Bruce Willis, Mos Def, Richard Donner

Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Judd Apatow Cult comic actor Steve Carell—long adored for his supporting work on The Daily Show and in movies like Bruce Almighty and Anchorman—leaps into leading man status with The 40 Year-Old Virgin. There's no point describing the plot; it's about how a 40 year-old virgin named Andy (Carell) finally finds true love and gets laid. Along the way, there are very funny scenes involving being coached by his friends, speed dating, being propositioned by his female manager, and getting his chest waxed. Carell finds both humour and humanity in Andy, and the supporting cast includes some standout comic work from Paul Rudd (Clueless, The Shape of Things) and Jane Lynch (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), as well as an unusually straight performance from Catherine Keener (Lovely & Amazing, Being John Malkovich). And yet... something about the movie misses the mark. It skirts around the topic of male sexual anxiety, mining it for easy jokes, but never really digs into anything that would make the men in the audience actually squirm—and it's a lot less funny as a result. Nonetheless, there are many great bits, and Carell deserves the chance to shine. —Bret Fetzer

Gerard Butler, Rodrigo Santoro, Zack Snyder

Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Ridley Scott A slow burning, yet entirely gripping, mobster film, American Gangster pits Denzel Washington's Frank Lucas against Russell Crowe's law enforcer Richie Roberts. Spread over a necessarily prolonged running time, their story is then brutally, expertly, told.

And while American Gangster isn't in the league of prime Scorsese and Coppolla classics (such as Goodfellas and The Godfather), it's the nearest we've come in quite some time to something of that ilk. It's all based on a true story, which does mean you need to forgive it some of its obvious narrative conventions, yet this also lends it a gravitas that the film eagerly makes the most of.

It's great too to see British director Ridley Scott tackling meatier material again. This is the man, after all, who gave us Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, and he duly delivers with American Gangster. His finest work it isn't, but an engrossing, explosive and hard-as-nails drama it absolutely is.

What's more, American Gangster is powered by two of the finest leading men working in Hollywood right now, and it's terrific to see Washington and Crowe on top form here. And while in cinematic terms it's hardly a film that treads new ground, it's nonetheless a proper, grown-up and engrossing movie, and a very good one at that. —Jon Foster

David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, John Landis

Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ron Howard Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor, Stellan SkarsgårdDirectors: Ron Howard

Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ron Howard NASA's worst nightmare turned into one of the space agency's most heroic moments in 1970, when the Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton play (respectively) astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise in director Ron Howard's intense, painstakingly authentic docudrama. The Apollo 13 crew and Houston-based mission controllers race against time and heavy odds to return the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth from a distance of 205,500 miles. Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious film-making techniques, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build nail-biting tension while maintaining close fidelity to the facts. The result is a fitting tribute to the Apollo 13 mission and one of the biggest box-office hits of 1995. —Jeff Shannon

Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Joe Wright Atonement reunites Keira Knightley with her Pride & Prejudice director, Joe Wright, for the movie based on Ian McEwan’s book of the same name. The result? Once of the most widely acclaimed pictures of 2007.

Atonement tells the story of Cecilia Tallis (Knightley), and the housekeeper’s son, Robbie Turner (played by the increasingly prevalent James McAvoy). Set during the heat of 1935, their coming together and the ensuing drama brings in Cecilia’s thirteen-year old sister, Briony, whose actions prove to have far-reaching repercussions.

With a terrific cast and superb direction from the aforementioned Wright, it’s utterly understandable as to how Atonement has earned itself such praise. Diligently told, with some superb photography, Wright is blessed by terrific central performances by Knightley and McAvoy, both of whom have never been better. His trick also is to get the pacing of the film bang-on, taking his time to build up and layer events before he looks for any kind of pay off.

As a result, as Atonement heads into its latter stages, it proves itself as a top quality drama, with a real emotional punch. Furthermore, it’s one of the increasingly rare breed of films that sticks in your head for days after.

As a result, for once, it really is worth seeing what critics the world over have been raving about: Atonement really is something very special indeed. —Jon Foster

Koji Yakusho, Brad Pitt, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Ron Howard

Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson In retrospect, Batman Begins is perhaps even more of a towering achievement than we first realised. Arriving eight years after the franchise-killing Batman & Robin, it managed to not only shine fresh light on the Batman franchise, but also emerge as a template for what a top notch comic book movie should be.

Much of the credit, of course, should go to the pairing of Christian Bale and director Christopher Nolan. Bale steps where the likes of Michael Keaton, Adam West and George Clooney have stepped before, and yet his Batman is darker and more complex than any of them.

Behind the camera is perhaps Batman Begins’ secret weapon, as Nolan—previously responsible for Memento among others—rewards the gamble to give him the job in the first place. His film is packed full of memorable characters, and he draws together a staggering cast, yet none of them are shortchanged. From Rutger Hauer’s brief cameo as head of Wayne Enterprises through to Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson and Liam Neeson, it’s the finest cast in a film of this ilk since the first Superman.

The film’s belated Blu-ray debut has, fortunately, been worth the wait, with the reference-quality 1080p image simply sparkling on any screen that can handle the resolution. Backed up with a thumping surround sound mix, this is superb work, and it’s fitting that it should be used on a film of this quality. Now? We just need The Dark Knight to join it in high definition. That’s what you’d call a double bill...-Jon Foster

Surely in the running to be the best television series of the past decade, the stunning revival of Battlestar Galactica is perhaps only nudged out of first place by The Wire. But it’s a tight-run race, and across the four seasons in this collected box set, there’s some of the best science fiction television of all time.

Sadly, the fact that it’s a science fiction show on the exterior is likely to put some off Battlestar Galactica. It really shouldn’t. The writers superbly weave in politics, religion, action, and excellent character work, bringing together an outstanding company of actors. Edwards James Olmos and Mary McDonnell are the stand-outs, but there are so many performances of note, it’s hard to highlight too many more. It goes without saying, of course, that the majority of science fiction enthusiasts will be blown away by many of the collected episodes here.

And, bluntly, it’s a real treat to watch them in high definition. While perhaps the earlier episodes of Battlestar Galactica don’t look quite as striking as the later instalments, this is still a show with high production values that gleam in high definition. Cinematically shot and engrossing right through to its challenging ending, Battlestar Galactica is quality television, and it’s never looked better than it does on Blu-ray. —Jon Foster

One of the best shows on television looks better than ever as Battlestar Galactica: Season One arrives on HD DVD. Relive all 13 thrilling episodes plus the four-hour miniseries that started it all in this six disc set. When a surprise Cylon attack scatters the remnants of humanity throughout the galaxy, it's up to steely President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and battle-hardened Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) to unite the desperate survivors and seek mankind's only chance for a future, a mythical planet called Earth. Presented in 1080P with Dolby TrueHD audio and showcasing U-Control features that allow you to go deeper into the BSG universe, Battlestar Galactica: Season One on HD DVD is gripping drama that explores the human condition at its worst … and its best.

Eric Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Eva Marie Saint

Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalised by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf—lured by the promise of heroic glory—comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights—particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut—pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). —Bret Fetzer

Jeff Bridges, Ben Gazzara, Joel Coen

Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ridley Scott

Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Ridley Scott To call this cut of Blade Runner ‘long awaited’ would be a heavy, heavy understatement. It’s taken 25 years since the first release of one of the science-fiction genre’s flagship films to get this far, and understandably, Blade Runner: The Final Cut has proved to be one of the most eagerly awaited DVD releases of all time.

And it’s been well worth the wait. Director Ridley Scott’s decision to head back to the edit suite and cut together one last version of his flat-out classic film has been heavily rewarded, with a genuinely definitive version of an iconic, visually stunning and downright intelligent piece of cinema. Make no mistake: this is by distance the best version of Blade Runner. And it’s never looked better, either.

The core of Blade Runner, of course, remains the same, with Harrison Ford’s Deckard (the Blade Runner of the title) on the trail of four ‘replicants’, cloned humans that are now illegal. And he does so across an amazing cityscape that’s proven to be well ahead of its time, with astounding visuals that defied the supposed limits of special effects back in 1982.

Backed up with a staggering extra features package that varies depending on which version of this Blade Runner release you opt for (two-, four- and five-disc versions are available), the highlight nonetheless remains the stunning film itself. Remastered and restored, it remains a testament to a number of creative people whose thinking was simply a country mile in advance of that of their contemporaries. An unmissable purchase. —Jon Foster

Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Speck, Josh Gordon Take two male figure skaters, throw in a preposterous storyline, and you've got Blades of Glory, a surprisingly funny film that almost makes you forgive Will Ferrell for his back-to-back 2005 clunkers Kicking & Screaming and Bewitched. This time around, Ferrell eats the scenery in his role as a sex-addicted, cocky skating champ named Chazz Michael Michaels. When he gets into an on-podium fight with his nemesis and co-gold medallist Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder, Napoleon Dynamite), both skaters are banned from competing in men's figure-skating events. Forever.

Their fall from grace is brutal. Chazz is forced to work for a D-list skating show, while pampered Jimmy is disowned by his wealthy and cold-hearted adoptive father (excellently played by William Fichtner), who only wants to be around winners. When Jimmy points out that he tied for gold, his dad cruelly says, "If I wanted to share, I would've bought you a brother." Flash forward 3-1/2 years and Jimmy's No. 1 stalker Hector (Nick Swardson) says he's found a loophole. Jimmy's been banned from men's singles events, but there's nothing that says he can't compete in pairs skating. After a chance meeting with Chazz, mayhem ensues as the two rivals team up to go against the brother-and-sister team of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (played by Will Arnett and his real-life wife, Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live and Mean Girls fame). The Van Waldenbergs will stop at nothing to beat the competition, even if that means literally beating up the competition. They have no qualms manipulating their sweet little sister (Jenna Fischer, The Office USA) to seduce both men to try to break up the team.

