Movie Ratings & Reviews

Last film added: January 25, 2021. There are currently 1678 films in the database (since 1996).

Fantasy Films (1996-2024)

Search returned all fantasy movies out of 1678 total rated films.

MASTERPIECES

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) 10
Her father's ill, ice caps are melting and aurochs are invading six-year-old Hushpuppy's bayou. Love.
Being John Malkovich (1999) 10
Spike Jonze directs puppeteer John Cusack who discovers a portal into John Malkovich's mind.
Big Fish (2003) 10
A son learns about his dying storyteller father by piecing together his legends and myths.
Dance of Reality, The (2014) 10
Jodorowsky bares his soul through a dreamlike, mythical retelling of his childhood in Chile. Provocative.
Dark City (1998) 10
Rufus Sewell struggles to recover his memories in a nightmarish world run by telekinetic beings.
Endless Poetry (2017) 10
Jodorowsky's vibrant retelling of his life continues. Chronicles personal and artistic development via magical realism.
Eraserhead 2000 (2001) 10
David Lynch's restored first feature film. A nightmarish 1977 masterpiece of grotesque, eerie postindustrial life.
Fall, The (2008) 10
Tarsem Singh, director of 'The Cell,' creates a delightful fantasy based in 1920s Los Angeles.
Ghost Story, A (2017) 10
Bedsheet-covered meditation on the passage of time and death's inevitability. A profoundly sad haunted house.
Midnight in Paris (2011) 10
A surreal, inspired masterpiece by Woody Allen about the importance of living in the present.
Mr. Nobody (2010) 10
Nemo Nobody is the last mortal in the world. Mind-bending story across time. Perfect soundtrack.
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 10
Guillermo del Toro presents a young girl's fantastic alternate reality, set in 1944 fascist Spain.
South Park - Imaginationland (2007) 10
Epic three-part story arc from season 11 released as a standalone movie. The best ever.
Spirited Away (2001) 10
Miyazaki animates an alternate nighttime universe of Japanese gods and spirits.

