent Jane Austen fan, living in present day London, swapping places with Austen's fictional creation…
Mummy, The - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008): Dir. Rob Cohen
Feat. Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello…; Veteran adventurer Rick O’Conner (Fraser) returns with family in tow to battle Jet Li’s ‘Dragon Emperor’ in this bloated third installment of…
Phoebe in Wonderland (2008): Dir. Daniel Barnz
Feat. Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Elle Fanning…; Affecting drama starring Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) as an gifted but unstable young girl who retreats into the fantastical world of Alice…
Pinocchio (TV Mini-series) (2008): Dir. Alberto Sironi
Feat. Robbie Kay , Alessandro Gassman, Bob Hoskins; Lengthy, live–action adaptation of the children's classic stars Kay as the boy made of wood and Hoskins as his gruff old father, Gepetto. Quite…
Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) (2008): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Feat. Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi; Utterly irresistible, Miyazaki’s latest animated triumph is one for all ages (even toddlers!); a Little Mermaid–inspired adventure of a…
Rosario + Vampire (TV Series) (Rozario To Banpaia) (2008): Tskune accidentally gets on a bus to a school of monsters.
Secret Of Moonacre, The (2008): Dir. Gabor Csupo
Feat. Dakota Blue Richards, Juliet Stevenson, Tim Curry…; Orphaned teenager Maria Merryweather (Richards) discovers her new home, the foreboding Moonacre Estate, is under an ancient curse in this lushly…
Spiderwick Chronicles, The (2008): Dir. Mark Waters
Feat. Freddie Highmore, Nick Nolte, Sarah Bolger…; Enchanting fantasia in the Gothic tradition, centred around three children (including Freddie Highmore as twins!) who move into a dilapidated mansion…
Star Wars - The Clone Wars (2008): Dir. Dave Filoni; Watered down kids animation from the STAR WARS franchise, focusing on the Jedi Knights battle to retain peace in the galaxy during the…
Tears for Sale (Charleston and Vendetta) (2008): Dir. Uros Stojanovic
Feat. Katarina Radivojevic, Sonja Kolacaric; The sombre title belies what is in fact a joyously bawdy Balkan fairytale that blends fantastical folklore, striking burlesque visuals and ample…
Tinkerbell (Tinker Bell Movie, The ) (2008): Dir. Bradley Raymond; The feisty fairy from PETER PAN stars in her very own movie set in the land of 'Pixie Hollow,' where she must learn from her fairy friends how to…
Beowulf (2007): Dir. Robert Zemeckis
Feat. Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins…; Originally earmarked for 3D IMAX cinemas, this groundbreaking animation brings to screen the Old English epic of hero Beowulf (Winstone) and his…
Blood and Chocolate (2007): Dir. Katja von Garnier
Feat. Agnes Bruckner, Olivier Martinez, Hugh Dancy…; A beautiful teenager must choose between her love for a young artist and her werewolf lineage in this campy but adequately entertaining supernatural…
Bridge to Terabithia (2007): Dir. Gabor Csupo
Feat. Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel…; Faithful adaptation of a much–loved young–adult novel, which tells the story of two 10–year–olds creating a fantasy world to…
Doctor Strange - The Sorceror Supreme (2007): Dir. Jay Oliva; Another popular comic book adaptation from the Marvel animated stable: here, the ‘Dr. Strange’ series makes for a fantastical world’s end…
Doctor Who (Animated TV Series) (2007): Feat. David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, Anthony Head…; Animated spin–offs that aim predominantly at a younger audience, but have enough well–crafted animation locations and clever technique to…
Dororo (2007): Dir. Akihiko Shiota
Feat. Ko Shibasaki, Satoshi Tsumabuki; Electrifying action fantasy based on a manga comic by the grandfather of Anime – Osamu Tezuka (ASTRO BOY), in which an abandoned samurai's son…
Enchanted (2007): Dir. Kevin Lima
Feat. Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams, James Marsden…; Top–rating, truly charming family fantasy uses a clever mix of live action and animation to quite literally 'bring to life' a perfect, cartoon…
Ghost Rider (2007): Dir. Mark Steven Johnson
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley…; The latest Marvel superhero to 'ignite' the screen, a rather unlikely Nicolas Cage stars as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who strikes a deal…
Golden Compass, The (2007): Dir. Chris Weitz
Feat. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Ben Walker…; Visually magnificent fantasy epic adapted from the first installment in Philip Pullman's controversial "His Dark Materials" trilogy traverses similar…
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007): Dir. David Yates
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter…; The fifth movie of the Harry Potter franchise finds the Wiz–kid struggling with adolescent hormones, a blind bureaucracy and most memorably,…
John From Cincinnati (TV Series) (2007): Feat. Rebecca De Mornay, Greyson Fletcher, Bruce Greenwood; Short–lived oddity from the creator of DEADWOOD set amongst a surfing community in California, where a stranger with mysterious powers shakes…
Masters Of Science Fiction (TV Series) (A Clean Escape, Jerry Was A Man, The Awakening, Little Brother, Watchbird, The Discarded.) (2007): Dir. Mark Rydell, Michael Petroni, Darnell Martin
Feat. Judy Davis, Sam Waterston, Anne Heche…; Collection of six stories from the world's top sci–fi writers brought to life by a top–notch cast and hosted by Professor Stephen…
Mother of Tears (La Terza Madre) (2007): Dir. Dario Argento
Feat. Asia Argento, Christian Solimeno, Udo Kier; This missing piece in Argento’s ‘Three Mothers’ trilogy turns to an unassuming art student (daughter Asia, getting her kit off as usual), who,…
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007): Dir. Zach Helm
Feat. Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman…; Elves–in–the–toyshop fantasy with Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Magorium, the kindly, Wonka–esque, owner of a magical toy…
Secret of the Magic Gourd, The (Bao hu lu de mi mi) (2007): Dir. John Chu, Frankie Chung; One of the first children's fantasies from mainland China to be formally released in the West tells the story of an imaginative under–achiever…
Seeker, The - The Dark is Rising (2007): Dir. David L Cunningham
Feat. Alexander Ludwig, Ian McShane, Christopher Eccleston…; Choppy big screen adaptation of Susan Cooper's popular children's series, which pits a chosen young boy against Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane,…
Slipstream (Slipstream Dream) (2007): Dir. Anthony Hopkins
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Christian Slater, Camryn Manheim…; Anthony Hopkins cartwheels into the director's chair and attempts to channel David Lynch for this befuddling ensemble fantasy in which a screenwriter…
Stardust (2007): Dir. Matthew Vaughn
Feat. Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer…; An elaborate and wildly entertaining fairytale adventure from the imagination of British fantasy maestro, Neil Gaiman (MIRROR MASK), this tones down…
Superman: Doomsday (2007): Feat. Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, John Di Maggio…; Brutal animation based on 'The Death of Superman' comic where our red caped superhero must defeat the creature 'Doomsday' and rise from the dead to…
Tin Man (TV Mini-series) (2007): Dir. Nick Willing
Feat. Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough…; Futuristic, CGI–rich TV mini–series re–imagining the L. Frank Baum classic THE WIZARD OF OZ. Quirk bunny Zooey Deschanel (WEEDS,…
Water Horse, The: Legend of the Deep (2007): Dir. Jay Russell
Feat. Alex Etel, Ben Chaplin, Emily Watson…; NZ–filmed magical adventure inspired by the legend of Loch Ness in which a small boy secretly adopts a baby mythical creature that grows to…
Wizards of Waverly Place, The (TV Series) (2007): Feat. Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Jake T. Austin; Bland cash–in on the HARRY POTTER series centers on the Russo children, three young wizards in training. Broad comedy with a 'twist' is…
Youth Without Youth (2007): Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Feat. Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz; Joining a recent glut of Dorian Gray–like fantasies, this Francis Ford Coppola comeback (following a 10 year sabbatical) centres on a Romanian…
Aquamarine (2006): Dir. Elizabeth Allen
Feat. Emma Roberts, Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque, Sara Paxton; Likeable 'tween' fantasy that’ll appeal especially to young girls, this swimmingly pairs two best friends with a teenaged mermaid who washes up on…
Arthur and the Invisibles (Arthur et les Minimoys) (2006): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow, Jimmy Fallon…; Blending animation and live–action, Luc Besson directs the tale of ‘Arthur and The Minimoys’ (translated to ‘Invisibles’ for English…
Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006): Dir. Michel Ocelot; Exotic story–book style adventure set in the Arabic world and following childhood friends Azur and Asmar as they become rivals on a quest to…
Black Blood Brothers (TV Series) (2006): Remnants of a vampire clan that wanted to rule the world alone, but got defeated in a war by joined forces of other vampires and humans, kidnap the…
Condor, The (Stan Lee Presents - The Condor) (2006): Dir. Steve Gordon
Feat. Wilmer Valderrama, Maria Conchita Alonso; When his parents are murdered and his legs destroyed in a violent invasion, Hispanic skatie Tony Valdez uses bits and pieces from his Dad's…
Crusade: A March Through Time (Kruistocht in spijkerbroek) (2006): Dir. Ben Sombogaart
Feat. Stephanie Leonidas, Joe Flynn, Emily Watson…; From the popular Dutch children’s book, this biblical fantasy follows a young boy who accidentally travels through time back to the 13th Century,…
Eragon (2006): Dir. Stefan Fangmeier
Feat. Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich…; A child–friendly fire–breathing fantasy set in a land where dragons are almost extinct, and a farm boy named Eragon must meet his destiny…
Fall, The (2006): Dir. Tarsem Singh
Feat. Lee Pace, Cantinca Untaru, Justine Waddell; Long delayed in this part of the world, this visually audacious labour of love from dir. Singh has Lee Pace as a wounded stuntman narrating a…
Girl Who Leapt Through Time, The (2006): Dir. Mamoru Hosoda; An enchanting, girl–centric 'anime', centred around a teenager’s ability to time travel and adjust the course of her social and romantic…
Hogfather (Terry Pratchett's Hogfather) (2006): Dir. Vadim Jean
Feat. David Jason, Marc Warren, Nigel Planer…; Another installment in Terry Pratchett's universe sees Discworld's equivalent to Father Christmas 'the Hogfather' go missing on Hogswatch eve with…
Killian Curse, The (TV Series) (2006): Local fantasy–horror series in which the 21 students of Room 21, must each defeat a demon sent by the spirit of their long–dead school…
Lady in the Water (2006): Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
Feat. Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeffrey Wright…; Adapting his own literary fairytale, M. Night Shyamalan's (SIGNS) fifth film is set around a dank apartment complex, where the dour superintendent…
Merlin's Apprentice (2006): Feat. Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson; Fantastical sequel to the popular mini–series version of MERLIN, this also stars Sam Neill as the legendary wizard, now mentoring a young…
Night at the Museum (2006): Dir. Shawn Levy
Feat. Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke…; Rambuctious creature comedy starring Ben Stiller as a 'desperate dad' who takes the graveyard shift as a night guard for the Natural History Museum,…
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del fauno) (2006): Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Feat. Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez…; A stunning, sinister netherworld fantasy that parallels an equally compelling story of uprising against a fascist military unit in WWII Spain, this…
Penelope (2006): Dir. Mark Palansky
Feat. Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara…; Whimsical fantasy comedy about an unfortunate girl cursed with the face of a pig whose family are driven to find her a "handsome prince" to undo the…
Prestige, The (2006): Dir. Christopher Nolan
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson…; Another astounding feat of storytelling from the dir. of MEMENTO that spins a constantly intriguing yarn of two rival magicians who engage in a…
Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection (2006): Splendid swag of early short films from special f/x pioneer Ray Harryhausen, many using the mature stop–motion style of his work in features…
Tales From Earthsea (Gedo senki) (2006): Dir. Goro Miyazaki; The animated feature debut from Goro Miyazaki, son of Hayao, based on Ursula K Le Guin's popular 'Earthsea' novels, this is a commendable addition to…
Thief Lord, The (2006): Dir. Richard Claus
Feat. Jasper Harris, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jim Carter…; A delightful HARRY POTTER–esque fantasy chronicling the adventures of two runaways who join a scalawag band of abandoned kids in search of a…
Tom's Midnight Garden (2006): Dir. Willard Carroll
Feat. Greta Scacchi, James Wilby, Joan Plowright; A handsome screen version of children's novel by Phillipa Pearce, in which a young boy in the 1950s is sent to live with his aunt and uncle because…
Ultimate Avengers (2006): Dir. Bob Richardson; Slim, cheerfully low–grade Marvel animated feature which unites six iconic superheroes (Captain America, The Hulk, etc.) in a fight against…
What the Bleep!? - Down the Rabbit Hole (2006): Dir. William Arntz, Betsy Chasse
Feat. Marlee Matlin; A sequel–recut of WHAT THE BLEEP? which again presents an New Age spread of provocative comparisons between the theories of quantum physics and…
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006): Dir. Goran Dukic
Feat. Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Tom Waits…; Wilfully eccentric suicide comedy (!?) set in a warped and washed–out afterlife inhabited solely by suiciders, in which a young no–hoper…
X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006): Dir. Brett Ratner
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart…; Third entry in the X–MEN series maintains the intensity with a raft of new mutants – of various persuasions – and an intriguing new…
Allegro (2005): Dir. Christoffer Boe
Feat. Ulrich Thomsen, Helena Christensen; Conceptually intriguing Danish sci–fi drama concerns a gifted concert pianist whose lack of intimacy leads to amnesia, forcing him to enter…
Beowulf and Grendel (2005): Dir. Sturla Gunnarsson
Feat. Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgard, Sarah Polley; A rousing medieval adaptation of the Anglo–Saxon epic poem in sweeping fantasy tones. Filled with constant action in a strange, otherworldly…
Bewitched (2005): Dir. Nora Ephron
Feat. Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley Maclaine…; An inventive, but overly ditzy attempt at updating the 1960s TV classic, with the twist here being that the modernday witch Kidman longs for the…
Bloodrayne (2005): Dir. Uwe Boll
Feat. Kristanna Loken, Michael Madsen, Ben Kingsley…; Brain dead blood and breast fest from the consistently awful Boll with "plot" revolving around a half–human/half–vampire pursuing the man…
Brothers Grimm (2005): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Heath Ledger, Matt Damon, Jonathan Pryce…; Loosely based on the lives of 19th century German folklore collectors Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, this has the said brothers (played by Ledger and…
Carnivale - Season 2 (TV Series) (2005): Further episodes from this unusual TV series which continues a running duel between two quasi–supernatural figures (Stahl and Brown) in the…
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005): Dir. Andrew Adamson
Feat. Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent…; A splendid and meticulous vision of C.S. Lewis' classic children's fantasy novel in which a group of four young siblings – ensconced in an…
Death Trance (2005): Dir. Yuji Shimomura
Feat. Tak Sakaguchi; Another insane, neo–samurai fantasy from the VERSUS camp involving the battle over a mysterious coffin that, if opened, could destroy the…
