As the two films of The Hobbit get ready for their year-long shoot, beginning next month, the other major franchise that's been held up by the financial problems of MGM is also finally firing back into life. We're talking James Bond, with the twenty-third film finally back on the schedules, having been indefinitely postponed last year.

The announcement was made via a new EON Productions press release, which reads thus:

"Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions, together with Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., today announced that the 23rd James Bond film will commence production in late 2011 for a worldwide release on November 9, 2012.

Daniel Craig will be returning as the legendary British secret agent, with Sam Mendes directing a screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan."

As rumoured, then, Sam Mendes will be directing, with there having been some uncertainty if he'd stay on board once the film his its delays.

Furthermore, there's solid speculation that Simon Russell Beale is being lined up to play Bond's nemesis in the new film. He's set to work with Sam Mendes in a National Theatre production of King Lear next year, and he's currently treading the boards in London in a production of Deathtrap. It's also Simon Russell Beale's birthday, we note. So, happy birthday to him.

It's unclear whether Rachel Weisz is still involved with the project, but we suspect we'll be finding that out in due course.

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It was revealed towards the end of last year that Christopher Nolan's final Batman adventure, the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, would have two major female roles in it. And as Nolan continues pre-production ahead of the shoot for the film kicking off in the spring, we're getting some idea of who might be playing those roles.

The Hollywood Reporter names six different actresses who are testing for roles in the new film. Apparently, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel and Keira Knightley are all set to test in the next two weeks, along with thus-far less known names such as Kate Mara and Charlotte Riley.

It's also reported that Gemma Arterton is also on the short list, but she's taken a role in Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters, which is likely to put pay to her chances of visiting Gotham City anytime soon.

It's also noted that there's little substance to the rumours suggesting that Naomi Watts and Eva Green have been cast in the film.

Production on The Dark Knight Rises begins in May, and we'll have more casting news as we get it.

The Hollywood Reporter

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Off the back of the first trailer for Battle: Los Angeles, released in the back end of last year, our ticket was pretty much sold. One of a clutch of alien invasion flicks that we seem to be in the middle of a fad for, its pretty literal down to earth approach looked mighty interesting.

We've now got a new trailer to take a look at, too. And we've got to say, we're not being dissuaded from watching this film at all. The effects look smart, the handheld, in-your-face style seems to be working a treat, and we just hope that it all works well across a three-act movie.

Battle: Los Angeles is released on 11 March 2011.

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Earlier this week, the director of the two Ghostbusters films to date, Ivan Reitman, was chatting about the planned upcoming Ghostbusters 3. And as he nixed many of the rumours that have swelled online about the project, he also revealed that Bill Murray has only just received the finished script of the film.

Deadline is now reporting that Ivan Reitman and Sony Pictures "have no idea if the mercurial Murray will smile on the script they've just sent him". But here's something we didn't know: "Without Murray, the studio absolutely will not make the film."

Deadline's sources tend to be strong, and if true, this means that the proposed $150m could very well lie in the whims of Bill Murray.  The article quotes an insider as saying, "The studio won't even think about [moving] forward on a $150 million film unless Bill has a closed deal and a commitment.

From our point of view, Ghostbusters 3 without Bill Murray is pretty much unthinkable. And yet, from a movie business standpoint, would his non-appearance in the film do it much commercial damage? Especially as this is to be a passing of the torch movie to bring in a new, younger collection of Ghostbusters?

There's little question that Bill Murray is a comedy genius, but is he a major star whose absence would fatally damage the commercial prospects of a $150m sequel? We'd have to say no.

Still, should Murray genuinely have the casting vote, then we're absolutely not going to knock that. As it stands, if he agrees to the movie, then it's going to happen quickly. If he doesn't, then it's not going to happen at all.

Watch this space...

Deadline

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For fans of world cinema, 2010 was the year of the Millennium trilogy, the three film adaptations of Stieg Larsson's novels about Lisbeth Salander. It's not to say you had to like all of the films or you're not a fan of world cinema, just the same as how 2003 was the year of The Matrix for spawning two less well received sequels.

The rapid-fire release of the films in the UK held my attention for most of the year. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo kicked it all off in April and the story concluded with The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest in November.

The Girl Who Played With Fire came in the middle, and with the benefit of now having seen all three films, it's most aptly described after a second viewing as a connector between Dragon Tattoo and Hornet's Nest.

We pick up with damaged genius Lisbeth Salander and altruistic journalist Mikael Blomkvist a little while after we left them in the first film, and drop them off at a point for the third film to pick up. What happens in between involves Lisbeth being framed for a triple murder, and subsequently, she's made the target of a national manhunt.

Her old pal Blomkvist believes in her innocence, because of the case's link with the sex trafficking racket he's about to expose in his magazine, but he's the only one protesting on her part. The key to exonerating Lisbeth lies in her tortured past, and as he desperately tries to re-establish communication with the driven and independent young woman, dark secrets shed new light on the present.

If you've noticed the perilous teal and orange colour grading that has crayoned Hollywood's output in a fug of teal and orange, prepare yourself for the complete discordance of cinematic styles between this instalment and the snowy vistas of the first film.

Director Daniel Alfredson's visual style jarred in the cinema, but it should be mentioned foremost on the Blu-ray because of how it's compounded by a less than crisp transfer. There's too much grain for a recommendation of the HD version over the standard definition DVD, which should probably look fine when upscaled.

Amusingly, I discovered a neat special feature on this one. There's an English dub of the film that's done by American-accented voice artists, and that's how I had my second viewing. For people who don't want to bother reading subtitles, David Fincher is going to be remaking the trilogy in the English language, starting this December. So, you should probably wait for Daniel Craig's spin on Blomkvist, rather than listen to the line-reading drudgery of this dubbing.

It's often the case with the best dubs that they'll get a sterling cast to perform vocal duties, as in a favourite of mine, Porco Rosso, which features the voices of Michael Keaton and Cary Elwes, amongst others. The voice artists here have no such pedigree, which is galling to hear in a trilogy of films that are so driven by the strength of their performances, vocal or otherwise.

Noomi Rapace is rightly being lauded left, right and centre for her turn as Lisbeth in these films, so why would you listen to an American drawl just because the superior delivery isn't in English? When Rapace is off-screen, none of the Millennium films are ever as interesting as they are when she's on-screen.

And thus, one of the major criticisms of this second instalment must be that they keep the two protagonists apart for too long. I like that Blomkvist, the audience viewpoint figure, is left in the dark, separated from his one-time partner in investigation for much of the film. It gives the audience the upper hand to some extent, except for how Blomkvist's detective abilities now seem only to span as far as threatening to publish people's names unless they give him information.

Extras

The second viewing was also informed by the selection of extras available on the Blu-ray, which include some cast and crew interviews that gradually devolve into irrelevance. They're edited and shot by John Lindqvist, apparently, and I don't know if it's the same John Lindqvist who wrote Let The Right One In, but either way, they're a tad rubbish.

