It’s always nice to stay ahead of the curve, if only so you can feel unnecessarily 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…

Paul Greengrass’s The Green Zone centres on one of the fundemental questions surrounding the Iraq war – When American and British forces withdraw completely from Iraq – a military strategy which seems unthinkable seven years into the campaign – will the lasting legacy be peace and democracy? Or will it will be a deep-rooted suspicion that the infamous weapons of mass destruction, the supposed justification for the invasion, never existed? It’s an interesting question, though the answers behind it are perhaps just a little too easy.

Matt Damon seems to have got the biog-bug; first he starred in the real-life tale of Mark Whitacre in The Informant!, then he went all Sauff-Africin as Francois Pienaar in Invictus, and now he’s revealed that in his next project he’ll be playing John F Kennedy’s younger brother Robert. Robert Kennedy overcame the shadow of his sibling’s assassination to forge his own political career, only to die by another assassin’s bullet in 1968.

Frankly, it’s about time. It’s been over a decade since Ben Affleck and Matt Damon received their Oscar for Good Will Hunting, and what have either of them really done since then? The duo are set to re-team for The Trade, a tale based on the true story of two Yankee pitchers in the 1970s who caused a scandal when they were discovered to have swapped wives.

Ponyo is a visually arresting addition to Miyazaki’s impressive portfolio. The opening underwater sequences take the breath away with hundreds of jellyfish, crustaceans and schools of fish swarming across the screen in a dazzling display of colour. However, Ghibli’s work is usually distinguished by its attention to the emotions of the characters and here, this charming escapade doesn’t quite stay afloat. The makers seem a little too preoccupied with hitting home (over and over again) its central eco-friendly message, and this somewhat hampers the natural flow of the plot.

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-satified smile we all love you for…

On February 11, 1990 when Nelson Mandela walked free from Robben Island after more than a quarter of a century of incarceration in his eight feet by eight feet cell, he discovered a country divided by apartheid. How could he bring people together? By uniting team and supporters on the rugby pitch. Director Clint Eastwood has done it again with Invictus, a wonderfully uplifting film that follows the true story of Nelson Mandela’s quest to reuinte his fractured country through the peaceful bonds of of giant men bashing into each other.

Oh dear, they’re all at it. First Sony shocks the world by rebooting Spiderman less than 10 years after the original film came out, and now rumour has it that the Bourne series might be going down the prequel route too.

Looking for a box office blast, or avoiding a bomb? We look forward to all the upcoming releases including Edge of Darkness, Invictus, Precious, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Adoration, Youth in Revolt and what looks like the utterly terrible Astro Boy. You can’t go wrong with our patented anticipation-o-meter!

The nominations for 2010’s Golden Globes award ceremony are in – and there are certainly some surprises.
Everyone’s favourite poor man’s Oscars will take place on January 17 next year, and to give us all adequate jeering and scoffing time, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association today announced their illustrious potential award recipients.