Great Yokai War, The (Yôkai daisensô) (2005): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Chiaki Kuriyama; The latest cinematic mash–up from dir. Miike (AUDITION) is a family–orientated adventure in which a shy young boy from a broken family…
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005): Dir. Mike Newell
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman…; The fourth chapter in the unfolding Harry Potter series marks a devastating plunge into raw suspense and truly epic adventure for the young wizard…
Jacket, The (2005): Dir. John Maybury
Feat. Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson…; Adding to a growing canon of mind–bending thrillers of distinction (see our 'Close Relatives' below), this certainly feels part of a distinct…
King Kong (2005): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black…; Peter Jackson's colossal remake lavishes one of the cinema's greatest legends in 21st century technology and ratchets up the emotional stakes to…
Mushi-Shi (TV Series) (2005): Dir. Hiroshi Nagahama; Artful, existential anime of spiritual transcendence, concerning an intangible life force dubbed ‘Mushi’, and the gifted master who seeks out…
Nanny McPhee (2005): Dir. Kirk Jones
Feat. Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Kelly MacDonald…; A well–bred British entertainment for children which fuses the traditional likes of MARY POPPINS with the current wave of gothic fantasy (Harry…
Neverwas (2005): Dir. Joshua Michael Stern
Feat. Ian McKellen, Aaron Eckhart, Brittany Murphy…; Emotive, 'realist' fairytale concerns a psychiatrist (Eckhart) who discovers the magical world his deceased father (Nolte) wrote about in a Lewis…
Opal Dream (2005): Dir. Peter Cattaneo
Feat. Vince Colosimo, Jacqueline McKenzie; Semi–precious gem of a family drama about a precocious 10–year–old girl in Australian 'opal country', who wreaks a cute brand of…
Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, The (2005): Dir. The Brothers Quay
Feat. Amira Casar; A ten–year hiatus hasn’t dulled the Quay Brothers’ imagination for the surreal and phantasmagorical, with their latest feature an…
Princess Raccoon (Operetta tanuki goten) (2005): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Zhang Ziyi, Joe Odagiri; Wacky musical rumpus stars Zhang Ziyi as a 'raccoon dog' who falls in love with a prince banished to her enchanted forest. A fanciful swansong for…
Promise, The (Wu ji) (2005): Dir. Chen Kaige
Feat. Hiroyuki Sanada, Dong-Kun Jang, Cecilia Cheung…; Visually exquisite, if utterly frivolous Golden Globe–nominated romantic epic from the director of FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE relays the story of…
Shinobi (2005): Dir. Ten Shimoyama
Feat. Joe Odagiri, Yukie Nakama; Set in an ancient Japan complete with magical trappings, this action epic posits a forbidden love story between members (Odagiri and Nakama) of two…
Sin City (2005): Dir. Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Feat. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen…; A sensational slab of stylized and ultra–violent pulp fiction, adapted from Frank Miller's own notorious 'crime noir' comicbooks, and…
Snow Queen, The (2005): Dir. Julian Gibbs
Feat. Sydney White, Patrick Stewart; The classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, about a young girl who sets out to find a friend bewitched and abducted by an evil enchantress, here…
Tideland (2005): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Tilly, Jodelle Ferland; Perennial mindbender Terry Gilliam burrows down the rabbit hole, perverting a child’s fairytale into a corrupted, deeply disturbed nightmare…
Angels in America (TV Mini Series) (2004): Dir. Mike Nichols
Feat. Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson…; An ambitious, multi–leveled portrait of the fractures, politics and metaphysical crises of 1980s America based on the stageplay by Tony…
Bionicle 2 (Legends of Metru Nui) (2004): Prequel to MASK OF LIGHT, this casts back into the dark early history of Metru Nui, with six Metoran being given the task of recovering the powerful…
Devilman (2004): Dir. Hiroyuki Nasu
Feat. Hisato Izaki; Clunky live–action manga adaptation saddles a dorky teenager with the fate of mankind, forcing him to adopt the characteristics of a…
Dragon's World - A Fantasy Made Real (2004): Dir. Justin Hardy; Interesting TV hybrid, poses the question "what if dragons were real?", and unfolds the story of a group of hikers who stumble upon the frozen…
Dust Factory, The (2004): Dir. Eric Small
Feat. Hayden Panettiere, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ryan Kelly; An interesting and moderately spooky family drama, in which a traumatised teen (Kelly) – who can't bring himself to speak after witnessing his…
Elfen Lied (2004): Dir. Mamoru Kanbe; Anime TV series adapting the earlier part of a manga of the same name by Lynn Okamoto that was considered edgy in its time due to being pretty dark…
Ella Enchanted (2004): Dir. Tommy O’Haver
Feat. Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Cary Elwes…; Anne Hathaway (THE PRINCESS DIARIES) stars in this family fantasy as a princess who must travel to distant lands to offload her gift (curse) of…
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): Dir. Michel Gondry
Feat. Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst…; A miraculous, complex 'domestic fantasy' from the twin genius of writer Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry, who find a satisfying narrative…
Five Children and It (2004): Dir. John Stephenson
Feat. Freddie Highmore, Kenneth Branagh, Zoe Wanamaker…; A fond adaptation of the E. Nesbit novel in which a group of children are befriended by a disenchanted green 'sand fairy' called 'It' (voiced by…
George and the Dragon (2004): Dir. Tom Reeve
Feat. James Purefoy, Piper Perabo, Patrick Swayze…; Broadly entertaining revision of a medieval legend about the search for a captive princess and dragon in old–world England.
Gladiatress (2004): Dir. Brian Grant
Feat. Sally Phillips, Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan; A modest spoof on the sword–and–sandal genre (see GLADIATOR or XENA), with three Celtic lasses kitting up for a wander through a welter…
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004): Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane…; Young Harry's troublesome education continues at Hogswarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, in this increasingly confident series, here given a…
House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) (2004): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau; The dir. of HERO follows up with an equally watchable oriental spectacle, inserting the same cartwheeling martial arts action, complete with torrents…
Howl's Moving Castle (2004): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki; Yet another miraculous animated odyssey from Hayao Miyazaki, who finds a perfect vehicle in the English fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones, about a…
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette (TV Series) (2004): Dir. Akiyuki Shinbo; Wavering gothic anime series in which an antique store worker becomes obsessed with a young girl he discovers trapped inside a Venetian glass for 250…
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004): Dir. Brad Silberling
Feat. Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Billy Connolly…; Unfolding as a series of beautifully designed events, this Hollywood adaptation of the popular fantasy books fortunately doesn't water down the…
Shoebox Zoo (TV Series) (2004): Dir. Justin Molotnikov
Feat. Vivien Endicott Douglas, Jason Connery, Rik Mayall…; An imaginative British fantasy series for children, has a Canadian exchange student (Douglas) living in Edinburgh inherit a box of toy animals, that…
Strings (2004): Dir. Anders Rønnow Klarlund
Feat. James McAvoy, Catherine McCormack, Derek Jacobi…; An extraordinary Danish puppet fantasy epic about the course of kingdoms and warriors in an ancient world, which is distinguished by the integration…
Van Helsing (2004): Dir. Stephen Sommers
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh…; More entertaining than some critics might have you believe, this big–budget monster–mash sees Hugh Jackman out to save a Transylvanian…
What the Bleep do we Know!? (What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?) (2004): Dir. William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, Mark Vicente
Feat. Marlee Matlin; A unique and certainly popular piece of 'New Age intellectualism", this follows the travails of a deaf photographer (Matlin) through life and…
Big Fish (2003): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup…; A fantasy of substance from dir. Tim Burton, set around a dying father (Finney) and his son (Crudup), who relives the father's tall stories, piecing…
Bionicle: Mask of Light (2003): Animated spectacular from the makers of 'Lego', set on a half–mystical/half–futuristic islands of Mata Nui. Subject to a devious plot…
Bruce Almighty (2003): Dir. Tom Shadyac
Feat. Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman; The second coming of Jim Carrey for the director of LIAR LIAR is a similar ‘high concept’ comedy with the same ratio of side–splitting and…
Carnivale - Season 1 (TV Series) (2003): Feat. Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown, John Savage…; A most unusual TV series which sets a running duel between two quasi–supernatural figures (Stahl and Brown) in the Oklahoma dustbowl during the…
Freaky Friday (2003): Dir. Mark Waters
Feat. Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon; Thoroughly updated and spunky version of Disney's 1977 original, one the best 'body–swap' comedies. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, play…
Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (2003): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen…; Peter Jackson's adaptation of J R R Tolkien's fantasy trilogy of 'Middle Earth' reaches its spectacular climax, drawing the story–threads…
Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Extended Edition) (2003): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen…; The final installment in Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of JRR Tolkien's fantasy classic. This version includes an extra 45 minutes of footage.
Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Limited Edition) (2003): Dir. Peter Jackson, Costa Botes; Special limited edition re–release of Peter Jackson's final installment of the monumental J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Features both the theatrical…
Nothing (2003): Dir. Vincenzo Natali
Feat. David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Gordon Pinsent; Two losers inhabiting a scungy existence in cramped Toronto discover that their unspoken wish that "the world would just go away" has come…
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): Dir. Gore Verbinski
Feat. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush…; A terrific, tongue–in–cheek action romp set in the pirate days of the Caribbean, with Johnny Depp leading the charge as a madcap, slyly…
Shrek 3-D - The Story Continues (2003): Dir. Simon J Smith; A bridging story between the first two SHREK feature–films, has the same great 'voice cast' return for a modest adventure in which Princess…
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003): Dir. Patrick Gilmore, Tim Johnson
Feat. Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfeiffer, Catherine Zeta-Jones; A traditionally–animated high sea adventure in which young rogue pirate Sinbad must cutlace his way out of the fine mess cooked up by the…
Woodenhead (2003): Dir. Florian Habicht; A remarkable and surrealistic melding of New Zealand setting and Germanic sensibility, in which a sad fairytale narrative is enacted, sung and…
Dinotopia (TV Mini-series) (2002): Dir. Marco Brambilla
Feat. David Thewlis; Teledrama based on the popular, illustrative fantasy books by James Gurney, following two young brothers who survive a plane crash and wash up in a…
Haibane Renmei (TV Series) (2002): Dir. Tomokazu Tokoro; Accomplished Japanese anime TV series that shuns the usual props – weaponry, robots, demons, spaceships – for a bittersweet tale of a…
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002): Dir. Chris Columbus
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Kenneth Branagh, John Cleese…; The second Harry Potter adaptation is better fun and more settled in its mingled tone of magic, fantasy and thriller. Daniel Radcliffe again plays…
Harry Potter Collection Boxset (2002-2011): The complete collection of Harry Potter feature films in an attractive boxed set. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) Harry Potter…
Hero (2002): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Jet Li, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Maggie Cheung…; Though no doubt diminished on the small screen, this ancient Martial Arts spectacle from the dir. of RAISE THE RED…
Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (2002): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen…; Peter Jackson’s mammoth adaptation of J R R Tolkien’s fantasy classic continues in grand fashion, with increased visual panache and…
Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Extended Edition) (2002): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen…; Peter Jackson’s mammoth adaptation of J R R Tolkien’s fantasy classic continues in grand fashion, with increased visual panache and dramatic…
Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Limited Edition) (2002): Dir. Peter Jackson, Costa Botes; Special limited edition re–release of Peter Jackson's second installment of the monumental J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Features both the theatrical…
Order, The - From Cremaster 3 (2002): Dir. Matthew Barney
Feat. Matthew Barney; The climactic half–hour of artist Matthew Barney's 5–part 'Cremaster' series, a challenging excursion into surrealistic imagery whose a…
Peter Pan 2 - Return to Neverland (2002): Dir. Robin Budd, Donovan Cook; Bright and energetic sequel to Disney’s original animation from 1953, set around Jane’s (daughter of Wendy) journey to the enchanted…
Pinocchio (2002): Dir. Roberto Benigni
Feat. Roberto Benigni; Pre–eminent Italian comic Roberto Benigni stages the greatest Italian fairytale as a prestige project, but belly–flops perhaps namely…
Reign of Fire (2002): Dir. Rob Bowman
Feat. Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey; Fire–breathing dragons are woken from their millennial slumbers by repairmen in the London Underground, and begin laying waste to the earth in…
Scorpion King, The (2002): Dir. Chuck Russell
Feat. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Steven Brand; Spun off from the recent MUMMY remakes, this logically demented action–horror prequel concerns the struggle of Mathayus (played by WWF’s…
Spider-Man (Spiderman) (2002): Dir. Sam Raimi
Feat. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe…; New–improved re–spinning of the Marvel comic book superhero that finds a perfect match of material and director, and the crucially…
Spirited Away (2002): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Feat. Miyu Hiragi, Miyu Irino; Animation visionary Hayao Miyazaki gets to fully unlock his boundless imagination through the otherworldly adventures of an innocent young girl that…
Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters and Marvels (2002): Dir. Scott Zakarin; Two documentaries on one DVD, concerning Marvel Comics maestro Stan Lee, the creator of ‘The Fantastic Four’, ‘The Incredible Hulk’, ‘The…
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002): Dir. George Lucas
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen…; The attack of the most successful–ever movie franchise continues, with Lucas’ space–opera following further galactic struggles, in…
X-Men 2 (2002): Dir. Bryan Singer
Feat. Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart…; A new war between humans and mutants looks to boil over in this sure–footed sci–fi sequel, again steered by dir. Singer. Centred…
Amelie (2001): Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Feat. Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz; A charming romantic comedy stamped with the purely cinematic style of dir. Jean–Pierre Juenet, who here remixes intricate set pieces, editing…
Back to the Secret Garden (2001): Dir. Michael Tuchner