The finale will be no surprise to moviegoers who know that comedies like this aren't set up to make its leading men losers. But there is one brief skating sequence set in North Korea that will surprise (and shock) many viewers because of its brutality. Ferrell and Heder make a great comedy team. Though he has been accused of playing the same role since his breakthrough performance in Napoleon Dynamite and, to a certain extent, plays a similar type of role here, Heder is spot-on as Jimmy. He manages to convey innocence, bitterness, and longing—all within the span of a few seconds and while wearing a peacock unitard (You can understand why Hector is so enthralled with him). Look for guest appearances by real-life skating champs Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Kerrigan, and Sasha Cohen, who gets to sniff Chazz's jockstrap. —Jae-Ha Kim

Gillian Anderson, Patrick Kennedy, Justin Chadwick, Susanna White

Basil Wallace, Jennifer Connelly, Edward Zwick

Philip Seymour Hoffman, January Jones, Richard Curtis Philip Seymour Hoffman, January Jones, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick FrostDirector: Richard Curtis

Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Oliver Stone

Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Paul Greengrass

Jodie Foster, Terence Howard, Neil Jordan

Cher, Christina Aguilera, Steve Antin There is, according to Burlesque, a nightclub on the Sunset Strip that looks like a blend of Cabaret and Moulin Rouge and employs a full contingent of dancers and musicians in the service of a neo-retro-burlesque-blues program. Presiding over the craziness within is Tess, a grande dame who also performs occasionally and who could only, under these circumstances, be played by Cher. Entering the scene is a young leather-lunged hopeful from Iowa named Ali, played by Christina Aguilera in her movie-acting debut. The vibe of this glitzy concoction is more Flashdance than Showgirls, despite prerelease predictions that the film would be a campfest of epic proportions. In fact, it's more cornball than trashy. Ali hits most of the clichés of the genre: defying Tess's skepticism by proving her mettle during an impromptu stage number; flirting with the nice-guy bartender (Cam Gigandet, of Twilight) whose home she shares for a while, in a purely platonic way, of course, just until she gets her feet on the ground; and keeping a wary eye on the high roller (Eric Dane, of Grey's Anatomy) who wants to possess her, because, you see, he takes whatever he likes. And did we mention that Tess is facing foreclosure on the club in a month's time? Seriously, you didn't see that coming? Writer-director Steve Antin has no embarrassment about putting any of this across, which may be why it all feels weirdly innocent, if relentlessly silly. Stanley Tucci revives his gay assistant from The Devil Wears Prada, Alan Cumming lurks about in an undefined role that might well have been filmed months after everybody else, and Kristen Bell enjoys a few wicked-witch moments as Ali's main rival. Aguilera, needless to say, belts out her songs as only someone with a very large voice can, and Cher stops the show with an old-fashioned torch song ("You Haven't Seen the Last of Me") that is clearly designed as a roof-raiser. (And, by gum, it works.) This is a ridiculous movie, but it gets points for never claiming to be anything else. —Robert Horton

Special Features:
movieIQTM+sync featuring the Burlesque playlistDirector's CommentaryAlternate OpeningThe Burlesque Lounge: Alternate Full Musical Performances!Blooper ReelBurlesque is Back!The Performers: The Cast of BurlesqueSetting the Stage: Production Design & PerformersInside the Dressing Room: Creating the Burlesque LookThe Set List: The Music & Choreography of BurlesquePlus - BD Live

Al Pacino, Richard Foronjy, Brian De Palma

Sharon Stone, Frankie Avalon, Martin Scorsese

Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham-Carter, Johnny Depp, AnnaSophia Robb

Clive Owen, Oana Pellea, Alfonso Cuaron *Spoiler alert*

Presenting a bleak, harrowing, and yet ultimately hopeful vision of humankind's not-too-distant future, Children of Men is a riveting cautionary tale of potential things to come. Set in the crisis-ravaged future of 2027, and based on the atypical 1993 novel by British mystery writer P.D. James, the anxiety-inducing, action-packed story is set in a dystopian England where humanity has become infertile (the last baby was born in 2009), immigration is a crime, refugees (or "fugees") are caged like animals, and the world has been torn apart by nuclear fallout, rampant terrorism, and political rebellion. In this seemingly hopeless landscape of hardscrabble survival, a jaded bureaucrat named Theo (Clive Owen) is drawn into a desperate struggle to deliver Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the world's only pregnant woman, to a secret group called the Human Project that hopes to discover a cure for global infertility. As they carefully navigate between the battling forces of military police and a pro-immigration insurgency, Theo, Kee, and their secretive allies endure a death-defying ordeal of urban warfare, and director Alfonso Cuaron (with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) capture the action with you-are-there intensity. There's just enough humour to balance the film's darker content (much of it coming from Michael Caine, as Theo's aging hippie cohort), and although Children of Men glosses over many of the specifics about its sociopolitical worst-case scenario (which includes Julianne Moore in a brief but pivotal role), it's still a pulse-pounding vision of a future that represents a frightening extrapolation of early 21st-century history. —Jeff Shannon

Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Thandie Newton, Colm Feore, Karl Urban Bigger isn't always better, but for anyone who enjoyed Pitch Black, a nominal sequel like The Chronicles of Riddick should prove adequately entertaining. Writer-director David Twohy returns with expansive sets, detailed costumes, an army of CGI effects artists, and the star he helped launch—Vin Diesel—bearing his franchise burden quite nicely as he reprises his title role. The Furian renegade Riddick has another bounty on his head, but when he escapes from his mercenary captors, he's plunged into an epic-scale war waged by the Necromongers. A fascist master race led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), they're determined to conquer all enemies in their quest for the Underverse, the appeal of which is largely unexplained (since Twohy is presumably reserving details for subsequent "chronicles"). With tissue-thin plotting, scant character development, and skimpy roles that waste the talents of Thandie Newton (as a Necromonger conspirator) and Judi Dench (as a wispy "Elemental" priestess), Twohy's back in the B-movie territory he started in (with The Arrival), brought to vivid life on a vast digital landscape with the conceptual allure of a lavish graphic novel. But does Riddick have leadership skills on his resumé? To get an answer to that question, sci-fi fans will welcome another sequel. —Jeff Shannon

In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up and cheer when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Tim Burton, Mike Johnson Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac's delight that's fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation—after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp, is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria.

But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball.

This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman's songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton's graveyard whimsy never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting is superbly matched the film's gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. —Jeff Shannon

John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Mark Rydell

Sylvester Stallone, Jay O. Sanders, Rob Cohen

Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Cynthia Rhodes, Jerry Orbach, Anne Reid Patrick Swayze, Garry Goodrow, Neal Jones, Lonny Price, Jennifer GreyDirector: Emile Ardolino

Shia LaBeouf, Carrie-Anne Moss, D.J. Caruso Alfred Hitchcock fans may experience déjà vu upon exposure to this voyeuristic thriller. That's because director DJ Caruso (The Salton Sea) and co-writer Carl Ellsworth (Red Eye) use Rear Window as a jumping-off point before cherry-picking from more recent scare fare, like The Blair Witch Project. In the prologue, 17-year-old Kale (Shia LaBeouf, Transformers) loses his beloved father to a car crash. A year passes, and he's still on edge. When a teacher makes a careless remark about his dad, Kale punches him out, and is sentenced to house arrest. After his mom (Carrie-Anne Moss, Memento) takes away his Xbox and iTunes privileges, the suburban slacker spies on his neighbours to pass the time. In the process, he develops a crush on Ashley (Sarah Roemer, The Grudge 2), the hot girl next door, and becomes convinced that another, the soft-spoken Mr. Turner (David Morse, The Green Mile), is a serial killer. With the help of the flirtatious Ashley, practical joke-playing pal Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), and an array of high-tech gadgets, like cell-phone cameras and digital camcorders, Kale sets out to solve a major case without leaving his yard (a feat that would prove more challenging for a less affluent sleuth). In the end, it's pretty familiar stuff, but there are plenty of scares once Turner realises he's being watched, and rising star LaBeouf makes for an engaging leading man—despite his character’s propensity for slugging Spanish instructors. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

The Rock, Rosamund Pike, Andrzej Bartkowiak

Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, Rob Cohen

The spirit of Motown runs through the long-awaited film adaption of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which centres around a young female singing trio who burst upon the music scene in the '60s, complete with bouffant hairdos, glitzy gowns, and a soul sound new to the white-bread American music charts. Sound familiar? You aren't the first one to draw comparisons to the meteoric rise of the Supremes, and despite any protests to the contrary, this is most definitely a thinly veiled reinterpretation of that success story. The Dreamettes—statuesque Deena (Beyonce Knowles), daffy Lorell (Anika Noni Rose) and brassy Effie (Jennifer Hudson)—are a girl group making the talent-show rounds when they're discovered by car salesman and aspiring music manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx). Sensing greatness (as well as a new marketing opportunity) Curtis signs the Dreamettes as backup singers for R&B star James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). But when Early's mercurial ways and singing style don't mesh with primarily white audiences, Curtis moves the newly-renamed Dreams to center stage—with Deena as lead singer in place of Effie. And that's not the only arena in which Effie is replaced, as Curtis abandons their love affair for a relationship with star-in-the-making Deena.

Besides the Supremes comparison, one can't talk about Dreamgirls now without revisiting its notorious Oscar snub; though it received eight nominations, the most for any film from 2006, it was shut out of the Best Picture and Director races entirely. Was the oversight justified? While Dreamgirls is certainly a handsomely mounted, lovingly executed and often vibrant film adaptation, it inspires more respect than passion, only getting under your skin during the musical numbers, which become more sporadic as the film goes on. Writer-director Bill Condon is definitely focused on recreating the Motown milieu (down to uncanny photographs of Knowles in full Diana Ross mode), he often forgets to flesh out his characters, who even on the Broadway stage were underwritten and relied on powerhouse performances to sell them to audiences. (Stage fans will also note that numerous songs are either truncated or dropped entirely from the film.) Condon has assembled a game cast, as Knowles does a canny riff on the essence of Diana Ross' glamour (as opposed to an all-out impersonation) and Rose makes a peripheral character surprisingly vibrant; only Foxx, who never gets to pour on the charisma, is miscast.

