The world cried out for it, DreamWorks listened. Ben Stiller and co are back, and Madagascar 3 proves a surprisingly enjoyable trip during a stellar month for animated releases. Things get weird as the homesick animals’ journey back to New York takes a detour through the old continent…

The dearly departed Shrek franchise is given a welcome dose of prequel shock treatment in this high-octane and utterly shameless Zorro rip-off. THRILL to Puss’ mesmerising swordplay! GASP as Kitty Softpaws steals all of the things, all of the time! WONDER why nobody comments on the sudden plague of accented cats!

This Friday, Dreamworks’ Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots is hitting the cinemas. To celebrate this occasion, we are taking a look back at some of our most beloved onscreen cats. We’ve also invited along noted cat scientist Professor Snowypaws to help us out.

Antonio Banderas is back on our screens in a big way this year, starring in a Pedro Almodóvar film for the first time in two decades and voicing his Shrek character Puss in Boots in a high-profile spin-off. But how much do you know about his winery? EXACTLY. Thank God for you we’ve just written a Cheat Sheet…

Number one super guy! Quicker than the human eye! Liable to impregnate you and later deny his involvement!

We’ve all had that moment when we’re watching a good film, and all of a sudden a song starts playing that you’ve never heard before, but almost immediately it’s become your favourite song of the moment, and you can’t stop whistling it on your way home. A good soundtrack can be the buttery icing on an already deliciously cakey film, and here’s our handy Top 10, just for you.

We’ve all heard the good news – the Governator has hung up his democratic sash and is preparing to step back into his loincloth/leather jacket/commando boots of unremitting ass-kickery for some new and crunchy films. Among the fifteen projects Arnie is reportedly considering are remakes of Predator and True Lies, as well as yet another Terminator sequel; but we think he should be diversifying…

Two households, both alike in dignity/ In fair Verona, where we lay our scene/ From ancient grudge break to new mutiny/ Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean/ From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-cross’d GNOMES IT’S ALL BLOODY GNOMES AAARGH.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but here at Best For Film we’re not massive fans of November. The weather conditions are Baltic, it’s dark and dank outside and the fireworks were an anti-climax. Again. But never fear! The uneventful void between Halloween and Christmas must be filled! And how better than with one our carefully prescribed, life-affirming, top ten ‘Feel-good Films’…..

“Abandon all hope ye who enter here”. Such reads the sign that confronts Queen Lillian and King Harold as they approach the unfriendly terrain of Rumpelstiltskin’s land in the opening scene of Shrek Forever After. 93 minutes later and you are left wondering who the words were really directed at. Beneath the fireworks of what has been celebrated as the the final chapter of a universally adored franchise lies an apology for an exit that is more dogged than triumphant.