Feat. Joan Plowright, George Baker, Cherie Lunghi…; Sequel to the 1993 enchanted family adventure THE SECRET GARDEN set years later with the original children Mary and Colin now married (yes, they are…
Dark Portals - Vidocq (2001): Dir. Pitof
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Guillaume Canet, Andre Dussollier…; Before the diabolical CATWOMAN, French visual effects maestro Pitof directed this wildly eccentric 19th century mythology, pitting the historical…
Donnie Darko (2001): Dir. Richard Kelly
Feat. Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore…; Admired by critics and an ardent fanbase for its originality and eclecticism, this quirky teen fantasy is arguably a slick patchwork of other movie…
Fruits Basket (TV Series) (2001): A teenage girl ingratiates herself to a mysterious family who are known to transform into animals of the Chinese Zodiac in this peppy comedy romance,…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001): Dir. Chris Columbus
Feat. Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman…; Immensely popular, this star–studded adaptation of JK Rowling’s first book thankfully captures the essence of orphan Harry’s tale of…
Interstate 60 (2001): Dir. Bob Gale
Feat. James Marsden, Gary Oldman, Kurt Russell…; An appealingly quirky teen road movie from the writer of the BACK TO THE FUTURE series, in which Marsden sets out on the mythical American highway,…
Jack and the Beanstalk - The Real Story (2001): Dir. Brian Henson
Feat. Matthew Modine, Jon Voight, Vanessa Redgrave…; TV sequel to the fairytale of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' in which a descendant of Jack (Modine) must lift a family curse by returning the world of the…
Kai Doh Maru (2001): Dir. Kanji Wakabayashi; Short though superbly animated fable of ancient Japan concerning a young girl who is raised as a samurai warrior in feudal times. From the…
Knight's Tale, A (2001): Dir. Brian Helgeland
Feat. Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany; Surprisingly satisfying medieval comedy slam–bang, that wears its mindlessness on its chain–mail sleeve, while Geoffrey Chaucer’s…
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001): Dir. Simon West
Feat. Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor; Hugely silly fantasy–action is never a bore, despite all the odds, with an oiled Angelina Jolie filling the kit of the pneumatic…
Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler…; Monumental fantasy–epic and filmmaking accomplishment for local–boy–made–good Peter Jackson, transmutes the first part of J R…
Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) (2001): Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler…; Monumental fantasy–epic and filmmaking accomplishment for local–boy–made–good Peter Jackson, transmutes the first part of J R…
Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Limited Edition) (2001): Dir. Peter Jackson, Costa Botes; Special limited edition re–release of Peter Jackson's first installment of the monumental J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Features both the theatrical…
Mists of Avalon, The (2001): Dir. Uli Edel
Feat. Anjelica Huston, Joan Allen, Julianne Margulies; Interesting TV–Movie re–casting of the King Arthur mythology from the women’s – Igraine, Morgaine, Viviane, Gwenwyfer –…
Monkey Bone (2001): Dir. Henry Selick
Feat. Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg; Bizarre, original and at times downright nasty, this not–for–kids comedy concerns the life–and–death voyage of cartoonist…
Mummy Returns, The (2001): Dir. Stephen Sommers
Feat. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah…; And Brendan Fraser is once again on hand to battle the bandaged corpse of the Egyptian Imhotep on behalf of all civilization. Also stars WWF’s The…
Osmosis Jones (2001): Dir. Pete Farrelly, Bob Farrelly
Feat. Bill Murray, Chris Rock, Laurence Fishburne…; The Farrelly Bros (KINGPIN) take their comic fixation with bodily functions to extremes by setting this icky animation within the bowels of Bill…
Shaolin Soccer (2001): Dir. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
Feat. Stephen Chow (Chiao), Richard Ng, Vicki Zhao; With an astounding mix of Eastern fantasy, CGI effects and the game of soccer, Hong Kong’s one–man comedy machine Stephen Chow kicks one out…
Snow White - The Fairest of Them All (2001): Dir. Caroline Thompson
Feat. Miranda Richardson, Kristin Kreuk, Vera Farmiga…; When baby Snow's father frees a bewitched djinn, he is granted three wishes: nourishment for his child, a kingdom in which to raise her, and a queen…
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King) (2001-2003): Dir. Peter Jackson; A set of all three parts of Peter Jackson's monumental adapation of JRR Tolkien's fantasy epic, in their original cinema release versions: The…
Tom Thumb (Le Petit Poucet) (2001): Dir. Olivier Dahan
Feat. Nils Hugon, Catherine Deneuve, Said Taghmaoui; Ambitious, enjoyably dark rendering of Perrault’s classic fable, "Le Petit Poucet" told with trademark French twistedness and aplomb, kids will…
Vanilla Sky (2001): Dir. Cameron Crowe
Feat. Tom Cruise, Jason Lee, Cameron Diaz…; A straight Hollywood remake of the Spanish sci–fi thriller OPEN YOUR EYES by the director of ALMOST FAMOUS – the result of which plays like…
10th Kingdom, The (Mini-series) (2000): Dir. David Carson, Herbert Wise
Feat. Kimberley Williams, Scott Cohen, John Larroquette…; Elaborate, 7–hour fairy–tale extravaganza is engaging and imaginative family fare made under the 'Hallmark' television banner, and is…
Amazon (Amazone) (2000): Dir. Phillipe De Broca
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Arielle Dombasle; Convoluted sci–fi adventure has jewel thief Belmondo stumbling upon an alien visitor in the guise of a twelve year old girl. Almost…
Arabian Nights (Mini-Series) (2000): Dir. Steve Barron
Feat. Jason Scott Lee, Rufus Sewell, Mili Avital…; Visually stunning retelling of One Thousand and One Nights, in which a mad Sultan weds his childhood friend, planning to execute her the following…
Cell, The (2000): Dir. Tarsem Singh
Feat. Jennifer Lopez, Vincent D'Onofrio, Vince Vaughn; Entering the mind of serial killer might seem like a tired idea, but commercial supremo and visual stylist Tarsem Singh creates a impressively creepy…
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Dir. Ang Lee
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi…; A fantasy–fuelled, Chinese feudal melodrama laced with jaw–dropping combat sequences (arguably the best ever staged), this represents a…
Dungeons and Dragons (2000): Dir. Courtney Soloman
Feat. Jeremy Irons; An elaborate yet hokey movie–isation of the popular fantasy role–play game, with the prestige casting of Jeremy Irons as the villain.…
Escaflowne: The Movie (2000): Dir. Kazuki Akane; Lavish, if much darker theatrical version of the popular anime TV series, reinventing its beloved heroine as a disenchanted high school girl…
Geppetto (2000): Dir. Tom Moore
Feat. Drew Carey, Brent Spiner, Rene Auberjonois; Disney telemovie version of the much–filmed Italian fairytale, better known as 'Pinocchio', where the wooden toy wishes he were a real…
Gormenghast (TV Mini-series) (2000): Dir. Andy Wilson
Feat. Christopher Lee, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ian Richardson…; Immaculately designed – if somewhat overstated – BBC rendition of Mervyn Peake's cult novel set in an immense castle where the…
Grinch, The (2000): Dir. Ron Howard
Feat. Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor; Live–action version of the Dr Seuss classic that does some justice to the anarchic vision of the mean–spirited Grinch, who’s heart is…
InuYasha (TV Series) (2000): Fifteen–year–old schoolgirl Kagome Higurashi, whose family tends a shrine, falls into an old well one day and literally tumbles into…
Life-Size (2000): Dir. Mark Rosman
Feat. Lindsay Lohan, Tyra Banks, Jere Burns; Lindsay Lohan plays a withdrawn tomboy who attempts to cope with her mother's death by resurrecting her with a magic spell, only the plan backfires…
Magic Pudding, The (2000): Feat. Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving…; Based on Norman Lindsay's hilarious classic book about Albert, a magic pudding and his three companions who must defend him against the Pudding…
Price of Milk, The (2000): Dir. Harry Sinclair
Feat. Danielle Cormack, Karl Urban, Willa O'Neill…; For young–marrieds Danielle Cormack and Karl Urban, the cost of farming their 117 cows is a strange exile in the NZ backblocks... Milking…
Princes and Princesses (Princes et Princesses) (2000): Dir. Michel Ocelot
Feat. Arlette Mirapeu, Philippe Cheytion, Yves Barsacq; French animation compilation made up of six episodes from director and animator Michel Ocelot's silhouette animation television series Ciné si. The…
Rat (2000): Dir. Steve Barron
Feat. Pete Postlethwaite, Imelda Staunton; After a hard night at the pub, Pete Postlethwaite greets the day transformed into a white rat, giving a nicely surreal twist to this surprisingly…
Sixth Day, The (2000): Dir. Roger Spottiswoode
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Robert Duvall; Topical, intriguing premise about cloning is levelled out into being just another vehicle for the ailing star of Arnold Schwarzenegger. As an…
Strange Frequency (2000): Dir. Bryan Spicer, Mary Lambert
Feat. Eric Roberts, John Taylor, Judd Nelson; This portmanteau of four 'urban myths' set in the contemporary music scene is surprisingly witty and satisfying. Segments 'My Generation' and 'Room…
Unbreakable (2000): Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
Feat. Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright; The sceptre of THE SIXTH SENSE hangs over this follow–up from writer/director Shyamalan, whose status as a Hollywood golden boy has arguably…
X-Men (2000): Dir. Bryan Singer
Feat. Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman…; Star Trek's Patrick Stewart gathers together an argumentative bunch of superheros with a variety of mutant powers, in a society where prejudice…
Afterlife (1999): Dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu
Feat. Arata Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima; Original, intriguing conception of what happens after life – a panel of students challenge a succession of deceased persons to choose one…
Alice in Wonderland (1999): Dir. Nick Willing
Feat. Robbie Coltrane, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Kingsley…; The creators of the MERLIN TV–series pull–off another updating, this time Lewis Carroll's childrens' classic. Seamless special effects…
Angel (TV Series) - Season 1 (1999): Dir. Various
Feat. David Boreanaz; Considerably darker spin–off of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV–series, with the angelic vampire David Boreanaz battling demons,…
Devil's Arithmetic (1999): Dir. Donna Deitch
Feat. Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy, Paul Freeman…; Dunst stars this affecting drama about a Jewish teenager who is disinterested in her family's religious heritage, until she's transported back in…
Fantasia 2000 (1999): Dir. Various; Conceived for the IMAX giant screen, this eco–themed revision of Disney's 1940 milestone marries more classical music excerpts to whimsical…
Heavy Metal 2000 (1999): Dir. Michel Lemire, Michael Coldewey; Sequels eschews the multiple story approach for a single storyline (from a graphic novel by Kevin Eastman, Simon Bisley and Eric Talbot) in which the…
Jack Frost (1999): Dir. Troy Miller
Feat. Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston, Mark Addy; After a fatal car accident, Michael Keaton returns to life as… a snowman in this rather slushy Christmas movie. Seeking to fulfil his neglected…
Lost World, The (TV Series) (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World) (1999-2002): Feat. Peter McCauley, William Snow, Rachel Blakely; Enjoyably cheesy Antipodean TV show based loosely on Arthur Conan Doyle's fantasy–adventure set at the dawn of the 20th century where a band of…
Mummy, The (1999): Dir. Stephen Sommers
Feat. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah…; The old Universal horror wrapped in Indiana Jones–style adventure with 1920s archeologists and treasure hunters (led by Brendan Fraser)…
Mystery Men (1999): Dir. Kinka Usher
Feat. Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria…; Doing for the super–hero genre what PLEASANTVILLE did for 50s sitcoms, this frequently hilarious spoof sets a rag–tag team of…
Sleepy Hollow (1999): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken…; The oft–filmed short story 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow' is fashioned by illustrious iconoclast Tim Burton as the goriest, most…
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999): Dir. George Lucas
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson…; Po–faced revival of the billion–dollar STAR WARS money–spinner, jammed full of digital landscapes, excessive political exposition,…
Thirteenth Warrior, The (1999): Dir. John McTiernan
Feat. Antonio Banderas; A smouldering Antonio Banderas is an Arab recruited to make up the numbers by a group of Vikings on a kind of 'Magnificent 13' mission: defending a…
Wild Wild West (1999): Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
Feat. Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh…; The star and director of MEN IN BLACK and recoupled for this Sci–fi–Western–spoof, first aired as a popular,…
Alice Through The Looking Glass (1998): Dir. John Henderson
Feat. Kate Beckinsale, Jonathan Bailey, Steve Coogan…; Impressively cast version of Lewis Carroll's second Alice book takes the unusual liberty of presenting Alice (Beckinsale) as a young adult woman.…
Bird People In China, The (Chûgoku no chôjin) (1998): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi; Visually rich and accomplished drama set around a parallel journey by a businessman and a yakuza gangster to a remote Chinese highland in search of a…
Borrowers, The (1998): Dir. Peter Hewitt
Feat. John Goodman, Jim Broadbent; Inhabiting the wall and floor–spaces of our houses, colonies of tiny people eek out an existence 'borrowing' food–scraps and those items…
Dark City (1998): Dir. Alex Proyas
Feat. Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly…; Advancing on earlier efforts like THE CROW, director Alex Proyas, fabricates a shadowy urban jungle, replete with echoes of earlier sci–fi…
Ever After (1998): Dir. Andy Tennant
Feat. Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston; Update of the 'Cinderella' story tweaks the moral emphasis of the original Grimm fairy–tale. A brunette Drew Barrymore wrestles with an English…
Existenz (1998): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm…; Dir. David Cronenberg bestows his customary intelligence on the 'Virtual Reality' genre, yet this time complements his visceral obsessions and mad…
Fallen (1998): Dir. Gregory Hoblit
Feat. Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland; SEVEN–style thriller has Detective Denzel Washington stalking a seemingly immortal foe, the demon Azazel, in autumnal Philadelphia. Suffers…
Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot, The (1998): Dir. Frederik Du Chau; When King Arthur's sword Excalibur disappears, teenage tearaway Kayley and her squire Garrett pursue the culprits through an animated fantasy world…
Merlin (1998): Dir. Steve Barron
Feat. Sam Neill, Isabella Rossellini, Rutger Hauer…; Playing the titular wizard, Sam Neill lends his talents to a well thought–out, monster–filled variation on the King Arthur cycle. Other…
Soldier (1998): Dir. Paul Anderson
Feat. Kurt Russell, Gary Busey, Jason Scott Lee; Military sci–fi adventure wherein Kurt Russell utters terse words as an out–moded fighting machine grasping at a few straws of humanity…
Storm Riders, The (1998): Dir. Wai Keung Lau
Feat. Sonny Chiba, Aaron Kwok; The big Hong Kong hit of '98 – a super–extravagant 'flying swordsman' fantasy that ambitiously distils a popular Manga comic book series…
What Dreams May Come (1998): Dir. Vincent Ward
Feat. Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, Cuba Jr. Gooding; Visually extravagant dive into the afterlife, courtesy of New Zealander Vincent Ward, applying his classically–educated eye to a…
Apparition (Photographing Fairies) (1997): Dir. Nick Willing
Feat. Toby Stephens, Ben Kingsley, Emily Woof; A sceptical, widowed portrait photographer investigates reports of everglade fairies and becomes transformed by otherworldly encounters. Inspired by…