However, some of them do go some way to informing the film itself. Filmed guerrilla style on the set of the film, we find Micke Spreitz, who's much more talkative than Ronald Niedermann, his character in the film. In his interview, and in the accompanying action scene dissection, Niedermann vs. Roberto, we see that he's not really an actor.

This alone informs the leaden performance necessary for a character who's essentially a Bond henchman along the lines of Jaws or Oddjob. Niedermann is a 7-foot tall Aryan bloke who has the physical quirk of being immune to pain. The effect of his sudden appearance in this sequel after the straight-faced and issues-driven original is similar to the effect a talking animal would have if it showed up in the middle of Schindler's List.

That said, the other stand-out interview on the disc features Georgi Staykov, the actor who plays the sub-Bond villain who compounds the goofier stance of the sequel, Alexander Zalachenko. The interview finds him in the make-up chair, as he concludes his day of acting by having the burns-wound prosthetic removed.

We get to know Staykov as the make-up is removed, and the effect of seeing a much younger actor at the end of it all makes it a beautifully judged and edited sequence in a special feature that thereafter turns into an interview where the first assistant director explains what a first assistant director does, and so on with other crewmembers, dispensing with any insight into the actual film.

For all of this slightly negative criticism of The Girl Who Played With Fire and its Blu-ray release, this is only to break down exactly why the film falls somewhere beneath the pedestal held by the first instalment. It's still a decent watch with all of its flaws, and it's arguably the most cinematic outing for Lisbeth.

In the lead role, Rapace expands her outstanding performance and embellishes her rendition of the character with consummate cool and heartfelt expression. The following instalment, which is also previewed in the extra features, is much weaker for featuring less of Lisbeth.

The Girl Who Played With Fire is simultaneously a follow-up and a stage-setter, and holds together much better than its sequel.

Film:
Disc:

The Girl Who Played With Fire is out now on Blu-ray and available from the Den Of Geek Store.

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The Larry Sanders Show, which originally ran for six seasons, from 1992 through 1998 in the US, failed to make a very big splash when it was first broadcast in the UK (on BBC 2, late at night, after the equally brilliant Seinfeld), and even to this day, the series seems to have stayed relatively obscure, despite its influence on modern comedy.

Created, written and starring Garry Shandling, The Larry Sanders Show sardonically depicted the entertainment industry as shallow, self-obsessed and desperate. Opting not to use a laugh track, The Larry Sanders Show moved away from the traditional sitcom approach to create a character-driven, reality-based satire, which subsequently paved the way for shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office and 30 Rock.

Up until recently, however, apart from a good, but somewhat underwhelming "Best of" DVD, The Larry Sanders Show hasn't been readily available for fans to watch. Watching it on ITV 4 in the early hours of the morning, like an insomniac or a confused, drunk man searching for BabeCast, was pretty much the only option for fans. Either way, you were bound to find that some of the episodes had been hacked apart, with jokes missing in favour of ad breaks and annoying pop-ups.

Needless to say, the recent release of Season 1 and 2 has got a lot of people very excited. Finally, after all these years, one of the sharpest, most innovative comedies is available to own on DVD, and it's long overdue.

The Premise

The show centres around a fictional late night talk show called The Larry Sanders Show, hosted by neurotic comedian, Larry Sanders. It's essentially a show-within-a-show, where we, the viewers, watch the everyday workings of the production of the talk show (shot with a single camera on tape) as well as highlights from the fictional broadcast of the talk show (video-taped and shot with multiple cameras, like The Late Show With David Letterman).

Backstage, Larry, his guests and his co-workers aren't aware of the presence of cameras, and viewers subsequently get to see two very different sides of the people who appear on Larry's show, the act they put on for the cameras and their true colours.

Celebrities appear on The Larry Sanders Show, usually portraying exaggerated, often unflattering, versions of themselves.

The Characters

Larry Sanders
Larry is a neurotic, narcissistic comic and the host of The Larry Sanders Show. He's constantly bothered by ratings and the success of rivals shows. Throughout the show, he dates many women, including Mimi Rogers, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres, and Dana Delany, whom he sometimes watches his own show with. He's insecure and very concerned by the size of his ass, a constant source of paranoia for Larry.

X-Files star, David Duchovny, is particularly fond of Larry and regularly invites him to stay at his beach house.

Hank Kingsley
Hank Kingsley, played by Jeffrey Tambor, is Larry's sycophantic, deep-voiced, moustachioed sidekick, as well as the show's announcer. He frequently uses the catchphrase "Hey now!", which Larry believes to be an affectation. When questioned on his frequent use of the phrase (clearly a take-off of Ed McMahon's "Hi-yooo!"), Hank explains that he grew up using both the words "hey" and "now", admitting that he put the two together later in life.

Hank happily endorses products and often lends his name to things that he later regrets (the Hankerciser 200, for example). He's incredibly shameless and things generally tend to blow up in his face. He's a source of constant ridicule around the office, much to his disdain.

Hank once chipped his back tooth on a urinal.

Artie

Arthur or "Artie" is Larry's hard-nosed, gruff-voiced producer. Artie's been in the industry for years and regularly quotes the wisdom of the people he's worked with throughout his career, including Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason.

Artie works hard to make sure the show runs smoothly and spends much of his time reassuring Larry when his neurosis gets the better of him. He's less kind to Hank, describing his as someone whose "heart's in the right place, but he keeps his brain at home in a box".

He regularly uses the word "crapper" when referring to the toilet.

Beverly
Beverly (Penny Johnson) is Larry's unfortunate, over-worked assistant.

Darlene
Hank's attractive, emotional and devoted assistant Darlene (Linda Doucett), takes care of all Hanks concerns in life. Hank tends to take advantage of her kindness and she generally ends up running seemingly pointless errands for him.

Paula
Paula (Janeane Garofalo) is the show's grouchy talent booker. She regularly changes the colour of her hair throughout the series and likes to date musicians. She's particularly fond of Pavement and Weezer.

Phil

Phil (Wallace Langham) is the cynical, smart-assed head writer at The Larry Sanders Show. He regularly makes fun of Hank, generally without Hank realising. He had a brief relationship with Darlene, who believed he could speak French. She eventually found out that Phil was just making up French-sounding words.

Jerry
Jerry, played by Jeremy Piven, was the original head writer of The Larry Sanders Show. Jerry was fired after he repeatedly had sex with a co-worker (once on the set of the show). He was discovered by Larry at legendary comedy club Catch a Rising Star later and was replaced as head writer by Phil.

Mary Lou
Played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, Mary Lou is a flustered, often incompetent assistant talent booker and a friend of Paula's.

After The Larry Sanders Show

After the show ended, Shandling produced, wrote and starred in the film What Planet Are You From?, but stayed largely inactive throughout the '00s, occasional making guest appearances on talk shows and in films. He also appeared as himself in an episode of The X-Files (Hollywood A.D., season 7) and recently in Iron Man 2.

