Bringing Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp together in one film was always going to result in one of two things; either their combined beauty power would tear a hole in the universe and we would all get sucked into a horrifying charsima-vortex, or a sex-a-rifficly gorgeous film would get produced. Having seen the trailer, we’re still hoping its the latter.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has had its budget cut! Pirates 4 will be made for a completely pathetic $200 million, rather than the juicy $300 million the last film, At World’s End, had to play with. Disney’s new chairman Rich Ross “wants to be mean and lean and cost effective,” according to Pirates 4 producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Many scenes, including an action sequence set on a frozen river Thames, have been cut as a result. But Bruckheimer says of the removed scenes: “the audience will never miss them”.

We reported a while back that Penelope Cruz had been cast in the new Pirates Of The Carribean film, but at the time there was no word on who she would play. It’s been revealed today that she’s set to play BlackBeard’s daughter, who meets Jack Sparrow on his quest for the fountain of eternal youth.

After a lot of speculation and delay after delay, it seems that The Tourist has finally started shooting. It stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, and according to today’s reports Paul Bettany has also signed on to play a role in the film.

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…

Alright, alright, we get it, Burton‘s Alice In Wonderland is so frikking exciting that we’re basically all just sat weeing ourselves around the clock in preparation. As we speak, cinema..

On Stranger tides indeed. It’s been revealed today that though a lot of Pirates 4 will be filmed in Hawaii, a sister location will be used for some scenes. And that glamourous location is? Cornwall. Brilliant.

What have the critics made of Alice In Wonderland so far? Is it actually worth your last quid? (ha, yeah, add like seventeen). We’ve helpfully scoured the net for the critics opinions since its Leicester Square opening last week, figuring that until we see it, we might as well let you know what the others are saying. It’s getting quite mixed responses so there’s no denying that the situation is getting (all together now) curiouser and curiouser…

Those of you who were looking to Angelina Jolie retuning to the Wanted franchise, we’re afraid we have some bad news. The actress has dropped the sequel, deciding instead to sign up for Alfonso Curón’s new project Gravity.

For a while there Pirates 4 was all looking a bit pear-shaped; Orlando had stepped down, Keira walked the plank and it looked like it would be Johnny Depp sailing solo. However, then Penelope Cruz climbed aboard, Ian’s stowed away (we’re rapidly running out of piratey metaphors) and things are generally looking up for team Pirates.