Batman and Robin (1997): Dir. Joel Schumacher
Feat. George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger…; It's George Clooney's turn in the batsuit, with Chris O'Donnell, Arnold, Uma and Alicia all able to indulge the designer fetish–wear, too. A…
Face Off (1997): Dir. John Woo
Feat. John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen; Dir. John Woo melds modern action technology with old–fashioned Mission Impossible–style intrigue. Good guy John Travolta and bad guy…
Fairytale: A True Story (1997): Dir. Charles Sturridge
Feat. Peter O'Toole, Harvey Keitel; An exquisite kidult flight–of–fancy based on one of the great popular myths of the 20th Century – the mysterious, allegedly…
Fifth Element, The (1997): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich…; Whether you think it's a gorgeous sci–fi masterpiece or narcissistic fluff, French director Luc 'Nikita' Besson's multi–million dollar…
Flubber (1997): Dir. Les Mayfield
Feat. Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden; Robin Williams again gets the character–chemistry right in a reprise of the classic Absent–Minded Professor, the inadvertent inventor of…
Matilda (1997): Dir. Danny De Vito
Feat. Mara Wilson, Danny De Vito, Rhea Perlman; An achingly funny and mischievous Roald Dahl story about a browbeaten nine–year–old girl who has the last laugh when bestowed with…
Mighty, The (Freak the Mighty) (1997): Dir. Peter Chelsom
Feat. Elden Henson, Kieran Culkin, Sharon Stone…; Poignant, well–crafted story of two phenomenally mismatched boys who become perfectly complementary friends, escaping the slings and arrows of…
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997): Dir. John R. Leonetti
Feat. Robin Shou, James Remar, Talisa Soto; Bottom–of–the–barrel sequel to the hit vidgame–adaptation picks up immediately after the original concluded. Which is to say…
Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos) (1997): Dir. Alejandro Amenabar
Feat. Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Chete Lera; A surrealistic nightmare unfurled with Hitchcockian precision and irony, Eduardo Noriega plays a young–man–who–has–everything…
Simple Wish, A (1997): Dir. Michael Ritchie
Feat. Mara Wilson, Martin Short, Kathleen Turner; Mara Wilson's (MATILDA) simple wish for a fairy–godmother upturns the blundering Martin Short, who helps/hinders her crusade to rescue her…
Spawn (1997): Dir. Mark A. Z. Dippe
Feat. Theresa Randle, Martin Sheen; Mightily fluid digital FX are the primary inspiration in this version of Todd McFarlane's cult comic book, wherein the forces of light and darkness…
Spawn - The Movie (1997): Dir. Thomas A Nelson
Feat. Keith David, Richard Dysart, James Keane; Animated TV version of Todd McFarlane’s gothic comic book, melded into a feature–length movie. Includes the voices of Keith David, Richard…
Starship Troopers (1997): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer; ROBOCOP man Verhoeven's 'ironic' take on Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel about a totalitarian future society whose perfectly toned young 'citizens' wage…
Adventures of Pinocchio, The (1996): Dir. Steve Barron
Feat. Martin Landau, Jonathan Taylor Thomas; The beloved Carlo Coloddi story receives an enchanting treatment that mixes live–action and wondrous animatronic/CGI effects. Martin Landau…
Dragonheart (1996): Dir. Rob Cohen
Feat. Sean Connery, Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis…; Medieval fantasy hokum highlighted by Sean Connery in drag! Drag–on, that is – the large lizard of legend variety. The sublime CGI…
Frankie Starlight (1996): Dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Feat. Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Matt Dillon…; Extensive flashbacks illustrate the unusual memoirs of a dwarf. This not–so–tall tale has a special blend of Irish whimsy, with native…
Gargoyles (1996): Mythical winged warriors who fight evil, the Gargoyles awaken after a thousand years in 21st century New York, to find there's still plenty of work…
Goosebumps (TV Series) (1996): Ghoulish anthology series based on R. L. Stine's popular kidult horror novels. Bound to raise goosebumps on the younger ones. Season One Episodes:…
Loch Ness (1996): Dir. John Henderson
Feat. Ted Danson, Joely Richardson, Ian Holm…; Setting out to trap the Loch Ness monster, Ted Danson is waylaid by the charms of his landlady Joely Richardson. The mystique of the legend is all…
Michael (1996): Dir. Nora Ephron
Feat. John Travolta, William Hurt, Andie MacDowell…; Not even the star presence of John Travolta, William Hurt, and Andie MacDowell can revive this abysmal comic–fantasy about a cynical tabloid…
Neverwhere (Mini-series) (1996): Dir. Dewi Humphreys
Feat. Laura Fraser, Gary Bakewell; Highly worthwhile sci–fi confection from the pen of fantasy writer Neil Gaiman (MIRRORMASK), in which an 'ordinary' Londoner (Bakewell) one day…
Phantom, The (1996): Dir. Simon Wincer
Feat. Billy Zane, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones; Billy Zane straps into purple tights to fight the depression–era blues and a supernaturally–empowered villain (Treat Williams). An…
Sex and Zen Pt. 2 (1996): Dir. Chin Man-Kei
Feat. Loletta Lee, Tat-Wah Lok; A creepy polygamist meets his match in the 'mirage woman' in this twice–as–smutty, half–as–funny sequel to the outlandish…
Snow White in the Black Forest (A Tale of Terror) (1996): Dir. Michael Cohn
Feat. Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill; A Brothers Grimm fairytale more grim than fairy–ish. Sigourney Weaver steps into the wicked–stepmother robes for a nice little bedtime…
Space Jam (1996): Dir. Joe Pytka
Feat. Michael Jordan, Bill Murray; Basketball star Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny slam dunk with other looney tunes and a host of midget aliens. Anarchic humour and a decent…
Space Truckers (1996): Dir. Stuart Gordon
Feat. Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff, Debi Mazar…; A non–villainous Dennis Hopper plays a long–haul truckie of the future, toting a lucrative sealed cargo across the galaxy. Stephen Dorff…
Sun, The Moon and the Stars, The (1996): Dir. Geraldine Creed
Feat. Angie Dickinson, Jason Donovan, Elaine Cassidy; Angie Dickinson adds class to this well–mounted tale of the supernatural, as a woman suspected of witchcraft by two young girls when she…
To the Ends of Time (1996): Dir. Markus Rothkranz
Feat. Joss Ackland, Christine Taylor; Elaborate fantasy–tale concerns a sorceress who tampers with Time, causing young hero Joss Ackland to prematurely age. While also keeping an…
Wind in the Willows, The (1996): Dir. Terry Jones
Feat. Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Nicol Williamson…; With the cream of British comic acting talent, this live–action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic children's story is quite possibly the…
Wish Upon a Star (1996): Dir. Blair Treu
Feat. Katherine Heigl, Danielle Harris; A little Disney magic is sprinkled on this fetching TV movie about a younger sister who wishes to switch places with her popular older sister (a very…
Batman Forever (1995): Dir. Joel Schumacher
Feat. Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris O'Donnell…; A new director and a new Batman (Val Kilmer) line up for this lucrative threequel. Its relentless onslaught of action has a rather numbing effect,…
City of Lost Children (1995): Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Feat. Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet; Visual wonderstuff from the unique genius pairing of the creators of DELICATESSEN, this is as good a follow up as one could wish for. While…
First Knight (1995): Dir. Jerry Zucker
Feat. Sean Connery, Julia Ormond, Richard Gere; Pared–down retelling of the Arthurian legend of Camelot is, while no great shakes, at least as good as most other efforts that have been made…
Fluke (1995): Dir. Carlo Carlei
Feat. Matthew Modine, Nancy Travis, Eric Stoltz; After a fatal car accident, Matthew Modine is reincarnated as a pooch that wanders home to find his best friend kindling a relationship with his…
Gulliver's Travels (1995): Dir. Charles Sturridge
Feat. Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Peter O'Toole…; Epic, state–of–the–art version of Jonathan Swift's classic fairytale stars Ted Danson as the long–shipwrecked doctor who must…
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (TV Series) (1995-1999): Feat. Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst; Hugely popular fantasy series starring Kevin Sorbo as the classic half God/half man who travels through a fantastical ancient Greece in search of…
Indian in the Cupboard (1995): Dir. Frank Oz
Feat. Hal Scardino, Litefoot , Lindsay Crouse…; A young boy possesses a bedroom secret – a special cupboard that brings his miniature toys to life, chiefly a native Indian and a cowboy. High…
Jumanji (1995): Dir. Joe Johnston
Feat. Robin Williams, Jonathan Hyde, Kirsten Dunst; A pair of orphans roll the dice on a mysterious board game that brings the perils of the Amazon to virtual life. The spirited high–concept is…
Junkers Come Here (1995): Dir. Junichi Sato; Nicely touching story about an 11–year old girl whose lonely life is relieved by the affections of a Schnauser dog, who has the ability to talk…
Kid in King Arthur's Court, A (1995): Dir. Michael Gottlieb
Feat. Kate Winslet, Daniel Craig, Art Malik…; Handsome if inessential Disney spin on the Camelot legend, in which a young boy journeys back in time to help King Arthur overcome an evil villain.…
Little Princess, A (1995): Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
Feat. Liesel Matthews, Vanessa Lee Chester; From the quill that inked THE SECRET GARDEN, this is an equally exotic tale of an Indian–rasied girl who escapes the formality of a boarding…
Lord of Illusions (1995): Dir. Clive Barker
Feat. Famke Janssen, Daniel von Bargen, Kevin J. O'Connor…; Cult author Clive Barker resumes megaphone duties on this melange of detective pic and sorcery epic. Points of interest include recent Bond girl,…
Magic in the Water (1995): Dir. Rick Stevenson
Feat. Mark Harmon, Joshua Jackson, Harley Jane Kozak…; Loch Ness–monster concept is ably transposed to the Canadian lakeside hamlet of Glenorky, which has its own 'Orky' mystery. Thrills ensue for…
Mortal Kombat (1995): Dir. Paul Anderson
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby; Finally, a computer–game–turned–movie that's worth it's salt, this dispenses with story so it can devote itself entirely to the…
Nostradamus (1995): Dir. Roger Christian
Feat. Tcheky Karyo, Amanda Plummer, Julia Ormond…; Fact and fantasy seem at odds in this version of the life of famous visionary, Michel de Nostradame, however the subject provides plenty of intrigue.…
Powder (1995): Dir. Victor Salva
Feat. Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flannery, Lance Henriksen; Teenage alienation is given a supernatural charge in this story of a terminally–isolated, albino–like youth with metaphysical…
Power Rangers: The Movie (1995): Dir. Bryan Spicer
Feat. Paul Freeman; Homogenised big–screen translation of controversial kids TV show in which six Californian teens morph into Japanese superheroes to battle evil.…
Star Trek - Generations (1995): Dir. David Carson
Feat. LeVar Burton, Malcolm McDowell, James Doohan…; Capt. Picard and crew get their big–screen debut but are forced to call on the spirit of predecessor Capt. Kirk to assist them in a struggle…
Whisper of the Heart (1995): Dir. Yoshifumi Kondo; A bookish, teenage girl grows into maturity through her love for a lad who wishes to be an Italian–trained violin–maker. With only…
Witch Hunt (1995): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Dennis Hopper; Dennis Hopper plays P.I. Philip Lovecraft and becomes embroiled in the murder of a Hollywood producer with supernatural side–effects. Pleasing…
Xena - Warrior Princess (TV Series) (1995-1996): Dir. Charles Siebert, Anson Williams, Gary Jones
Feat. Lucy Lawless; Spinoff to the iconic 1990s 'Hercules' series, that became a cult in its own right. Mixing slapstick action and snappy one–liners into a…
Attack of the 50ft Woman (1994): Dir. Christopher Guest
Feat. Daryl Hannah, Daniel Baldwin; Remake of the 1958 classic is a cheesy spoof of the B–movie genre with Hannah in strapping form as the she–beast who avenges her…
Beanstalk (1994): Dir. Michael Paul Davis
Feat. Margot Kidder; A modern retelling of the classic Jack and the Beanstalk yarn, made for small screen and younger viewers. Mad scientist Margot Kidder plants the…
Blankman (1994): Dir. Mike Binder
Feat. Damon Wayans; Gadget–mad geek Wayans becomes a costumed crime–fighter armed only with home–made devices and blind luck, while dragging his…
Hercules and the Amazon Women (1994): Dir. Bill L. Norton
Feat. Kevin Sorbo, Anthony Quinn, Michael Hurst…; Made–for–TV caper has our brawny hero's plans for a wedding celebration come to ruin as he must defend his village against a marauding…
Highlander 3: The Final Dimension (Highlander III) (1994): Dir. Andrew Morahan
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, Deborah Kara Unger…; A psychotic immortal escapes his mountain tomb and seeks revenge of our sword–slinging hero. Third in the series is actually a prequel to…
Hocus Pocus (1994): Dir. Kenny Ortega
Feat. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy…; Wild witches conjured up from Salem set out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth, but the 300–year–old trio must first…
Jack Brown Genius (1994): Dir. Tony Hiles
Feat. Timothy Balme, Lisa Chappell, Edward Campbell…; A forgotten turkey from Peter Jackson’s ‘Wingnut Films’, this goofily offbeam tale concerns a modern–day inventor of contraptions,…
Mask, The (1994): Dir. Chuck Russell
Feat. Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert…; Jim Carrey secures his crown as Hollywood's King of Comedy as a meek bank clerk who discovers his flamboyant alter–ego behind an ancient mask.…
Neverending Story 3, The (1994): Dir. Peter MacDonald
Feat. Jason James Richter, Jack Black; "Fantasia" comes to Earth in this third installment, and get chaotic in when the magical book "Never Ending Story" falls into the hands of the…
North (1994): Dir. Rob Reiner
Feat. Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Scarlett Johansson; Perfect 11–year–old Elijah Wood 'divorces' his unappreciative ordinary parents an embarks on a journey across apple–pie America in…
Secret of Roan Inish, The (1994): Dir. John Sayles
Feat. Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan, Mick Lally…; A young girl is sent to live with her grandmother at a coastal town in Ireland, 1949, and makes an unexpected connection with its mystical history…
Shadow, The (1994): Dir. Russell Mulcahy
Feat. Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller…; Alec Baldwin plays the suave superhero based on the pulp fiction character created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. Considered an elegant flop, the…
Stargate (1994): Dir. Roland Emmerich
Feat. Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson; Kurt Russell and James Spader headline this big–budget spectacle. Promising start evokes the epic adventure intrigue of a LAWRENCE OF ARABIA,…
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994): Dir. Wes Craven
Feat. Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Miko Hughes; Ingenious post–script to the tired NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. franchise in which castmembers of the previous films (playing themselves), too, become…
Accion Mutante (1993): Dir. Alex de la Iglesia
Feat. Antonio Resines, Alex Angulo; A deformed terrorist group strike out against pretty society in this wildly irreverent satire that takes a gleeful turn into futuristic…
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993): Feat. Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany; Adapted from the suitably nasty TV series, this exciting animated feature manages to deliver loads of action and black humour without detracting from…
Borrowers, The (TV Series) (1993): Dir. John Henderson
Feat. Ian Holm, Rebecca Callard; First–class BBC serial about a family that live under the floorboards and 'borrow' everything they need from the 'giant' family who reside in…
Bride With White Hair 2, The (Bai fa mo nu zhuan II) (1993): Dir. Ronnie Yu, David Wu
Feat. Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Christy Chung; Above–average sequel to the martial arts blockbuster continuing on directly from its cliffhanger ending, with the viciously insane Lin, now…