EXCELLENT

Animation Show, The (2003) 9
A collection of short films (mostly comedy) put together by Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt.
Animation Show 2005, The (2005) 9
Don Hertzfeldt, Bill Plympton and other animators return in this second collection of excellent shorts.
Animation Show 2007, The (2007) 9
The touring festival's third anthology of animated shorts collected by Don Hertzfeldt and Mike Judge.
Black Swan (2010) 9
Ballet dancer Natalie Portman slowly loses her mind while preparing to star in Swan Lake.
Brand Upon the Brain! A Remembrance in 12 Chapters (2006) 9
Guy Maddin's homage to silent film. A return to an abandoned island home. Orphanage memories.
Coraline (2009) 9
A secret door reveals a young girl's alternate, button-eyed life. Fantastic experience in RealD 3D.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) 9
The disappearance of a magical jade sword spurs a breathtaking quest for the missing treasure.
Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) 9
A man ages backwards, with bizarre consequences. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt.
Dark Knight, The (2008) 9
Nolan's nightmarish adaptation of Batman, Joker and Two-Face raises the bar for comic-book movies, again.
Enter the Void (2010) 9
Stunning and technically ingenious. A drug dealer takes the ultimate trip, from DMT to out-of-body.
Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, A (2015) 9
In Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a lonesome vampire stalks residents at night. Charming as hell.
Holy Motors (2012) 9
Limousine-traveling man assumes nine diverse identities. Dreamlike metaphor for acting/life, the masks of each genre.
Howl's Moving Castle (2005) 9
The visual wonderment of Miyazaki reveals a magical world of witches, wizards and fire demons.
Inside Out (2015) 9
A Minnesota tween is moved to California. What goes on in her head? Pixar brilliance.
Jacket, The (2005) 9
Military veteran Adrien Brody can foresee his own death and possibly change Keira Knightley's future.
Let the Right One In (2008) 9
A dark, dreamlike fairytale about a young Scandinavian vampire that explores a tender childhood friendship.
Life of Pi (2012) 9
A shipwrecked Indian boy survives on a lifeboat, with zoo animals for company. Magical fable.
Lighthouse, The (2019) 9
The madness of two Maine lighthouse keepers in the 1890s. Claustrophobic, mythological, and meticulously shot.
Little Otik (2001) 9
A fantastically disturbing Czech fairytale about parenthood. It's conventionally structured for a Svankmajer film.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) 9
I don't think there's going to be a return journey, Mr. Frodo.
Midnight Gospel - Season 1, The (2020) 9
Clancy explores psychedelic worlds with his faulty multiverse simulator. Existential cartoon set to podcast banter.
Millennium Actress (2001) 9
This animated epic blurs the distinction between film, history and memory. There are many truths.
Mirai (2018) 9
Parenting two small children in a unique house that reveals family past and future. Magical.
Others, The (2001) 9
Nicole Kidman lives in a darkened and haunted old house with her two photosensitive children.
Paprika (2007) 9
An insane anime that blurs the separation between reality, dreams, memory, cinema and the Internet.
Ponyo (2009) 9
Miyazaki's charming story of a magical goldfish princess who begins a quest to become human.
Prestige, The (2006) 9
A rivalry of deadly stage illusions escalates between Victorian-era magicians. David Bowie is Nikola Tesla!
Princess Mononoke (1997) 9
Miyazaki presents a mythological tale of civilization encroaching on the beast gods of the forest.
Red Turtle, The (2017) 9
A man stranded on a deserted island encounters an enormous red turtle. Dialogue-free Japanese fable.
Ruby Sparks (2012) 9
Ingenious dissection of a man falling in love with his own idea of a woman.
Science of Sleep, The (2006) 9
A charming hyperactive blur of cellophane-animated fantasy and reality. Surreal and inventive, but not profound.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) 9
Clever graphic novel adaptation about a boy who must defeat his girlfriend's seven evil exes.
Shape of Water, The (2017) 9
Love story between a mute janitor and an amphibious creature at a 1962 top-secret laboratory.
Song of the Sea (2014) 9
Magical journey of Irish siblings to free fairy creatures trapped in the modern world. Beautiful.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) 9
Will Ferrell tries to figure out who's narrating his unraveling life. Maggie Gyllenhaal is adorable.
Stranger Things - Seasons 1-3 (2019) 9
A small Indiana town in the 1980s has a shadowy parallel dimension. Thrilling, emotionally resonant.
Toy Story 3 (2010) 9
Andy's going to college. Even better than the first two, with a particularly poignant ending.
Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition (2007) 9
David Lynch's groundbreaking 1990-91 TV series. It's a paranormal murder mystery set in northern Washington.
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) 9
David Lynch revisits the surreal, mystical character of a quaint Washington town 25 years later.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2011) 9
On his deathbed, Uncle Boonmee experiences the magical intersection of spirit, animal and human worlds.
Waking Life (2001) 9
Richard Linklater presents a uniquely animated universe that explores dream life and real life.
Watchmen (2009) 9
Zack Snyder successfully films Alan Moore's graphic novel about an alternate, quantum America in 1985.
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) 9
Spike Jonze adapts Maurice Sendak's classic story for the screen. Reality is a child's imagination.
Your Name. (2016) 9
Two complete strangers, a teenage girl and a teenage boy in Japan, switch bodies. Heartwarming.

