Max Farrow

The Lion King improves one key sequence from the original film (when Rafiki discovers Simba has survived) by tying it into the Circle of Life, highlighting what Disney remakes should be doing.

Spider-Man's secret identity has always been a core part of his character - but Marvel's Spider-Man movies have let a lot of people in on the secret, and this raises a lot of issues for the franchise in the future.

Avengers: Endgame could have been a stronger, more satisfying movie if Iron Man’s (Robert Downey Jr.) most mystical and crucial scene had not been removed.

Doctor Who’s title famously demands answers from the mysterious, heroic Time Lord, but no detail is more elusive in the show than the Doctor’s age.

Iago is more realistic in the 2019 Aladdin remake - but by changing Jafar's bird companion, the movie loses both its humor and heart.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will complete Disney’s Sequel Trilogy, but the upcoming movie – and its two predecessors – have retroactively made Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi the saddest film of the Star Wars series.

The MCU has gotten a lot right over its 10-year, 22-movie, $20 billion dollar run, but it wasn't until Endgame they finally brought musical cohesion.

Darth Vader’s climatic massacre is a crowd-pleaser, but it doesn’t quite fit in with the movie that surrounds it.

Avengers: Endgame provides an epic and emotional conclusion to Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga, but it squanders a meaningful end for Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his character arc.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Thor seeks out a "Thanos killing" weapon, but his new axe may have a more fundamental purpose - giving him his powers back.

Gellert Grindelwald’s apocalyptic vision of World War II in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has proven to be the film’s most contentious scene. Indeed, its callback to specific points of real-world history have been criticized for their questionable implications, and that's what leads Grindelwald's vision in The Crimes of Grindelwald’s to be so divisive.

With his use of fish-eye lenses, jarring music and many other modern inflections, director Yorgos Lanthimos has ensured that The Favourite is a stylised – and surreal – period piece unlike any other. As such, it can be difficult to interpret The Favourite’s ending, and whether the film’s more colorful moments - such as duck racing and the central sexual relationships – actually happened.

Doctor Who’s New Year special “Resolution” may have thrilled audiences with the return of the Doctor’s arch-enemies, but “Dalek” still stands as the best Dalek-centric episode of the modern era.

Into the Spider-Verse may feature the most Spider-People ever seen in a movie (so far), but Miles Morales is the core of the film. As its protagonist, Spider-Verse relates his origin story as he transforms into the hero of his dimension. But through him, Into the Spider-Verse is able to approach the legend of Spider-Man from an alternative perspective. As a result, Into the Spider-Verse is an intimate – yet comprehensive – look at what the wall-crawler represents within pop culture - and what he means to his fans as well.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald made a strong case that Jude Law’s Dumbledore should be the series' protagonist, rather than Newt Scamander. Law’s screen time is limited, but impactful - and it’s clear that many fans wanted to see more of him throughout The Crimes of Grindelwald. Of course, the second Fantastic Beasts movie is clearly setting Law’s Dumbledore up for an even larger role as the franchise progresses. But based on The Crimes of Grindelwald alone, it’s clear that this prequel series should have always been Dumbledore-centric.

Film watching at Christmas time can be a prickly dilemma. Not only do we have to face the endless debate over whether each film is a Christmas Movie or not (ie. Die Hard), we also must consider that quite a few of them…well, aren’t that great. Indeed, some simply endure as holiday mainstays because they provide that requisite jolt of nostalgia and festive cheer (looking at you, Santa Claus: The Movie). That isn’t to say that there aren’t any great Christmas movies. Indeed, The Snowman and The Muppet Christmas Carol rank among the nation’s favourites, and even the most Bah-Humbug of Brits find it hard to resist watching such stellar pieces of entertainment. But one film that should be counted among this venerated group of movies is the criminally underrated Arthur Christmas.

Soon, Spider-Man will have starred in more films than his fellow superhero icons Superman and Batman. But as his rocky production history suggests, each of his cinematic exploits has arrived with varying degrees of success. From his pizza-delivering days to his inter-dimensional battles, let’s look back on all of Spider-Man’s big screen adventures and rank them all, from worst to best.

Season 11 of Doctor Who has delighted the majority of its viewers, although the show has not been a flawless run of episodes. The newly revamped sci-fi show has drawn high ratings and acclaim from critics and fans alike. From Alan Cumming's outrageous King James I, to the destructive cuteness of the Pting, online discussions about the show have been praised many of the show's newest adventures. In short, it seems that the show's most drastic changes have been met with approval. Yet that isn't to say that season 11 has been faultless. There has been plenty of things for Whovians to enjoy, such as the upgraded production value and the calibre of its new performers. Yet there are concerns that Doctor Who's new writing team has forgotten what routines and hallmarks made the show as successful as it was – to detrimental effect.

The biggest problem plaguing the Fantastic Beasts movie series isn't J.K. Rowling’s scripting efforts – it's director David Yates. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is currently the worst-reviewed movie in the Harry Potter franchise, with 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them being the second worst-reviewed movie in the series. It's true that many of Fantastic Beasts 2's problems do stem from the franchise’s creator. After all J.K. Rowling has a considerable amount of creative control over all of the Wizarding World’s projects. But filmmaking is not the same as novel-writing. It’s a far more collaborative process.

Doctor Who’s new opening titles have delighted viewers with their retro-styled bombast but removing the show’s cold open has harmed its latest episodes. Doctor Who has undergone some major changes over the course of 2018. The world’s longest-running sci-fi TV show has returned with a new showrunner, a new TARDIS interior, and, most importantly, a new Doctor. As the first-ever female in the title role, Jodie Whitaker's Doctor has charmed fans with her enthusiastic and refreshing take on the centuries-old Time Lord. But, aside from its casting, Doctor Who’s format has also experienced a radical restructuring.