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Death At A Funeral (15)

HEREFORD-born actor-director Frank Oz in an old-fashioned farce featuring ensemble cast including Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Jane Asher and Keeley Hawes. Read

Once (15)

HAVING raved about this microbudget Irish film's release in October, nobody was more pleased than me that it won the Oscar for best song this week. In beating three classically-crafted Disney nominations from Enchanted along the way, Once illustrates the timeless power of songs to cross all borders. Written and directed by John Carner, it's the story of a Dublin busker who also repairs vacuum cleaners. And of an Eastern European Big Issue seller who plays the violin and piano. Read

Rendition (15)

JAKE Gyllenhaal plays North Africa-based CIA analyst Douglas Freeman who is forced to question his principles when Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) arrives for interrogation. Read

Eastern Promises (18)

HE'S got little chance of beating Daniel-Day Lewis to tomorrow's best actor Oscar, but don't miss fellow nominee Viggo Mortensen here. Especially as the script, about London's deadly Russian underworld, was written by Birmingham's own Steven Knight for back-on-form Canadian director David Cronenberg. The bathhouse fight sequence, featuring a stark-naked Mortensen, was one of the most astonishing cinematic highlights of 2007. Co-starring Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl and also available to buy for £19.99 (Blu-ray £24.99), the extras include a 'Secrets and Stories' featurette. Read

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (12)

BEST actress candidate Cate Blanchett is is on top form here - and her breadth of work elsewhere last year would make her my favoured choice for an Academy Award. Although director Shekhar Kapur seems to make up some of his own history here, Elizabeth's struggle to hold together a country split by the religious divide between Protestants and Catholics, is a still-relevant lesson in tolerance. Also available to buy for £19.99. Read

Stardust (pg)

BASED on producer Neil Gaiman's graphic novel, this engaging fantasy is for older children who fancy a fairy tale along the lines of The Princess Bride meets The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Powered by a Pirates of the Caribbean-style score, Casanova star Charlie Cox plays the dashing Tristan who promises the prettiest girl in the village that he'll win her heart by fetching a fallen star. The star is actually Yvaine (Claire Danes), injured in a cosmic tumble. Now what's a man to do? Meanwhile, the wicked witch Lamia (a splendid Michelle Pfeiffer) also needs the star's powers for eternal youth. Read

Evening (12)

ANY woman who has lost, or is having to face up to losing, her mother, will find much comfort from having a good cry during this film which stars Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close! After playing the older Briony in Atonement, Redgrave is again extraordinary as the bedridden, dying Ann. Her two daughters Constance (played by Vanessa's own girl, Natasha Richardson) and Nina (Toni Collette) are by her side when suddenly she calls out for the mysterious love of her life, 'Harris'. Ann's life is filled out in flashback as she continues to slowly weaken. Also out to buy from Monday for £19.99. Read

Michael Clayton (15)

THIS best picture Oscar contender also has deserved best supporting actor nominations for Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton who play off a career-best Oscar-nominated George Clooney. Debut-directed by Tony Gilroy, who has also been nominated, Michael Clayton is a very complex thriller that doesn't make a lot of sense at first. Corporate fixer Clooney is never in control of everything in his chaotic life, but do persevere - it all begins to fall in to place and both the final showdown and the end-credit sequence are magnificent. Also available to buy for £19.99, the extras include deleted scenes. Read

Run Fat Boy Run (12)

SIMON Pegg's cult following made this rather tired marathon-running comedy a surprisingly-big cinema hit. Debut directed by Friends' star David Schwimmer, Pegg plays Dennis who can hardly run to save his life. Libby (Thandie Newton), whom he jilted on their wedding day while pregnant with son Jake (Matthew Fenton), now has a new American beefcake called Whit (Hank Azaria). Although Dennis continues to see their son, Libby accuses him of never being able to finish anything he's started Also available to buy for £19.99 (Blu-ray £24.99). Read

Control (15)

NEWCOMER Sam Riley is superb in one of the best British films for years. A biopic charting the demise of Joy Division's frontman Ian Curtis, Control is a mesmerising interpretation of life as well as death. It's also about what makes a band tick and threaten to implode and the impact all of this can have on personal relationships. Also available to buy for £19.99, with extras including extended performance scenes. Read

Ratatouille (u)

