...of going to a shop and renting a movie. I haven't done it in ages! If I ever scan shelves of DVDs nowadays, I'm firmly in the buyer's market. If I'm gonna rent something, it's going to be online.

I should mention at this point that we have an online rental partnership with lovefilm.com. And I can assure that I am free of corporate bias or backhanders when I say that they are ace. Here's the link from our site.

Anyway, back to the main point. I will lament the death of the video rental store. There's a real sadness to watching Mos Def and Jack Black in Be Kind Rewind. The pair of video store employeses are forced to start filming their own versions of popular blockbusters in order to pull back the old clients.

Anyways, on the funny side, the demise of the rental shop has been brilliantly satirised here by The Onion. Give it a watch.

So I just listened back to the most recent MSN Entertainment Podcast in which I'm invited to kick off some discussion relating to the week's biggest film release. The 'biggest' release of this week is actually The Wachowski Brothers' Speed Racer. But there wasn't really much to say about that isn't already here in Neil Smith's review. So, instead I opted for the far more chat-inducing and, in my opinion, far more interesting option of Morgan Spurlock's Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden.

I was a big fan of the documentary, despite it's obvious flaws. First of all, it's a very misleading title. This is not a full-blooded attempt to find the world's most wanted man. Of course it isn't. One guy and a camera cannot possibly hope to succeed where the security forces of The Western World have failed. Secondly, there's a weak link between the quest and Spurlock's personal life. He attempts to lend the cross-continental Bin Laden hunt a 'time clock' by cutting in his wife's pregnancy: he has to get home before she pops the sprog. The personal angle worked on Supersize Me. But, with every respect to Mrs Spurlock, it seemed a tiny tad irrelevant here.

Nonetheless, where Spurlock succeeds is in making a point about Islam. One interviewee points out that a fifth of the world is Islamic and that a climate of fear such as that which exists now could lead to four fifths of the world being afraid of the remainder. We're reminded of the similarities between the cultures of supposed 'extremist training grounds' and those of our own countries. These are people trapped between the crazies that tarnish their names and the foreign forces who show up to hunt the terrorists.

Spurlock visibly aims to make the documentary into a piece of cinema. The poster below mimics Indiana Jones and the film itself has those 'plane flying over the map' shots from The Last Crusade. This is a documentary for the big screen. Spurlock cinematic leanings aside, I still wonder if the documentary format belongs on TV and DVD. I'm an enormous fan of feature documentary (Michael Moore included) and I absolutely would pay my own hard-earned to watch this documentary. But would you? Please click the little 'add comment' button at the bottom of this and let us know whether you think that documentaries belong on the big screen.

People have been gathered round my desk this morning watching the latest Batman trailer. I've said many times on this blog that Dark Knight is the most exciting prospect of the year for me.

The new trailer is currently hosted on one of the Dark Knight's viral marketing sites. Head over here and be amazed!

It's that time again folks. A veritable torrent of discussion has taken place around the sprawling network of MSN Movies. So what on earth have people been saying?

Let's start with a positive shall we?

Thanks to Alex for this:

"I thank you dearly for the slice of humour I illicited from your video. Your expression when he hit on your trainee said it all. You, my friend, are a legend."

Guess which interview this was about? Yes it was Russell Brand, who was far more keen on poor Shannon than he was on actually going through with his interview for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

And slightly less thanks to 'limegreenukel', who wasn't nice:

"Oh my god that interviewer is so rubbish. "Tell us a bit about your character.. blah blah" Where did you think that one up Mr. Interviewer? Cutting edge journalism. How has he got a trainee?"

Oh well - you win some you lose some. Never mind. On to Iron Man, which I wasn't such a fan of. Some of the more positively-minded amongst you took issue with my largely negative review.

'Jax' said this.

"You don't go to see a super hero movie for the intellectual and thought provoking ride of your life, you just go for the ride. Perhaps someone else should take over this movie review blog, someone, for a start who doesn't fall asleep during movies."

I think a few people missed the point here, confusing a blog entry for the actual review - I'll try to be clearer on this in future.

"So, Ed what did you think of Iron Man?"

"Meh..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, to be honest, I thought it was a bit rubbish."

That was this morning, first thing. And it's made for a bit of a funny day. I wrote up my review post-haste and it can be read right here. I absolutely understand if you cant be bothered to read that. The short version is that I didn't like it. Not one bit.

