With Harry Potter apparating back into screens next weekend with seventh instalment The Deathly Hallows Part I, Best for Film have endeavoured to catch you up to speed in terms of both the onscreen saga to date as well as the recent promotional campaign. Marketed as ‘The Motion Picture Event Of A Generation’, we would hate for anyone to miss out on either this phenomenal cinematic achievement or the expertly orchestrated promotional propaganda which is preceding it. Now, where did I leave my Quick Quotes Quill?

After the surprising success of the first St. Trinian’s reboot in 2007, a sequel was always a risky proposition: it would either surpass the original and cement the franchise as a bona fide modern classic or sully the occasional chuckles of the original and sink the whole thing. We’d like to hope that that seldom-seen beast – the British comedy – isn’t quite dead at the box offices, with only rare examples like Shaun of the Dead hitting the big time. Can St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold reach the heights of its 1950’s predecessors?

It’s always nice to stay ahead of the curve, if only so you can feel unneccessarily smug in front of friends and loved ones. With this in mind Best For Film brings you what you need to know about next week’s film releases. Have a read, plan your week accordingly, and practice that lovely self-satisfied smile we all love you for…

After the surprising success of the first St. Trinian’s reboot in 2007, a sequel was always a risky proposition: will it surpass the original and cement the franchise as a bona fide modern classic or sully the occasional chuckles of the original and sink the whole thing.

On December 11th, The Lovely Bones gets a limited release Stateside, with the full shebang rolling out a whole month later on the 15th. Over in the land of Blightly, we’ll get our fill of Peter Jackson’s latest a full six weeks later on January 29th, pretty much last in the world release queue. Not that we should feel maligned – the release date has been endlessly shunted about (it was originally slated for March 2008), ostensibly to ensure The Lovely Bones a spot on the Oscars shortlist.

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s seventh film together, Alice in Wonderland is set for release early next year. As we wait in anticipation for a trippy tale of a girl in wonderland and a madhatter, let’s refresh our memories with the six films which helped to establish one of the strongest director/actor relationships in Hollywood.

Damn you George Lucas! No, not for making the Star Wars prequels and casting a Canadian Redwood as the Dark Lord of the Sith. And not for flogging a dead, Indiana Jones shaped, horse in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. No, we damn you because as the Godfather of the franchise you are directly culpable for Ratnerised X-Men: The Last Stand. It’s complete uselessness is the reason we’ve been treated to this Wolverine prequel (and, if rumours are to believed, a sequel to the prequel plus a Magneto movie as well). An entirely new franchise of an existing franchise – great, just what we’ve always wanted!

Revel in the nostalgia of some cheap animation before burning with thorough and righteous indignation that Hollywood still made “Battlefield Earth” before any of these.