Still, there are two things even the most cranky viewers will warm to in Dreamgirls: the performances of veteran Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson. Murphy is all sly charm and dazzling energy as the devilish Early, who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all showman. And Hudson, an American Idol contestant who didn't even make the top three, makes an impressive debut as the larger-than-life Effie, whose voice matches her passions and stubbornness. Though she sometimes may seem too young for the role, Hudson nails the movie's signature song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," with a breathtaking power that must be seen and heard to believe. And for those five minutes, if not more, you will be in Dreamgirls' thrall. —Mark Englehart

Johnny Knoxville, David Koechner, Jay Chandrasekhar

Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer FoxDirector: Tony Gilroy

Geoffrey Rush, Jordi Molla, Shekhar Kapur

Bruce Lee, Robert Clouse The last film completed by Bruce Lee before his untimely death, Enter the Dragon was his entrée into Hollywood. The American-Hong Kong co-production, shot in Asia by American director Robert Clouse, stars Lee as a British agent sent to infiltrate the criminal empire of bloodthirsty Asian crime lord Han (Shih Kien) through his annual international martial arts tournament. Lee spends his days taking on tournament combatants and nights breaking into the heavily guarded underground fortress, kicking the living tar out of anyone who stands in his way. The mix of kung fu fighting (choreographed by Lee himself) and James Bond intrigue (the plot has more than a passing resemblance to Dr. No) is pulpy by any standard, but the generous budget and talented cast of world-class martial artists puts this film in a category well above Lee's primitive Hong Kong productions. Unfortunately he's off the screen for large chunks of time as American maverick competitors (and champion martial artists) John Saxon and Jim Kelly take centre stage, but once the fighting starts Lee takes over. The tournament setting provides an ample display of martial arts mastery of many styles and climaxes with a huge free-for-all, but the highlight is Lee's brutal one-on-one with the claw-fisted Han in the dynamic hall-of-mirrors battle. Lee narrows his eyes and tenses into a wiry force of sinew, speed and ruthless determination. — Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Paloma Baeza Giving Steve Carell a long-overdue leading role in a mainstream Hollywood comedy, Evan Almighty is the sequel to the huge Jim Carrey hit Bruce Almighty. And while Carrey isn’t on the cast list this time round, director Tom Shadyac and Morgan Freeman are among the many returnees.

The focus of Evan Almighty switches to Carell’s Evan Baxter, last seen as a newsreader but now an elected official, who is chosen by God (Freeman) to build a new ark. And this ark needs, as you’d expect, to hold two of each species on the planet. Naturally, all the people around Evan think he’s gone mad, and this proves a healthy comedy mine that’s well exploited.

Evan Almighty isn’t without a few problems, though. The focus of the film isn’t always tight enough on generating the laughs, and Carell is surprisingly under-used. He’s on form when the material allows him to shine, but its often (admittedly impressive) special effects that end up taking centre stage, an odd road to choose for a comedy.

That said, Evan Almighty is still an enjoyable family comedy, and it’s not without rewatch value. It’s a fun little movie, and one that deserves extra credit for promoting Carell to top billing—that's a move long overdue. —Jon Foster

Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Stanley Kubrick It was inevitable that Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut would be the most misunderstood film of 1999. Kubrick died four months prior to its release and there was no end to speculation about how much he would have tinkered with the picture, changed it, "fixed" it. We'll never know. But even without the haunting enigma of the director's death—and its eerie echo/anticipation in the scene when Dr Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) visits the deathbed of one of his patients—Eyes Wide Shut would have perplexed and polarised viewers and reviewers. After all, virtually every movie of Kubrick's post-US career had; only 1964's Dr. Strangelove opened to something approaching consensus. Quite apart from the author's tinkering, Kubrick's movies themselves always seemed to change—partly because they changed us, changed the world and the ways we experienced and understood it. And we may expect Eyes Wide Shut to do the same. Unlike Kubrick himself, it has time.

So consider, as we settle in to live with this long, advisedly slow, mesmerising film, how challenging and ambiguous its narrative strategy is. The source is an Arthur Schnitzler novella titled Traumnovelle (or "Dream Story") and it's a moot question how much of Eyes Wide Shut itself is dream, from the blue shadows frosting the Harfords' bedroom to the backstage replica of New York's Greenwich Village that Kubrick built in England. Its major movement is an imaginative night-journey (even the daylight parts of it) taken by a man reeling from his wife's teasing confession of fantasised infidelity and toward the end there is a token gesture of the couple waking to reality and, perhaps, a new, chastened maturity. Yet on some level—visually, psychologically, logically—every scene shimmers with unreality. Is everything in the movie a dream? And if so, who is dreaming it at any given moment and why?

Don't settle for easy answers. Kubrick's ultimate odyssey beckons. And now the dream is yours. —Richard T Jameson

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Rob Cohen A guilty pleasure with excess horsepower, The Fast and the Furious efficiently combines time-honoured male fantasies (hot cars, hot women, hot action) into a vacuous plot of crystalline purity. It's trash, but it's fun trash, in which a hotshot Los Angeles cop named Brian (Paul Walker) infiltrates a gang of street racers suspected of fencing stolen goods from hijacked trucks. The gang leader is Dom (Vin Diesel), ex-con and reigning king of the street racers, who lives for those 10 seconds of freedom when his high-performance "rice rocket" (a highly modified Asian import) hurtles toward another quarter-mile victory. Racing is street theatre for a lawless youth subculture, and Dom is a star behind the wheel—charismatic, dangerous and protective toward his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), who's attracted to Brian as the newest member of Dom's car-crazy team.

Director Rob Cohen treats this like Roman tragedy for MTV junkies, pushing every scene to adrenaline-pumping extremes; when his camera isn't caressing a spectrum of nitrous oxide-enhanced dream machines, it's ogling countless slim 'n' sexy race babes. The undercover-cop scenario cheaply borrows the split-loyalty theme perfected in Donnie Brasco; a rival Asian gang adds mystery and menace; and digital trickery is cleverly employed to explore the fuel-injected innards of the day-glo racecars. It's about as substantial as a perfume ad, but just as alluring, and for heavy-metal maniacs of any age, Diesel's super-blown 69 Charger proves that Detroit muscle never goes out of style. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Appropriately bulging with macho extra features, this disc is introduced with a stirring lack of irony by a Public Service Announcement exhorting viewers not to take proceedings too seriously! The meat of the many special features are found in deconstructions of several special effects sequences, with multiple camera-angle views and a breakdown of the process by which composite shots are achieved from separate plates. There are also eight deleted or extended scenes with optional directorial commentary. The main feature commentary is surprisingly in-depth and absorbing, as Rob Cohen talks about every aspect of his up-to-date "Western with rice rockets". Other features include music videos (one of which has its lyrics censored), a standard 18-minute "making-of" featurette and, fascinatingly, a short five-minute peek at the editing process as the director and film editor strive to cut a violent scene and thereby guarantee that all-important PG-13 rating (so that young kids who can't drive will be able to watch the movie and learn about speed, the director says with a straight face). And with a choice of explosive Dolby 5.1 or DTS you, and your long-suffering neighbours, will feel like you're right in the midst of the action. —Mark Walker

Devon Aoki, Eva Mendes, John Singleton

Lil Bow Wow, Sung Kang, Justin Lin The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift has all the elements that spelled success for its predecessors: Speed, sex, and minimal dialogue. The plot doesn't need explication; it's a nonsensical series of confrontations and standoffs that serve to get us from one race to another. Tokyo Drift can most accurately be described as a visual poem about screeching tires, crunching fiberglass, and sleek female skin, set to a killer soundtrack of Japanese pop and hip-hop. The actors are only needed for tight close-ups of narrowed eyes or sweaty hands tightly gripping gearshifts, though Sung Kang, Better Luck Tomorrow, stands out as a vaguely philosophical hoodlum with deadpan charisma. The curved bodies of the cars and the luscious flesh of the women are both shot with a fetishistic hunger. The "drift" style of racing—in which the cars are allowed to slide in order to take sharp turns at high speeds—grabs your eyes; there's a strange, spectral beauty to rows of cars sliding sideways down a mountain road at night. Also starring Lucas Black (Friday Night Lights) as our wheel-happy hero; Bow Wow (Roll Bounce) as the scam-artist comic relief; and martial arts legend Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill) as a yakuza big shot. —Bret Fetzer

Alan Arkin, Paul Bettany, Richard Loncraine

Paul Walker, Robert Patrick, Clint Eastwood

Michael Douglas, Armin Mueller-Stahl, David Fincher

Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Kyra Sedgwick, Ludacris, Michael C. HallDirectors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, David Fincher FAST POSTAGE IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REQUIRED GOODS NOT PAID FOR WITHIN 24 HOURS WILL BE RELISTED THANKS

Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro

For anyone who thought the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins was the most marvelous cinematic moment for these nomads of the south, you haven't seen nothing yet. Here's an animated wonder about a penguin named Mumble who can't sing, but can dance up a storm. George Miller, the driving force behind the Babe (and Mad Max) movies, takes another creative step in family entertainment with this big, beautiful, music-fueled film that will have kids and their parents dancing in the streets. From his first moment alive, Mumble (voiced by Elijah Woods) feels the beat and can't stop dancing. Unfortunatly, emperor penguins are all about finding their own heart song, and dancing youngster—as cute as he is—is a misfit. Luckily, he bumps into little blue penguins, a Spanish-infused group (led by Robin Williams) and begins a series of adventures. Miller has an exceptional variety of entertainment, Busby Berkley musical numbers, amusement park thrills, exciting chase sequences (seals and orca lovers might like think otherwise), and even an environmental message that doesn't weigh you down. Best of all, you don't know where the movie is going in the last act, a rare occurrence these days in family entertainment. A fusion of rock songs, mashed up and otherwise are featured; this movie is as much a musical as a comedy. Mumble's solo dance to a new version of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" by Fantasia, Patti and Yolanda may be the most joyful moment on camera in 2006. —Doug Thomas