IN WHAT is something of a classic week, Pixar's new blockbuster is the top family choice. Oscar nominated for both best script and best animation, it's the story of Remy the rat who works in... a hat! Bringing a whole new meaning to the term 'little chef', Remy learns from a book how to cook. But before he can try to impress the toughest critic in Paris (Peter O'Toole's Anton Ego), he has to earn his place in a kitchen belonging to the late, great Gusteau. Great fun for all ages and also available to buy on DVD from £22.99, with extras including deleted scenes and Gusteau's Gourmet game. Read

The Brave One (18)

THIS film is so violent it would have fallen apart in less-skilled hands. But, in what is only Jodie Foster's fourth starring role in ten years, her mixture of inner strength and tragic vulnerability as radio journalist Erica Bain keeps us just on the right side of her revenge-seeking character. Also available to buy for £20.99 (Blu-ray £27.99/HD DVD £27.99) with extras including additional scenes. Read

The Hoax (15)

DIRECTED by Lasse Hallstrom and featuring Richard Gere at his best, The Hoax is the riveting story of how Clifford Irving claimed he had interviewed reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes for his memoirs - and then secured a lucrative publishing deal. Rich in period touches, Hallstrom shows how we're all suckers for audacious people - and for a good yarn. It's also available to buy for £15.99. Read

And when did you last see your father (12)

ADAPTED from Blake Morrison's novel of the same name, Colin Firth plays the adult son in this reflection on parent-child bonding. Director Anand Tucker delivers a fine conclusion when old Arthur (Jim Broadbent) finally pops his clogs. But, with Firth failing to match Matthew Beard's portrayal of the teenage Blake, and the director relying too heavily on flashbacks, the film is never as moving as expected. Just like Atonement.Also out to buy for £17.99 (Blu-ray £26.99). Read

Atonement (15)

JOE Wright's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel has been Oscar nominated for best picture. In the summer of 1935, precocious 13-year-old Briony Tallis (Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan) accuses housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. Forcibly removed from the house, will he uphold his promise to return to love Briony's sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley)... even if it's years later? With McAvoy and Knightley sharing little screen time, the handsomely-shot film has everything except real emotion. Also out to buy for £19.99, or as a box set with Wright's Pride And Prejudice (£24.99), the extras include seven deleted scenes. Read

Hallam Foe (18)

THIS film almost disappeared without trace last summer yet it's a 'proper' British movie with director David Mackenzie echoing Peeping Tom crossed with Dirty Pretty Things. Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell takes on his toughest role to date by spying on his physically-adventurous blonde hotel boss, Kate (Sophia Myles). What really gives this creepy film an edge is that Kate looks like his mother, whose suspicious death turned Hallam's life upside down. An unflinching exploration of how adolescents can be driven to extremes when their sex drive combines with teenage grief, Hallam Foe is also available to buy for £17.99, with extras including deleted scenes. Read

3:10 To Yuma (15)

FARMER Evans (Christian Bale) tries to escort outlaw Wade (Russell Crowe) to justice in James Mangold's extended remake of the Glenn Ford classic. Evans and Wade both learn things about each other and themselves, but the film's contrived extra length on the way to a different ending makes the dialogue wordy. Also available to buy for £19.99. Read

A Mighty Heart (15)

MICHAEL Winterbottom's film is about a US journalist (Dan Futterman) who goes missing in Pakistan - to the horror of his pregnant French wife (Angelina Jolie). Nobody captures the Third World better than Blackburn-born Winterbottom. The amazing cityscapes are a career-best, only let down by a monotonous series of indoor scenes and a distracting number of mobile phone rings. Also to buy for £19.99 (HD DVD £24.99), complete with a featurette about the making of the film. Read

No Reservations (PG)

CHEF Catherine Zeta-Jones has to look after her niece, then cope with cocky kitchen newcomer Aaron Eckhart. Directed by Scott Hicks (Shine) and beautifully shot by Britain's own Stuart Dryburgh, No Reservations lacks the engaging brilliance of Sandra Nettelbeck's original foreign film, Mostly Martha. But it's still ideal for a girly night in and is also available to buy DVD for £16.99 (Blu-ray £27.99/HD DVD £27.99). Read

The Kingdom (15)

THE FBI pursues terrorists in Riyadh in this over-edited, explosive thriller starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Garner. The Kingdom emphasises suicide bombings as a means of trying to make 'progress' on one side, and for the Americans to have gun-ready attitude in return. The over-edited action scenes are often dizzyingly unwatchable, but the score is by Danny Elfman. Also available to buy for £19.99 (HD DVD £24.99). Read