VERY GOOD

Adventure Time - Seasons 1 and 2 (2011) 8
A boy and a magical dog are hero-adventurers in the Land of Ooo. Hilariously bizarre.
Aerial, The (La Antena) (2008) 8
Near-silent black and white film from Argentina. A voiceless city. German Expressionism for the 2000s.
Avengers, The (2012) 8
Nick Fury brings together Marvel superheroes to save the Earth from Loki. Very balanced effort.
Batman Begins (2005) 8
The prequel to the Batman series, directed by Christopher Nolan, includes an awesome Batmobile.
Bothersome Man, The (2007) 8
A man arrives in a strange city with no memory of how he got there.
Cell, The (2000) 8
Psychotherapist Jennifer Lopez journeys inside a comatose serial killer's mind, hoping to recover information. Graphic.
Cemetery of Splendor (2016) 8
Gentle magical realism featuring Thai soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness, ancient kings, and love.
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrob... (2005) 8
Four British children travel through a magical wardrobe into C.S. Lewis's mythical land of Narnia.
Coco (2017) 8
On Día de los Muertos, an aspiring musician crosses into the afterlife seeking his great-great-grandfather.
Corpse Bride (2005) 8
Tim Burton presents a shy groom whisked into the underworld after inadvertently marrying the dead.
Dancer in the Dark (2000) 8
Björk arrives in America with her son, expecting life to be like a Hollywood film.
Dark Knight Rises, The (2012) 8
Very emotionally dark film that rises to an impressive, satisfying finale for Nolan's Batman trilogy.
Devil's Backbone, The (2001) 8
An unsettling ghost story set in a Catholic orphanage during the Spanish Civil War.
Franklyn (2009) 8
In a future metropolis (see Dark City, Blade Runner) and contemporary London, Eva Green stars.
Gruffalo, The (2009) 8
A cunning mouse outwits a succession of predators while walking in the deep dark wood.
Happy as Lazzaro (2018) 8
Magical realism fable of a saintly teen sharecropper and a tobacco baroness in rural Italy.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 8
Stunning grotesqueness and visual poetry from Guillermo del Toro. Incredible set design and beautiful effects.
Illusionist, The (2006) 8
In 1900 Vienna, Edward Norton is Eisenheim the Illusionist. This lush production inspires supernatural reflection.
I Lost My Body (2019) 8
A severed hand escapes a lab and searches Paris for its body. Gruesomely enchanting, touching.
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The (2009) 8
Gilliam shows us the death of magic (while honoring Heath Ledger) in spectacular visual form.
Jungle Book, The (2016) 8
Can't really go wrong with Bill Murray and Christopher Walken voicing characters in this adaptation.
K-PAX (2001) 8
Kevin Spacey is either extraterrestrial or delusional. And he eats a banana without peeling it.
King Kong (2005) 8
Naomi Watts is amazing and the special effects are over-the-top fantastic, but it's excessively long.
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) 8
A young boy searches for a magical suit of armor, fights vengeful spirits. Stop-motion origami.
Kung Fury (2015) 8
In 1985, a Miami cop goes back in time to kill Hitler. Over-the-top crowdfunded action-comedy.
Let Me In (2010) 8
A bullied young boy befriends a lonely young female vampire in this visceral English-language remake.
Little Prince, The (2016) 8
An overscheduled girl befriends an eccentric aviator, who shares his extraordinary world. Moving, charming adaptation.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) 8
He is passing into the Shadow World. He'll soon become a wraith like them.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) 8
We needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitses.
Monster Calls, A (2016) 8
A yew-tree monster helps a 12-year-old cope with his single mother's terminal illness. Devastating fable.
Monsters, Inc. (2001) 8
Pixar presents a bunch of scary monsters who are afraid of being contaminated by children.
Moominvalley - Season 1 (2019) 8
A 2019 adaptation of Tove Jansson's beloved, charming Moomin family stories, animated in 3D CGI.
Moon Man (2012) 8
Moon Man hitches a ride to Earth on a comet and discovers children need him.
Neverwas (2007) 8
A psychiatrist befriends a patient in a mental institution and discovers his father's secrets. Magical.
Nothing (2005) 8
Vincenzo Natali, the director of Cube, presents a film about nothing with his two friends.
Painting, The (2013) 8
Characters in an incomplete painting seek their creator. Charming parable about God and social status.
ParaNorman (2012) 8
Norman survives stop-motion ghosts, zombies and grownups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
Pleasantville (1998) 8
Two teenagers find themselves in a 1950s sitcom. Their behavior accidentally transforms their black-and-white suburb.
Pushing Daisies - The Complete First Season (2007) 8
A man can bring dead people back to life, with Amélie-style narration. Whimsical forensic romance.
Rabbits (2002) 8
David Lynch's nine-episode sitcom starring people in rabbit suits, accompanied by laugh tracks. Plotless, eerie.
Robot Chicken - Seasons 1-3 (2007) 8
Demented stop-motion animation using action figures and toys. These sketch-comedy vignettes skewer pop culture.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) 8
How the Rebel Alliance stole the Death Star plans. Occurs between Episodes III and IV.
Room on the Broom (2012) 8
A gentle witch offers rides to a variety of animals on her increasingly crowded broom.
Russian Ark (2002) 8
300 years of Russian history displayed in a single continuous shot at the Hermitage Museum.
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) 8
A bumbling farmer and animals get into big-city shenanigans. Lovely stop-motion Plasticine from Aardman Animations.
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, A (2020) 8
Aardman Animations with more endearing stop-motion slapstick, now featuring floppy-eared blue aliens on a farm.
Shrek (2001) 8
No, not my buttons! Not my gumdrop buttons.
Shrek 2 (2004) 8
Well, folks, it looks like we're up chocolate creek without a Popsicle stick.
South Park - The Complete 13 Seasons (2009) 8
The misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.
Special (2008) 8
Michael Rapaport participates in an experimental drug study and becomes sure his superpowers are strengthening.
Spider-Man 2 (2004) 8
Tobey Maguire continues his demanding double life as student and superhero. Enter supervillain Dr. Octopus.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) 8
Abrams redeems the franchise as much as could be expected. WTF, giant Lincoln Memorial Gollum.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) 8
Another one! Rey finds hermit Luke Skywalker, then battles Kylo Ren and the First Order.
Tale of the Princess Kaguya, The (2014) 8
Watch a magical moon nymph be bored by 10th-century Japanese nobility. Pastel-toned Studio Ghibli folktale.
Toy Story 2 (1999) 8
All right, nobody look till I get my cork back in.
Toy Story 4 (2019) 8
Enter Forky, a trash toy, and the antique shop's ventriloquist dummies. Bo Peep's a badass.
Tuvalu (2001) 8
Stunning, whimsical German film with almost no dialogue set in a surreal bathhouse in Bulgaria.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) 8
The real lives of vampire roommates in a New Zealand flat. Funny interactions with werewolves.

