In series 5 of cult US drama Dexter, the serial serial killer killing forensic blood spatter analyst (and serial killer, but it doesn’t do to pigeonhole) is on full form with fresh challenges, unexpected emotions and probably some more serial killers to kill. Serially. All in a day’s work, eh?

Nostalgic for the good old days of The Goonies and Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Never fret – JJ Abrams has written a love letter to Steven Spielberg that sprinkles the ‘only kids can truly understand’ formula with a dusting of real monster magic. Old-timers will breathe a sigh of relief, new bloods will wish they lived in a time when you biked to visit your friend just next door, fabrics came in seven hot variations of ‘mustard’ and cool kids had walkie talkies not iPhones.

43 years on from Charlton Heston’s first encounter with a society of talking apes, this origin story finally explains exactly why monkeys started wearing helmets. And what a story it is. Unknown director Rupert Wyatt has effortlessly gold-plated his CV with this intelligent and engaging blockbuster, which may well see Andy Serkis win the first ever Oscar awarded for a motion capture performance. A triumph.

This serviceable scrapyard slasher has a bit of poke in the engine and a few nice body mods, but the plot’s had a few too many miles on the clock…

The Lost Bladesman is based on the real life of ancient Hong Kong warrior Guan Yo as he reluctantly fights his way through the civil war that ended in the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Packed with gore, fighting and fancy swordplay, it has everything that a self-respecting Hong Kong action movie should have.

Fans of Taken will love Liam Neeson’s latest action thriller about a man who recovers from injuries with amnesia, only to discover another man has stolen his wife, his life and his identity. We have 5 x UNKNOWN DVDs to give away! Competition ends 22 August 2011.

Blimey. It’s all over. Fourteen years after the first book came out, ten years on from the first film and eight months since Deathly Hallows Part 1 rather cheekily claimed that ‘It All Ends Here’, the extraordinary cultural juggernaut that is the Harry Potter book series has finally completed its transition onto the screen. A better swansong than this film could scarcely be imagined.

Francesca Simon’s wildly successful Horrid Henry books have at last made it onto the screen, and the eponymous terror’s cinematic exploits are guaranteed to keep kids rapt from his first act of unnecessary biscuit theft to his final defiant bit of on-screen graffiti. If you happen to be carting a child about, be a sport and take him/her/it along – he/she/it’ll have a fantastic time.

Studio Ghibli has done it again. Arrietty, inspired by the Borrowers novels of Mary Norton, is an incomparably beautiful story which effortlessly draws the viewer into a rarified world where a bay leaf makes a decent raincoat and cockroaches are the size of (shiny, aggressive and antennaed) Shetland ponies. Delicate, thoughtful and visually unmatched by almost anything we can think of, this is a very special film indeed.

Take In Bruges, add a dash of Hot Fuzz and you have The Guard, a sharply observed comedy set in Ireland, it may not please the easily offended but there are enough laughs here to ensure that Brendan Gleeson’s star turn is a must-see.