In 2006, Shandling was interviewed by comedian Ricky Gervais. Critics have since described the interview as "awkward" and "uncomfortable", drawing comparisons to the similarities between the meeting and two men's comedic styles.

Jeffrey Tambor went on to play the part of George Bluth in Arrested Development and Rip Torn starred in the film Men In Black as well as being nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in The Larry Sanders-inspired 30 Rock.

Wallace Langham appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Jeremy Piven found success portraying Ari Gold in the HBO series Entourage and Janeane Garofalo, Penny Johnson and Mary Lynn Rajskub all appeared in 24.

Arguably, the biggest success story, though, comes from ex-Larry Sanders writer Judd Apatow, who went on to develop the excellent Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared before producing a series of popular comedy films, including Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he also wrote and directed.

Some shows influenced by The Larry Sanders Show

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Very heavily influenced by Larry Sanders, both stylistically and in terms of humour. Both shows are centred around wealthy comedians with the same camera setup and celebrities playing exaggerated versions of themselves. Not to mention the frequent use of foul language.

30 Rock

Starring ex-guest Larry Sanders guest star, Alec Baldwin (he slept with Larry's wife), 30 Rock takes place behind the scenes of a live comedy sketch show. From first impressions, it's easy to draw comparisons between 30 Rock and The Larry Sanders Show. But whereas Sanders tended to be dark, sardonic and wry, 30 Rock tends to be much more upbeat and light-hearted. However, that's not to say that 30 Rock can't pack a punch when it wants to.

Extras

Extras charts the life of Andy Millman, a struggling writer and actor. There's plenty of Larry Sanders influence to be found here, including the strikingly similar opening credits and the way in which celebrities play exaggerated parodies of their public personas.

The Office

Not as heavily influenced by The Larry Sanders Show as Extras, but there's still a notable influence here. The show largely used character-driven humour and featured similarly cringe-worthy, toe-curling moments to Sanders.

Ricky Gervais has mentioned that the scene where David Brent pleads to his superiors not to fire him is based on a scene in a Larry Sanders episode called The Party. In the scene, Hank begs Larry for an invite to his party by first pretending to have tickets to a sporting event.

The Thick Of It

Once described by creator Armando Iannucci as "Yes Minister meets Larry Sanders," The Thick Of It employs similar ideas to The Larry Sanders Show to create a hilarious and realistic satire of the inner workings of British politics.

Entourage

Starring Sanders alumni, Jeremy Piven, Entourage chronicles the acting career of an A-list movie star and his childhood friends. The show's heavily influenced by the behind-the-scenes segments of The Larry Sanders Show, and often deals with similar themes.

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip

One of the most directly influenced shows on the list, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show. While the show is undeniably inspired by The Larry Sanders Show, comparisons between Studio 60 and 30 Rock were drawn after both shows first debuted around the same time.

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Lauded in geek circles for his work in a Hollywood career that has spanned some thirty-odd years and taken in influential work on/around such pop-cultural lodestones such as Star Trek, Sherlock Holmes and HG Wells' The Time Machine, Nicholas Meyer is a writer/director whose influence spreads wider than many would imagine, taking in filmmakers as diverse as Quentin Tarantino, Bryan Singer and JJ Abrams in the process.

The View From The Bridge offers us a schematic, yet absorbing account of Meyer's life and Hollywood career, with a particular focus paid to his contribution to the Trek franchise.

The son of New York Jewish professionals (his Father was a psychoanalyst and his Mother a concert pianist), who counted Albert Einstein as a one-time dinner guest, Meyer was raised in a bookish, intellectual environment, but was a voracious devourer of the works of genre writers such as Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas, Arthur Conan Doyle, HG Wells, and the popular movies of the time.

However, despite Meyer's love for the more pulpy adventure material, it's actually the collision of those influences with a more literary/high culture strand that is the real signifying stamp of his work.

Whether it be Spock and Kirk discussing Dickens' A Tale Of Two Cities in The Wrath Of Khan, HG Wells struggling with the concept of fast food in Time After Time or Sherlock Holmes hanging out with Sigmund Freud in The Seven Percent Solution, this interface between pop culture and high culture is what marks them out as being smart, witty and, perhaps more importantly, very human scaled.

These characters, despite their iconic status, are not treated as untouchable gods, but rather as flawed and weak human beings, who overcome their failings to become truly heroic. As Meyer himself says in the book, "I believe in heroes, not superheroes," and nowhere is that more evident than in his work onscreen.

The two longest sections of the book follow Meyer's work as writer/director of both Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan (1982) and Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (1991), with a brief diversion in the middle to cover his quite significant scripting work on Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (1987). The story of the Star Trek movies is an interesting, but oft-told one and many of the anecdotes have been repeated on various DVD commentaries/documentaries over the years.

Despite this problem of familiarity, Meyer manages to bring some new material to the table and his revelation about his falling out with Leonard Nimoy and his observations about the whole Trek phenomena and attitude of the broader cast towards it are interesting. As are his own (ambivalent) feelings towards the franchise.

Meyer clearly feels akin to Arthur Conan Doyle, who was bemused by the adoration of the public for Sherlock Holmes as opposed to his other works. "I can do it, but I don't get it," seems to be the maxim that Meyer, like Conan Doyle before him hews to when discussing the pop culture phenomena that has come to define his career and body of work.

Aside from the Trek sections, there's also plenty of other anecdotal material on offer, including a not particularly flattering portrait of Gene Hackman from the set of the author's 1991 Company Business, which covers Meyer's writing and directing work on such movies as Sommersby, The Human Stain, Elegy, The Day After, Time After Time, The Seven Percent Solution, Fatal Attraction, Volunteers and The Deceivers.

However, despite the fact that Meyer boasts a very impressive CV, the fact remains that, when placed against this other work, his best and most successful pieces are still Treks II and VI, Time After Time and The Seven Percent Solution.

Perhaps that's just this particular reviewer's personal preference (although I must confess a fondness for Elegy, his adaptation of Philip Roth's The Dying Animal). But one can argue quite strongly that the further Meyer has strayed away from that interface between high culture and pop culture, the weaker and more indistinct his work becomes.

Is Meyer happy about this? Probably not. But then he's also too smart a writer to let any bitterness cloud proceedings, and wisely focuses on the successes in his career, of which there have been many.

Interesting, well written and entertaining, The View From The Bridge is very much a reflection of both its author and the movies he makes. Here's hoping he gets back behind the camera soon. 

The View From The Bridge: Memories Of Star Trek And A Life In Hollywood is out now and available from the Den Of Geek Store.

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So, it's January. Post-festive season excesses have caught up with us, and for many, back to work blues have most likely also struck. What a crappy month. No wonder most people have already started planning their holidays. In my office the talk is full of people with one foot somewhere exotic. Or at least Magaluf.