GOOD

9 (2009) 7
A visually stunning, steampunk world inhabited by robot rag dolls. Ending is weak, plot underdeveloped.
About Time (2013) 7
Sweet tale of a man from a family of time-travelers. Sentimental tearjerker, but inspires reflection.
Antz (1998) 7
Woody Allen is a neurotic ant who has become disenfranchised from his totalitarian colony.
Before I Wake (2018) 7
Parents haunted by their lost child. The surprisingly rewarding payoff redeems the clichéd Canker Man.
Berserk - The Complete Collection (2002) 7
Anime about young warrior Guts and the mercenary company called the Band of the Hawk.
Best of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The (2005) 7
My childhood memories, now on DVD. A first-rate reMASTERing of this moralizing homoerotic 1980s toy-advert.
Boxtrolls, The (2014) 7
An orphan raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors tries to save his friends from extermination.
Boy and the Beast, The (2016) 7
A nine-year-old boy in Japan stumbles upon a fantastic world of beasts. Uneven coming-of-age anime.
Brothers Grimm, The (2005) 7
A cartoonish big-budget spectacle based on German folktales. Terry Gilliam directs and Matt Damon stars.
Cabin in the Woods, The (2012) 7
Turns the horror genre on its head, but crammed with excessive wink-wink cleverness and CGI.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 7
Steve Rogers volunteers for a top-secret research project that turns him into Captain America. Charming.
Dead Like Me - The Complete First Season (2003) 7
Showtime TV series about the lives of undead grim reapers trying to make ends meet.
Despicable Me (2010) 7
Supervillain Gru, and his minion army, adopts three orphans in order to steal the moon.
Dogma (1999) 7
Kevin Smith presents two renegade angels trying to exploit a loophole. Alanis Morissette plays God.
Elf (2003) 7
Will Ferrell, raised as an elf at the North Pole, just arrived in the U.S.
FairyTale: A True Story (1997) 7
Two young girls in 1917 take a photograph, believed to confirm the existence of fairies.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) 7
The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards.
Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) 7
It's Toy Story/Shrek with feuding Shakespearean garden gnomes. Charming, bizarre and loaded with pop-culture gags.
Golden Compass, The (2007) 7
A fantasy adventure that rushes forward with a spectacle of soul-animals. Could be more engaging.
Green Mile, The (1999) 7
Death row guard Tom Hanks observes intelligent mice and the healing power of a prisoner.
Gruffalo's Child, The (2011) 7
The child of the Gruffalo ignores her father's warnings and seeks the Big Bad Mouse.
Hellboy (2004) 7
A good-hearted demon is produced in a black-magic Nazi ceremony. This is his story.
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron (2007) 7
Hellboy ends up battling the goddess Hecate after a professor resurrects a powerful female vampire.
Hunt for Gollum, The (2009) 7
Chris Bouchard's impressive Lord of the Rings film. Gandalf sends Strider out to find Gollum.
Idiots and Angels (2009) 7
Bill Plympton's animated dark comedy about a morally bankrupt man who wakes up with wings.
Ink (2009) 7
High-concept visual thriller that weaves the conscious with the subconscious. Falls down on unconvincing acting.
James and the Giant Peach (1996) 7
Roald Dahl's story of an orphan who befriends humanoid bugs living inside a giant peach.
Lawn Dogs (1998) 7
Ten-year-old Mischa Barton befriends the lawn cutter, a fellow outsider, in an upscale gated community.
Liar Liar (1997) 7
His disappointed son's birthday wish renders lawyer Jim Carrey incapable of lying for 24 hours.
Life Less Ordinary, A (1997) 7
Cleaning man Ewan McGregor takes Cameron Diaz hostage after being fired. Heaven offers romantic help.
