Dune (2021)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419

Review: Too long and about as impenetrable as its source material but brings enough spectacle and technical awe to carry it through.

Watch it if: You're ok with something significantly straight faced and dry.

And if you liked: The Lord of the Rings, Blade Runner 2049, Arrival

The Addams Family 2

Director: Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon, Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11125620

Review: Manages to not overly offend but feels like half of 2 undercooked films hastily slapped together.

Watch it if: You want something light and mildly distracting.

And if you liked: The Addams Family, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

The Empty Man

Director: David Prior

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5867314

Review: Suffers a little in its digital moments but brings a fresh and moody angle on a rich and tense premise.

Watch it if: You can overlook a few rough bits of VFX.

And if you liked: It Follows, Ringu, The Mothman Prophecies, Angel Heart

Check this out: The Empty Man

Titane

Director: Julia Ducournau

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10944760

Review: A beyond intense rollercoaster of physicality that keeps you guessing and shook all the way to the end.

Watch it if: You have a a high tolerance for some pretty gnarly body stuff.

And if you liked: Raw, Crash, The Imposter

The Shallows

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4052882

Review: Some beautiful visuals and decent ideas somewhat tainted by a descent into CG action towards the end.

Watch it if: You're interested in a slightly more minimalist shark movie.

And if you liked: The Reef, 47 Meters Down

Halloween Kills

Director: David Gordon Green

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10665338

Review: More successful outside of familiar franchise territory than in it but still brings a few novel ideas to the mix.

Watch it if: You're ok with some fairly gruesome violence.

And if you liked: Halloween, Halloween (2018), The Crazies

No Time to Die

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2382320

Review: A solid ending for the era with a good handle on tone and a genuine streak of emotion running through it.

Watch it if: You're into James Bond movies.

And if you liked: Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre

Krull

Director: Peter Yates

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085811

Review: Some interesting pieces of design work floating in a meandering and uninteresting soup of vague fantasy without anything really solid to latch on to.

Watch it if: You're interested in that era's attempts to recreate the Star Wars magic.

And if you liked: Dune, Time Bandits, The Dark Crystal, Willow

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Director: Andy Serkis

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7097896

Review: Ramps up the chaos and unhinged nature of the original which leaves some early development lacking but never loses steam on delivering a constant blast of bonkers fun.

Watch it if: You want something that throws something new at you every five minutes.

And if you liked: Venom, Resident Evil

The Phantom of the Opera

Director: Rupert Julian

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016220

Review: Moody and spooky with impressive sets and great special effects.

Watch it if: You've somehow never seen it like me.

And if you liked: Nosferatu, Dracula, Frankenstein

Check this out: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra