The Golden Compass (2007), the first part of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights is adapted here. Set in a parallel Earth, (a sort of Steampunk variation), it has Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), taken from Jordan College, Oxford to live with Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), before she goes, Lyra is given an alethiometer, (a golden compass). When Lyra learns of Mrs. Coulter being behind children being kidnapped and having their animal spirits removed from them, she escapes to the north, where she encounters fighting ice bears, witches and Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliot). Visually, it looks splendid, the performances are top-notch. But, to someone who has read the book, it's a slight disappointment, as it whizzes by too quickly, and the material is given a little more than a nip-tuck to fit into 2 hours, with it's religious themes of the book downplayed here. Still, it has a brilliant supporting cast, including Eva Green, Derek Jacobi, Christopher Lee, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel. Plus, the voices of Ian McShane, Kathy Bates, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ian McKellen. Good, but it could have been better. :P 3/5

It's A Wonderful Life - Big difference watching it at the cinema, kept wanting cups of tea like at home. Still the great film it always was, loved the prom scene and the walk home after it... and as for the end, as heartwarming as ever (way to go Clarence! :mrgreen: ). Absolute classic.

Aeon - jinx! Yours must have been an earlier showing. Magnificent stuff at the cinema, that's for sure.

I'm, just back from watching It's A Wonderful Life at the cinema. Pure brilliance. Perhaps the most heartwarming film ever made, and I've yet to see a better performance than James Stewart gives here. A true gem.

Ahh, a triptych of lovers of ageless cinema! I have to say, since I've only seen it twice now - tonight being the second film - I couldn't help but notice the taxi driver and policeman were called Bert and Ernie...

That was apparently a coincidence, but I do remember mentioning that to my Dad when I first saw it, many years ago now. I was quite surprised and pleased at the number of people at the cinema, at least 50, the busiest the cinema had been all year for me. Also a great age range, people in their teens right up to folk who saw the film on the bigscreen when it was first released. Perhaps because it was so busy I didn't burst into tears. It's only the third time I've seen it but previously, 2 years back on Christmas Eve, I was in floods for the last 40 minutes (once George breaks down in the bar, I was a wreck). Doing the same in a packed cinema seems a bit out of place! All in all, a great way to end my cinema viewing of 2007, the last film I watched being the best.

I was there with my brother-in-law and some friends and I was trying my best not to make it completely obvious that I was 'leaking'... I've mentioned before elsewhere I think that one thing that is guaranteed to make me well up is community solidarity - the act of many coming together for a single cause. That gets me crying for all sorts of daft reasons, like the 'I believe' in the Miracle on 34th St remake (still got to watch that this year), the candlelit vigil in Pay It Forward, or even the 'We will not go quietly into the night' jingoistic speech in Independence Day gets a sniffle! So, the climactic scenes in IAWL is the epitome of community solidarity - on my own I'd be a wreck, but I managed to keep it together, Soldier, at the cinema. Nearly. :D

Homer, don't worry, I always cry at It's a Wonderful Life. Everyone coming together to help scenarios always get me, too. I was really sad this year because they showed it at my cinema in Southampton but not until after I'd come home for christmas. Gutted. I'd have loved to have seen it on a big screen, and I'm sure I'd have cried my eyes out, as ever. Anyway, what I did see yesterday... Enchanted - Loved it. I stil think it's a very clever idea and brilliantly realised. I believed in all the characters, and Amy Adams gives a wonderful performance. Susan Sarandon aswell deserves very honourable mention, clearly revelling in her part as the evil wicked stepmother. All in all it was a fun, happy, heartwarming fairytale and I really enjoyed it. :D

Michael Clayton (2007), George Clooney plays the title character in this suspensful legal thriller. Clayton is a burnt-out "fixer" for a big legal firm. He is asked to help manic-depressive lawyer Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), who is wracked with guilt over what he knows about a chemical company he represents. There are some very good performances on show here, which also include Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder the chemical company's corrupt chief counsel, and Sydney Pollack as Clayton's boss. It's a confusing affair though, which requires your full attention. Plus, it has an unwatchable assassination in it. 3/5 Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), a REAL guilty pleasure this one, as Ross Bagdasarian's creations finally come to life, on their first live action film, done the same way Garfield was done. This has the titular chipmunks, (Alvin, Simon and Theodore), finding their way to LA, and happening to enter the life of struggling songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee), when Dave discovers they can sing, he writes songs for them, and they become famous, but the chipmunks soon find themselves as puppets controlled by corrupt record company exec Ian Hawke (David Cross). If you grew up with Alvin and the Chipmunks as a kid, you'll love it. If you can tollerate their high-pitched voices, that's even better. Oh, and Earl gives a good performance too!! :P 3/5 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), now THIS is a weird little oddity, and it's certainly something different!! Zach Helm's film has Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman), eccentric owner of the titular Wonder Emporium, (it's a magical toy shop!! :)), who now at the age of 243-years-old, has decided to hand on the toy shop to his assistant Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman). But, the toy shop doesn't take the news of Magorium's departure well at all. It is something different from other kids films, but it does dive into sentimentality a bit too much, but it's a fun film when it wants to be, even if Hoffman's Magorium is like some sort of live-action cartoon. It is a family film, after all... :P 3/5

Mr Magorium's was a bit of non-starter for me Donnie. I didn't like the fact that the majority of it was building up to Magorium dying. I didn't think that was particularly good for a Christmas film, especially considering it's just the fact that he's chosen to die. There's also the fact that Hoffman sounds like a constipated duck through it. I have to say it also sat a little uncomfortably for me with having Bateman (who's obviously in his 40s now) playing dress up, in hats with a 10 year old, no matter how much they put across that he's discovering how to be a kid and the kid is beginning to make friends. Just didn't sit right. I didn't think too much of Portman's performance either. She can be incredibly wooden at times and recently I haven't seen much where she's proving that she deserves any big screen time.

Ah, well. Horses for courses as they say. :P Alvin and the Chipmunks is marginally better though, but only because I used to watch it years ago. :P

It's a Wonderful Life Never seen all of it before now. A True classic 9/10

D War What a pile of shite. It would of been better if it was made like a comedy like Eight Legged Freaks. Great Concept, Shite Movie 3/10