Daniel Radcliffe, John Hurt, Chris Columbus

Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Chris Columbus The world's most famous boy wizard dives straight into a darker and more thrilling magical adventure in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It's practically the same set-up—something evil's afoot at Hogwarts; Harry and his pals must put it right—but fans of the books won't be disappointed. Director Chris Columbus, whose artistic licence is necessarily limited by the demands of adapting JK Rowling's phenomenally popular novel, does a spectacular job rendering Rowling's imaginary world: the production design and costumes are fascinating in their own right; such is the impressive attention to detail.
Daniel Radcliffe gives a more assured performance here as Harry, though he's not quite strong enough to carry the film without the aid of an excellent ensemble cast of experienced adults, notably a twinkly-eyed Kenneth Branagh. Of course, most avid fans will already know what's going to happen as far as the story is concerned, so for them the pleasure in watching The Chamber of Secrets lies in the visualisation of Rowling's magical creations and the verve brought to the action sequences. It's fantastic fun for kids and there's plenty of childhood nostalgia for the rest of us. —Laura Bushell

Daniel Radcliffe, Julie Christie, Alfonso Cuaron In this adaptation of the third book in JK Rowling's best-selling series, Harry Potter (Danielle Radcliffe) and his best friends Hermoine (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), must face the dangerous convict Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who has ties with their enemy Lord Voldemort and has escaped from Azkaban prison in search of Harry Potter. A scarier, darker story than the first two, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban is the first instalment to be directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También), who demonstrates remarkable versatility and proves a perfect choice to guide Harry, Hermione, and Ron into treacherous puberty as the now 13-year-old students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The dark and dangerous mystery of Sirius Black's motive for revenge drives the action, but the film is full of stand-out moments courtesy of the flying hippogriff Buckbeak (a marvelous CGI creature), the benevolent but enigmatic Professor Lupin (David Thewlis), horrifying black-robed Dementors, sneaky Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall), and the wonderful advantages brought by having a Time-Turner just when you need one.
The familiar Hogwarts staff returns in fine form (including Michael Gambon, replacing the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and Emma Thompson as the goggle-eyed Sybil Trelawney), and even Julie Christie joins this prestigious production for a brief but welcome cameo. Technically dazzling, fast-paced, and chock-full of Rowling's boundless imagination (loyally adapted by ace screenwriter Steve Kloves), The Prisoner of Azkaban is a Potter-movie classic. —Jeff Shannon

Daniel Radcliffe, Mike Newell

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint While many movie franchises slide as they reach their later instalments, the Harry Potter films just keep getting better. The latest, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is easily the darkest of the series to date, and it's also one of the best. For while it could easily have been little more than a holding film to set up the big encounters to come in the last two instalments of the series, it's to the credit of British director David Yates that the end result is really very good.

It finds Harry coming under suspicion from his wizarding colleagues, who don't believe his claims that the evil Lord Voldermort has returned. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix thus finds its title character on the backfoot for much of its running time, with a select band who firmly believe his story, and very powerful figures who don't.

Where the movie of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix excels though is in its three trump cards. Number one is a far tighter script than we're used to with Potter films, which, combined with trump card number two—the aforementioned David Yates behind the camera—cuts much of the slavish loyalty to the text away in favour of a film with real momentum. The third, and best, card though is the casting of Imelda Staunton as Professor Dolores Umbridge, who simply flies away with every scene she's in. It's a superb performance, and the film is poorer whenever she's not on screen.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is not a film without a few problems, certainly: it's a fair criticism that not too much actually happens, and one or two bits feel superfluous. But it overrides its problems with ease, to emerge as a compelling, highly enjoyable family film, which will leave you salivating for the Christmas 2008 release of movie number six in the series. —Simon Brew

Ben Stiller, Rob Corddry, Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly The Heartbreak Kid reunites Ben Stiller with his There's Something About Mary directorial team, The Farrelly Brothers. Between them, they've conjured a sporadically funny comedy, that may not repeat what they'd all achieved before, but is still worthy of a spin.

The premise follows Stiller as his character is effectively railroaded into marriage, only for him to discover on his honeymoon that his wife isn't all he thought she was. Big debts, ropey music taste and, ahem, `bedroom demands' soon open his eyes on their honeymoon. And when, on the same honeymoon, he meets Michelle Monaghan's Miranda, The Heartbreak Kid migrates into a chaotic comedy, with a risqué edge.

It's fair to say that The Heartbreak Kid lacks the level of gut-busting laughs, or the consistency, of There's Something About Mary, with perhaps one too many contrivances required to keep it motoring. What's more, the final act isn't particularly satisfying, loosely tying up strands with little conviction.

Yet in spite of that, The Heartbreak Kid does muster its fair share of laughs, and few can match Ben Stiller in this kind of role. With energetic performances and some memorable moments married up to the gags, chances are you'll happily forgive the film its weaker moments, and enjoy it for the sound Saturday night comedy is clearly is. —Jon Foster

Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, Adam Kane, Allan Arkush, David Semel, Donna Deitch, Ernest R. Dickerson It’s hard to remember a science fiction series that has hit so big so quickly. Yet by the end of the first series of Heroes, it feels—for all the right reasons—that the show’s been around for longer than it has, such is the huge amount of success it’s enjoyed.

The setup is simple, yet undeniably intriguing. It essentially tells the stories of a series of people who discover they have legitimate, differing superhero powers. On top of that, these people then gradually appreciate that these powers are needed for reasons that soon become apparent, and the story of Heroes builds up from there.

Heavily influenced by comics both in its structure and story, Heroes sustains interest through a number of story arcs of different magnitudes, skilfully weaving them throughout the 23 episodes that make up the season. It’s contained enough to keep you interested, yet offers enough threads to make several more seasons a very appealing prospect.

Heroes, though, really gels because the basics are right. It’s plotted intelligently, written and directed with real nerve and talent, and has a cast who you can’t help but get emotionally involved with. It’s also, for the overwhelming majority of its episodes, utterly compelling televisions. Ironically, its few miss-steps of any note come right at the back end, by which time you really would forgive it pretty much anything.

Heroes is rightly being heralded as a sci-fi classic in the making. Yet even if subsequent seasons don’t fully do justice to those words—and at the time of writing, season two is still some way from debuting—this boxset will serve as a glowing testament to just how good television can be when it’s just done right. Quite brilliant. —Jon Foster

Sean Bean, Skip O'Brien, Dave Meyers

Rufus Sewell, Jack Black, Nancy Meyers

Anne Reid, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright A major British hit, a lorryload of laughs and some sparkling action? We’ll have some of that. It’s fair to say that Hot Fuzz proves that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s brilliant Shaun Of The Dead was no one-off, serving up a superbly crafted British homage to the Hollywood action movie.

Deliberately set in the midst of a sleepy, quaint English village of Sandford, Pegg’s Nicholas Angel is sent there because, bluntly, he’s too good at his job, and he’s making his city colleagues look bad. The proverbial fish out of water, Angel soon discovers that not everything in Sandford is quite as it seems, and joins forces with Nick Frost’s lumbering Danny Butterman to find out what’s what.

Hot Fuzz then proceeds to have a rollicking good time in both tipping its hat to the genre films that are clearly its loving inspiration, and coming up with a few tricks of its own. It does comedy better than action, with plenty of genuine laugh-out-loud moments, but it’s no slouch either when the tempo needs raising. One of the many strong cards it plays is its terrific cast, which includes former 007 Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey, Paddy Considine, Edward Woodward and Jim Broadbent.

Hot Fuzz, ultimately, just falls short of Shaun Of The Dead, but more than does enough to warrant many, many repeat viewings. It’s terrific fun, and in the true hit action movie style, all-but-demands some form of sequel. That said, with Pegg and Wright now with two excellent, and suitably different, genres ticked off, it’ll be interesting to see what they do next. A period drama, perhaps…? —Simon Brew

Tamzin Outhwaite, Max Beesley, Alrick Riley

Elisha Cuthbert, Paris Hilton, Jaume Collet-Serra You know the one about the group of horny kids who get offed one by one? Yeah, so do director Jaume Collet-Serra and his screenwriters, who have updated an old Vincent Price flick and sandwiched it between hearty slices of The Blair Witch Project and various Friday the 13th films. Lots of Warner and Fox network hotties—including 24's Elisha Cuthbert, One Tree Hill's Chad Michael Murray, and, well, Paris Hilton—have car trouble and stumble onto a town populated by real killer personalities. The result is fairly gruesome and, though no one ever quite looks frightened enough, Collet-Serra knows his way around a jolting suspense sequence or two. Cuthbert and an unintentionally funny Murray (striking ludicrous poses as some kind of real toughie) act more like angry ex-lovers than the fraternal twins they're supposed to be; Hilton acts bored while her real-life video scandal is exploited for ironic kicks; and the film heads shamelessly over-the-top with each new twist. As an exercise in bloody mayhem, it has a few novel touches, but don't expect to be too petrified. —Steve Wiecking

Adam Sandler, Richard Chamberlain, Dennis Dugan

Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor An intelligent thriller with a healthy few twists up its sleeve, The Inside Man marks strong, although hardly career-best, work from all concerned.

The plot is simple, and hardly fresh. On one side, you have a sophisticated team who walk into a bank, take everyone hostage and issue demands. On the other, you have a team of cops trying to apprehend those responsible and get the hostages out safely. In the middle, you have the owner of the bank, who's willing to bring in a bit of extra help to get the situation resolved. And yet what could have been a standard two-dimensional Hollywood blockbuster gets brains and substance thanks to those in front of and behind the camera.