But can films provide us with inspiration? I hope so, or else this is going to be a somewhat short column. So, without further ado, here's a list of destinations for you, complete with what makes them so special...

Thailand

What the guidebook says: "Thailand...gives off a certain lustre, be it the fertile rice fields of the central plains, white sandy beaches or the warm hospitality of its citizenry."

All well and good, but I'd much prefer the dayglo Thailand of Tears Of The Black Tiger for my trip there.

Pros: Midgets with bazookas, cowboys, bright neon colours, romantic interludes with pretty girls on verandas, awesome shoot-outs against your rivals virtually guaranteed.

Cons: Midgets with bazookas, distinct possibility that you will be blown up or gunned down in an ultra-violent manner, most of the beautiful scenery and sunsets you have been admiring will turn out to be nothing more than fetchingly painted backdrops.

Verdict: If you like guns and cowboys, go right ahead. Oh, and midgets.

Bruges

What the guidebook says: "Suspended in time centuries ago, Bruges is now one of Western Europe's most-visited medieval cities. Picturesque market squares, dreamy canals and old whitewashed almshouses all evoke a world long since gone."

Having had the pleasure of going myself, I can certainly attest to this. However, Bruges has gained a certain notoriety since In Bruges, so is it really all that bad?

Pros: It's like a fairytale isn't it? Charming Irishmen running about the place, easy access to guns, drugs and hookers, apparently, cobbled streets, and a tower with quite a view (and drop). Also makes you incredibly quotable.

Cons: Racist midgets (those little fellas sure like to get around don't they?), a snarling Ralph Fiennes chasing you about the place, an average of 1.18 utterings of 'fuck' a minute (for those with delicate ears), it's in Belgium.

Verdict: Way more exciting than you expect it to be. Go now. Also, there's a good fondue restaurant there.

Mexico

What the guidebook says: "Every visitor goes home with their own unforgettable images. Such a large country, straddling temperate and tropical zones, reaching 5km into the sky and stretching 10,000km along its coasts, with a city of 19 million people at its center and countless tiny pueblos everywhere, can hardly fail to provide a huge variety of options for human adventure."

Lovely hey? Well, it certainly looks that way in Y Tu Mama Tambien.

Pros: Constant excitement because your life is one big hormone-fuelled road trip. Incredible scenery, feeling the pulsating rhythm of a country exploring and reinventing its own identity in a modern world, getting to hang out with Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna.

Cons: Having a voiceover guy reveal the often sad truth behind some of the incidents you encounter in the country, thereby showing you another face of Mexico, the naivety and exuberance of youth being ultimately fickle and callous, getting to pleasure both Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna at the same time (maybe not such a con for some of our readers...)

Verdict: Worth it for the scenery and the soundtrack, plus, if a trip to Mexico is even half as exuberant and exciting as this movie, it's going to be the best trip of your life.

Sarajevo

What the guidebook says: "Sarajevo has charm: rattly old trams circle a city centre containing the Baščaršija bazaar, an ancient trading place with artisans' workshops, coffee drinking dens, restaurants, cosy bars and endless souvenir choices. Further west the Ottoman traces disappear and the city takes on its other guise of a proud Austro-Hungarian colonial capital."

Well, who wants to read a guidebook anyway?! We're basing our holiday arbitrarily on films we've seen. This is why, for my guide, I've chosen Michael Winterbottom's harrowing Welcome To Sarajevo, set during the war.

Pros: Umm...

Cons: A city and people on the brink of annihilation, a siege meaning terrible conditions for the population, rife internal crime, seizing of children by Serbian soldiers, sniper attacks, heartbreaking scenes of a musician playing a sorrowful song to mark the descent of Sarajevo into the world's most terrible place.

Verdict: Who bases where they go on films?! What a stupid idea anyway. Don't go to any war torn cities in the past, kids.

Ingary

What the guidebook says: "In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes."

Quite. The magical land of Howl's Moving Castle may not be top of many people's must-visit list, but it does have several advantages to offer.

Pros: Hard to get to, so not many tourists. Magic! People fly about due to actual magic! Billy Crystal is a wise-cracking fire demon. There are cool steampunk-style helicopter bikes to use if you're blessed with magical powers. Moving houses are a must-have fashion accessory. So are capes.

Cons: Wizard Howl apparently eats young girls' hearts. Sucks to be them. He also turns into a frightening bird creature on occasion, an e vil witch may cast a spell on you, turning you into an ancient old woman, there's a war going on featuring massive flying dreadnought ships with big wings. Actually that last one is possibly a pro. The ending of the film might not make a whole heap of sense.

Verdict: Although difficult to reach due to its imaginary nature, Ingary will surely be up there in 2011 travel lists. Get there while it's still undiscovered.

So, there you have it. Who needs to do detailed factual research on a destination when filmmakers have done all the hard work for you? Just be lazy. It's January, after all. Start as you mean to go on.

• See the growing World Cinema series

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General consensus seems to be that 2010 was a solid year for English-language films. But, as usual, there were an abundance of movies that didn't quite get the love they deserved.

Granted, our round-up this year kicks off with one that was a solid hit, but given that it's still managed to avoid many people's radar, we felt it deserved another push. As for the rest? Well, let's just say it's worth you digging out any of these...

10. Easy A

Okay, this one's cheating a bit. It was a solid box office hit and reaped a fair bit of acclaim. Yet, we're kicking off the list with it as it's also a film that's been overlooked by many who have pigeon-holed it without really giving it a chance.

So, yes, Easy A is a teen comedy. That much is true. But for most of its running time, before it heads into its final act, it's a smart one.

It's got a lively, sharp script, with some killer lines, and it also boasts a terrific turn from Emma Stone. She's now hard at work on the Spider-Man reboot, but Easy A has very much marked her as a talent to watch.

9. Centurion

It's a toss up between this and Solomon Kane to work out which action-packed historical gore-fest got the nod, but Neil Marshall's film just about prevails for us. His cast serve him well for starters, most notably the likes of Michael Fassbender and Dominic West, but it wins out for just being, quite literally, bloody good fun.

Marshall, it should be said, isn't firing on The Descent's cylinders with Centurion, but he did deliver an entertaining British action movie. And there's really not often that you see those words put together. Well worth checking out. Beer a welcome accessory.

8. Black Dynamite

Looking for the overlooked comedy of 2010? Then look no further. Released in the US in 2009, but only making it to these shores last year, Scott Sanders' blaxploitation spoof stars Michael Jai White in the title role, and manages to observe rule one for a comedy: being very funny, indeed.

Keeping its running time lean and the laughs frequent, the film didn't even scrape $1m at the US box office, and it flew over most people's radar here. But it's ripe for rediscovery on disc, and it's ripe for cult success. The DVD arrives in the UK later this month.

7. Tamara Drewe

2010 wasn't too kind on comic book movies, with only Kick-Ass managing to unite find both box office success and critical acclaim. However, Tamara Drewe showed us an alternative world that lay beyond superheroics.