Crow, The (1993): Dir. Alex Proyas
Feat. Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott…; Sleek action fantasy on which its star, Brandon Lee, lost his life before its completion. The designer mayhem plays like a gothic music video, though…
Faraway, So Close (1993): Dir. Wim Wenders
Feat. Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz, Nastassja Kinski; WINGS OF DESIRE sequel is again about an angel who finds himself sucked back into humanity. This discusses politics and philosophy more directly than…
Groundhog Day (1993): Dir. Harold Ramis
Feat. Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott…; Bill Murray is perfectly cast as a cranky TV weatherman who gets stranded in a tin–pot town, where he wakes every day in the same day, over and…
Kung Fu Cult Master (1993): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Chingmy Yau; Extraordinarily over–the–top martial arts epic in which Jet Li procures invincible powers while negotiating the restless hordes from…
Last Action Hero (1993): Dir. John McTiernan
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Conceptually brilliant idea – movie fan is projected into world of his action idol (Arnie) who also joins him in the 'real' world – is sunk with…
Les Visiteurs (Visitors, The) (1993): Dir. Jean-Marie Poire
Feat. Jean Reno, Christian Clavier; Beleaguered, not to mention slobbish, medieval knights Jean Reno and Christian Clavier are plonked down is present–day Paris to duel over…
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (TV Series) (1993-1997): Feat. Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher; Popular T V serialisation of the 'Superman' story, with Cain playing the superhero who doubles as meek journalist Clark Kent, and Hatcher playing his…
Music of Chance, The (1993): Dir. Philip Haas
Feat. James Spader, Mandy Patinkin, Charles Durning…; Impressively cast against type, James Spader's slimy card shark entices broken family man Mandy Patinkin to accept a poker challenge by two eccentric…
Necronomicon (1993): Dir. Christophe Gans, Shusuke Kaneko, Brian Yuzna
Feat. Jeffrey Combs, Tony Azito, Juan Fernandez; Supernatural compendium based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft weaves its three separate tales around H.P. himself searching for the elusive 'book of…
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series) (Deep Space 9) (1993): Feat. Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig…; Son of the Next Generation, this initiated a new tele series for trekkies to indulge. Intrepid officers of Starfleet acquire an abandoned alien space…
Super Mario Brothers (1993): Dir. Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel
Feat. Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Samantha Mathis…; Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo are incarnated as the vid–game characters – plumbers who slip in saving the world between odd jobs. Will…
Toys (1993): Dir. Barry Levinson
Feat. Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack…; Even Robin Williams' enormous talent and inspired art direction fail to enliven this comic fantasy. It plays more like a bad dream from which you…
Window to Paris (1993): Dir. Yuri Mamin
Feat. Agnes Soral; A constantly inventive comic fantasy about a group of luckless Russkies who find they can enter gay Paris from a window in their appalling St.…
Army of Darkness (Evil Dead 3) (1992): Dir. Sam Raimi
Feat. Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz; Raimi's third 'Evil Dead' movie is an out–and–out Pythonesque comic–fantasy in which the hero, Ash, confronts simpleton locals and…
Batman Returns (1992): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Michael Keaton, Danny De Vito, Michelle Pfeiffer…; The lone Bat returns to defend Gotham City from Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and The Penguin (Danny De Vito). Everything you loved or loathed about…
Bride with White Hair (1992): Dir. Ronnie Yu
Feat. Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin; In a remote China of superstition and legend, vicious clan skirmishes result in an eye–popping frenzy of acrobatic martial arts. Resplendent…
Careful (1992): Dir. Guy Maddin
Feat. Kyle McCulloch, Gosia Dobrowolska, Paul Cox; Iconoclast film–maker Guy Maddin’s dreamlike tale of repression and disorder, set in an alpine village where rigidly studious young men…
Cool World (1992): Dir. Ralph Bakshi
Feat. Brad Pitt, Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne; Cartoonist Gabriel Byrne is seduced into the animated world of his sexy creation in this dense, saucy amalgam of live–action and animation for…
Delicatessen (1992): Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Feat. Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Karin Viard…; Two former Ad–men splash down with an audacious, darkly comic masterpiece set in a vegetarianist, post–apocalyptic future. Consumed with…
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992): Dir. Randal Kleiser
Feat. Rick Moranis, Lloyd Bridges, John Shea; Sequel to HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS sees prof Rick Moranis turn his infant into what fast becomes an Empire State Human!…
Polar Bear King, The (1992): Dir. Ola Solum; Splendid Scandanavian fairy–tale about a noble King who has been cursed with an evil spell making him a Polar bear by day and human unable to…
Radio Flyer (1992): Dir. Richard Donner
Feat. Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Adam Baldwin…; Bittersweet story of two young brothers who free themselves from their wicked stepfather by transforming a red wagon into a fantastical flying…
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (TV Series) (1991): 13 episodes of the first season of this 90's Nickelodeon show following the escapades of the "Midnight Society", a group of teen horror aficionados.
Chinese Ghost Story 3 (1991): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Joey Wong, Jacky Cheung; Spirited retread of the first movie, in which the evil Tree Spirit is back with yet another ghost played by Joey Wong. It takes place 100 years…
Drop Dead Fred (1991): Dir. Ate De Jong
Feat. Rik Mayall, Phoebe Cates, Marsha Mason; Rik Mayall extends his hyperactive 'Young Ones' persona as the imaginary childhood friend of a grown–up Phoebe Cates. The silly stuff is offset…
Edward Scissorhands (1991): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Vincent Price; This inspired contemporary fairy–tale posits Johnny Depp as a boy endowed with sharp appendages, a mixed blessing when it comes to fitting into…
Eerie Indiana (TV Series) (1991-1992): Feat. Omri Katz, Justin Shenkarow; Short–lived, cult TWIN PEAKS–offshoot follows the arrival of a young boy to Eerie, Indiana, a town overrun with urban legends, a living…
Erotic Ghost Story 2 (1991): Dir. Lam Ngai Kai
Feat. Charine Chan, King-Man Chik, Yiu-Wah Kwok; Sequel mixes up similar ingredients, but story is unrelated to the first.
Fisher King, The (1991): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams; Jeff Bridges plays a self–obssesed DJ who regains his compassion when his life is saved by an endearing lunatic hobo (Robin Williams) –…
Grampire (Moonrise) (1991): Dir. David Blyth
Feat. Al Lewis; The Munsters' Al Lewis turns up on our shores to star in a ghoulish comedy as the blood–sucking but well–meaning grandfather of a…
Highlander 2 (1991): Dir. Russell Mulcahy
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Michael Ironside…; Sequel to the video blockbuster of the 80's sees the back–story of the original film ditched and Scottish immortal MacLeod now in fact an alien…
Hook (1991): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts…; Spielberg's big–budget rendition of the magical fairy tale. Robin Williams stars as a grown–up Peter Pan enticed to Neverland to reclaim…
Rocketeer, The (1991): Dir. Joe Johnston
Feat. Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin…; A young pilot stumbles upon a jetpack that enables him to fly, but greedy villains lurk in the wings. Exciting update of the comicbook hero evokes…
Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country (1991): Dir. Nicholas Meyer
Feat. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley…; Gracious conclusion to the film series featuring the original cast. Combines great special effects, a plot with a social conscience, and some deft…
Toto the Hero (1991): Dir. Jaco Van Dormael
Feat. Michel Bouquet; Fascinating tragicomedy about an old man who bitterly reflects on his life and the privileged life he feels was stolen from him. Intricate and fresh…
Volere Volare (1991): Dir. Maurizio Nichetti
Feat. Maurizio Nichetti; From the director of THE ICICLE THIEF comes another enjoyable comic fantasy inter–relating real and fictional worlds. Nichetti himself plays a…
Zeram (1991): Dir. Keita Amamiya
Feat. Yuko Moriyama, Kunihiro Ida, Yukijiro Hotaru; A ninja babe bounty hunter and two hapless mortals are stalked by a mutating alien in this engaging live–action 'manga'. Beefing up its…
Alice (1990): Dir. Woody Allen
Feat. Mia Farrow; Whimsical fantasy tale of a rich, bored housewife who takes on a new lease on life when prescibed with mind–altering herbs from a Chinese…
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (Tune in Tomorrow) (1990): Dir. Jon Amiel
Feat. Keanu Reeves, Barbara Hershey, Peter Falk; A sophisticated cocktail of fantasy and bent reality in which Keanu Reeves and Barbara Hershey meet an endearing yet shrewd scriptwriter (Peter Falk)…
Chinese Ghost Story 2 (1990): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, Jacky Cheung; The original cast return for another surreal, big–budget fantasy that delivers as much as the first one, with more of a comedic slant. This…
Chronicles of Narnia - The Silver Chair (1990): Dir. Alex Kirby
Feat. David Thwaites, Camilla Power, Tom Baker; Fine BBC production of the C.S. Lewis fantasy tale. This final part of the saga sees Jill, Eustace, Aslan and King Caspian search for the lost Prince…
Darkman (1990): Dir. Sam Raimi
Feat. Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels; A superhero emerges from a scientist charred beyond recognition, but able to assume the identity of anyone he chooses. Fun all the way, with the…
Erik the Viking (1990): Dir. Terry Jones
Feat. Tim Robbins, Mickey Rooney, Eartha Kitt; A swashbuckling comic fantasy from the Monty Python stable about a Nordic warrior who develops a conscience, and so leads his unruly band of…
Erotic Ghost Story (1990): Dir. Lam Ngai Kai
Feat. Amy Yip; Buxom starlet Amy Yip lets it all hang out with other 'foxes' in this Eastern spin on the WITCHES OF EASTWICK. Generous nudity and dry ice steam up…
Ghost (1990): Dir. Jerry Zucker
Feat. Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, Whoopi Goldberg; Technically brilliant amalgam of fantasy, thriller, comedy and love story is entertainment Hollywood wish they could make more often.
Guy Maddin Collection, The (Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, The Heart of the World, Archangel) (1990-2000): Dir. Guy Maddin
Feat. Michael Gottli, David Falkenburg, Michael O’Sullivan…; Three films from Canada's silent movie alchemist, all deliciously dreamlike examples of the cult filmmaker's brilliant oeuvre. Twilight of the Ice…
Kurosawa's Dreams (1990): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Martin Scorsese; Opinions vary wildly over this sequence of eight re–enactments of Akira's very own dreams – stunning photography and subtle use of…
Neverending Story 2, The (1990): Dir. George Miller; A young boy escapes from his drab reality in a storybook land called Fantasia where a child empress (Alexandra Johnes) is in danger. Some cute animal…
Storyteller: Greek Myths, The (1990): Feat. Michael Gambon; Another excellently produced run of Jim Henson's STORYTELLER tales, this time focusing on the Greek myths of "Daedalus and Icarus", "Orpheus and…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990): Dir. Steve Barron; Now something of relic from a fad gone by, but it remains an entertaining, if fairly violent slice of '90s pop culture. Jim Henson's creature shop…
What the Moon Saw (1990): Dir. Pino Amenta
Feat. Pat Evison; A family delight from across the Tasman about a young boy who attends a pantomime of Sinbad's Last Adventure, and finds himself caught up in a wild…
Witches, The (1990): Dir. Nicolas Roeg
Feat. Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher…; Anjelica Huston is a scream as the grotesque Queen of witches who plots to rid the nation's children by turning them into mice! Marvellously macabre…
Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams; An elaborate and hugely expensive adventure for dir. Gilliam who successfully visualises the fantastic tall–tales of the real–life 18th…
Batman (1989): Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger; The box–office sensation that almost survived its own hype. Jack Nicholson's Joker and the incredible set designs will ensure it to be…
Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian (1989): Dir. Alex Kirby
Feat. Richard Dempsey, Johnathon R. Scott, Sophie Cook…; Fine BBC production of the C.S. Lewis fantasy tale. This second part of the saga sees Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy return to the enchanted land of…
Chronicles of Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989): Dir. Alex Kirby
Feat. Richard Dempsey, Johnathon R. Scott, Sophie Cook…; Fine BBC production of the C.S. Lewis fantasy tale. This third part of the saga sees Edmund, Lucy and their cousin Eustace search with King Caspian…
George's Island (1989): Dir. Paul Donovan
Feat. Ian Bannen, Sheila McCarthy, Maury Chaykin…; Fleeing his nasty foster parents, 10–year old George goes in search of Captain Kidd's buried treasure, having to outwit, among other adults,…
Ghostbusters 2 (1989): Dir. Ivan Reitman
Feat. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver…; A cash–in for sure, but as much fun as the original, with the paranormal pests here thriving on all the "bad vibes" of grumpy Manhattanites.…
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989): Dir. Joe Johnston
Feat. Rick Moranis; An inventor inadvertently reduces his and the neighbour's kids to a grasshopper's knee–height. With the help of FX wizardry, they fend for…
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Feat. Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Matthew Lawrence…; A magical animation from the masterful Japanese dir. Miyazaki, which delivers a contemporary fairytale with strong characters, rich visuals and a…
Nightbreed (1989): Dir. Clive Barker
Feat. Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg; Novelist Clive Barker's follow–up film to HELLRAISER is again saturated with fantastic monsters and bone–crunching visuals. A dark adult…
Nightmare On Elm Street 5: Dream Child, A (1989): Dir. Stephen Hopkins
Feat. Robert Englund; Fourth sequel milks the wise–cracking dream–demon premise to the point of exhaustion. Still, the franchise continues to provide a handy…
Punisher, The (1989): Dir. Mark Goldblatt
Feat. Dolph Lundgren, Louis Jr. Gossett; Based on the Marvel comic hero, a NY cop emerges as a merciless vigilante after his family is murdered in a car bomb.
Santa Sangre (1989): Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky
Feat. Guy Stockwell; The title means 'holy blood', a fair indication of the twin themes of this strikingly grotesque tale of a disturbed circus–performer. With its…
Star Trek V - The Final Frontier (1989): Dir. William Shatner
Feat. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley…; This time Shatner tries his hand at directing, in what turns out to be one of the less memorable missions of the series. The crew travel through…
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989): Dir. Shinya Tsukamoto
Feat. Tomorowo Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara; Mind–blowing cyberpunk tour–de–force that sandwiches enough visuals to fill three movies into its sweat–breaking 67 minutes.…
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1989): Dir. Robert Zemeckis
Feat. Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy…; A staggering blend of live–action and brillaint animation conjures up a believable world where people and cartoons…
18 Again! (1988): Dir. Paul Flaherty
Feat. George Burns, Charlie Schlatter, Tony Roberts; Cigar–chomping icon George Burns stars in this gauche 80's comedy in which he inadvertently switches souls with his grandson.