The talent in front is led by a consummate Denzel Washington, as the cop leading the situation. Then there's the increasingly impressive Clive Owen and the always-excellent Jodie Foster, with sterling support from the likes of Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe.

Behind the camera, much has been made of the fact that this is the least Spike Lee-like film that Spike Lee has directed, yet that misses the point. The Inside Man sees a skilful, diligent and clever director utterly comfortable with what's going on, and wringing out plenty from the simple premise.

It's not a flawless film by any means: the last reel doesn't quite match up to what preceded it, and the script doesn't really get you near the skin of the characters (even if it does serve up some delicious, not entirely expected moments). Yet as heist movies go, this is one of the better examples of recent times, with plenty of reasons to recommend it. —Simon Brew

Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, James McTiegue The Invasion deserves a second chance on DVD. This ambitious sci-fi thriller represents a flawed yet worthy attempt to bring contemporary vitality to Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel, previously filmed as Don Siegel's 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philip Kaufman's suspenseful 1978 remake, and Abel Ferrara's highly underrated Body Snatchers from 1994. And while those earlier films are superior in many respects, The Invasion is not without strengths of its own, particularly for those who prefer action and suspense. Unfortunately these strengths were compromised by the unpredictable misfortunes of production: Original director Oliver Hirschbiegel (hired on the strength of Downfall) was eventually replaced by James McTiegue (V for Vendetta), and the Wachowski Brothers (of Matrix trilogy fame) added high-octane action sequences to the original screenplay by David Kajganich. Perhaps the movie had a curse on it (star Nicole Kidman was almost seriously injured in a stunt-car mishap during last-minute re-shoots), but it's really just a matter of disparate ingredients that don't always fit together, resulting in a slick-looking film that can't decide if it's a sci-fi mystery, action thriller, or political allegory. It tries too hard to be all things at once.
Despite this, Kidman rises to the occasion with a solid performance as Carol, a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist who's convinced (with the help of costars Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright) that a flu-like virus is spreading throughout the population, its alien spores turning victims into soulless "pod people"... only in this case without the pods. The idea is that you'll be fine if you don't fall asleep, and especially if you don't let anyone sneeze or vomit on you. (There's a lot of vomiting; don't say you weren't warned.) With a crashing space shuttle to deliver the alien threat, cute tyke Jackson Bond as Carol's threatened son, and a nod to Kaufman's film with a small role for Veronica Cartwright, The Invasion will surely fare better on DVD than it did in theaters. If nothing else, it proves the timeless relevance of Finney's original premise, which continues to inspire a multitude of variations. —Jeff Shannon

Daniel Craig, Claudio Santamaria, Martin Campbell Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Claudio Santamaria, Jesper Christensen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey WrightDirector: Martin Campbell

Daniel Craig hasn't lost a step since Casino Royale—this James Bond remains dangerous, a man who could earn that license to kill in brutal hand-to-hand combat… but still look sharp in a tailored suit. And Quantum of Solance itself carries on from the previous film like no other 007 movie, with Bond nursing his anger from the Casino Royale storyline and vowing blood revenge on those responsible. For the new plot, we have villain Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), intent on controlling the water rights in impoverished Third World nations and happy to overthrow a dictator or two to get his way. Olga Kurylenko is very much in the "Bond girl" tradition, but in the Ursula Andress way, not the Denise Richards way. And Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, and Giancarlo Giannini are welcome holdovers. If director Marc Forster and the longtime Bond production team seem a little too eager to embrace the continuity-shredding style of the Bourne pictures (especially in a nearly incomprehensible opening car chase), they nevertheless quiet down and get into a dark, concentrated groove soon enough. And the theme song, "Another Way to Die," penned by Jack White and performed by him and Alicia Keys, is actually good (at times Keys seems to be channeling Shirley Bassey—nice). Of course it all comes down to Craig. And he kills. —Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Sam Mendes

Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Simon Kunz, Ruth Gemmell

Jimi Hendrix The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Monterey (HD DVD)

Jimi Hendrix The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Monterey (HD DVD)

Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Robert Luketic Killers has been murdered by most film critics, and the box-office receipts haven't been too impressive either. But that's kind of a bad rap. Granted, it isn't likely to make many year's best (or even month's best) lists, but this is an entertaining little diversion that at the very least offers an appealing cast, a few laughs, and some cool chase scenes. Katherine Heigl plays Jen, who, having recently been dumped by her boyfriend, is vacationing in Nice with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara). Enter Spencer (Ashton Kutcher), a hired assassin (hey, it's a comedy) who happens to be on the scene for a job. The couple's cutesy flirting turns into a romantic dinner, which leads to some heavy drinking… and before you know it, Spencer has renounced the killing gig, married Jen, and moved back to her hometown in the States, where he becomes a "corporate consultant." Three years later his past catches up to him, as we knew it would, and a seemingly limitless array of hired guns emerges from the woodwork, intent on collecting the $20 million bounty that's been put on Spencer's head. Exactly why this is, and who's responsible for it, are secrets revealed only at the end, although perspicacious viewers will no doubt have seen it coming. In the meantime, Spencer's revelation of who he really is and Jen's reaction to it are mildly reminiscent of the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Jamie Lee Curtis relationship in True Lies, as issues of trust, safety, and Jen's newly discovered pregnancy complicate Spencer's attempts to keep the two of them alive while he tries to figure out what's going on. Director Robert Luketic displays a sure hand during the action sequences, but he's working with a thin script and a pair of attractive young actors whose chemistry doesn't exactly burn up the screen. Those are serious drawbacks, but all in all, there are far worse ways to kill a couple of hours than watching Killers. —Sam Graham

Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Peter Jackson

Maggie Q, Sean Farris, Gordon Chan

Katherine Heigl, Jay Baruchel, Judd Apatow

Tom Cruise, Edward Zwick

Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Carroll Timothy O'Meara, Nick Castle

Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, F. Gary Gray Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb, Viola Davis, Regina Hall, Gerard ButlerDirector: F. Gary Gray

Led Zeppelin

Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Richard Donner

Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Richard Donner The series formula started to kick in with this immediate sequel to Lethal Weapon, but that doesn't necessarily make it a weak movie. Joe Pesci joins the fold, Richard Donner directs again, and Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return as LAPD partners, their relationship smoother now that Gibson's character has recovered from his maddening grief over his wife's death. But the reckless Mel and cautious Danny equation, good for a million laughs, settles into place in this story involving a South African smuggler and a new girlfriend (Patsy Kensit) for Gibson. The movie is hardly comfy, though. The last act gets nasty, and a climactic fight between Gibson (who gets the worst of it) and some high-kicking villain is ugly. —Tom Keogh

Ken Watanabe, Clint Eastwood

Robin Williams, DeRay Davis, Ken Kwapis Comedy reigns throughout License To Wed thanks to Robin Williams, his choir-boy assistant Josh Flitter (Nancy Drew) and the rest of the cast. Laughing out loud is definitely a course requirement for viewers, but underneath the hilarity is a serious message about making marriage work. —Tami Horiuchi

Mel Gibson, Virginia Hey, George Miller

Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Kevin Smith The "sophmore jinx" hit hard for this second film by Kevin Smith, whose debut Clerks transcended the limits of its setting and budget to become memorably funny and a cult classic. (Smith followed Mallrats with the wonderful Chasing Amy, only to be cursed again with the appalling Dogma. Clearly he's settling into the same one-off rhythm that afflicts the Star Trek movies.) A ramshackle comedy set in a mall, Mallrats follows several storylines involving lovers, enemies, friends, goofballs, and Smith's own character "Silent Bob", who also appeared in all the other Smith films. A heavy self-consciousness weighs on everything, as if Smith forgot how to make obscenity funny instead of tedious. Still, it's nice to see some of the director's film family on screen, among them Ben Affleck before he was famous, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams. —Sally Chatsworth

Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Phyllida Lloyd Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Julie WaltersDirector: Phyllida Lloyd

Luc Jacquet

Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber Wolverine, fan favourite of the X-Men universe in both comic books and film, gets his own movie vehicle with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a tale that reaches way, way back into the hairy mutant's story. Somewhere in the wilds of northwest Canada in the early 1800s, two boys grow up amid violence: half-brothers with very special powers. Eventually they will become the near-indestructible warriors (and victims of a super-secret government program) known as Wolverine and Sabretooth, played respectively by Hugh Jackman (returning to his role) and Liev Schreiber (new to the scene). It helps enormously to have Schreiber, an actor of brawny skills, as the showiest villain; the guy can put genuine menace into a vocal inflection or a shift of the eyes. Danny Huston is the sinister government operative whose experiments keep pulling Wolverine back in, Lynn Collins is the woman who shares a peaceful Canadian co-existence with our hero when he tries to drop out of the program, and Ryan Reynolds adds needed humour, at least for a while.

The fast-paced early reels give an entertaining kick-off to the Wolverine saga, only to slow down when a proper plot must be put together—but isn't that perpetually the problem with origin stories? And despite a cool setting, the grand finale is a little hemmed in by certain plot essentials that must be in place for the sequels, which may be why characters do nonsensical things. So, this one is fun while it lasts, if you're not looking for a masterpiece, or an explanation for Wolverine's facial grooming. —Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Stills from X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Click for larger image)

Carrie-Anne Moss, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Andy Wachowski

Olga Kurylenko, Mila Kunis, Ludacris, Mark Wahlberg, Chris O'DonnellDirector: John Moore

Linda Fiorentino, Will Smith, Barry Sonnenfeld This imaginative comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extra-terrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action (a scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast—including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human—hold up their end splendidly. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

On the DVD: This limited edition two-disc set contains two versions of the film, in both widescreen (1.85:1) and standard (4:3) ratios, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. As with the single-disc version there is a "Visual Commentary" that features director Barry Sonnenfeld and actor Tommy Lee Jones in an anecdotal conversation, but with the unique twist that they are displayed as silhouettes on your TV screen (imagine you're sitting in the back row of the cinema and they are up front) using a pointer to highlight particular events on screen. If you have a widescreen TV, the menu prompts you to switch to 4:3 mode to see this. On this two-disc version there is also a second commentary, again featuring Sonnenfeld, this time with special make-up effects wizard Rick Baker and other members of the FX team.

