It might be Christmas, but there are still movies being released, both of these are out on Boxing Day.

Sherlock Holmes
A kick-ass reboot of the Sherlock legend, with an hilarious/actually-quite-tough central performance from Robert Downey Jnr. Guy Ritchie directs with a less showy style than before (a good thing) and Jude Law is fun as sidekick Dr Watson (a surprising thing). A great, old-skool, detective caper that's less irritating than anyone could have ever predicted.
4 stars.

Nowhere Boy
Watch out for this fella Aaron Johnson. He's gonna be huge. Here he's playing a teenage John Lennon, chronicling the Beatles legend's troubled relationship with his mum and auntie when growing up. He's awesome. It's pretty awesome. Worth seeing.
4 stars.

Have a great holiday and New Year. More movie chatter in 2010!

Perhaps not the most cheery film to be discussing around Christmas but 'The Road' is out on the 8th January and we've got this exclusive clip from it.

It's based on the award winning book by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote 'No Country For Old Men' and it features Academy Award-nominee Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce. It's a post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father and young son.

James King says, "It's brilliantly bleak, tough and will make grown men cry." So go and blub like a gilr but then pretend it's because there is something in your eye.

So although it's not out till December 2010, there is a heck of a lot of buzz about 'Tron: Legacy'. Earlier this year Disney put some concept test footage online and now they've sent us the first images from the film, and it's looking quite lovely, but mainly dark, and a bit blue.

It's going to be coming out in 3D and is attempting to create a "movie like no other". So it'll be next years Avatar then. The basic plot is that of a boy looking into his father's disappearance, who finds himself in the digital world of Tron. They then try to escape. Other stuff happens. There's some danger. There's some conflict. There's some resolution. It ends.

Yes it's in that old black and white stuff, but that's half the fun. Watching It's A Wonderful Life is all about cosy, cosy Christmas nostalgia. Get ready to blub.

The story is about George Bailey (James Stewart - the original Tom Hanks), a mild-mannered building society clerk who's considering suicide on Christmas Eve. Why? Because he's been too nice, that's why. Over the years it's always been him that's sacrificed his dreams for the benefit of others. Now, he's skint and he's had enough.

Luckily, his issues are heard by his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers). Although, to be honest, he's only a guardian angel second class - not the greatest. If he can convince George that his life is worthwhile then he can get his wings.

Watching Slumdog Millionaire earlier this year, it was It's A Wonderful Life that I thought of first. Okay, there are obvious differences - It's A Wonderful Life was made 50 years before Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? even began. But both are ultimately about feel good, even if they put you through the mill a bit to get you there. Relying heavily on flashbacks, they're both about people who you wouldn't normally bat an eyelid at but who each have their own unique qualities.

And that's the punch of the movie - everyday folk realising that (without sounding like a shampoo ad) they're worth it. Look up 'heart-warming' in the dictionary and you'll see the final scene of It's A Wonderful Life pictured right there. I'm welling up just thinking about it. If you want the cinematic equivalent of a mulled wine and a warm mince pie, this is it.

Tuck in.

Robert Downy Jnr.
Mickey Rourke.
Iron Man 2.
New Trailer.
OMG.
That is all.

Watch out, 'cos here they come. The Chipmunks are back. The original film was the second highest grossing movie never to make it to number 1 in the US box office. It still has Jason (My Name Is Earl) Lee and David (Arrested Development) Cross in it as the actors alongside Alvin, Simon & Theodore. Not only that but there are new lady chipmunks and more squeeky songs, including a rather splendid squeek to Beyonce's Single Ladies. It's out tomorrow and accord to James King a decent film to take the younger members of the family to. If you want you can check out the trailer here. You don't have to or anything, it's not like we're forcing you.

We can't wait to see 'Sherlock Holmes' mainly because of all the nice hats we seem to be seeing in the photos for it. Edith Bowman got to sit in a room with Jude Law and have a chat about the film, she didn't ask about the hats though. Pity that. They're really nice hats.

Also in case you missed it we had a world exclusive clip from the film which you can see here, and if you want to make more sense of all this hat chat, look here.

Avatar
Big, big sci-fi from Titanic man James Cameron, telling the tale of soldier boy Jake Sully, sent to the wild planet of Pandora to integrate with aliens. How does he do it? By using his own avatar - a cloned body that looks like the planet's 10ft blue natives - that he controls with his mind. The action is awesome and huge but then so is the cheese. Think Starship Troopers meets Pocahontas. Luckily the eye-bleeding brilliance of the FX ties it all up.
4 stars

St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold
I can only presume that the directors of this have some serious dirt on Colin Firth. I can't think of any other reason why he'd agree to come back for a second helping of this cack. And as for Sarah Harding as new girl Roxy.... Wow, what can I say? Sarah! What have you done? I can never listen to 'Biology' again.
1 star.

Nine
Big, brassy musical from the fella who made Chicago. It's so sparkly it's like Claire's Accessories just exploded. But that's pretty much all it is - the plot of a director (Daniel Day-Lewis) looking back on his lady-filled life never really gets you caring. So watch it for the amazing glitz and the breathtaking roll call of big names - Penny Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Fergie - not for something that grabs your heartstrings.
4 stars.

Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and his toothy mates head back to school whilst their mentor Dave (Jason Lee) is ill. They hadn't reckoned on a female chipmunk band, The Chipettes, stealing their thunder at the local bandslam though. Don't get me wrong - rodents singing stuff still makes me laugh (Katy Perry's 'Hot n Cold' in this one) but the gags are seriously woeful. For toddlers. With no taste.
2 stars.