Adapted from the serialised strip in the Guardian, created by Posy Simmonds, Tamara Drewe was directed by Stephen Frears, and starred Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam and Tamsin Greig, making it a real surprise that it didn't ensnare the literate, middle class audience it so effectively captured in its tragicomic tale of racing pulses in a rural writer's retreat.

Sure, its tone is a little muddled at times, especially in the broad caricaturing of Dominic Cooper's boisterous rock star boyfriend, but we dare you to resist the film's secret weapons, the bitchy teens played to high-pitched perfection by Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie, who look on Drewe's escapades with a mixture of extreme jealousy and hopeless, wide-eyed aspiration.

6. 4.3.2.1.

Noel Clarke's second directorial effort got a mixed response on its release in the middle of 2010, and it faced tough competition, being released amidst a clutch of Hollywood movies scuttling to get into cinemas before the World Cup started.

However, even though it's far from a perfect beast (Clarke himself admits that it's probably five minutes too long), it's a terrifically ambitious British movie, that bursts out of the confines of being primarily shot and made in the UK. It's served by a strong cast, and a terrific (and scarily prescient) cameo from Kevin Smith.

4.3.2.1 is often funny, always ambitious and ultimately impactful British blockbuster, which deserved to make more at the box office than it did (although it still notched up nearly £1m in UK cinemas). And sure, it has a few problems. But there's no way you don't get your money's worth from it. Clarke remains a director very much worth following.

5. The Joneses

Considering the common complaint about the lack of originality in Hollywood movies, it's all the more surprising that The Joneses, a film with a terrific idea at the heart of it, got overlooked by so many.

Sure, the underwhelming final act of the film did it few favours, but that aside, this David Duchovny-headlined story of a seemingly perfect family moving into a neighbourhood and impressing those around them has a terrific central idea up its sleeve, and one it uses to make a fair few points about things as it does so. It gives Demi Moore her best role in years, too.

The less you know about the film the better. So we'll shut up about it right now, to let you discover it for yourself.

4. Youth In Revolt

The Michael Cera movie that set most tongues wagging in 2010 was Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. And there's some justification as to why that should be the case. But heck, that doesn't mean that the terrific Youth In Revolt should be overlooked.

This is a much darker piece than Pilgrim and sees Cera playing two roles, in a deliciously dark comedy. Granted, it's not the kind of film that's going to be to everyone's taste, yet as DoG writer, Karl Hodge, pointed out in nominating the film as one of his favourites of the year, "It's like JD Salinger rewritten by Jerry Lewis. You should seek it out."

Karl's right.

3. World's Greatest Dad

Criminally overlooked and taking an age to get to UK cinemas, World's Greatest Dad was one of the best, and darkest, comedies that saw the inside of a UK cinema in 2010. It's the antithesis to the kind of films that Robin Williams was making a decade beforehand, relying on a dark twist and a terrific turn from its lead actor for its impact.

Plus, hats off to writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait, who hasn't lost his knack of making films that defy expectations and leave audiences reeling.

Off the back of World's Greatest Dad, we can't wait to see what he, and Robin Williams, follow it up with.

In the meantime, if you want to see the kind of film that shows a named Hollywood comedy star taking genuine risks, and a film that happily goes anywhere but the beaten track, then this is your movie.

2. Cemetery Junction

A film that deserved so much more than it got. Heading straight to DVD in the US and failing to register the commercial success it deserved in the UK (although again, it picked up £1.3m), Cemetery Junction was clearly a labour of love piece for writer-directors Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais.

It's a step away from their work on Extras and The Office, instead being an occasionally funny drama set in the 1970s about a trio of young men who have choices to make in the middle of small town industrial Britain.

What we warmed to was the sheer level of detail here. Merchant and Gervais invest heavily in their characters and in getting the look and feel of the film right. And they wisely rest their film on the young shoulders of, particularly, the excellent Christian Cooke. Yet, the film is nearly stolen from underneath him by a superb turn from Emily Watson.

It might not be the comedy that many fans of Merchant and Gervais would have wanted. No. Instead, as it turned out, it was something just a little bit more.

1. Down Terrace

So, Monsters was the low-budget, Brit-indie smash of the year. A deserved well done to Gareth Edwards and all involved, but we were seriously gunning for Down Terrace to experience a similar sort of breakthrough.

From veteran TV director Ben Wheatley, this feature debut mixed up gangster cliches with a wonderfully dour Brighton setting, playing out the disintegration of a family alongside the decline of their nefarious business, which, all too fittingly, involved running a local boozer with a profitable sideline in selling junk on eBay. 

It was a joy to see familiar faces in disarming roles, such as Michael Smiley's unlikely hitman, or Julia Deakin's unnervingly callous matriarch.

But it's the film's central pair, a father-son duo that is as odd as they come, that stood out, as 30-something Karl attempts to wiggle out from under his dad's thumb. Which would be tough going in any typical mafioso epic, but with Bill, whose drug-frazzled youth has given way to wildly erratic behaviour, from impromptu blues jams to the out-of-the-blue pronouncement "Hey, I'm God!",  things are, understandably, a little trickier.

Down Terrace deserved better. 

Just missed the cut: Mic Macs, The Hole

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The last X-Files movie, I Want To Believe, was less than brilliant, and its lacklustre box office performance was perhaps a reflection of the palpable sense of disappointment that greeted it. Discarding the extraterrestrial conspiracies that made the television series and first X-Files movie so compelling, the sequel instead concentrated on an oddly low-key supernatural plot involving defrocked priests, visions and Billy Connolly.

Despite that film's fate, series star David Duchovny remains highly enthusiastic about making another X-Files feature, and he says (not for the first time) that both co-star Gillian Anderson and series creator Chris Carter are interested in making one too.

"We're all like this little X-Files family, and I, for one, would love to continue," Duchovny told Showbiz Spy. "And I think there's a lot left in the show. You know? And I think we can continue to make good movies. It's just a matter of spending enough on a movie that can compete in the summertime. We made a movie and released it in the summer, but it wasn't really a blockbuster movie. And it got kind of overshadowed by the bigger ones. So, we're saying, make us big. We'll fight with the big boys."

As Shock Till You Drop points out, the X-Files series always carried dire warnings of an alien invasion, which in the show's mythology is set to occur in 2012. Such an event would surely be a hit with fans of the series and provide a logical final chapter in one of the best sci-fi shows of the 90s.

With 2012 just around the corner, however, and no sequel formally announced, such a film looks less likely with every passing day. Unless, of course, Chris Carter can think of a plausible reason for having the aliens postpone their invasion by a year or so...

Shock Till You Drop

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If you thought that Hollywood's current obsession with remakes and reboots was a sign that its writers are officially running out of ideas, the latest nugget of news to emerge from Tinseltown won't exactly fill you with hope.