Even more extra features on the second disc are divided into two sections: "Creating MIB" and "Meet the MIB". In the "Creating" segment there is a "Visual Effects Scene Deconstruction" in which the tunnel scene and the Edgar Bug fight scene are dissected into their constituent parts; an in-depth documentary, "Metamorphosis of MIB" which charts the progress of the concept from comic book to screen; five "Extended and Alternate" scenes; "Art and Animation", which includes a character animation studio and creature designs from concept to completion; a behind-the-scenes photo gallery; and most fun of all, a "Scene Editing Workshop" in which you can cut and paste different shots from three scenes and compare your editing with that of the filmmakers. In the "Meet the MIB" section there are "Talent Files" of principal cast and crew, a short "making of" featurette; trailers, including a teaser for MIB II; and Will Smith's "Men in Black" music video. —Mark Walker

Bruce Willis, Lindsey Lee Ginter, Harold Becker

Naomie Harris, John Ortiz, Michael Mann

Kenny Ortega Michael Jackson's This Is It is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts at London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, this film was produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson's This Is It captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his planned final London shows.

A Mighty Heart comes at the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl with a de-glamorised intensity: it's not a melodrama about Pearl's kidnapping and killing at the hands of Islamic terrorists, but a near-documentary about the process of trying to find him. Thus the centre of the film is not Pearl (Dan Futterman) but his wife Mariane (Angelina Jolie), a cool customer who manages—almost—to maintain her calm throughout the weeks-long ordeal. Director Michael Winterbottom is less overtly political here than in his Road to Guantanamo, although the reactions of various authorities, from U.S. officials to local Pakistani cops, give the flavour of different attitudes and approaches. Jolie, playing the Dutch-Afro-Cuban Mariane Pearl, does nicely at playing her character's control (others marvel at her sangfroid), yet she remains recognisably human throughout. By no means a star turn, the movie leaves Mariane for long stretches, and other actors shine: Irfan Khan as a detective, Denis O'Hare as Daniel Pearl's Washington Post editor, and Will Patton as a stymied diplomat. As engrossing as the movie generally is, the point of emphasising the police-procedural method is sometimes obscure. Oddly enough, by rejecting the usual string-pulling of conventional Hollywood drama, A Mighty Heart ends up without a strong point of view—as good as its pieces are. —Robert Horton

Rowan Atkinson, Jean Rochefort, Steve Bendelack

Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Stephen Sommers For his breakthrough into the blockbuster big time, director Stephen Sommers (Deep Rising) was determined to avoid the hackneyed Hollywood Mummy clichés of flailing bandages, somnambulant zombies and wooden acting. If you're happy to settle for two out of three then the finished film could be your cup of Egyptian tea, fully delivering on its visual promise, but occasionally mired in a quicksand of stilted dialogue and plot contrivance.

When disgraced high priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) is awoken from his ancient prison, he unleashes his vengeful wrath in a whirl of computer-generated pestilence and plagues, all devised by the effects wizards at George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. No gory detail is spared as the mummy sets about rebuilding his decayed body and reviving his forbidden lover, aided by hordes of swarming, flesh-eating scarabs and an army of the dead. Among the more human cast, Brendan Fraser (Blast from the Past, George of the Jungle) brings an infectious Boys' Own enthusiasm to his Indiana-Jones-style adventurer, while such supporting players as Rachel Weisz and John Hannah are mostly eclipsed by the spectacle on offer. Ultimately, The Mummy is great fun and offers digital thrills ideally suited to the DVD format which will wow even the most CGI-sated viewer.

On the DVD: commendably, the extras on this DVD are on a par with the Region One offering, including deleted scenes and director's commentary, and both picture and sound quality are excellent. Most interestingly, veteran ILM effects supervisor John Berton presents step-by-step guides to some of the film's most extraordinary CGI shots, from early animatics to 3-D modelling and compositing. There's also the obligatory "making of" programme, in which everyone insists their primary concern was to ensure the effects never superseded the story. Unfortunately, this only makes you more aware of the script's shortcomings. —Steve Napleton

Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Jeremiah S. Chechik

Liz White, Dougray Scott, Richard Jobson

Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Scott Hicks

Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Taylor-Wood United Kingdom released, Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Featurette, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The true story of John Lennon's troubled childhood and difficult relationship with his family is brought to the screen in this period drama. Young John (Alex Ambrose) is a bright but sharp-tongued boy living in the coastal town of Liverpool during the 1950s with his aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and uncle George (David Threlfall). John's father walked out on the family when he was four years old, and the boy was given to Mimi to raise, even though his mother, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), was still alive. While Mimi's straight-laced nature runs counter to John's more reckless personality, they clearly love one another and the household is thrown into chaos when George dies suddenly. At the funeral, teenage John (now played by Aaron Johnson) sees Julia, and learns to his surprise that she lives only a few blocks away from Mimi. John pays her a visit, and Julia gratefully welcomes him back into her life. Julia's personality is a much closer fit to John than Mimi, and she encourages his love for writing and music, teaching him to play the banjo. However, John's renewed relationship with Julia brings up a number of unanswered questions, and causes new tensions between Mimi and John. And as rock & roll becomes the hot new sound of the day, John falls in love with the bold new music and makes a friend who is interested in forming a band, Paul (Thomas Brodie Sangster). The first feature film from artist-turned-director Sam Taylor-Wood, Nowhere Boy was the closing night attraction at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Award...Nowhere Boy (2009) (Blu-Ray)

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Steven Soderbergh Ocean's Eleven improves on the 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end", and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originally played by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar team (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner) and indulging their strengths as actors and thieves. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. —Jeff Shannon

On the DVD: Ocean's Eleven on disc is hardly swarming with special features, but just like all good heists it's quality not quantity that counts. The cast commentary is lively and it's nice to hear intelligent comments coming from Hollywood's big league for a change. However, it's the director and writer's commentary that is the real gem; it's funny, enlightening and most of all it allows Ted Griffin to put the case forward for all screenwriters across the world as to the importance of their craft. The main feature has an impressive transfer of sound and visuals, making the suits sharper and David Holmes' soundtrack even funkier. —Nikki Disney

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Steven Soderbergh Like its predecessor Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve has a preposterous plot given juice and vitality by the combination of movie star glamour and the exuberant filmmaking skill of director Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight, The Limey). The heist hijinks of the first film come to roost for a team of eleven thieves (including the glossy mugs of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, and Don Cheadle), who find themselves pursued not only by the guy they robbed (silky Andy Garcia), but also by a top-notch detective (plush Catherine Zeta-Jones) and a jealous master thief (well-oiled Vincent Cassel) who wants to prove that team leader Danny Ocean (dapper George Clooney) isn't the best in the field. As if all that star power weren't enough—and the eternally coltish Julia Roberts also returns as Ocean's wife—one movie star cameo raises the movie's combined wattage to absurd proportions. But all these handsome faces are matched by Soderbergh's visual flash, cunning editing, and excellent use of Amsterdam, Paris, and Rome, among other highly decorative locations. The whole affair should collapse under the weight of its own silliness, but somehow it doesn't—the movie's raffish spirit and offhand wit soar along, providing lightweight but undeniably enjoyable entertainment. —Bret Fetzer

Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Steven Soderbergh It comes as something of a relief to find that Ocean's Thirteen eases itself back to the charm and suave, sophisticated swagger that underpinned the first in what's become a trilogy of capers. And for those who endured the self-indulgent mess that was Ocean's Twelve, this latest and final entry in the franchise is a very welcome treat, proving very much that lessons were learnt. Dropping Catherine Zeta Jones and Julia Roberts from the cast list, but signing up the smaller matter of Al Pacino instead, the rest of the players remain broadly intact. So it's George Clooney's Danny Ocean who leads the team of cons, supported by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner. And it's the easy chemistry between these and the rest of the team that underpin what makes Ocean's 13 such an enjoyable ride.
The plot pits Ocean and his gang against Al Pacino's ruthless casino boss, and while the script perhaps lacks the cleverness and dense plotting that worked so well in the first adventure, it still leaves plenty of room for outright entertainment.
The end result is an easy-to-enjoy caper, that's not the equal of Ocean's Eleven, yet far superior to Ocean's Twelve. And considering it was released in the midst of a summer where threequels generally weren't too well received, Ocean's Thirteen arrives in fine shape, and rounds off the trilogy with panache. —Jon Foster

Tony Jaa, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Panna Rittikrai From the moment the crocodile leaps out of the muddy water, you know you’re in for some dynamic entertainment. What will surprise you is just how sweeping, inventive, and even beautiful this Thai martial arts movie can be. The plot of Ong Bak 2 is basic: A young prince sees his parents murdered by a usurping tyrant. Under the tutelage of a bandit chief, the boy grows up to be an astonishing fighter who sets out to take revenge. (There’s no need to see Ong Bak before seeing this film; the only thing they have in common is their star.) What lifts it above the ordinary are aggressive camera-work, acrobatic action sequences, and moments of dazzling, hypnotic loveliness (such as the Thai dance scene, shot with a stunning visual symmetry that falls somewhere between Busby Berkeley and Stanley Kubrick). And above all, there is Tony Jaa, who stars as the adult prince and co-directed. Jaa is one of those virtuosic physical performers—like Bruce Lee but also like Fred Astaire—who seem to channel some divine energy through human flesh. Not only is he is a peak athlete; he has a vulnerable, soulful charisma, which has nothing to do with acting ability but makes someone supremely watchable on film. Ong Bak 2 is not kitsch or camp; it has the over-the-top romanticism that Western audiences sometimes resist—but if you surrender to it, Ong Bak 2 is a rich, rewarding movie experience. —Bret Fetzer

George Clooney, Luis Guzman, Steven Soderbergh

David Attenborough Not only is Planet Earth one of the most jaw-dropping, ambitious, nature documentaries the BBC has ever produced, it’s now taken on another role: as a superb demonstration disc for the potential of HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Spread over a good ten hours, the series charts life and nature in dozens upon dozens of differing locations around the earth. Diligently and warmly narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Planet Earth calmly goes close in on its subject matter when required, and then pulls out some stunning perspective shots that are simply breathtaking. It’s hard to come up with the right superlatives to do the photography on the programme any kind of justice, and that it’s married to such fascinating subject matter is all the better.

