Star Wars: The Force Awakens

#197 at the time of writing.

I've warmed to the original Star Wars since I blogged about it - ok, I admit, it is a brilliant film. (Though I've cooled to the sequel.) But I've never been excited about Star Wars.

Until this film came along.

J. J. Abrams did it with Star Trek, and I believed he could do it again. Perhaps I got caught up in the hype, but I was really looking forward to watching this, and it exceeded my expectations. It successfully walked the tightrope between modern and nostalgic, while keeping up a great pace and sharp wit throughout. Yes, it's basically a remake, but it's fresh, and it effectively reboots the franchise in a direction that has captivated new generations - and me. Without a Jedi in sight.

In particular, Rey kicks ass in a way that I - and my daughter - would love to see more of on the big screen.

I love that relatively untested actors were used. It's a testament to the legend that Star Wars has built up for itself that John Boyega was so nervous and frightened at the prospect of not getting the role that he didn't tell his parents he'd been cast until after a cast photo was posted online by the official Star Wars Twitter page, and Daisy Ridley nearly had a panic attack during her first day on set when she feared her performance wasn't up to scratch.

George Lucas, thank you for letting go. Bring on the sequels.

Neat trivia: John Williams received his 50th Oscar nomination for scoring this film. Oh, and this is the third movie in history to reach the $2 billion mark after Avatar (2009) and Titanic (1997).

Star Trek Into Darkness

#184 at the time of writing.

J. J. Abrams set the bar high with his reboot of the Star Trek film franchise, and with this sequel he has delivered against high expectations. Again, he has produced a film that works independently as sci-fi thriller fare yet while remaining rooted in the Star Trek universe.

And it is thrilling indeed. I found myself at the edge of my sat so often that at one point I suspected the story was just a bunch of how-will-they-make-it-out-of-this-one set-pieces strung together. But of course the heroes prevail, without too many plot holes or deus ex machina.

Ultimately, this is thoroughly satisfying, and I'll be first in the queue to see number three in the series. (But oh no! Mr Abrams won't be at the helm! He'll be too busy directing Star Wars VII...)

I'm sure this film has yet to reach its peak on the IMDb ranking. However, I reckon that when the dust settles, this film's ranking will follow its predecessor's and plummet. Whether it clings on to the Top 250 or not remains to be seen.

Star Trek

#82 at time of writing.

Batman Begins did it. The Pink Panther did it. The Incredible Hulk did it. And now, Star Trek has rebooted too. This is not a straightforward prequel to the franchise, but a resetting of the entire story world. The rules have been rewritten, and now anything can happen.

And, wow, director J.J. Abrams has set the bar high.

This is the fourth film in the series to use time travel as a plot device. An extremely disgruntled Romulan is accidentally cast 150 years into the past, determined to avenge the destruction of his home planet (which hasn’t, of course, happened yet), coincidentally arriving at the moment of James T. Kirk’s birth. Thus, an alternative timeline begins.

Now, I’m a Next Generation guy. Shatner was too smug for me, and DS9 was trying too hard. But this? This I can get on board with.

I was grabbed right from the opening scene: We've all seen epic space battles before, but grounding the action with the emotional and intensely human experience of giving birth (while the daddy is about to be blasted to smithereens) - that gets my attention.

After watching this, I watched a bunch of old Star Trek on You Tube. Tribbles rock.