The problem is that last night's screening was a very massive one in a very massive cinema - the kind where every PR and studio exec shows up besides the usual clutch of critics, pundits and clingers-on. Most of these people are in the business of promoting films rather than actually assessing. Needless to say, they were enthused - blinkered against the woeful lack of originality and absolutely enthralled by the 'spectacular!' of Iron Man. Many of them have been on the blower and the email today.

"So that was amazing that Iron Man eh?"

"Actually I wasn't a fan."

There's a surprised 'Oh!' at this point. The subtext of that is thus: "YOU THOUGHT WHAT?! ARE YOU MENTAL?! DID YOU ACTUALLY HAVE YOUR EYES OPEN YOU SQUID-BRAINED IMBECILE?! THE GUY TURNED HIMSELF INTO A KICK-ARSE IRON SUPERHERO!!!! WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE????!!"

The problem is that Iron Man marks the beginning of SUMMER - a mythical point at which the film industry starts making serious cash. All the industry types can see at this point is bar charts pointing drastically upwards as the slow awards season comes to a close and 'SUMMER' starts. It's box-office party time and critical types such as myself have a really irritating tendency to stick in the mud. Why can't we just get 'on board' with all the 'buzz' and get behind it all?

Well, because it's our job. And despite Iron Man being a disappointment, it'll still do well. That trailer is a masterpiece!

We love to steal free work from unsuspecting young people in the media. We gleefully prey upon their enthusiasm, shovelling labour their way under the weak disguise of 'industry experience'.

So we were delighted then, when about three months ago, an exchange program brought us three smiling young things from The University Of Missouri in the US. Shannon, Stephanie and Ambika, all of whom are studying journalism, have been brilliant.

Anyways, Shannon is studying broadcast journalism. So, before she jets home, I thought I'd better take her along to a film junket. Luckily I had a five minute spot with Russell Brand for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The people at the junket were kind enough to let Shannon sit in on the interview. I did inform my 'trainee' of Mr Brand's reputation for womanising (even using the phrase 'Britain's number one shag artist').

But poor Shannon never suspected that Russell would zero in on her the minute she poked her head around the door. He was so keen on Shannon that we decided to leave his advances towards her in the video.

Needless to say, he wasn't the slightest bit interested in me!

CHECK IT OUT HERE...

I often check out this site - theonion.com for funny alternative news footage. So I was delighted to find some movie satire on there this week.

Looks like the Iron Man trailer will become a full length movie! Shocker!

Thanks to all of you who fed back to us in the month of March. I'd like to say that it was a rip-roaring month full of intrigue, events and astonishing films. But I'd be lying really. Following the hullaballa of awards season and the Oscars, the movies calendar traditionally slips into something of a slow patch during March.

That said, 10,000 BC, The Other Boleyn Girl and Lars And The Real Girl were all out to alleviate the springtime doldrums. But what were you lot chatting back to us about?

The confirmation of Pirates four and five sparked some debate. I'm a self-confessed Jack-hater so I obviously didn't have a positive outlook on the swag-fest to come in 2010 and beyond. Obviously this didn't help make me too popular.

"I will still probably watch the 4th and 5th films simply for the Jack Sparrow character but nothing will beat the first movie," says Aly.

"I would love to see the films go on for a long time, but really hope they learn the Bond method and let each film tell its only tale," says Gino.

Thanks to Lola for taking my side:

"I agree with the writer of this in so far as I think the only reason these movies have been greenlit is because of the obscene amount of money the trilogy has made, regardless of the quality of the content."

Thanks guys. Keep it coming!

Yesterday was April Fool's Day and there was an awful lot of web-buzz going on around The Dark Knight's viral campaign. The one most hyped, and seized upon by godzillions of bat-fans was The Joker's viral site which can be seen at clowntravelagency.com.

I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. I'm as excited about Dark Knight as anyone, but all this 'viral' puzzle offered was an outside chance of winning a bowling ball. And, rather worryingly, you have to hand over your phone number and email address to get even that far - a hammy automated phone call from Police Commissioner Gordon isn't really enough to make the whole thing feel worthwhile.

Warners need to reward fans for their commitment. A Joker viral puzzle leading to a sneak peak at the big bat/joker showdown. THAT sounds worth clicking your mouse for. This just felt like buzzword-orientated committee thinking.

Good god no!

I was so shocked when I read this that I blurted it out loud across the office.

"Bloody hell they're only making a Hans Solo spin-off with Harrison Ford!"

The stars of the eighties have entirely lost their shame. If Harrison can return to Indian Jones, why not go the whole hog and cash in on Hans Solo too?! For Shame!

"Hey Ed mate, believe you me, money is ALWAYS better than pride," said Ents manager Mike. And I can see his point. Only, when you're Harrison Ford, it's surely not a massive requirement.

Anyways, folks it looks like it's really happening - I suspect some dark dealings on the part of the evil Lord Lucas, who has a hand in the Indy franchise besides this. Here's the full story as witnessed over at moviehole.net.

“Han Solo”, based on a script by “Star Wars” veteran Carrie Fisher, will tell of the Space Pirate’s post-“Return of the Jedi” life – his rocky relationship with Leia, their mischievous Jedi-training twins, and principally, Solo’s ongoing battle with The Hutt’s, says BrokenDroid.com.

“Harrison has always said he wouldn’t do another Star Wars movie – particularly the sequels to Return of the Jedi”, says producer. “When we presented him an idea to star in a Han Solo movie though, that was different. This would be Solo’s story, not Luke [Skywalker’s] – and once we told him the story, he was in. But more so, Carrie Fisher wrote the first draft, and knocked it out of the park”.

Ford describes the film as “thrilling, but packed with adventure and still connected to the world George [Lucas] invented. Han is still his arrogant, cheeky self”.

Ford will begin work on “Han Solo” after completing the upcoming “What Lies Beneath” sequel. Fox has sked to film for a 2011 release. A director is yet to be announced.

With Nicolas Sarkozy's arrival and England's footie team playing at Stade De France, there's a an abounding sense of Franco-Englishness about today's news.

So, tenuously, I thought I'd join in with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it look at some of the best French films to come my way over the last few years.

La Haine

Made in 1995 and re-released in 2004, 'Hate' must be one of the best portraits of teenage criminality. A young Vincent Cassel is a hoodlum in the ghettos of Paris. As rioting ensues and tensions with the racist police force reach breaking point, Cassel comes across a hand gun and vows to kill a cop.

Comparable to 2000 Rio De Janeiro masterpiece City Of God, it's shot in black and white with handheld cameras, diving into the youth's empoverished hangouts with startling reality and brutal accuracy. To watch it during the North Paris rioting of 2004 was to fully understand the gravity of the situation there.

Amelie

I've sung the praises of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's finest hour on this blog and in just about every publication I've ever worked in. When trying to capture the delight of watching Audrey Tautou's quest for l'amour in Paris, the word I keep coming back to is 'French-ness'.

It is just extremely French, and all the more delightful for its stripe-wearing, baguette-eating, bicycle-riding simplicity. I've forgotten all my experiences of the real Paris, replacing them with this rose-tinted vision. Bravo Monsieur Jeunet!

Cache

Conveniently, I finally got round to watching this psychological thriller just last night. It's actually directed by a German - esteemed art-lenser Michael Haneke. But it's very much a french production starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche as a couple beset by a stalker that posts them videos of their own house. The box was covered in 5 star ratings and I was strapped in for some intensive mind-bending. It didn't really happen actually - this was far too slow to be called a 'thriller'.

That said, the dramatic dialogue is fantastic. The only problem is there's rather a lot of it. Despite their excellent performances, I tired somewhat of Binoche and Auteuil's many scenes in which they'd sit around and act miffed at each other. In horror terms, however, it's an excellent study in fear of what we can't see - well worth checking out but not for those 21st Century types with 12-minute attention spans.

La Vie En Rose

Every bit deserving of the attention thrown its way by Marrion Cotillard's Oscar win this year, La Vie En Rose is a royally plush production besides a world-beating performance. Following the life of singing superstar Edith Piaf, it's tragic and touching in equal and frequent spoonfuls as we jump around the chronology of the singer's life. Not convinced? Check out the clips on our database page.