Malice in Wonderland (2010) 7
A woman descends into a gritty underworld after encountering a London taxi driver. Clever update.
Moana (2016) 7
Disney musical set in Ancient Polynesia. A girl befriends a demigod to save her people.
Monster in Paris, A (2012) 7
In 1910 Paris, a monster from an eccentric scientist's greenhouse meets a beautiful cabaret singer.
Mood Indigo (2014) 7
Gondry outwhimsied himself with this bipolar stop-motion diorama. Like Pee-wee's Playhouse plus Amélie, n'est-ce pas?
Nines, The (2007) 7
The lives of a troubled actor, TV producer and video-game designer intertwine in mysterious ways.
Pete's Dragon (2016) 7
When a boy is orphaned in the forest, a magical dragon named Elliot protects him.
Phantom Boy (2016) 7
A boy whose illness allows him to float outside his body befriends a NYC cop.
Phoebe in Wonderland (2009) 7
An unconventional drama teacher inspires a troubled girl. Elle Fanning and Patricia Clarkson are amazing.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 7
A well-made Disney/Bruckheimer swashbuckling blockbuster, starring pirate Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley.
Princess and the Frog, The (2009) 7
Disney fairytale set in Jazz Age-era New Orleans. Waitress Tiana kisses a frog prince. Voodoo.
Ringu (2003) 7
A mysterious video kills all who watch it, unless the viewer can solve its mystery.
Saddest Music in the World, The (2004) 7
Guy Maddin oddity. A Canadian beer baroness organizes a saddest-music contest during the Great Depression.
Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The (2013) 7
In this remake, daydreaming photo manager Ben Stiller finds himself in an extraordinary real-life adventure.
Secret of Kells, The (2009) 7
A hand-drawn medieval adventure of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells. Intricate visuals.
Silent Hill (2006) 7
Fantastic atmosphere and set design. A grotesque purgatory of undead meat-creatures, cults, and zombie nurses.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) 7
Constable Icabod Crane is sent to a village to investigate murders by a headless horseman.
Spider-Man (2002) 7
Tobey Maguire is bitten by a genetically engineered spider and subsequently wins Kirsten Dunst's love.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) 7
Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Woodenly acted, but better than the first two episodes it is.
Stardust (2007) 7
A funny Neil Gaiman fairytale set in England that feels somewhat like The Princess Bride.
Superman Returns (2006) 7
Bryan Singer's reverent reboot of the Superman franchise. Good, but lacks surprises and new ideas.
Swiss Army Man (2016) 7
Surreal, earnest adventures of a stranded man and the gaseous corpse he befriends. Poetic slapstick?
Tin Man (2007) 7
Dark re-imagining of the Land of Oz. Zooey Deschanel stars in this three-part Sci-Fi miniseries.
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1998) 7
Jewel-toned, deadpan absurdity from the inimitable Guy Maddin. A kitschy, disorienting fantasy of frustrated desires.
Unbreakable (2000) 7
A mystery thriller about unrealized supernatural powers. Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson star.
Wall, The (2013) 7
A woman becomes trapped in her mountain cabin by an invisible wall. Human survival metaphor.
What Did Jack Do? (2020) 7
Short, absurd critique of the crime genre. Lynch interrogates a talking monkey suspected of murder.
X-Men (2000) 7
The superheroes from a private academy for mutants must oppose a powerful mutant terrorist organization.
X2: X-Men United (2003) 7
Mutants continue to struggle against fearful human society and are attacked by military forces.
Zero Theorem, The (2014) 7
A computer hacker trying to discover the meaning of life keeps being interrupted by Management.

