Anaconda (1997)

A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.

Tongue-in-cheek creature feature with an A-list cast doesn't quite do the trick, but is mildly enjoyable, mainly due to Jon Voight's smog over-the-top villain performance.

Halliwell (no star): "A bungled rip-off of Jaws, with Voight, who seems to relish his role as an expert snake-hunter, providing what like a parody of Brando at his most excessive; otherwise the action is decidedly tame."

Maltin**: "Hokey special effects and an expositionless script detract, but there's campy fun in the form of Voight's demonic snake poacher...Film makes most of beautiful Brazilian rainforest locale, yet the big serpentine climax looks strangely like deepest, darkest Arcadia."

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when their father announces he is terminally ill.

Elaborately produced and obsessed with details, the story itself hardly goes anywhere, and the star cast is treated like pawns in a game of chess.

Halliwell*: "The fun here lies in the details - dalmatian-spotted mice, battered taxicabs, the elegant pages of an imaginary book - rather in the disjointed narrative, which sets the scene deftly and then collapses."

Maltin**1/2: "Rambling comedy has the same likable, eccentric qualities as the filmmakers' BOTTLE ROCKET and RUSHMORE and benefits from Hackman's savvy performance, but strains for effect and essentially has no story."

Zoolander (2001)

At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Deliberately silly, but actually entertaining spoof with lots of stars cameos; the cast seem to be enjoying the show.

Halliwell*: "Energetic farce that aims to be a satire on pop culture, but is too toothless for the task."

Maltin**1/2: "Clever comedy...Funny gags, satiric ideas, eye-popping production design, and celebrity cameos...make this fun for a while, but it can't sustain an entire film."

Armageddon (1998)

After discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas is going to impact Earth in less than a month, N.A.S.A. recruits a misfit team of deep core drillers to save the planet.

A classic doomsday premise executed with a big budget is ruined by a silly plot and a chaotic ending.

On renewed viewing: a bit more entertaining, if you don't take to too seriously.

Halliwell (no star): "Loud and brainless action movie that was among the top box-office successes of 1998."

Maltin**: "Opens with a bang, and sets up an exciting (if improbable) story...After a while it becomes so routine, so predictable, and so redundant that all the fun is drained away."

Midnight in Paris (2011)

While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Very light comedy without any depth you might expect from its director, but the fatnatstical encounters with historical figures are quite entertaining.

Maltin***: "A divertissement from Allen filled with wistful charm, although it won't stand up to scrutiny; either you go along with its fantasy premise or you don't. Wilsin is the best in a long line of Woody surrogates because he truly makes the part his own."