Etre Et Avoir

Probably my favourite documentary. Little known to most of France let alone the British audience, this beautifully simple fly-on-the-wall piece tells of a tiny mountain primary school where the pupils are taught every subject by a single teacher. Life is tough for the small rural community as we follow the kids through  struggles both personal and academic. But 'Monsieur' is always there for them. The genuinely amazing calmness and wisdom of Georges Lopez makes it all amazingly inspiring. Seek it out... I guarantee you'll love it.

Yes folks, it's a new movies site! The differences between our flashy new product and the old MSN Movies appear slight at first but this is a way more advanced product with a lot more depth than we've ever had before and a load of cool new toys.

First of all there's now a video on every single page on the site. Just hit the the big play button on the right and there'll be a video relevant to the page you're looking at. You can also click video links that will pop us funky daughter windows.

Also on the high-tech video front, we're carrying a video homepage where all the latest trailers and clips can be found. Also available on there is moviefix - our one-stop week-by-week guide to the best stuff at your local cinema.

There's a weight of articles, reviews blogs and opinion flowing through the movies site these days. Reviews, features and columns have been separated out into their own archives where you can access a host of new writing. Our three movie blogs (including this one) are also right there on the homepage.

What's more, you'll notice much smarter galleries and feature pages, cool extras such as battles and quizzes, and a much smoother running movies experience all round. It's been a lot of work and we're proud of it. But we're always keen to know what you think. Please give us your comments here...

News reached our ears this week that Pirates 4 has got the green light and is set for 2011. Obviously, this is a gigantic catastrophe. The fourth and fifth instalments have been floating around the movie news bowl for well over a year now. Johnny Depp made it pretty clear last year that it was likely to happen with this:

"Doing the 'Pirates...' movies has been an absolute blast. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have had such a great experience. If I walk away from Jack now, I'll walk away with some amazing memories. But the end of the third movie leaves open the possibility of a fourth or fifth film, which I wouldn't be opposed to as an actor because I feel there is a lot more territory to explore with Captain Jack. I've never really felt I'm done with playing the character, so why shouldn't we try a fourth and a fifth?"

Sorry, a lot more 'territory'? A lot more cash more like. The Pirates movies have been steadily going downhill since their inception. The decline in watchability has been contrasted by a steep rise in the amount of moula they've made.

On the subject of unnecessary sequels, there's a herd of horrifically uncalled for seconds and thirds in production right now. Check them out here in our gallery.

When rubbish films, such as the muddled spectacle of At World's End, are successful, quality-checks fly out the window and yet more appallingly contrived sequels inevitably arrive. In light of the $ being made, Disney could never do the decent thing and kill this appalling series. But what should they do with it? Pirates 3 had so many ridiculous plot strands that sense or coherence has pretty much flown out the window at this point. So here are my ideas.

- The scariest sea monster ever threatens the world of the pirates. It's a giant Brian Blessed, and it is capable of drinking so much sea water that it can suck whole fleets of ships down into it's gut.

- Having been swallowed by the enormous Brian Blessed, captain Jack discovers a time machine in his back pocket. He plans to go forward in time where he can discover futuristic new weapons to defeat the monster. He zaps himself forwards to 2011.

- In modern-day London, the confused Jack's cocky swagger and outlandish clothes get him immediately spotted by British music magnate Simon Cowell. He is persuaded to audition for ITV's 'The X-Factor'.

- He walks into his audition and shouts "Ahoy there! I need to find to find a weapon that can defeat the evil Brian Blessed and rescue me mates! Savvy?" He's accepted as a comedy/vaudeville act and put through, eventually winning the whole show (they'll be pretty desperate for talent by 2011).

- Having won the day, Jack heads back to his own time where he discovers that everyone is still inside the giant Brian blessed, who turns out to be Captain Jack's grandad. On hearing about Jack's X-Factor success, The giant Brian Blessed is so touched that he spews everyone back out into the ocean. "That was an excellent performance!" says simon cowell. The end.

That random enough? Sounds like a pirates script to me!

A lot of publicity stunts are sent our way here. But I have to give a special shout out to this targeted marketing ploy from the creators of 300 spoof Meet The Spartans. Yes, they have put my name on Carmen Electra's ass. Such an effort surely deserves a blog entry.

http://www.celebritydumpster.co.uk/view.html?id=147422

Thanks to all of you who wrote into us during the tumultuous month that was February. Let's get straight to the big show shall we? Yes it was Oscars month and we were throwing the kitchen sink at the event with our enormous special. Here's what you guys said in response...

olivia hill
"It has to be johnny depp to win oscar i think he's a FANTASTIC actor!"