FAIR

4th Dimension, The (2008) 6
Feels inspired by Eraserhead and Pi, but this Aphex Twin-scored meditation on reality ultimately disappoints.
Alice in Wonderland (1999) 6
A made-for-TV, family-friendly version with a cast of Hollywood all stars. It's hardly worth watching.
Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) 6
Mini-me, we do not gnaw on the kitty. Just pet him, stroke him, love him.
Beowulf (2007) 6
I am Beowulf! My lips don't move right and my eyes are dead. Corny, unsatisfying.
BFG, The (2016) 6
Spielberg-directed adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl book about giants and a 10-year-old British girl.
Bolt (2008) 6
A lovable cartoon dog movie. Plus, Miley Cyrus sounds like she drinks whiskey every night.
Butterfly Effect, The (2004) 6
An excellent concept. Did you really think Ashton Kutcher and friends could pull it off?
Byzantium (2013) 6
Two mysterious women take refuge in a seaside town. An outlandish but effective vampire story.
Cartoon Noir (1999) 6
Six oddball, animated shorts from five countries, featuring supernatural elements and darker themes. Mediocre.
City of Ember (2008) 6
An underground city is falling apart after 200 years. Fairly dark for a kids' movie.
Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2018) 6
Depicts a Basque fable about a cunning blacksmith who makes a pact with the devil.
Exterminating Angels, The (2007) 6
A provocative, high-minded exercise about sexual pleasure in film. It's self-indulgent and oh so French.
Family Man, The (2000) 6
On Christmas morning, investment broker Nicolas Cage wakes up in a life-altering Dickensian parallel universe.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) 6
Beautifully rendered CGI could not hold my interest. For Final Fantasy video game fans only.
Girl Asleep (2016) 6
Vibrant and fantastical. Chaotic caricature of a teenage girl coming of age in 1970s Australia.
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006) 6
A samurai sword sends Hellboy into a dangerous realm of Japanese legends, ghosts and monsters.
Heroes - Seasons 1-3 (2009) 6
Cleverly structured graphic novel in TV-show format about people with diverse superpowers. It became unwatchable.
Hubie Halloween (2020) 6
Adam Sandler the good-hearted simpleton, accompanied by SNL cast members past and present. Familiar, goofy.
Imagination (2007) 6
Eric Leiser's surreal experiment with puppetry, stop-motion sketches and claymation. And unconvincing actors.
Immortals (2011) 6
Tarsem's Greek epic succeeds at being a gorgeous, self-important spectacle. It's less enjoyable than 300.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) 6
Indy battles the Soviets in 1957. Spielberg/Lucas feature Area 51 and interdimensional cosmic Mayan nonsense.
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2014) 6
Strange, vivid fantasy about a boy with a mechanical heart. Disjointed script, uncanny valley characters.
John Carter (2012) 6
Hectic, violent CGI epic about Mars. Sort of fun, but I was never emotionally invested.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) 6
A young owl is abducted, but he escapes and seeks out the legendary Guardians.
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012) 6
Hyperactive disservice to Seuss. Teaches how to blindly consume and toss marshmallows to adorable bears.
Meet Joe Black (1998) 6
We have Brad Pitt as Death, media tycoon Anthony Hopkins, and intriguing daughter Claire Forlani.
Mirror Mirror (2012) 6
Visually stunning like all Tarsem movies, and Julia Roberts was cast appropriately, but jarringly jokey/dopey.
Multiplicity (1996) 6
Michael Keaton never has enough time, and so he has himself cloned. Andie MacDowell costars.
Night at the Museum (2006) 6
New night security guard Ben Stiller discovers that museum exhibits come to life at night.
Night Watch (2006) 6
First chapter of a derivative Russian fantasy epic featuring warring forces of daytime and nighttime.
Next (2007) 6
Nicholas Cage can see the future. An unsatisfying Philip K. Dick adaptation of slow-mo explosions.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) 6
An overlong cartoonish setup to the third movie in the Disney franchise. Johnny Depp shines.
Puss in Boots (2011) 6
Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek are swashbuckling cats in this Shrek spinoff. Generally cute, fun.
Ricky (2009) 6
French parable about a bizarre baby's physical development, his precocious sister and his irresponsible mother.
Shallow Hal (2001) 6
Shallow Jack Black falls in love with 300-pound Gwyneth Paltrow because of her inner beauty.
Small Soldiers (1998) 6
When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys go to war.
Southland Tales (2007) 6
Richard Kelly's dystopian, genre-defying mess of destruction and pop-culture doom. Bad actors cast on purpose?
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) 6
Jar Jar is muzzled, Yoda breaks out his light-saber, and Natalie Portman bares her midriff.
Stigmata (1999) 6
Hairdresser Patricia Arquette shows signs of stigmata, the wounds of Christ. A Vatican priest investigates.
Tangled (2010) 6
Disney's story of Rapunzel. A bland, computer-animated corporate musical that made me borderline suicidal.
Thor (2011) 6
The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of Asgard and sent to Earth.
Tideland (2006) 6
A young girl with drug-addicted parents creates a half-fantasy world with doll heads, deranged neighbors.
Upside Down (2013) 6
If you can somehow accept the ludicrous science/impossible physics, it's charming. An ambitious love story.
Whisker Away, A (2020) 6
A spastic junior-high girl transforms into a cat, hoping to receive a classmate's affection.
Wild Blue Yonder, The (2005) 6
Werner Herzog fashions a boring sci-fi documentary from beautiful undersea Antarctica footage and NASA video.
Zathura (2005) 6
A fairly charming family movie that explores childhood adventure. It's basically Jumanji in outer space.