And if you think the original broadcast of Planet Earth was something special, or you were gobsmacked by the picture quality on DVD, just wait until you see it in 1080p HD glory. Particularly some of the broader shots here are all but without parallel, and it’s a real reward for those who have invested ahead of the crowd in high definition technology.

Presented over five discs, and matching wonderful content to spot-on visual presentation, Planet Earth is now not just a landmark in nature documentary film making. It’s also a chartermark of quality for just what HD DVD and Blu-ray can offer. A stunning release, in more than one sense. —Jon Foster

BBC

Emmy Rossum, Mia Maestro, Wolfgang Petersen

Bruce Willis, John Malkovich Both instalments of the star-studded action comedy starring Bruce Willis and based on D.C. Comics' cult graphic novel. In 'Red' (2010) former CIA top agent Frank Moses (Willis) is now enjoying an idyllic, if rather dull, retirement. But life gets a whole

Bruce Willis, John Malkovich Both instalments of the star-studded action comedy starring Bruce Willis and based on D.C. Comics' cult graphic novel. In 'Red' (2010) former CIA top agent Frank Moses (Willis) is now enjoying an idyllic, if rather dull, retirement. But life gets a whole

Bruce Willis, John Malkovich Both instalments of the star-studded action comedy starring Bruce Willis and based on D.C. Comics' cult graphic novel. In 'Red' (2010) former CIA top agent Frank Moses (Willis) is now enjoying an idyllic, if rather dull, retirement. But life gets a whole

Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Taylor Hackford

Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Stephen Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Brett Ratner

Russell Mulcahy

Tom Cruise, Joe Pantoliano, Paul Brickman Tom Cruise, Joe Pantoliano, Rebecca De Mornay, Curtis Armstrong, Richard MasurDirector: Paul Brickman

Mena Suvari, Mark Ruffalo, Rob Reiner

Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Brett Ratner Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker head for the City of Lights in the somewhat threadbare but sporadically exciting Rush Hour 3, the second sequel to director Brett Ratner's 1998 cop-buddy hit. Chan's Inspector Lee and Tucker's Detective Carter hop from Los Angeles to Paris in pursuit of a Chinese triad only to find a mixed reception, including a brutal warning from a French cop (Roman Polanski) and anti-American sentiments from a cab driver (Yvan Attal) who eventually becomes an important and funny ally. Lee and Carter, when not fighting their way out of rooms full of martial arts gangsters and crazed assassins (Sun Ming Ming), follow a trail to a beautiful woman (Noemie Lenoird) who literally carries a vital clue on her person. Lee also holds secret meetings with a United Nations authority (Max Von Sydow), but his personal struggles with a criminal mastermind (Hiroyuki Sanada)—who happens to be an important figure in his life— are at the heart of this movie.

The aging Chan still seems to defy the laws of physics with some of his more spectacular stunts. But it's true those stunts take a little more time than they used to, and judicious editing makes Chan look spry as ever. He frets charmingly in Rush Hour 3, while Tucker revives his brash character's motormouth guile and whiny womanizing. There isn't a lot left to be discovered about Lee and Carter's compatibility, and even with a minor crisis over their loyalty to one another in Rush Hour 3, their all-important relationship is almost too easy to take for granted now. Fortunately, the film's biggest thrills come from several wild fight scenes, especially a climactic battle on the Eiffel Tower that is rich in imagination. —Tom Keogh

Matthew McConaughey, Penélope Cruz, Breck Eisner It took more than 25 years for another Clive Cussler novel to come to the screen after the financial and critical disaster of Raise the Titanic. Based on Cussler's oddly landlocked adventure, Sahara finds the author's hero, Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey)—a sort of all-American, high seas variation of James Bond—in Africa looking for a Confederate ironclad ship that impossibly might have ended up there. Soon he and his faithful sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) are lost in another adventure, discovering a deadly contaminate being tracked by a beautiful doctor (Penelope Cruz). The results are checkered: there's no one outstanding sequence, but the action is enjoyably varied, while the thrills are mild yet not bombastic or gratuitous. The cast are all adept in their roles, yet the only one who sparkles is the scene-stealing Zahn, cast against type; McConaughey, who also produced, knows he might be starting a franchise character and plays it safe. He's never as dangerous as Cussler's hero is on the page (except in his introduction), and in fact, the whole movie plays towards comedy, infused by a soundtrack of 70s FM radio monsters. Cussler fanatics may not like this lighter fare, especially with the archeological portion (a Cussler strong point) not fully embraced, but with a very, very likable cast and colorful settings, Sahara is a kindler, gentler action film that has all the elements in place for a better, more memorable franchise if anyone cares to attempt it. —Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Malcolm D. Lee brand new sealed UK blu ray dispatched within 24 hours from UK

Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood, John Ford

Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Lisa Lassek, Joss Whedon Serenity is a film that, by rights, shouldn't have been made. For starters, it's spun out of the short-lived and quickly-cancelled TV series Firefly, which has only itself got the full recognition it deserves on DVD. It then marries up two seemingly incompatible genres, the western and science fiction, has no major stars to speak of, and pretty much has `hard sell' written all over it.

Perhaps that explains its modest box office performance back in 2005. What it fails to reflect, however, is that this is one of the most energetic, downright enjoyable sci-fi flicks in some time. Not for nothing did many rate it higher than the Star Wars movie that appeared in the same year.

It follows renegade captain Mal Reynolds and his quirkily assembled crew, as they work on the outskirts of space, trying to keep out of the way of the governing Alliance. That plan quickly changes when they take on a couple of passengers who have attracted the attention of said Alliance, and thus the scene is set for an action-packed, cleverly written movie that deserves many of the plaudits that have rightly been thrust in its direction.

What's more, Serenity works whether you've seen the TV series that precedes it or not. Clearly fans of the Firefly show will be in their element, but even the casual viewer will find an immense amount to enjoy.

The only real problem is that given the film's box office returns, further adventures of Reynolds and his crew look unlikely. Unless Serenity turns into a major hit on DVD, that is. It's well worth playing your part in making that happen.—Simon Brew

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Edgar Wright It's no disparagement to describe Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's zombie-rom-com Shaun of the Dead as playing like an extended episode of Spaced. Not only does the movie have the rather modest scope of a TV production, it also boasts the snappy editing, smart camera moves, and deliciously post-modern dialogue familiar from the sitcom, as well as using many of the same cast: Pegg's Shaun and Nick Frost's Ed are doppelgangers of their Spaced characters, while Jessica Stevenson and Peter Serafinowicz appear in smaller roles. Unlike the TV series, it's less important for the audience to be in on the movie in-jokes, though it won't hurt if you know George Romero's famous Dawn of the Dead trilogy, which is liberally plundered for zombie behaviour and mythology.

Shaun is a loser, stuck in a dead-end job and held back by his slacker pal Ed. Girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) is exasperated by his lack of ambition and unceremoniously dumps him. As a result, Shaun misses out on what is apparently the end of the world. In a series of beautifully choreographed and edited scenes, including hilarious tracking shots to and from the local shop, he spectacularly fails to notice the death toll and subsequent zombie plague. Only when one appears in their back garden do Shaun and Ed take notice, hurling sundry kitchen appliances at the undead before breaking out the cricket bat. The catastrophe proves to be the catalyst for Shaun to take charge of his life, sort out his relations with his dotty mum (Penelope Wilton) and distant stepdad (Bill Nighy), and fight to win back his ex-girlfriend. Lucy Davis from The Office and Dylan Moran of Black Books fame head the excellent supporting cast. —Mark Walker

Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Iain Softley Steeped in rain, humidity, and eerie bayou atmosphere, The Skeleton Key is an entertaining supernatural thriller that makes excellent use of its Louisiana locations. New Orleans and the rural environs of Terrebonne Parish are crucial in setting up the creepy circumstances that find compassionate caregiver Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson) newly employed at the backwater plantation home of Violet (Gena Rowlands) and her invalid husband Ben (John Hurt), who's been rendered mute and seemingly helpless by a recent stroke. The place is rife with mystery, shrouded in the secrets of a suspicious past and, under Violet's stern supervision, plagued by superstition involving the use of Hoodoo magic spells (not to be confused with Voodoo, as explored in the similarly suspenseful Angel Heart) intended to protect the house from harm. But Caroline soon discovers the source of the mystery, and why Ben (who can barely utter a word) is so desperate to escape his seemingly comfortable domesticity. There are a few loopholes in the screenplay by prolific horror writer Ehren Kruger (The Ring and The Brothers Grimm), but director Iain Softley (Wings of the Dove) expertly emphasizes the edgy air of mystery, pushing some effective shocks while encouraging fine work from Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard (as Violet's lawyer) and especially Rowlands, who's genuinely disturbing as Skeleton Key nears a twist ending that's undeniably effective. —Jeff Shannon

Nestor Carbonell, Alicia Keys, Joe Carnahan

Clint Eastwood, James Garner

Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Kubrick

Mischa Barton, Colin Firth, Oliver Parker Mischa Barton, Colin Firth, Jodie Whittaker, Stephen Fry, Rupert EverettDirector: Oliver Parker

David Tennant, Gemma Arterton, Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson

Sienna Miller, Jason Flemyng, Matthew Vaughn Stardust settles over the viewer like a twinkly cloak. The film, which captures the magic and vision of author Neil Gaiman's fantasy graphic fable, is a transportive journey into a world of true enchantment, which fans of the Harry Potter books will enjoy as well as will adults looking for the perfect date movie. The tale is a not-so-simple love story and adventure, set in 19th century England, and an alternate universe of witches, spells and stars that turn human—and hold the key to eternal life. Young Tristan (played with wide-eyed vigour by Charlie Cox) vows to retrieve a fallen star for the most beautiful girl in the village, the shallow Victoria (Sienna Miller), and in his quest finds his true love—in a true "meet-cute" moment (by Babylon-candle-speeding into the just-crashed human incarnation of the star, Claire Danes). Much of the film involves the duo's journey back home—though home for Tristan is his village, and home for the celestial Yvaine is, of course, in the heavens. There are villains, notably Michelle Pfeiffer as the vain witch who seeks the fountain of youth a fallen star can give, and the seven venal sons of the dying king of the mythical realm, backstabbing, grasping, and hilarious—even in death as a ghostly Greek chorus. While the sparks of love between Tristan and Yvaine are resonant and touching, Stardust truly succeeds as a brilliant fantasy yarn—and as a comedy with more than its share of belly laughs. Much of the humour belongs to Robert De Niro, who plays a notoriously wicked air pirate who is secretly a bit light in his swashbucklers. Ricky Gervais has a small but memorable role essentially channeling his character from Extras, including his catchphrase, "Are you having a laugh?!" The special effects are all that any fan of Gaiman would wish for. Catch a bit of Stardust and you'll feel enchanted for a good long while. —A.T. Hurley

Christopher Reeve, Sarah Douglas, Richard Donner Modern blockbuster cinema came of age with the release of three huge science fiction/fantasy extravaganzas in the late 1970s. In 1978 Superman was the last of these, a gigantic hit unfairly overshadowed by Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Christopher Reeve is completely convincing as both Superman and mild-mannered alter ego Clarke Kent, sparking real chemistry with Margot Kidder's fellow reporter Lois Lane. Very much a film of two halves, the opening tells the origin of Superman from the apocalyptic fate of Krypton to his nostalgically rendered boyhood in the mid-West. After a wonderful sequence introducing the Fortress of Solitude the film changes gear as the adult Clarke Kent arrives in Metropolis and Superman battles arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). Though the tone becomes lighter and introduces comedy, Superman succeeds because Donner plays the titular character straight. From Marlon Brando's heavyweight cameo to the surprisingly wrenching finale, Superman unfolds as an epic modern myth, a spiritual fable for a secular age and a fantastic entertainment for the young at heart. With breathtaking production design, still special effects, gorgeous cinematography, thrilling set-pieces, wit, romance and John Williams' extraordinarily rich music score, Superman has the power to make you believe a man can fly.

On the DVD: Superman is presented in an extended director's cut which adds eight minutes to the theatrical original. The restored material is so artfully integrated many viewers may not even notice, but it would have been nice to at least have the opportunity to watch the original via seamless branching. The sound has been remixed into extraordinarily powerful Dolby Digital 5.1—the superb main title sequence is worth the price alone—and the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is, except for some unavoidably grainy effects shots, pristine. The commentary by Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz reveals more about the background than all but the most dedicated fan will ever need to know, while film music aficionados will revel in the opportunity to listen to John Williams' score isolated in Dolby Digital 5.1. On the second side of the disc are a eight alternate John Williams music cues, a selection of deleted scenes and the screen tests of a variety of would-be Lois Lanes, introduced and with optional commentary by casting director Lynn Stalmaster. These are fascinating, and show how right for the part Margot Kidder really was. A DVD-ROM only feature presents the storyboards plus various Web features, while the real highlight is a 90-minute documentary divided into three sections covering pre-production, filming and special effects. The picture quality on all the extras is very good indeed. An enthralling package, DVD doesn't get much better than this. —Gary S Dalkin

Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Halle Berry The second superman film as the director originally envisioned it.

Eva Marie Saint, Kevin Spacey, Bryan Singer

Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, Ving RhamesDirector: Johnathan Mostow

Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Dominic Sena

Chris Cooper, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Gaghan

Will Ferrell, Gary Cole, Adam McKay Will Ferrell, Elvis Costello, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary ColeDirector: Adam McKay

Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, McG Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas HowardDirector: McG

Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Tony Scott Jingoism, beefcake, military hardware, and a Giorgio Moroder rock score reign supreme over taste and logic in this Tony Scott film about a maverick trainee pilot (Tom Cruise) who can't follow the rules at a Navy aviation training facility. The dogfight sequences between American and Libyan jets at the end are absolutely mechanical, though audiences loved it at the time. The love story between Cruise's character and that of Kelly McGillis is like flipping through pages of advertising in a glossy magazine. This designer action movie from 1986 is made more palatable by the canny casting of good actors in dumb parts. Standouts include Anthony Edwards—who makes a nice impression as Cruise's average-Joe pal—and the relatively unknown Meg Ryan in a small but memorable appearance. —Tom Keogh

Ethan Hawke, Denzel Washington, Antoine Fuqua

Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Michael Bay How do you like your blockbuster movies? If the answer's loud, fast and full of big robots fighting, then you're well and truly in luck. For director Michael Bay's take on Transformers, based on the toys of the same name, delivers just that. And with some style.

The film stars the fast-rising Shia LaBeouf (Disturbia) as Sam, who discovers that his first car has a little more to it when it transforms into an Autobot robot called Bumblebee. Fortunately, the Autobots are the good guys, and following not far behind are a good number more, headed up by Optimus Prime. Against them are the less friendly Decepticons, with Megatron at the helm, and the two sides are set for a frenetic battle right in the middle of Planet Earth.

There's a plot sitting underneath all of this, but it's pretty much given with the Transformers movie that it's just a vehicle to get the film from one set piece to another. And there's little denying that the action sequences are spectacular. Boasting quite staggering special effects, the on-screen action moves with a pace and ferocity that sometimes makes it hard just to keep up with it all, as mighty robots engage is some quite staggering fights. It's quite an achievement.

Paving the way for an already-in-production sequel, Transformers has little pretensions about what it's going to do, and is all the better for it. This is a film about big robots, big fights, big effects and, ultimately, big, dumb grin-inducing fun. What, really, is there not to like? —Jon Foster

Kevin Bacon, Ron Underwood Tremors didn't actually break any new ground (even though its tunneling worm monsters certainly did), but it revved up the classic monster-movie formulas of the 1950s with such energetic enthusiasm and humour that it made everything old seem new again. It's also got a cast full of enjoyable actors who clearly had a lot of fun making the film, and director Ron Underwood strikes just the right balance of comedy and terror as a band of small-town rednecks battles a lot of really nasty-looking giant worms. The special effects are great, the one-liners fly fast and furious between heroes Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward (and yes, that's country star Reba McEntire packin' awesome firepower), and it's all done with the kind of flair one rarely associates with goofy monster flicks like this. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel (Tremors: Aftershocks), this horror thriller was given the deluxe treatment for its DVD release. —Jeff Shannon

Michael Sheen, Jeff Bridges, Joseph Kosinski The luminescent lines and shimmering surfaces of Tron: Legacy will tantalise anyone who's lusted after the latest smartphone. The long-ago disappearance of his computer-genius father has left Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund, Four Brothers) with existential ennui and a lot of money. When he discovers his father's secret workshop, he gets sucked into a computerised realm ruled by a megalomaniac computer program named Clu—who just happens to be his father's virtual doppelganger. To find his real father (Jeff Bridges, reprising his role from the original Tron, with a bit of his role from The Big Lebowski thrown in for kicks), Sam has to fight in gladiatorial games, drive in digital demolition derbies, and be stripped and dressed by slinky pneumatic babes. For all the techno-babble and quasi-philosophy the characters spout, this is a movie without an idea in its shiny head. It would be pointless to describe the many sillinesses because Tron: Legacy isn't actually trying to be smart; it's trying to look cool. It succeeds. Olivia Wilde (House) looks like the coolest action figure ever (if the entire movie could be nothing but the shot of her lounging on a futuristic sofa, it would be a masterpiece of avant-garde gizmo-fetishism). The facemasks are cool, the glowing skintight outfits are cool, the light-cycles are really, really cool—and let's be honest, it's all about the light-cycles. That's what the audience for Tron wants, and that's what Tron: Legacy delivers. —Bret Fetzer

Brad Pitt, Sean Bean, Wolfgang Petersen

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Chris Weitz Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth ReaserDirector: Chris Weitz

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, David Slade

Matt Damon, Albert Finney, Doug Liman, Paul Greengrass

Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood

George Clooney George Clooney

Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry

Stephen Sommers

Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Kevin Reynolds

Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Jonathan Lynn

Regardless of whether it was "too early" in 2006 to dramatise the events of September 11th, 2001, World Trade Center succeeds as a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who served at "ground zero" in the wake of terrorist attacks on the WTC's twin towers in New York City. Removed from the politics of war and terrorism (yet still, like all films, inherently political in expressing its point of view), Oliver Stone's potent drama focuses on the nightmarish ordeal, and subsequent rescue, of Port Authority policemen John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Peña), who were buried deeply within the rubble of the WTC after the twin towers collapsed. Granted, it's only the film's historical context that distinguishes it from any other dramatic rescue story, but in focusing on the goodness of humanity in response to the evil of terrorists who remain unnamed and off-screen, Stone and first-time screenwriter Andrea Berloff create an emotional context as powerful as anything Stone has directed since Platoon. Even as he resorts to some questionable tactics typically lacking in subtlety, Stone refrains from much of the blunt-force filmmaking that has made him a critical punching bag, rising to this challenging occasion with a heartfelt and deeply American portrait of unity – personal, familial, and national. Flaws and all, World Trade Center serves an honourable purpose, reminding us all that for those fleeting days in September 2001, America showed its best face to a sympathetic world. —Jeff Shannon

Kevin Costner, David Andrews, Lawrence Kasdan

Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Cohen Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Asia ArgentoDirector: Rob Cohen