Chronicles of Narnia - Collector's Edition (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair) (1988-1990): The complete set of BBC adaptations of CS Lewis' classic books.
Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (1988): Dir. Marilyn Fox
Feat. Richard Dempsey, Sophie Cook, Johnathon R. Scott; Fine BBC production of the C.S. Lewis fantasy tale. This first part of the saga sees Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy travel through the wardrobe into…
Hellraiser 2: Hellbound (1988): Dir. Tony Randel
Feat. Doug Bradley, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham; Ok sequel dishes up plenty of grim, garish special effects as the teenage heroine of the original confronts Pinhead, this time in the corridors of…
My Neighbour Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) (1988): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki; Dir. Miyazaki’s first huge hit in Japan is a model family film: realistic characters responding to realistic crises in a realistic way, though…
Navigator, The (A Medieval Odyssey) (1988): Dir. Vincent Ward
Feat. Bruce Lyons, Chris Haywood, Marshall Napier; A group of 14th Century Cumbrians experience future shock when their mining expedition leads them to contemporary New Zealand. A terrific adventure…
Nightmare On Elm Street 4: Dream Master, A (1988): Dir. Renny Harlin
Feat. Robert Englund; The franchise, now in full commercial flight, but bereft of new ideas, resorts to self–parody with Freddy Pizza Face Krueger having a riot…
Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller (1988): Dir. Michael Rubbo; Tommy Tricker is a crafty lad who discovers how to shrink oneself onto postage stamps and thus be mailed anywhere in the world. Quality,…
Warlock (1988): Dir. Steve Miner
Feat. Richard E. Grant, Julian Sands, Mary Woronov; Richard E. Grant plays a witch–hunter on the tail of an evil 17th Century Warlock (Julian Sands) in this hammy fantasy adventure that enjoyed a…
Willow (1988): Dir. Ron Howard
Feat. Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis…; Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley–Kilmer employ swords against sorcery to protect a young baby from the powers of evil. A…
Beauty and the Beast (TV Series) (1987): Feat. Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman; Distinctively 80s drama series is a twist on the classic tale, where 'Beast' (Perlman) is a noble–man living in New York's hidden underworld of…
Chinese Ghost Story, A (1987): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Leslie Cheung; The first of a marvellous trilogy of outrageous fantasies set in Ming Dynasty–era China, in which student Leslie Cheung falls in love with an…
Deathstalker II - Duel Of The Titans (Deathstalker 2) (1987): Dir. Jim Wynorski
Feat. John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John Lazar; Sword and sorcery bollocks with weedy John Terlesky stepping into Rick Hill's furry boots and helping future soft porn hall–of–famer…
Girl Who Lived Twice, The (1987): Dir. Francois Villiers
Feat. Julian Sands; Julian Sands stars in this fantasy/drama about an Indian girl's obsession with finding her alleged rich husband of a past life. Shot in Nepal.
Hellraiser (1987): Dir. Clive Barker
Feat. Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence; Stylised, influential horror film with outstanding effects, well directed by the man who wrote the novel. Extravagant visuals compensate some holes…
Lionheart (1987): Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner
Feat. Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Byrne, Nicholas Clay…; Young knight Eric Stoltz and a band of medieval tykes join King Richard II's crusade to defeat the Black Prince.
Masters of the Universe (1987): Dir. Gary Goddard
Feat. Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg Foster…; Brain–deadening adaptation of the TV cartoon has Dolph Lundgren stepping into the furry loincloth to take on Skeletor and his robotic guards.
Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, A (1987): Dir. Chuck Russell
Feat. Robert Englund, Patricia Arquette, Laurence Fishburne…; Improving on the perfunctory Pt. 2, this ups the ante on the gross–out special effects as Freddy wreaks further havoc on the kids he's helped…
Princess Bride, The (1987): Dir. Rob Reiner
Feat. Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin…; An elaborate and whimsical fairytale told to a bedridden young boy conjures up images of good versus evil in a world of monsters, giants and…
Running Man, The (1987): Dir. Paul Michael Glaser
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto…; Schwarzenegger is in his element in this dystopian fantasy set around a televised game–show. The story has much in common with ROLLERBALL, but…
Wings of Desire (1987): Dir. Wim Wenders
Feat. Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander…; Wenders ambitious and hypnotic film centres around two angels who can listen into human thought in pre–unified Berlin. This rich and surreal…
Witches of Eastwick (1987): Dir. George Miller
Feat. Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer…; Lively comic fantasy about three bored spinsters whose dreams of Mr. Right unwittingly conjure up a diabolical Jack Nicholson.
Castle in the Sky (Laputa) (1986): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Feat. Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman; A triumph of craft and narrative sophistication, this is an epic, supremely imaginative feature from master animator/storyteller Miyazaki that will…
Flight of the Navigator (1986): Dir. Randal Kleiser
Feat. Joey Cramer, Veronica Cartwright, Cliff De Young…; An ordinary boy is thrown behind the wheel of a fantastic flying machine, accompanied by an assortment of bizarre aliens. A fun–filled odyssey…
Golden Child, The (1986): Dir. Michael Ritchie
Feat. Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance; Hot off BEVERLY HILLS COP, Eddie Murphy plays a private detective specializing in missing children who is charged with finding a special child whom…
Highlander, The (1986): Dir. Russell Mulcahy
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown…; Visually splendid action–fantasy with Christopher Lambert as a 16th Century immortal, destined to battle his arch enemy through the ages. This…
Labyrinth (1986): Dir. Jim Henson
Feat. David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly; Jennifer Connelly goes in search of her baby brother, kidnapped by the Goblin King (David Bowie). An entourage of creatures from Jim Henson highlight…
Legend (1986): Dir. Ridley Scott
Feat. Tom Cruise, Tim Curry; Breathtaking imagery highlights this fantasy adventure about evil trying to corrupt innocence. Tom Cruise struts around in tights, but it's Tim Curry…
Life and Loves of a She-Devil, The (1986): Dir. Philip Saville
Feat. Julie T Wallace, Dennis Waterman, Patricia Hodge…; Splendidly ripe BBC adaptation of Fay Weldon's quasi–feminist satire in which a housewife (Wallace) discovers her husband's (Waterman)…
Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (1986): Dir. Leonard Nimoy
Feat. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley…; Kirk and his crew must travel back in time to the 20th century in order to save the Earth. Far more comedic than previous entries in the series, as…
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985): Dir. Bill L. Norton
Feat. William Katt, Sean Young, Patrick McGoohan; Adventure fantasy film about a paleontologist and her husband who discover a mother and baby brontosaurus in Africa, and try to protect them from a…
Barbarian Queen (Queens of the Naked Steel) (1985): Dir. Hector Olivera
Feat. Lana Clarkson, Frank Zagarino, Dawn Dunlap; Trashy boobs and broadswords flick with the tragic Lana Clarkson leading a trio of warrior women in rebellion against the nefarious Roman Empire.…
Brazil (1985): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Ian Holm…; Daydreaming bureaucrat Jonathan Pryce becomes unwittingly involved with an underground superhero and a mystery woman before falling victim to his own…
Creator (1985): Dir. Ivan Passer
Feat. Peter O'Toole, Mariel Hemingway, Vincent Spano…; A charmingly absurd sci–fi rom–com from the 1980's starring Peter O'Toole as a madcap scientist who applies his eccentric methodology to…
Dreamchild (1985): Dir. Gavin Millar
Feat. Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher; The real–life Alice who inspired Lewis Carroll's stories, reflects upon her life and offers some insight into his eccentric and fantasiacal…
Explorers, The (1985): Dir. Joe Dante
Feat. Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix; Imaginative space adventure film also has enormous fun at the expense of American popular culture. Among the explorers are a very baby–faced…
Flesh and Blood (1985): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh; Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh are mercenary soldier and captive who fall in love amid rampant flesh and blood–letting in medieval…
Goonies, The (1985): Dir. Richard Donner
Feat. Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton; Junior edition of 'Indiana Jones', from a Steven Speilberg story, has seven bored kids on the Oregon coast hunting for pirate booty after they…
Ladyhawke (1985): Dir. Richard Donner
Feat. Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer; Enjoyable sword–and–sorcery yarn filmed in the Dolomites pits Matthew Broderick as a Medieval tyke who must unlock the evil spell cast on…
Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, A (1985): Dir. Jack Sholder
Feat. Robert Englund, Mark Patton, Clu Gulager…; More of the same special f/x–assisted mayhem from Freddy Krueger and the helpless adolescent residents of Elm Street. Just ask Mom and Dad to…
Red Sonja (1985): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brigitte Nielsen, Sandahl Bergman…; Unremarkable except for its silliness, this excursion into CONAN territory pits uber–bimbo Nielsen against various diehard villains.…
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985): Dir. Guy Hamilton
Feat. Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley…; Fred Ward plays a tough NYC cop whose death is faked and a new identity of "Remo Williams" is bestowed by a secret organization known as CURE who…
Return to Oz (1985): Dir. Walter Murch
Feat. Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh; This unusually–conceived sequel to THE WIZARD OF OZ is almost too scary for kids, with a disturbed Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) blown by a storm from…
Company of Wolves (1984): Dir. Neil Jordan
Feat. Angela Lansbury, Stephen Rea; This modest, dream–like horror fantasy was liked so much by author Anne Rice, it led to the Irish director calling the shots on INTERVIEW WITH…
Conan the Destroyer (1984): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones; Semi–nude Arnie grunts through his second Conan adventure.
Dream One (Nemo) (1984): Dir. Arnaud Sélignac
Feat. Jason Connery, Harvey Keitel, Mathilda May; Very strange, tonally confused but often fascinating fantasia, a very loose adaptation of Winsor McKay's 1920s comic strip Little Nemo – itself…
Dreamscape (1984): Dir. Joseph Ruben
Feat. Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer; Psychic Dennis Quaid treks through the dreams and nightmares of others, ultimately confronting the nihilistic visions of the President. Works well…
Garbo Talks (1984): Dir. Sidney Lumet
Feat. Ron Silver, Greta Garbo, Anne Bancroft…; This enchanting film sees Ron Silver attempting to fulfil his dying mother's last request; to meet Greta Garbo. Fine supporting cast.
Ghostbusters (1984): Dir. Ivan Reitman
Feat. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver…; Blockbuster supernatural comedy follows the lives of three flaky paranormal investigators who find themselves in countless gooey situations. The…
Highway to Heaven (TV Series) (1984): Feat. Michael Landon, Victor French; Feelgood, down–to–earth fantasy series for the whole family, starring Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie) as a "probational"…
Neverending Story, The (1984): Dir. Wolfgang Petersen
Feat. Barret Oliver, Gerald McRaney, Moses Gunn; A boy escapes the neighbourhood bullies by retreating into a mysterious book, where fantasical and exhilirating adventures take flight. Visually…
Nightmare On Elm Street, A (1984): Dir. Wes Craven
Feat. John Saxon, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp…; The maiden nightmare of the razor–fingered dream–demon Freddie Krueger, who went on to become the pre–eminent horror icon of the…
Repo Man (1984): Dir. Alex Cox
Feat. Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton; Young punk Emilio Estevez unwittingly becomes involved in the car re–possession business in this curious cocktail of action, sci–fi and…
Robin of Sherwood (TV Series) (1984-1986): Feat. Michael Praed, Ray Winstone; A serious–minded retelling of the 'Robin Hood' legend with Michael Praed playing the handsome 'Robin of Loxley' who copes not only the…
Sheena: Queen of the Jungle (1984): Dir. John Guillermin
Feat. Tanya Roberts, Ted Wass, Donovan Scott; 80's cult fantasy flop based on the comic book jungle girl heroine Sheena, a female version of Tarzan who was raised by a fictional African tribe.
Splash (1984): Dir. Ron Howard
Feat. Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah; Winning comic fantasy with Tom Hanks falling for mermaid Daryl Hannah.
Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (1984): Dir. Leonard Nimoy
Feat. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley…; Leonard Nimoy himself directed this continuation of 'The Wrath of Khan', in which the crew set out to rescue Spock from Kurge (Christopher Lloyd).…
Star Wars Ewok Adventures (Caravan of Courage / The Battle for Endor) (1984-1985): Feat. Wilford Brimley, Warwick Davis, Aubree Miller…; George Lucas–created fantasies especially for younger STAR WARS admirers, following further adventures of the creatures so fondly remembered in…
Starman (1984): Dir. John Carpenter
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith…; Jeff Bridges plays an alien trying to recover his spaceship on Earth with the help of young widow Karen Allen. Entertaining fantasy–drama.
Sword of the Valiant (The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) (1984): Dir. Stephen Weeks
Feat. Miles O'Keefe, Cyrielle Clair, Leigh Lawson…; Cannon Films fantasy fodder from the 1980's starring a hilariously coiffured Miles O'Keefe as Sir Gawain and Sean Connery as the Green Knight,…
Deathstalker: Last Great Warrior King (1983): Dir. James Sbardellati
Feat. Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard Brooker; Trashtastic sword–and–sandals fantasy sees a chiselled Rick Hill play a warrior who must save the earth (and the girl) from a wicked…
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983): Feat. Peter Davison, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee…; 25th Anniversary Edition of this Sci–Fi classic featuring five embodiments of the doctor. Most of the doctors find themselves transported to…
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985): In its time this animated TV series was a ubiquitous pop phenomena, being simultaneously unleashed on the world with a line of model toys and…
Krull (1983): Dir. Peter Yates
Feat. Ken Marshall, Francesca Annis; Well–remembered though mostly incoherent grafting of fantasy and sci–fi elements, in which laser–beams jostle with monsters, Celtic…
Life Is A Bed Of Roses (1983): Dir. Alain Resnais
Feat. Ruggero Raimondi, Fanny Ardant, Geraldine Chaplin; Ambitious fantastical oddity from dir. Resnais was made as a tribute to era–defining French directors Melies, L'Herbier and Rohmer, weaving…
Orpheus in the Underworld (1983): Dir. Derek Bailey
Feat. Denis Quilley, Honor Blackman, Christopher Gable; Handsomely mounted production of the famed operetta with Orpheus and his lyre meeting much opposition as he searches the underworld for his dead wife.
Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi (1983): Dir. Richard Marquand
Feat. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford…; Final installment in George Lucas' space–trilogy sees the conclusion of the galactic war between the Empire and the 'Rebel forces'. Mark…
Two of a Kind (1983): Dir. John Herzfeld
Feat. John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Charles Durning…; God (voiced by Gene Hackman) is so disappointed with mankind he prepares a second Flood, but is persuaded by angels to bet on the reformation of two…
Zu Warriors (Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain) (1983): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Biao Yuen, Moon Lee, Brigitte Lin…; A renowned fantasy film, in which four medieval warriors search the universe for twin swords with which to defeat a powerful demon, which threatens…
Beastmaster, The (1982): Dir. Don Coscarelli
Feat. Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn; Hammy fantastical adventure centred on a mighty warrior on a revenge mission for the death of his family at the hands of a tyrannical priest. An 80's…
Conan the Barbarian (1982): Dir. John Milius
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Slave–turned–swordsman Arnold Schwarzenegger's 20 year search for his parent's killers is a violent, comic–pulp romp through a…
Dark Crystal, The (1982): Dir. Jim Henson, Frank Oz
Feat. Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw…; Wonderful fantasy from the Muppet main–man about a cute Gelfling who is must return light to a dark world by restoring the Crystal. With an…
E.T. (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial) (1982): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Dee Wallace Stone, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote…; Steven Spielberg cemented his genius with this, possibly the best live–action family film ever made. It's the moving tale of a benign alien who…
Fire and Ice (1982): Dir. Ralph Bakshi; One of dir. Bashki’s (FRITZ THE CAT) lesser efforts, this sword–and–sorcery animated fantasy is notable for the seminal visuals by…
Last Unicorn, The (1982): Dir. Arthur Rankin Jnr, Jules Bass
Feat. Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee, Mia Farrow…; Underrated (and under–known) animated gem, concerns the quest of the world’s last unicorn to find the rest of the unicorn herd. Strongly…
One from the Heart (1982): Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Feat. Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia; A lavishly mounted curiosity loosely following the romantic plight of an estranged couple, set against an impressively stylised backdrop of Las…
Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982): Dir. Alan Parker; Based on Roger Waters' personal vision that was the mega–selling Pink Floyd album of 1980, this feature brings the concept of a rock star's…
Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (1982): Dir. Nicholas Meyer
Feat. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley…; The Enterprise crew are back to do battle with Kirk's old enemy Khan, as he takes control of a Federation Starship. Nice touches of humour and…
Sword and the Sorcerer, The (1982): Dir. Albert Pyun
Feat. Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis…; Not bad swords–and–sandals fantasy, set in a medieval kingdom ruled by an evil sorcerer. To the rescue comes a mercenary who wields a…
Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) (1982- 1983): Dir. Various
Feat. Peter Cushing, Brenda Blethyn, Liza Goddard…; Fondly remembered British television series of self–contained stories – each with a twist – inspired by the adult macabre of Roald…
Clash of the Titans (1981): Dir. Desmond Davis
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Claire Bloom, Ursula Andress; Brave stab at visualising Greek mythology, taking the Perseus legend as its basis, this turned out to be the swansong for Ray Harryhausen and his…
Dragonslayer (1981): Dir. Matthew Robbins
Feat. Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson…; Highly under–rated medieval fantasy in which a young wizard defies substantial and often thrilling odds to defeat a malevolent dragon.…
Excalibur (1981): Dir. John Boorman
Feat. Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Nicholas Clay…; The King Arthur legend is given a fanciful, dynamic spin by a director at his creative peak in an epic fantasy tale of sorcery and magic.
Grendel Grendel Grendel (1981): Dir. Alexander Stitt
Feat. Peter Ustinov, Keith Michell, Arthur Dignam; Lively animated version of the Beowulf legend, but this time told from the perspective of the monster.
Mad Max II - The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) (1981): Dir. George Miller
Feat. Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence; Studio–backed sequel retains the integrity of the first while sprucing up the artillery, pyrotechnics and going for a more futuristic style.…
Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1981): Dir. Elijah Moshinsky
Feat. Helen Mirren, Nigel Davenport, Brian Glover; Part of the BBC's excellent series of Shakespeare productions, filmed in a 'theatrical' TV environment utilising the best of English acting talent.
Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians, The (Tajemstvi hradu v Karpatech) (1981): Dir. Oldrich Lipsky
Feat. Michal Docolomansky, Rudolf Hrusinsky, Vlastimil Brodsky…; Cult oddity based on the Jules Verne novel The Carpathian Castle, a sci–fi horror story about a campy count who haunts a house overlooking a…
Quest for Fire (1981): Dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
Feat. Everett McGill, Ron Perlman; Sci–fi set 80,000 years ago, it follows a tribe's attempt to replenish fire when it is stolen from them. Ambitious production makes the most of…
Harlequin (1980): Dir. Simon Wincer
Feat. David Hemmings, Robert Powell, Broderick Crawford; A modern–day version of the Rasputin story, in which a senator and his wife fall prey to the spellbinding powers of a manipulative Harlequin…
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Dir. Irvin Kershner
Feat. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford…; The remaining rebel forces play a game of cat and mouse with the emperors immense galactic armada. Tight action sequences, deft plot twists and a…
Superman 2 (Superman II) (1980): Dir. Richard Lester
Feat. Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman; Laudable continuation of the super–hero franchise, that adds more action and comic sparks to the familiar characters –The Man of Steel…
Time Bandits (1980): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall; John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall and others star in this breathlessly inventive fantasy in which a young boy journeys through history to…
Arabian Adventure (1979): Dir. Kevin Conner
Feat. Christopher Lee, Milo O'Shea, Mickey Rooney…; Sumptuous Arabic fantasy set around a treasure hunt for the mystical Rose of Elil. Good f/x and a great British cast make for smooth entertainment.
Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki (1979-2013): Dir. Hayao Miyazaki; Featuring collected Studio Ghibli movies of legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. Contains: Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) …
Legend of the Mountain (Shan zhong zhuan qi) (1979): Dir. King Hu
Feat. Shih Chun, Hsu Feng, Sylvia Chang; A scholar translating Buddhist sutras visits a monastery filled with various mysterious characters, in this soothing spiritual drama with elements of…
Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley…; Starring the cast from the 60's TV phenomenon, this special effects fest features the crew fighting a lethal force field spinning toward Earth.…
Worzel Gummidge (TV Series) (1979-1981): Feat. Jon Pertwee, Una Stubbs, Geoffrey Bayldon; Oddball and much–loved children's TV series about a living, grubby and rather bad–tempered scarecrow (Pertwee) who muddles through life…
Circle Of Iron (The Silent Flute) (1978): Dir. Richard Moore
Feat. David Carradine, Christopher Lee, Roddy McDowall; Bizarre 80s fantasy tells the story of a young fighter who seeks a spiritual identity through martial arts, and goes on a quest to find the legendary…
Lord of the Rings (1978): Dir. Ralph Bakshi; Likable animation of JRR Tolkien's fantasy classic, admirably captures the personalities of the novel's horde of eccentric characters and…
Monkey! (TV Series) (Volumes 1-6) (1978- 1979): Feat. Masaaki Sakai, Toshiyuki Nishida, Shiro Kishibe…; Colourful, supernatural adventures in feudal Japan with the invincible Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka! This Japanese tele show became a favourite…
Return From Witch Mountain (1978): Dir. John Hough
Feat. Bette Davis, Christopher Lee; Above–average sequel to ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN reprises the story of two runaway orphans with supernatural powers, adding the star presence…
Superman (1978): Dir. Richard Donner
Feat. Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman; Christopher Reeve is the Man of Steel in the first and best adventure – from his humble inception through to…
Freaky Friday (1977): Dir. Gary Nelson
Feat. Jodie Foster, Barbara Harris; Barbara Harris and a 13–year–old Jodie Foster are mother and daughter who miraculosly swap personalities for a day. Plenty of fun here.
Hobbit, The (1977): Dir. Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jnr
Feat. Orson Bean, Richard Boone, John Huston…; A homebody demi–human in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.…
Jabberwocky (1977): Dir. Terry Gilliam
Feat. Michael Palin; Monty Python's Lewis Carroll–inspired medieval farce with Michael Palin in the lead.
People That Time Forgot, The (1977): Dir. Kevin Connor
Feat. Patrick Wayne; Sequel to THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, sees Patrick Wayne return to the monster–ridden island in search of lost colleagues.
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977): Dir. Sam Wanamaker
Feat. Patrick Wayne, Jane Seymour, Patrick Troughton; The last of Ray Harryhausen's 'Sinbad' series and probably the weakest as hero sails to break a spell that has turned a prince into a baboon. Some…
Spiderman (1977): Dir. E.W. Swackhamer
Feat. Nicholas Hammond; Becoming The Webbed One when bitten by a radioactive spider, Nicholas Hammond goes on to display wall–hugging behaviour and lumpy costume, with…
Star Wars Trilogy, The (Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi) (1977-1983): Dir. George Lucas; George Lucas' original trilogy of sci–fi blockbusters, presented in their extended, remastered versions.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977): Dir. George Lucas
Feat. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford…; George Lucas' epic trilogy of space adventure begins "long ago and far far away", with the life of Luke Skywalker being disturbed by the galactic war…
Wizards (1977): Dir. Ralph Bakshi; A counter–culture animated fantasy, set in a supernatural future populated by elves, fairies and derelict technology. Centred around two…
Wonder Woman, The New Adventures of (TV Series) (1977-1979): Feat. Lynda Carter, Lyle Waggoner; Charles Moulon’s 1940s comic strip updated to the feminist 70s, his superheroine fighting terrorist and subversive elements for undercover…
Pinocchio (1976): Feat. Danny Kaye; Bright and energetic musical adaptation of the beloved children's fable, framed around the story of a young theater girl's desire to study and work…
Shaggy D.A., The (1976): Dir. Robert Stevenson
Feat. Dean Jones, Tim Conway, Suzanne Pleshette…; Extremely shaggy later Disney live–actioner, with Dean Jones playing a District Attorney who finds himself repeatedly turning into a dog.…
Black Moon (1975): Dir. Louis Malle
Feat. Cathryn Harrison, Therese Giehse, Joe Dallesandro; A vastly ambitious and haunting fantasy excursion for dir. Malle proffers an allegorical future world in which civil war rages between the sexes,…
Escape to Witch Mountain (1975): Dir. John Hough
Feat. Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence; One of Disney's best live–action telemovies, where two orphans with mysterious telekinetic powers flee the attentions of a shifty entrepeneur.…
Lisztomania (1975): Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Roger Daltrey, Ringo Starr, Fiona Lewis; Ken Russell's erotic send–up of the bawdy life of virtuoso composer Franz Liszt – whose piano performances were attended by hordes of…
Magic Flute, The (1975): Dir. Ingmar Bergman; An immaculately delivered version of Mozart's operatic fairytale, filmed on a special replica of the original 18th century stage. At its simplest,…
Ultimate Warrior (1975): Dir. Robert Clouse
Feat. Max von Sydow, Yul Brynner; Post–Armageddon tale with Max Von Sydow as a tyrannical dictator and Yul Brynner a rebel street–fighter.
Arabian Nights (Il Fiore Delle Mille e Una Notte) (1974): Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini
Feat. Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Tessa Bouche; For the final part of his “Trilogy of Life”, Pasolini interweaves several of the tales of the ‘Thousand and One Nights’,…
Electra, My Love (Szerelmem, Elektra) (1974): Dir. Miklos Jancso; This surreal re–imagining of a greek myth utilizes a striking anachronistic twist to draw parallels between the ages. Humiliated and filled…
Land That Time Forgot, The (1974): Dir. Kevin Conner
Feat. Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon; After ending up on a German submarine in WWI several Americans stumble across an undiscovered South American island, which holds adventure in the…
Little Prince, The (1974): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Richard Kiley, Bob Fosse, Gene Wilder; The classic childern's story by aviator Antoine de Saint–Exupery is here translated with whimsy and wit intact. A pilot is stranded in a desert…
Zardoz (1974): Dir. John Boorman
Feat. Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling; Sean Connery stars in this enigmatic, garish space odyssey about a group of eternally young intellectuals in the year 2293. The bizarre visual…
Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The (1973): Dir. Gordon Hessler
Feat. John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, Tom Baker…; Arabian Nightish saga with Tom Baker (Dr Who) as Sinbad's adversary. The swordplay of a six–armed statue is but one of the Harryhausen FX…
Sigmund and the Seamonsters (TV Series) (1973-1975): Sid and Marty Krofft's low–budget kids sitcom about two brothers, Johnny and Scott, who harbour a friendly sea monster named Sigmund in their…
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972): Dir. William Sterling
Feat. Michael Crawford, Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore…; Star–packed, centennial adaptation of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece follows young Alice (Fullerton) down the rabbithole and on to her adventures…
Slaughterhouse Five (1972): Dir. George Roy Hill
Feat. Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche; Though a conservative adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's time–tripping novel, this is still a significant entry to the genre, with a wide cult…
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971): Dir. Robert Stevenson
Feat. Angela Lansbury; An apprentice witch wants to use her powers to contribute to the English war effort against the Nazis, plus a trip to the cartoon Island of…
Lidsville (TV Series) (1971): Feat. Charles Nelson Reilly, Butch Patrick, Billie Hayes; Kookiest and perhaps the most hilarious of the Sid & Marty Krofft children's productions about a teenager who gets lost in a fantasy world of…
Under Milkwood (1971): Dir. Andrew Sinclair
Feat. Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter O'Toole…; Celebrated radio play by Dylan Thomas gets a surprisingly successful visual rendering, though some will always prefer the original format for Thomas'…
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) (1971): Dir. Mel Stuart
Feat. Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson; Roald Dahl adapts his own book for this lively, almost psychedelic musical adaptation about a boy's desire to see inside a chocolate factory run by…
Donkey Skin (Peau d'âne) (1970): Dir. Jacques Demy
Feat. Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Delphine Seyrig…; A vibrant, whimsical and genuinely fantastic adaptation of Perrault's classic 17th century fairy tale in which a Princess (Deneuve) disguises herself…
Projectionist, The (1970): Dir. Harry Hurwitz
Feat. Chuck McCann, Rodney Dangerfield; An experimental, off–beat collage of social commentary, in–jokes and satire, about a projectionist who constantly imagines himself as…
World of Sid & Marty Krofft, The (1969-1984): Excellent sampler of the children’s television productions made by the Krofft brothers, whose most famous hit was perhaps 'H.R. Pufnstuf', but who…
Barbarella (1968): Dir. Roger Vadim
Feat. Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Milo O'Shea…; Camp fantasy film starring Jane Fonda as an innocent space vixen who adventures through lands of drooling men and phallic spaceships. Funny, crazy…
Blackbeard's Ghost (1968): Dir. Robert Stevenson
Feat. Peter Ustinov; Peter Ustinov applies his comic talents to playing the ghost of the notorious pirate, conjured into the present by Disney Studios, to rescue a high…
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968): Dir. Ken Hughes
Feat. Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries…; Dick Van Dyke stars as eccentric inventor and who gives a run–down race car a magical new lease of life. This musical comedy masterpiece…
Cremator, The (1968): Dir. Juraz Herz
Feat. Rudolf Hrusinsky, Vlasta Chramostova; Widely considered one of the greatest films of the Czech new wave, a blackly humorous fantasy horror following the increasingly deranged impulses of…
Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (TV Series) (1968): Feat. Hope Lange, Edward Mulhare; Fondly remembered sitcom based on the R. A. Dick novel (itself made into a 1947 film) about a young widow and family who befriend a ghost haunting…
Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1968): Dir. Sir Peter Hall
Feat. Helen Mirren, David Warner, Diana Rigg…; The Royal Shakespeare Company's film production of one of Shakespeare's most hilarious and witty plays, featuring a strong ensemble cast.
