Films like Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa (2005) reads as Sombre, breathless, measured fantasy / action, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, epic, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Immortals (2011) poster
1. Immortals2011

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Daredevil (2003) poster
2. Daredevil2003

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Dredd (2012) poster
3. Dredd2012

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007) poster
4. Appleseed: Ex Machina2007

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

We Are from the Future (2008) poster
5. We Are from the Future2008

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Expelled from Paradise (2014) poster
6. Expelled from Paradise2014

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Matrix (1999) poster
7. The Matrix1999

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) poster
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2005

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) poster
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2007

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) poster
10. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children2005

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014) poster
11. The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom2014

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) poster
12. Atlantis: The Lost Empire2001

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

These are Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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