According to Variety, 20th Century Fox has struck a deal with Atari to adapt the 31-year-old videogame, Missile Command, for the big screen. If you're not familiar with the cold war arcade classic, it involved protecting a series of vulnerable bases from falling nuclear warheads.

Appearing briefly in Fast Times At Ridgemont High in 1982, and also making a cameo in Terminator 2 almost 10 years later, Missile Command is, like most classic arcade games, entirely without plot.

A lack of plot seldom deters Hollywood executives, of course, and the game's premise at least gives its writers, said to be Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, the excuse to pepper the screen with lots of explosions.

We're anxiously awaiting the announcement of a Frogger adaptation, in which Jack Black, dressed as an amphibian, spends 90 minutes attempting to cross a busy main road. Watch out for that truck, Jack!

Variety

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With DC's finest throwing it down in DC Universe, it got the DoG office talking about super powers and abilities in games. Superheroes could essentially be called modern day gods, as each has powers and abilities that wouldn't be out of place in an olde worlde fable about benevolent deities or tyrannical evil omnipotent beings. Some superheroes have even been directly created from existing gods, such as the Mjolnir-wielding Thor.

DC and Marvel have the superhero arena pretty much tied up, including outings in games, but we thought we'd put together a list of the best god-like powers found in gamingdom. Of course, this list could go on for decades, and in order to make the task a little more manageable, we set some rules.

First, we're not including any actual comic book superhero games. We're also not  including traditional magic, so that means a lot of RPGs are out of the running, and the countless beat ‘em up fighters that can hurl fireballs are dismissed too.

Instead we're going to look at pure videogame powers and characters with special abilities or god-like skills that make them stand out from the crowd.

As ever, this group is merely our favourite selection and we can't cover everyone, so feel free to agree, disagree, and rant below (you know you want to).

So, in no particular order, here's the line up.

Populous - Creation

We couldn't have a god-like power list without mentioning what many consider to be the granddaddy of god games. On release way back in 1989, Populous was a revelation.

As a god, it was your duty to help your subjects thrive in a virgin landscape, and although you had no direct control of your people, through divine intervention you could nurture them by shaping the very land they walked on, helping them build settlements and grow in strength so they could eventually defeat a rival army.

Although very simple by today's standards, Populous is a cornerstone of the god game genre, and would lead creator, Peter Molyneux, on to bigger and better things, such as Black And White and Fable.

Actually playing a god set it apart from other similar titles such as Civilisation and Sim City, where you took the role of a leader or city planer. Populous gave you real god-like power.

God Of War - Super strength

He's the undisputed hard man of gaming, and when he's not spending his time killing gods, he is one. Yes, Sony's brutal AAA Spartan, Kratos, may not have god-like powers in the traditional sense, and his extra abilities, such as throwing lighting bolts and flying come from magical items, but his core blood spattering skills surely earn him a place here.

Any man who can not only hold his own in a battle against Zeus, but can actually best the ruler of Mt Olympus has that something extra, and if it's not god-like ability, we don't know what is.

Infamous - Control of electricity

Infamous' Cole certainly falls into the category of a superhero (or super villain, if you prefer), but he's a good old fashioned videogame character first and foremost, and one with powers that would make the god of thunder turn green with envy.

After a strange explosion destroys a large part of Empire City, Cole finds himself with the ability to absorb and manipulate electricity. Soon he's able to fire off bolts, throw exploding lightning grenades, grind along electric cables and even call down lightning storms from the heavens themselves.

Now, there's a god-like ability we wouldn't mind in a power cut.

Legacy Of Kain/Soul Reaver - Control of fate and destiny

The adventures of Kain and Raziel are as epic and complex as they are gothic and grim. Kain is a powerful vampire who takes the skills of the blood-lovin' toothy killers to new heights, as he holds in his hands the very fate of the world, and Raziel is an ex-vamp who now travels between the realms of the living and the dead, eating the souls of any who dare get in his way.

Both characters possess some truly epic abilities, and with both knocking around in the same series, it was only fitting they found their way onto this list.

BioShock - Genetic mastery

Imagine, if you will, going to a vending machine for a Tango, Mars bar and a dose of telekinesis. In the world of BioShock, this is a reality, and anyone with a bit of loose change can grab their very own god-like abilities.

Lightning, fireballs, invisibility and even the ability to conjure up swarms of angry bees were granted, thanks to the use of Plasmids, and the game's character, Jack, eventually became god-like powerful by the time the credits rolled.

Killer7 - Super schizophrenia

As god-like powers go, Harman Smith certainly has one of the strangest, but even though it may be little more than a deep rooted psychosis, it still grants him the ability to change into one of seven different highly skilled killers, each with their own special powers.

Using blood to destroy walls, 'seeing' sound, firing hell-powered bullets and even reviving the dead are some of the skills Harman possesses in his various guises, and if weirdness was a god-like ability, he'd be the most powerful god in creation. In the name of Harman...

The Nomad Soul (a.k.a Omikron: The Nomad Soul) - Possession

Possession, as well as being nine tenths of the law, is a common skill attributed to any self-respecting deity, and David Bowie-sporting, cult classic, The Nomad Soul features this as its central gameplay mechanic.

As the player of the game, you're sucked into the title's city of Omikron and to exist you have to possess the bodies of the many inhabitants of the world, whilst doing battle with strange demons who would like nothing more than to eat your very soul.

Released in 1999, The Nomad Soul was a greatly underrated gem that failed to sell as it should have, even with David Bowie lending his likeness and music to it.

The possession mechanic was well implemented, and made for a very interesting and unique experience that's never really been recreated in the same way.

Okami - Creation and restoration

Another tragically underplayed game, Okami features the main character of Amaterasu, a white wolf who just so happens to be a bona fide deity. Blessed with the god-like power of the celestial brush, Ammy has the ability to paint the world, with various effects.

By painting with her tail, Ammy can slay enemies, create items, alter the landscape of the world and bring nature back to life.

Throughout the game she destroys mighty demons and brings back colour and happiness to Japan in her fight against the eight-headed demon, Orochi.

The Legend Of Zelda - Triforce essences: wisdom/power/courage

Come on, how could we have a top ten god-like power list without featuring everyone's favourite green-clad pointy-eared hero?

The Legend Of Zelda's Link may well get most of his abilities from magical items, including his ability to time travel, but it's the use and possession of a portion of the Triforce which earns him a place here.

The Triforce is an artefact left behind by the three goddesses who created the land of Hyrule, and it can bestow upon its owner the power of creation, something the evil Gannon used more than once to create his own warped domain.

With the Triforce segments of courage and wisdom, Link never failed to banish Gannon and rescue Princess Zelda, who also seems to have an almost god-like ability to put herself in harms way each and every time.

Prototype - Shape shifting

Although the game itself wasn't the best, Alex Mercer's totally OTT abilities left little room for improvement, and well and truly earn him a place on this list.

Being able to take the form of anyone, sprout spikes and bladed limbs, read minds, run at high speeds and up buildings were just a few of the god-like abilities at his disposal.

