When it comes to inappropriate but tear-inducing laughs, Family Guy is about as reliable as they come, and even more so the DVD specials. Particularly if you combine the hilarity of the show with a cultural icon we’re all too familiar with: Star Wars. This release follows on from Seth McFarlane’s first Star Wars tribute episode, Family Guy: Blue Harvest, and the jokes are just as reliable, the accuracies to the original film just as nerdishly faithful. Whether you’re a devoted George Lucas fan or just looking for an hour’s easy laughs on a Sunday afternoon, you could do a lot worse than the typically sick wit of the Griffins.

You don’t need us to tell you this was never going to be a good film, but in the age of Up and Where the Wild Things Are, there’s always a chance kids’ movies might surprise you. No surprises here unfortunately – this sequel to the equally inane Alvin and the Chipmunks sees our high-pitched protagonists dealing with high school and a rival rodent-based pop group with typical stupidity and slapstick humour. The plot is formulaic, there’s no acting to speak of and there’s enough cutesyness to test even the strongest stomach.

She might have been languishing in B-grade obscurity of late, but believe it or not, Sandra Bullock’s latest movie has become the highest-grossing female-led film in US box office history. The Blind Side, a drama about a family that adopts an impoverished yet talented football player, has taken $208.5 million since November despite so far only being released domestically.

No doubt Lord of the Rings geeks worldwide already worship him as a god among men, but Peter Jackson will henceforth be known by a more concrete title – he’s been knighted in New Zealand’s latest New Year’s Honours list.

It was about time Sherlock Holmes got the Hollywood treatment – audiences have been continually fascinated with Arthur Conan Doyle’s series of short detective stories through the years, yet they undoubtedly needed a little sexing up to succeed with a modern audience. Enter Guy Ritchie, whose new action-packed adaptation is certainly a departure from the original series, but nonetheless entertaining in its own right. The screenplay has enough intelligence not to completely insult fans of Conan Doyle’s stories, and it’s perfectly complemented by Downey Jr’s sarcastic, slightly camp take on Sherlock. This adaptation won’t set the world on fire, but it’s a fine two hours entertainment for a dreary winter’s night.

Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy, best known for her roles in Clueless and Sin City, has died at the young age of 32. Murphy was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles early Sunday morning after her mother found her unconscious in the shower.

Hold on to your ten-gallon hats and strap on your spurs (actually don’t, some things really are best left to the privacy of your own home), because Paramount’s planning to revamp the western genre in a big way.

In this week’s Face/Off, we turn our attention to Christmas films. Classic feelgood fare or cynical attempt to convert a religious holiday into sweet sweet cash? Our dedicated team of writers take up the stance: optimism vs. pessimism, festive joy vs. humbuggery, Santa vs… well, Satan, we guess.

Get ready for more blood, guts and digitally-enhanced abs, because the prequel to that most macho of ancient battle epics, 300, is now officially in the works. The film, titled Xerxes, will focus on the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, 10 years before the Sparta-Persia battle chronicled in 300 took place.

It might seem like an unlikely choice for the man behind Star Trek, Alias and the mind-bendingly odd Lost, but J.J. Abrams has set his sights on an award-winning dramatic novel (that contains no futuristic thrills) as his next film project.