Arthur Christmas

We've all wondered: "How does Santa deliver all his presents in a single night?" This movie answers just that: the Claus family runs a tight corporation and operate a la Mission Impossible - with the fancy gadgets too!

But this year there is a gift that is not delivered. Grandsanta helps Arthur deliver it, old school style - with the sleigh and reindeer! Get on board for a movie that will become a Christmas favourite for years to come.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Old, spooky mansion aptly called Blackwood Manor: check. Raspy voices coming out of nowhere: check. Family with a young child in peril: check. But you know what? This horror flick actually works!

It takes you back to when you were a child and scared of that 'haunted' house in the neighbourhood. I think it is successful thanks to Guillermo del Toro's (Pan's Labyrinth) brilliant touch. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the original owner of the mansion - he met a most terrible end: check!

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

I could not wait for the latest and fourth installment of Mission Impossible and quite happily, I was not fully disappointed.

Okay, so the story isn't most innovative, but I reckon that the adrenaline pumping action scenes more than make up for this. Take the one featuring 49-year-old Tom Cruise scaling Dubai's Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world! That will go down as one of the most heart stopping movie scenes of all time, especially since Cruise did not use a stunt double. Kudos!

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Another Earth

Imagine looking up at the sky and you see the earth? It is a mind bending idea and one that is exquisitely crafted in this indie flick. Earth, and the second earth are not in the same universe, yet it has become visible in our skies.

This discovery sets off a chain of events that will forever alter the lives of Rhoda Williams and John Burroughs. Rhoda gets accepted into an astrophysics program and goes out to celebrate, having one too many. Yet she still gets into her car to drive home and hears the news about the second earth. She peers out of her window and crashes into another car - killing a mother, a child and leaving the father (John) in a coma. After her DUI stint in prison, she seeks him out in an attempt to make amends.

Against the backdrop of the second planet, this film demands thoughtful reflection. How would you navigate through life, if you knew there is another you in a different universe?

Rating: 4 outta 5

Puss in Boots

Remember when Puss in Boots gave Shrek those huge, saucer-like, goo-goo eyes in the second Shrek flick? It was love at first sight for me and I am sure I was not alone!

Now the swash-buckling feline is back and holding his own in a new adventure. He learns that the 'magic beans' he has been on the hunt for actually exist but they are in the hands of villains, Jack and Jill. Teaming up with Humpty Alexander Dumpty and a sassy Kitty Softpaws, they high-tail (couldn't resist that one) through dangers, laughs and escapades you will not easily forget. It is almost as freshly appealing as the first Shrek movie.

Rating: 3 and a half outta 5