We'd love to have them ourselves, but don't fancy the requirement of actually being a sentient virus in order to get them. Oh, well.

Honourable mentions

We know that almost everyone reading this will be champing at the bit to suggest their own favourites, and we also had a few more mentions that were nudged out of the top ten we thought we'd share.

Tim from the gorgeous Braid is a definite mention, and his ability to stop, fast forward and rewind time is a skill anyone would welcome on that never ending day at work.

The Nomad Soul pushed out lesser known Gamecube title, Geist, which also saw players as a spirit, possessing, not only people, but animals and even inanimate objects.

Codemasters' Second Sight and Midway's PsiOps: The Mindgate Conspiracy also get a mention, thanks to their great use of telekinesis, with the latter handling the ability particularly well.

Although not actual god-like abilities, we have to mention the infamous Doom God Mode cheat, surely one of the best cheats ever, and the fantastically satisfying announcement of 'god-like' from Unreal Tournament, awarded as you rack up a kill streak of 25. Bliss.

The list could go on and on, so please, tell us what your favourite god-like abilities and games are below.

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This review contains spoilers.

12. No Ordinary Brother

I'd love to say that this story represented a turning point in the show, or that it had some stand-out acting or interesting narrative. I'd love to say those things, because being negative about something week after week is actually creatively draining. But I can't, because this show was none of those things.

This week was one of the lamest stories the writers have managed to created yet, with the extra ordinary plot of having Jim's brother turn up, who is the family's 'black sheep', and in trouble with the mob. I can't recall exactly when I first saw this plot as a child. Maybe it was Bonanza or Rawhide, but it's as old as the hills.

If they're willing to push out such TV chestnuts as this, what next? My guess is they meet up with a beautiful young Mexican immigrant whose brother is being held by an exploiting landowner. Yes, exactly the plot that appeared in half the A-Team episodes.

If you've never watched TV, the plot of No Ordinary Brother goes like this: the brother turns up out of the blue saying everything is wonderful, when, in fact, he's in deep trouble with the mob. The regular characters are divided between those who say he's no good, and those that think a leopard can change its spots. In the end, brotherly love wins out. End.

Some of the leaps in logic at various points of the story made me gasp, because, frankly, they just jumped over anything remotely difficult to explain. And alongside the bad brother plot, they also ran another about Daphne that was a reworking of another they ran earlier in the season. And we're only at episode 12!

So, what was new? Well, they've introduced a new henchman for Dr. King, a shape shifter whose normal appearance is that of English actress Rebecca Mader. Why they gave her a really nasal Australian accent, I've no idea, but it was annoying.

Quite obviously, at some point, she and The Watcher will have a showdown, possibly in the final episode of the season, where he'll die having gained redemption. Yawn.

Normally, I'd write more, but given that the writers spent less than 20 minutes devising this plot, I don't see why I should spend any longer dissecting it.

In a word, this show is 'blah', and if it doesn't stop being that my reviews will get progressively shorter from this point onwards.

Read our review of episode 11, No Ordinary Friends, here.

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Given the number of characters in 2000AD we'd like to see a movie made of, we're hopeful for a number of reasons that the second attempt to bring Judge Dredd to the big screen is successful. Is it any coincidence, we wonder, that the best 2000AD-based videogame was based on Rogue Trooper, rather than some of the higher profile strips in the comic?

Anyway, the new Dredd is currently in production, with a script from Alex Garland and direction from Pete Travis. And while it's been known for a while that Karl Urban is playing Mega City One's most infamous law enforcer, it's been unclear thus far who he'll be doing battle with.

But now we know. JudgeDreddMovieNews.com broke the story that Lena Headey was being lined up to play Madeline Madrigal (also known as Ma-Ma) in the new film, and that's now been confirmed. Olivia Thirlby is also in the film's cast.

Dredd is currently shooting in South Africa, and while a formal release date hasn't been announced, we'd expect to see something of it before the end of the year.

JudgeDreddMovieNews

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A brand new interview with JJ Abrams has gone live over at Collider and in it he talks, as you might expect, about the forthcoming sequel to his Star Trek reboot.

Abrams first and foremost still hasn't committed to direct the film, but the moment where he has to commit one way or another is coming. "There's a script that should be coming in, hopefully by the time there's a trailer for Super 8, and then we'll know," he told the site.

Given that the full trailer to his new film, Super 8, is due in March, it's probably fair to suggest that that's the point of no return for Abrams on the project.

When asked what the biggest proponent of the decision for him is, Abrams told Collider, "I guess the idea of not wanting to choose to direct a film for which I've not read a script. It's a tough decision to make, without seeing any pages. That's not to say that I don't have all the faith in the world in the spectacular writers. Damon Lindelof, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman are awesome. My hope is that they'll write the script, it will be great and we can make a fun, exciting sequel to Star Trek."

Or, in short, Abrams hasn't read the script to the new film yet.

We can't imagine he's out of the loop on it, mind, and the assumption is that he'll be back to direct the Star Trek sequel. It's just this is a production that, thus far, has kept its cards very close to its chest, in spite of the raging forces of the Internet trying to persuade it to do otherwise.

Abrams' next film, Super 8, will be released on Friday 19th August in the UK. And you can read the Collider interview here.

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As we chatted about in our article last week, Kevin Smith is continuing to adopt an unconventional approach to the marketing of his upcoming flick, Red State. And once more, he's used the release of a poster for the film to raise a few quid to charity.

The new poster, therefore, was put on the auction block, with any website able to bid to have the rights to be the first to host it. The winning site? Spin Off, which donated $850 to the South Queensland Flood Relief appeal.

The new poster, then, is for the character Mordechai (played by James Parks), and to see it in its full glory, give the folks of Spinoff Online a click of your mouse.

Red State premieres at the Sundance Film Festival, at the end of this month.

South Queensland Flood Relief Appeal
Spinoff Online

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Just a quick one. We're hearing that the currently-in-production big screen adventure for The Inbetweeners has secured itself a release date.

Entertainment Film Distributors is putting the film out in the UK, and it's reportedly earmarked Friday 19th August 2011 as the day that The Inbetweeners arrives in UK cinemas.

The film reunites the cast of the show - Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas - along with its writers, Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. It's being directed by Ben Palmer, who again, worked on the TV show.

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The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, which is on sale now, has revealed some updates to the running order of the upcoming series of the show, as well as details of a new writer.

As you probably know by now, the next series of the show is being split into two, with one block of seven episodes in the spring, a summer break, and a block of six episodes in the winter. (It looks like we'll have Torchwood: Miracle Day falling into the break, although it seems that the 1st July broadcast date for Torchwood that we reported isn't official).

Steven Moffat has, he's revealed, moved the order of episodes around, to balance out the series more and combat the concerns of some that there weren't enough "outside" episodes in the first half of the series run.