Daves
"Has to be Daniel Day Lewis for best actor . Just watched "There Will Be Blood" What a performance!!! That man is top class!!!!!!!"

Teppei
"Will Smith should have won for I am Legend. But not even a recognition."

Zoey73
"Oscars 2008 was the most boring and predictable event. That said, I love to watch the red carpet bit the. The dresses were nothing special apart from Best Actrss winner Marion Coutillard who thought outside the box with her Gaultier mermaid number - beautiful."

And finally this from Sharon.

"Not enought of Viggo's beard if you ask me WHAT A MAN!!!!!"

Moving on (I'm all Oscar-ed out for one year), there was a ton of reaction to Rambo and the massive violence it inflicted on the world (I wasn't a fan). But some of you guys were positive here.

"It's a film set in a war torn country, what do you expect - the sound of music......the action is very realistic and the film portrays the sort of things that go on in the world......if your a Rambo fan - you'll love it!"

"Aye it's brutal,but the scene in the jeep when he blasts that bloke into little bits is awesome."

Ooooooo---kay. Thanks for that everyone. Finally - the news that Bourne 4 is coming out caused hot-blooded debate.

"PLEASE dont let the creators get egotistical and attempt a 4th movie on the strength of this succes and be happy to accept that THE END is THE END!"

"The books and the films are very different, so i dont think they could carry that on (i reading the 3rd one now). But as much as i love the films anyway, i would rather there wasnt a 4th one."

"Legacy and Betrayal will more than likely happen, the first 3 were big money spinners, Can you see Hollywood ignoring that?"

Thanks everyone again, keep it coming!

Please no! It ended so well!

A story that appeared in Variety this week has set the internet alight with talk about Bourne 4 this week. Here's the paragraph from the article (about Universal's Studio bosses and their plans)  that has caused all the palaver:

"More recently, Shmuger and Linde landed Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon for a fourth "Bourne" movie, even though the director and star seemed ready to wrap it up after three pics. And they landed Sam Raimi to return to horror with "Drag Me to Hell," starring Ellen Page."

Greengrass and Damon are allegedly already brainstorming ideas for a fourth Bourne script. But Matt seemed so content with the end of Bourne 3 that I find it hard to believe. Here's what he said when he propositioned him during our very own Ultimatum interview:

Us: Bourne 4 – The Musical?
Matt: That was my suggestion, it’s either got to be porn or a musical - re-ignite the franchise! (he sings) “they’re chasing me, they’re chasing me!"

He certainly didn't seem serious about the idea of a fourth Bourne movie at that point. So, if this is all true, something has to have changed his mind somewhere along the line. The one plus is that the Variety story sounds confident that Paul Greengrass is also involved.

If Bourne 4 is gonna happen, at least it'll be in safe hands. But I maintain that the ending was perfectly resolved at the end of Ultimatum - they'll struggle to avoid the feeling of a contrived jump start to the series.

And you can be one too...

A friend just sent me a link to a cool communal script project over at LA Observed. Hollywood scribe Eric Estrin has given us the first 3 pages of a script. And it's up to us, the people, to fill in the rest of the story. We just have to submit pages to Eric.

http://www.laobserved.com/script/

He starts us off with a cool LA Mayor called Russell Napolitano. He's connected with high society types (and sleeping with one by the sound of it) but he also know the filthy underbelly of the city. I'm drafting my version of the next few pages as we speak. I'm thinking the junkie from the sewer remembers who Russ is and talks to the press - leading to a scandal!

Russ has to go back to even sketchier urban contacts in order to clear his name and win the next election!

But that's just my version.....

So an email went out today asking us for our best interpretation of a favourite movie scene using only the humble little application called MS Paint.

All work ceased immediately. And a flow of drawings entered the inbox. Who knew that such a disgustingly ugly group of people as the MSN editorial team could conjure such beauty. Thanks to Editors Antony Bennison, Patrick Goss, James Andrews, Laura Simpson and Nicole O'Neil for the stunning images below. Thanks also to MSN Music Editor James Hurley, whose idea this was.

Now it's your turn. Please email us your paint efforts we'll post the best of them here. Anyone using software cleverer than the simple paint application will be disqualified!