Gulliver's Travels (2010)

Jack Black brings his pop culture referencing routine to this adaptation of Jonathan Swift's social satire.

It's not quite Gulliver's Travels as Jack Black's demented mash-up of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and Gulliver’s Travels.

Watch if you're a fan of Black's comedies.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published in 22 December 2010.

Yogi Bear (2010)

Unless you were born in the 60s, you're too young to remember watching The Yogi Bear Show on TV.

This mixed CGI and live action feature film is a nostalgic throwback to 1980s children’s comedy films, replete with 1980s children comedy conventions and tropes.

It was far more entertaining than I expected.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 22 December 2010.

TRON: Legacy (2010)

Cult classic Tron gets a sequel in a decade of sequels and remakes.

Long missing for decades, Flynn is believed to be trapped and in hiding in the virtual world of Tron and it's up to his son to rescue him.

Technically a sequel, Tron: Legacy plays almost like a straight remake of the original story. We're docking points off for that!

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 15 December 2010.

Facing Ali (2009)

Living with Parkinson's disease, "The Greatest" gets a tribute in a documentary summarising his youth and boxing career.

The gimmick here involves Muhammad Ali's life and career narrated by a parade of 10 of his greatest friends and professional foes.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 15 December 2010.

Time Traveller: The girl who leapt through time (時をかける少女) (2010)

The girl who leapt through time is the title of far too many novels, manga, anime, and live action films that feel like remakes, sequels, and adaptations all at the same time.

This 2010 entry thankfully IS different though. Watch it for the side-plot where the time travelling protag and her friends learn to make short films, and wait for the recognition of filmmaking as memory and thwarted desire to hit you square in the eyes.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 15 December 2010.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the dawn treader (2010)

It's Michael Apted's turn to helm a Chronicles of Narnia film.

The series has had a troubled history, its installments veering between wholesale adaptation of CS Lewis's annoying Christian proselytism and a pure CGI action fest.

Apted thankfully makes the film an adventure story for children.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 8 December 2010.

Box! (ボックス) (2010)

Box! is Rocky in a Japanese high school.

It's a sports film for people whose only introduction to boxing is Rocky, apparently made by a director whose only introduction to boxy is also Rocky.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 8 December 2010.

My soul to take (2010)

More of a warm-up to Scream 4 for Wes Craven, this horror flick treads territory that is familiar and safe to the director and his following.

If you watch this, you can play a party game called “Identify which Wes Craven movie this scary moment or trope comes from”.

Or you can view this as a mid-career summary project of an excellent genre director.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 1 December 2010.

Skyline (2010)

This dreadfully boring alien invasion flick is still worth watching - precisely because it's really hard to make an alien invasion flick boring.

What's more, it's a labour of love. The invasion scenario is meticulously plotted (and approved by military historians, no doubt), the specialist alien troop designs are fascinating.

The film just doesn't come together but if you're military geek, you might want to take the chance.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 1 December 2010.