Swimmer, The (1968): Dir. Frank Perry
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Kim Hunter, Janice Rule; Burt Lancaster decides to swim from pool to pool on his way home on a hot afternoon, each swim evoking different memories and events in this unique…
Yellow Submarine (1968): Dir. George Dunning; 12 classic Beatles tunes and 90 minutes of bright and whimsical imagery are showcased in this surrealist fantasy from the days when all you needed…
Bedazzled (1967): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Raquel Welch…; A brilliant and enduring satire that updates of the 'Faust' tale to swinging London, with Moore playing a lovelorn chef who is lured into a pact by…
Frank's Greatest Adventure (Fearless Frank) (1967): Dir. Philip Kaufman
Feat. Jon Voight, Severn Darden; Curious superhero spoof in which Jon Voight is topped by gangsters and reincarnated as a crime–fighter extraordinaire. The director's career…
Herculoids, The (TV Series) (1967): Dir. Joseph Barbera, William Hanna; Saturday–morning cartoon from Hanna–Barbera in the late 60's, following a space barbarian family and their giant pets the Herculoids…
Magical Mystery Tour (1967): Dir. The Beatles
Feat. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison…; The Beatles take us on a spiritual/musical journey with a distinctly pychedelic ethos. Full of subversive satire that marked many British films of…
Alice in Wonderland (1966): Dir. Jonathan Miller
Feat. Peter Cook, Michael Redgrave, Peter Sellers…; Cult BBC version of Lewis Carroll's classic children's book, in which drowsing Alice enters the dreamscape of 'Wonderland'. Influenced by the…
Fantastic Voyage (1966): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Donald Pleasence, Raquel Welch; A team of 'experts' are miniaturized and injected into a high–ranking scientist as a last resort to repair his medical condition. An…
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966): Dir. Chuck Jones; A classic Warner Bros cartoon, puts an animated spring into Dr Seuss's tale of the vicious Grinch who tries to steal Christmas from the folk at…
Monkey - Journey to the West (The Monkey Goes West, Princess Iron Fan, The Cave of Silken Web, The Land of Many Perfumes) (1966-1968): Dir. Meng-Hwa Ho; Generous, richly–hued Shaw Brothers adaptation of the Chinese folk tale 'Journey to the West', spread across four lushly presented widescreen…
One Million Years B.C. (1966): Dir. Don Chaffey
Feat. Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Percy Herbert; One of Hammer Studios greatest hits, this genuinely well–made adventure is set among cavemen and cavewomen struggling to survive in a world of…
Ultraman (TV Series) (1966): When the world is threatened by aloien invaders and giant prehistoric monsters, There is only one agency equipped with the high tech weaponry to…
City Under the Sea (1965): Dir. Jacques Tourneur
Feat. Vincent Price; Cornish villagers discover a subterranean cult lead by Vincent Price in this hammy fantasy yarn.
I Dream of Jeannie (TV Series) (1965-70): Feat. Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman; Sitcom magic with a BEWITCHED–inspired premise, features Barbara Eden as the obliging but overzealous (and of course, sexy)…
Juliet of the Spirits (1965): Dir. Federico Fellini
Feat. Giulietta Masina; Perhaps the female flipside of Fellini's 8 1/2, he again infuses stylised flashbacks and fantasies into the real world of a gregarious housewife who…
Saragossa Manuscript, The (1965): Dir. Wojciech Has
Feat. Zbigniew Cybulski; Captivating Polish oddity with a labyrinthine plot involving the discovery of a book which reveals all manner of beguiling…
Bewitched (TV Series) (1964-1972): Feat. Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Dick Sargent; Sublime fantasy sitcom, anchored by the adorable Elizabeth Montgomery as witchy housewife, Samantha Stephens, who is married to mere mortal, Darren,…
Brass Bottle, The (1964): Dir. Harry Keller
Feat. Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden…; Agreeably daffy comedy that inspired I DREAM OF JEANNIE with Tony Randall accidentally releasing of a long trapped genie who predictably causes all…
Jan Svankmajer: The Complete Short Films (1964-1992): Dir. Jan Svankmajer; A superb, forty–year anthology of the terrifying, eccentric short films of Jan Svankmajer, the influential and cutting edge Czech…
Mary Poppins (1964): Dir. Robert Stevenson
Feat. Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke; Disney's beloved live–action feature is a timeless, dazzling musical with Julie Andrews as an enchanted London nanny. Dick Van Dyke…
Jason and the Argonauts (1963): Dir. Don Chaffey
Feat. Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack; Masterpiece of fantasy based on Greek mythology features the best stop–motion animation work from Ray Harryhausen. The skeleton…
Jack the Giant Killer (1962): Dir. Nathan Juran
Feat. Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, Torin Thatcher…; From the same stable as Sinbad, comes another fantasy using wonderful stop–motion animation. Jack, against all odds, fights the evil Pendragon…
Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960): Dir. Jack Sher
Feat. Kerwin Mathews, Jo Morrow, June Thorburn…; Gulliver's travels bring him to the lands of the giants and the tiny in this adaptation of Johnathan Swift's classic. The then break–through…
Shaggy Dog, The (1959): Dir. Charles Barton
Feat. Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk…; Fred MacMurray excels in this Disney live–actioner, playing a postman whose son accidentally transforms himself into a talking sheepdog with…
Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen, The (1958-1973): Four films displaying the talents of the legendary special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen including the mythological adventures: 7th Voyage Of…
Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958): Dir. Nathan Juran
Feat. Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant (Crosby), Richard Eyer…; In his first and most engaging adventure, Sinbad convincingly duels the Cyclops, a dragon and a hyperactive skeleton without any computer assistance,…
Sinbad Collector's Edition (Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger) (1958-1977): Feat. Kerwin Mathews, John Phillip Law, Patrick Wayne
Viking Women And The Sea Serpent (Saga Of The Viking Women And Their Voyage To The Waters Of The Great Sea Serpent) (1958): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Abby Dalton, Susan Cabot; Roger Corman schlock scraped from the seabed, about a clan of viking women who head out to sea in pursuit of their missing husbands. Soon they are…
Kismet (1955): Dir. Vincente Minnelli
Feat. Howard Keel, Ann Blyth; An Arabian–Nights style musical, with Howard Keel attempting to woo wicked wizar's wife Ann Blyth.
5000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953): Dir. Roy Rowland
Feat. Tommy Rettig, Hans Conried; From the genius of Dr. Seuss comes this live–action fantasy worthy of his wondrous imagination. A nine–year–old boy's daydreams of…
Peter Pan (1953): Dir. Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson; Walt's version of the J M Barrie classic, animated with consummate skill by his army of inhouse artisans. The flying imp Peter Pan leads Wendy and…
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953): Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
Feat. Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo, Kinuyo Tanaka; Stories by the 18th century writer Akinari Ueda are woven into an odyssey of civil–war misfortune, in which two peasant–potters and their…
Adventures of Superman (TV Series) (1952-1958): Feat. George Reeves, Phyllis Coates; The first ever 'Superman' TV series, this was an immensely popular rendition of the comicbook tale of the Man of Steel, whose life as…
Monkey Business (1952): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn…; Scientist Cary Grant discovers a rejuvenation serum which has screwball side–effects. Stars include the director and writing team – Ben…
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951): Dir. Albert Lewin
Feat. Ava Gardner, James Mason, Nigel Patrick…; Ava Gardner stars as the ravishing siren of a small Spanish town who has never fallen for anyone until the arrival of the mysterious James Mason, the…
Harvey (1950): Dir. Henry Koster
Feat. James Stewart; Jimmy Stewart's personal favourite role is his middle–aged drunk who has a six–foot rabbit friend that only he can see. From Mary Chase's…
Batman and Robin (1949): Dir. Spencer Gordon Bennett; The first screen incarnation of Bob Kane's comicbook duo – a 15–episode serial following the caped crusaders portentous perils. Two…
Secret Garden, The (1949): Dir. Fred M. Wilcox
Feat. Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell…; Story about an orphan who discovers a secret garden at her Uncle's Victorian manor continues to fascinate young and old. Colour sequences give the…
Les Enfants Terribles (The Strange Ones) (1948): Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Feat. Edouard Dermithe, Nicole Stephane; A poetic drama–fantasy from the pen of Jean Cocteau (who also directed several scenes), that centres round the narcissistic,…
Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947): Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison; A whimsical tone pervades this mildly spooky tale of widow Gene Tierney being haunted by phantom sea–captain Rex Harrison. Music by Bernard…
Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947): Dir. Norman Z. McLeod
Feat. Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff; Danny Kaye shines in this delightful family film as a quiet day–dreamer whose real life catches up with his elaborate adventure fantasies.
Belle Et La Bete, La (Beauty and the Beast) (1946): Dir. Jean Cocteau
Feat. Jean Marais, Josette Day; Cocteau brings a fine sense of fantasy to the old fable, creating a luxuriant atmosphere unique to his film–making. A true classic.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946): Dir. Frank Capra
Feat. James Stewart; A down–on–his–luck Jimmy Stewart is rescued from suicide by a Guardian Angel who shows him the virtues of his life gone by. This…
Matter of Life and Death, A (1946): Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Feat. David Niven; By a miracle, RAF pilot David Niven escapes certain death, only to find he must argue for his right to live before a 'heavenly tribunal'. A…
Wonder Man (1945): Dir. Bruce Humberstone
Feat. Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen…; A typically zany fairy–tale for Danny Kaye, as a mild–mannered student persuaded by the ghost of his dead twin to seek out his murderer.…
Heaven Can Wait (1943): Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
Feat. Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, Charles Coburn; Amusing comic fantasy in which playboy Don Ameche recalls his life of sin for the devil, to find he wasn't such a bad guy after all.
Munchhausen (1943): Dir. Josef von Baky
Feat. Hans Albers; This adaptation of the Rudolph Raspe novel about the extraordinary tall–tales of a German baron is a genuine oddity, both historically and…
Les Visiteurs Du Soir (1942): Dir. Marcel Carne
Feat. Arletty, Marie Dea, Fernand Ledoux…; Two of the Devil's henchmen are dispatched to a fairytale–like 15th century castle with an eye to corrupting its inhabitants, especially a pair…
Captain Marvel (1941): Dir. Bill Witney
Feat. Tom Tyler; Tom Tyler transforms himself into superhero Captain Marvel simply by saying the word...Shazam! Considered by some to be the finest pre–show…
Devil and Daniel Webster, The (1941): Dir. William Dieterle
Feat. Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, James Craig…; Originally released in a heavily edited version as "All That Money Can Buy", this recently restored version can now be fully appreciated as a true…
Fantasia (1940): Dir. Ben Sharpsteen; Glorious Disney musical fantasy set to a rousing classical score. Highlights include Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's apprentice and the hippos and…
Little Nellie Kelly (1940): Dir. Norman Taurog
Feat. Judy Garland, George Murphy; Filmed version of the hit Broadway musical comedy from 1922 about Irish–American immigrants starring Judy Garland, who was fresh to…
Thief of Bagdad, The (1940): Dir. Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan
Feat. Sabu, Conrad Veidt, June Duprez; Sabu stars in this magical, intoxicating vision of the Arabian Nights, some twenty years before the genre was revived in SINBAD. Romance, tragedy,…
Wizard of Oz, The (1939): Dir. Victor Fleming, King Vidor
Feat. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr…; The world's best loved film down through and across the generations, and a key cultural icon. MGM pulled out all the stops to realise L. Frank…
Lost Horizon (1937): Dir. Frank Capra
Feat. Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton…; Wonderful fantasy adventure about five people who find sanctuary in a Tibetan Valley where good health, peace and longevity reign. A haunting and…
She (1935): Dir. Irving Pichel, Lansing C. Holden
Feat. Randolph Scott, Helen Gahagan, Helen Mack…; Influential, special effects laden fantasy from KING KONG producer Merian C. Cooper about a beguiling, 500–year–old woman as ruler of a…
L'Atalante (1934): Dir. Jean Vigo
Feat. Michel Simon, Jean Daste; A recently restored master work from the French film archive combines lyrical romance with inspired touches of fantasy.
March of the Wooden Soldiers (Babes In Toyland) (1934): Dir. Gus Meins, Charles R. Rogers
Feat. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy; Imaginative musical fantasia also makes the most of Laurel and Hardy's comic genius – as dim–witted toymakers whose mistaken order for…
Alice in Wonderland (1933): Dir. Norman Z. McLeod
Feat. Charlotte Henry, Edward Everett Horton, W.C. Fields…; Extravagant early version of the Lewis Carroll classic was a box office bomb in its day, but age has been kind, and if Charlotte Henry is a little…
Adventures of Prince Achmed, The (1926): Dir. Lotte Reiniger; The dashing Prince Achmed saves a lovely damsel from evil witches and mythical beasts, as well as discovering Aladdin's lamp, all in the primitive…
Siegfried (Die Nibelungen Pt. 1) (1924): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Paul Richter, Margarete Schon, Theodor Loos…; First part of Dir. Lang's recreation of the German Nibelungen myth cycle (that inspired Wagner's 'Ring'), features fire–breathing dragons,…
Thief of Bagdad (1924): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Douglas Fairbanks, Anna May Wong, Brandon Hurst; Douglas Fairbanks Snr. stars in this original version of the Arabian Nights fable about a young Indian native who out–smarts an evil magician.
Wizard of Oz, The (1922): Dir. Larry Semon
Feat. Oliver Hardy, Larry Semon; Original adaptation of the L Frank Baum story, conjures up more laughs than the Judy Garland version, with Oliver Hardy as the Tin–Man, and…
Rik Mayall's Grimm Tales: Feat. Rik Mayall; Television's most famous Young One, Rik Mayall channels his raucous exuberance into narrating and performing a series of Grimm fables for your young…

Main menu

Section navigation menu

Subgenre Sampler