Thus, Mark Gatiss' story for series 6 has moved to the winter, while the gap that leaves in the spring run (which includes episodes written by Moffat and Matthew Graham) is being filled by a Steve Thompson-penned story. Thompson wrote the second of the three Sherlock adventures for Moffat and Gatiss last year, and this is his Doctor Who debut.

Thus, the series will open with a Steven Moffat two parter (part shot in the US), then will come Thompson's story, then we'll get Neil Gaiman's, and then Matthew Graham's.

More news, of course, as we get it.

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You know, I can't think of a videogame to film franchise as successful as Resident Evil and the four live action films that it has spawned. Paul W S Anderson may not be a fantastic director, but he's not Uwe Boll. The series has given us a female heroine who can fight the good fight with the best of them and come out looking unblemished at the end. She's like Ripley and Sarah Connor rolled into one.

Starting with a rainy Japanese street where a single zombie kills her first victim and quickly showing lights fading across the world, Alice tells us that the creators of the T-virus, lead by Albert Wesker, continue to work underground whilst the surface is overrun with zombies.

Of course, Alice isn't happy with what the Umbrella Corporation are doing and she's going to unleash all kinds of violence in order to stop the virus, the Corporation and anyone who gets in her way. What makes it even better is she's been cloned, so a whole army of Milla Jovovich replicas run around the screen, being all macho (in a feminine way.)

Having helped bring Umbrella:Tokyo down and prematurely losing her clones, Alice searches for signs of life and the location of Arcadia, a safe haven for survivors. Flying from place to place, keeping a video diary of her lack of progress, she finally teams up (after many, many meaningful moments of walking slowly and looking poignant) with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller). 

Helpfully, we discover that there have only been 18 months between Resident Evil: Extinction and this film. Despite having met her in Resident Evil: Extinction, Claire doesn't remember Alice, for reasons that become apparent later on.

Elsewhere, Chris Redfield has been held prisoner by a group of people trapped in a building and trying to signal Arcadia. Thankfully, Alice comes along in an audacious rescue attempt, managing to save lives during a vicious zombie attack and securing the release of Chris Redfield in the bargain, reuniting him with his sister. Together, they escape the building and set out to find the sanctuary that is Arcadia.

Arcadia, it turns out, isn't the land of hope that Alice expected. It is an Umbrella facility that has been experimenting on survivors lured there with a promise of sanctuary. Alice, Chris and Claire aren't going to let this one go and are prepared to fight to rescue the prisoners (though where they'll go in an zombie-ravaged world isn't really made clear!)

Of course, Wesker is behind all of this and has even been experimenting on himself, planning to ingest Alice to return himself to humanity, as his various attempts have left him infected with a strain of the T-virus and a distinct lack of control over it. 

Thankfully, with her two companions by her side, Alice makes short work of Wesker, the day is saved and yet another sequel suggested with a cameo by Sienna Guillory as an Umbrella-controlled Jill Valentine.

To be fair, the plots aren't the key feature in Resident Evil, as we're treated to scene after scene of slow motion violence, complete with hacking and slashing, gunfire and acrobatic combat, all designed to be viewed in 3D. The film is also available on regular DVD, and Blu-ray 3D for those with a 3D enabled player and television. 

Even in traditional 2D on Blu-ray, it's still looks pretty darned spectacular, with clear, crisp, deep colours and incredible detail, exceeding 25Mbps. The audio is equally impressive, benefiting from a loud and immersive DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack that has plenty of depth and enough range to cope with bass-laden music, explosions and dialogue that sometimes seem to take place pretty much at the same time.

Whether she's rescuing people from the rooftops of buildings in a daring plane landing or fighting an Executioner with an oversized axe, Jovovich is every bit the action heroine. The zombies are truly plague ridden, combining the best of every zombie film you can imagine.

Secondary characters are pure caricatures, running the gamut from brave and heroic to snide and cowardly. Wentworth Miller is convincing as the stoically, masculine soldier, Chris Redfield. Ali Larter spends too much time being an amnesiac and a bit dull, whilst Shawn Roberts channels Agent Smith from The Matrix as Albert Wesker.

The Matrix has a lot to answer for, even this many years after its initial release, as we're treated to seemingly endless moments of bullet time, with cameras whipping around Alice and her victims, showing us a frozen moment from all angles.

Even worse is the overuse of slow motion. Characters run, leap, jump, land, spin and walk in slow motion for far too much of the film. They'd surely get further if they moved at normal speed.

The CGI work is, for the most part, exceptionally high quality. Particularly fantastic moments include the purging of Umbrella: Tokyo. The various scenes of destroyed cities look remarkable and there are a number of advanced zombie characters that look impressive. There are also times where the CGI doesn't quite cut it, with Wesker's mouth and the zombie dogs amongst these moments.

Extras

Undead Vision allows you to watch a picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes footage, including filming and design work, along with cast and crew interviews. Seeing some of the digital storyboards and hearing cast and crew talk about the making of the film is interesting, as we get to see the true complexity and the lengths they went to in order to get some of the more challenging shots. 

Movie-IQ allows you to watch the film with an ongoing IMDB-style reference guide, making it easier to find information about cast, crew, locations and anything else that might take your fancy.

Paul W S Anderson, director and writer, along with producers, Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer, provide an insightful commentary throughout the film that manages to stay on the right side of interesting by providing plenty of technical information.

Deleted and Extended Scenes run for just under seven minutes and feature eight alternate takes and deleted scenes. The scenes are presented without special effects and with rough audio in places, but do offer a bit more character interaction. Particularly interesting is a scene showing how Alice created coin-based ammunition and a scene aboard a boat showing the filming against green screen. Over all, though, there's hardly anything groundbreaking to be seen here. 

Outtakes runs for four and a half minutes and features various accidents and moments of foolishness on the set. You'll either like it or find it cringe-worthy as you watch the cast fooling around.

Seven featurettes make up a forty-seven minutes of ‘making-of' material exploring, in the usual upbeat way, the development of the film, the characters and the decision to make Alice more 'normal', the passion of Paul W. S. Anderson, the production of the film and filming in 3D. All of the features are interesting, particularly Undead Dimension: Resident Evil in 3D, which explores the challenges of filming with modern 3D technology.

Sneak Peek of Resident Evil: Damnation is a look at the upcoming CG sequel to Resident Evil: Degeneration.

Trailers include trailers for films ranging from Angelina Jolie's Salt to a rather bizarre film about a lad trying to lose his virginity. 

Weighing in at just over 90 minutes, Resident Evil: Afterlife isn't an original film, nor is it particularly deep. It's an attractive film, with plenty of action and set pieces that keep the film moving along, but it lacks any real suspense or drama. 

Whilst it may fall short in many ways, the film is well produced, directed and acted. Definitely worth a watch if you liked the other films or need a film for a night in with a group of action junkies.

Film:
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Resident Evil: Afterlife is out now on Blu-ray and available from the Den Of Geek Store.

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