ADEQUATE

Alice in Wonderland (2010) 5
Tim Burton took a story I love, stripped out the allegories and added CGI. Sigh.
Bedazzled (2000) 5
Brendan Fraser sells his soul to the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley) for seven wishes. Mindless remake.
Born of Hope (2009) 5
Kate Madison's Lord of the Rings prequel, based on Tolkien's appendix paragraphs. Decent low-budget effort.
Bruce Almighty (2003) 5
Reporter Jim Carrey is given almighty powers to teach him how difficult God's job is.
City of Angels (1998) 5
Celestial duty or earthly love? Will angel Nicolas Cage become human for Meg Ryan? Sappy!
Crow: City of Angels, The (1996) 5
The spirit of the Crow resurrects another man seeking revenge for his son's murder.
Daredevil (2003) 5
Ben Affleck, who can't act, zipped into a maroon bodysuit. Enough said.
Down to Earth (2001) 5
After dying before his time, aspiring comic Chris Rock is reincarnated as a wealthy businessman.
End of Days (1999) 5
Satan visits New York in search of a bride. It's Arnold Schwarzenegger, pyrotechnics, and CGI.
Fantastic Four (2005) 5
Exposure to cosmic radiation creates superhero scientists: Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing, and Jessica Alba.
Final Destination (2000) 5
It begins with a plane crash and demonstrates that you can't cheat predestined death. Much.
Final Destination 2 (2003) 5
Ali Larter is back on Death's path of destruction. Features gruesome accidents galore.
Gnome Alone (2017) 5
Help garden gnomes battle the Troggs and save the world? Or befriend wicked teenage girls?
Home (2015) 5
Adorable cuttlefish-like aliens attack Earth, then learn to love Rihanna's music. I guess? Zany, underdeveloped.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) 5
A live-action remake of the Dr. Seuss book, starring Jim Carrey and cheerfully crass consumerism.
Joe's Apartment (1996) 5
Joe discovers he shares his run-down New York apartment with thousands of singing, dancing cockroaches.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) 5
Brendan Fraser travels to Iceland looking for Verne's lost subterranean world. Turn off your brain.
Last Days of the World, The (2011) 5
A bored Japanese teenager learns that Earth will be destroyed. Surreal, kinky and borderline exploitative.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The (2003) 5
In an alternate Victorian Age world, Captain Nemo, Tom Sawyer, and Dr. Jekyll join forces.
Little Nicky (2000) 5
Adam Sandler is one of Satan's sons. Patricia Arquette's elastic underwear-band saves her from Hell.
One and Two (2015) 5
Siblings with teleportation powers live with their abusive father on an isolated Mennonite-like farmstead. WTF.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) 5
This Disney pirate saga is worse than its predecessor (again). Yo-ho-horribly incoherent. Franchise over yet?
Practical Magic (1998) 5
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are cursed sisters with a hereditary gift for practical magic.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) 5
A live-action video game featuring a special dagger that can reverse time. Disposable Bruckheimer cinema.
Race to Witch Mountain (2009) 5
Good, family-friendly Disney fun that damages your will to live. Spectacularly bland and poorly written.
Saiyûki Vol. 1: The Journey Begins (2003) 5
A Dragonball Z-like anime adventure of four heroes traveling West to confront a powerful demon.
Spider-Man 3 (2007) 5
Boring/incoherent/awkward for 90 minutes, then three minutes of cool, then Venom and the climactic battle.
Spirit, The (2008) 5
Frank Miller's self-aware film noir is gorgeous, vapid, overacted and emotionless. Based on Eisner's comics.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) 5
Terribly written dialogue combined with expensive special effects. Jar Jar Binks is unbelievably annoying.
Sucker Punch (2011) 5
Surreal, masturbatory fantasy. Cabaret dancers with guns battle samurai, steampunk Nazis, orcs, dragons and robots.
Underworld (2003) 5
Aristocratic vampire warrior Kate Beckinsale battles werewolf street-thugs in some gothic city. Silly as hell.
What Dreams May Come (1998) 5
Fantastic visuals and lots of death. Robin Williams tries to track down his wife's soul.
Wrinkle in Time, A (2018) 5
I watched for the tesseracts. So much promise, an enormous budget, with TV-grade acting. Perplexing.

