Batman Returns
{3.5/5} “What I’d like to do first is put these little glove things on you. Research tells us that voters like fingers.” Batman Returns, released in 1992 Oswald Cobblepot was so ugly as a baby that his parents threw him over a bridge. He survived, and was raised by penguins. Decades later Max Shreck wants […]
Futurama: Bender’s Game
{3.5/5} “I was working in Mom’s laboratories for the third time, after twice before realizing how evil she was and vowing never to work for her again.” Futurama: Bender’s Game, released in 2009 There’s a dark matter shortage, so fuel prices are up. When a couple of guys insult the Planet Express ship, Leela vows […]
Suzume
{3.5/5} “We don’t have any cats.” Suzume, released in 2022 Suzume stumbles across a man, Souta, who asks her if there are any abandoned areas with doors around. She tells him where one is, and then follows him to see what’s going on. It turns out his job is to close magical doors when something […]
The Portable Door
{3.5/5} “‘So, what is it you do here?’ ‘We do what we can.’” The Portable Door, released in 2023 Paul gets hired for an intern position even though the interview went terribly. He starts working for the mysterious company J.W. Wells and Co. They use magic in order to influence people, for a few seconds, […]
Vesper
{3.5/5} “It isn’t human. It won’t feel a thing.” Vesper, released in 2022 Vesper trudges through muck to look for things that are edible to keep her and her father alive. Her father is sick, and can’t get out of bed. She sometimes trades her blood for what she needs. But when someone sabotages her […]
Disenchanted
{3.5/5} “I love festivals, we have them all the time where I come from. They were usually interrupted by evil forces of some kind, but when they weren’t they really brought people together.” Disenchanted, released in 2022 Giselle and Robert decide to move to Monroeville, but teenaged Morgan isn’t happy about it. Morgan doesn’t have […]
Orbiter 9
{3.5/5} “I know this is going to sound crazy to you, but we’re not where you think.” Orbiter 9, released in 2017 Helena is on a colony ship, alone and running out of oxygen — she only has the computer to keep her company. But a ship with an engineer is coming. Her parents left […]
Three Thousand Years of Longing
{3.5/5} “I wish I could forget I ever met you.” Three Thousand Years of Longing, released in 2022 Alithea is a narratologist, trying to make sense of the world’s stories. While in Istanbul to give a talk, she buys a glass bottle in a shop. Back in her hotel room, while cleaning it the top […]
Big Bug
{3.5/5} “Too bad. I’d started knitting you a wool scarf.” Big Bug, released in 2022 A few people have dropped by Alice’s house — her neighbour Françoise, who when her dog dies always clones a new one. And her ex-husband Victor along with their daughter Nina and his new girlfriend Jennifer. The house AI locks […]
Star Trek: Nemesis
{3.5/5} “Will Riker, you have been my trusted right arm for fifteen years. You have kept my course true and steady. Deanna Troi, you’ve been my guide… and my conscience. You have helped me recognize the better parts of myself.” Star Trek: Nemesis, released in 2002 The Enterprise-E detects a positronic signature and they head […]