Mary Poppins — at least, Disney’s Mary Poppins — is a classic, and one that has continued to enchant both children and adults throughout the intervening years. The songs are timeless, the performances are charming and the animation is beautifully integrated. P. L. Travers’ series of source novels, on the other hand, have proven rather…

With the Oscars almost upon us once again, we at Best For Film thought that we might profit from a review of some of the highlights said gushing award ceremony has provided us with over the years. For the sake of variety, this laudable list shall include both the famous and the infamous, the highs and the lows, the sugar and the bitters. Such a cocktail should be swirled in the mouth like the metaphorical marbles of Sir Laurence Olivier’s plumy tones, or alternatively expelled in disgust like a Michael Moore acceptance speech. The choice, our BFF Academy, is yours.

Best For Film’s Favourite Flicks returns with a festive offering from our newest recruit. Will Imogen’s paean in defence of The Muppet Christmas Carol thaw your heart, drape your soul with tinsel and generally baste all your tingly private areas in cranberry sauce, or are you determined to stay as dour as Scrooge and insist that, even at Christmas, 8½ is the best comedy ever? Bah! Humbug!

Cults! Can’t live with ’em, can’t run away from ’em without being burnt alive as a human sacrifice to the pleasure gods. Over the years, cults – with all their hifalutin child eating and wicker brandishing – have inspired many a filmmaker to get their crazy deeds up on the big screen. And, as seen most recently in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, they’re still hot stuff. So, in honour of the release of PTA’s film, but mainly because BY THE BEARD OF THE HARVEST GOD we love a good sacrificial killing, BFF presents you with the Top Ten Cults in Film. Warning: contains boobs and fire, obviously.

Tired of watching your favourite fairytales rehashed on the big screen? With Jack The Giant Killer, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Hunchback of Notre Dame all in various stages of production, and a Snow White and the Huntsman sequel already announced, it seems there is no sign of the trend abating just yet. With that in mind, we look back at the best and the worst films that this emerging genre so far has to offer.

In stripping back the Dragon Tattoo story to its bare bones and keeping our attention purely on its central players, David Fincher has created a sleek, sparse and visually arresting adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s opening gambit. Despite being hampered rather than helped by the narrative of their source material, the immensely creative team do an admirable job – underpinned by a stunning performance by star Rooney Mara. The question is – is this story really good enough for them?

Your mobile phone is great for many reasons It keeps you amused with a flock of angry birds, allows you to feign conversation when that weirdo on the tube won’t stop yelling… and may be helping fund wars in Africa. Most of you have probably stumbled across the term ‘blood diamond’ before, but have you heard of ‘blood minerals’? And did you know that not a single mobile phone manufacturer can guarantee that the phones they sell are free from blood minerals? We thought not.

You know how it goes. You’re watching a film, possibly with friends if you have them, and an actor pops up. “Oooh him! What was he in?” Debates begin, IMDb is consulted. You find out that this actor was in quite a few films a couple of years ago, and was almost in Massive Moviestar territory, until seemingly it all went wrong. “What happened?” you wonder. We at Best for Film wonder also. Here’s our Top 10 Movie Stars that it Never Quite Happened For.

Sometimes, just sometimes, we all need an excuse to squeeze a few tears out. It helps us prove that we’re not dead inside, for starters, and allows us to get all our angst out without anybody judging us. At least, they can’t judge us TOO harshly… here are our top ten tearjerkers, as selected by the BFF team from our film database.

Pooh Bear, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Christopher Robin return to the screen for their first canon outing in 34 years; this time they’re on the hunt for Eeyore’s lost tail, whilst trying to rescue Christopher Robin from the terrible Backson and find Tigger a friend to bounce with. And is it really so unreasonable of Pooh to want a little honey to look forward to? Prepare to haemorrhage nostalgia.