FROM BAD TO WORSE

10,000 BC (2008) CRAP
Anti-visionary Roland Emmerich directs this dumb prehistoric epic. It's dull, preposterous and sanitized for kids.
13 Seconds (2004) CRAP
I was cost-effectively bored by this cliché-ridden indie splatter film. Unbearably amateurish and uncreepy.
Batman & Robin (1997) CRAP
Batman George Clooney, Uma Thurman and Alicia Silverstone starred in this contrived, colossal waste.
Day Without a Mexican, A (2004) CRAP
California's entire Hispanic population vanishes into pink fog. Satirical premise is thoroughly beaten to death.
Eragon (2006) CRAP
A bad movie about dragons, dragon riders, a Shade's dark magic and evil King Galbatorix.
Flubber (1997) CRAP
This remake stars absent-minded professor Robin Williams who creates a rubber-like super-bouncy substance.
Just Like Heaven (2005) CRAP
Reese Witherspoon, in spirit form, inhabits architect Mark Ruffalo's apartment in this formulaic romantic comedy.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) CRAP
Pointless and dull, with lame CGI. As if artifact-collector Angelina Jolie needed extra bra padding.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) CRAP
Angelina Jolie is searching for Pandora's box. Alas, beauty and special effects don't equal quality.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) CRAP
Bridgette Wilson was a much better Sonya Blade. The dialogue was likely written by monkeys.
Scooby-Doo (2002) CRAP
Matthew Lillard's Shaggy impression is great, but the rest of this live-action adaptation is useless.
Spawn (1997) CRAP
A killed mercenary returns to walk the Earth after making deal with the devil.
Spice World (1997) CRAP
This plotless gibberish about the Spice Girls phenomenon is not bad enough to be good.
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (2017) CRAP
An awkward explorer, with Peruvian mummy sidekick, versus a millionaire looking for King Midas' necklace.
Underworld: Evolution (2006) CRAP
Acting-challenged vampire Kate Beckinsale is still battling werewolves, but now with extra CGI incoherence.

Statistical ratings distribution of these 269 films

bell curve

6.5

CRAP

10:

5.2%

16.4%

21.6%

21.9%

17.1%

12.3%

CRAP:

5.6%

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Movie Ratings & Reviews

Fantasy Films (1996-2024)