Okay, so it’s a little bit out of season, but the folks out at Lions Gate sent off a copy of Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage for us to review and so we’re getting a little late taste of Christmas. But is it Christmas ham…or merely fruitcake?

Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage follows the now famous artist of the same name–Thomas Kinkade–as he returns home from college, only to find that the family cottage is inches from foreclosure. Tourists aren’t coming in the numbers they once did–a sad story repeated in a whole lot of places–and so Thomas sets out to paint a mural of his beleaguered hometown of Placerville. And that sets a series of events in motion that changes a whole lot of lives.

I’ll hand it to them–this is a great one for the artists. The nature of art, which is as mentioned early on merely a reflection of life, gets a nice little update in here. It’s got a lot of laughs, loads of deep thoughts, and it’s like settling into that old comfortable armchair with a mug of cocoa, a down comforter, and Perry Como on the stereo in the grandest of Christmas senses.

It’s seldom that I can make this kind of pronouncement, but seriously, go out and get a copy of this. This sucker is going to put a real dose of holiday spirit into your next Christmas season. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you’ll still get a hot shot of that feeling that a lot of people get that time of year. I felt it, and here it is, the middle of February, a winter’s worth of snow turning gray and melty in the front yard, spring well on its way, and lo and behold I’m feeling it.

Not only is this a great bit for Christmas, it’s also a great bit of small town life. Speaking as someone who spent a lot of time in a small town, I can tell you, yes, this is what it’s like.

It’s got its sad points, and its joyous ones–it’s too much like life to not be worthwhile. And some of it is a bit overdone, but then, that too is a lot like life. Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage is well worth the time to watch it and the cash to pick it up.

The Screenhead Ten Scale hands this sometimes schmaltzy, sometimes overdone slice of life an eight out of ten, well worth it all. If you need a dose of Christmas, at any time in your year, give this a shot.

On behalf of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, I have picked the winner for Screenhead’s giveaway for Nowhere Boy DVD, which is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The winner is Deb K., so congratulations Deb K.!

Imagine…John Lennon’s childhood. Liverpool, 1955: a smart and troubled fifteen-year-old is hungry for experience. In a family full of secrets, two incredible women clash over John (Aaron Johnson): Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas), the buttoned-up aunt who raised him, and Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), the prodigal mother.

Yearning for a normal family, John escapes into the new and exciting world of rock ‘n’ roll where his fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the teenage Paul McCartney (Thomas Brodie Sangster). Just as John begins his new life, tragedy strikes. But a resilient young man finds his voice – and an icon explodes into the world.

Our very own Steve Anderson reviewed Nowhere Boy, which you can read here: Nowhere Boy Review.

We held a giveaway for the movie Sanctum, Alister Grierson’s upcoming action-thriller. The movie is based on explorer and producer Andrew Wight’s own diving expedition to uncharted cave systems beneath Australia’s Nullarbor Plain.

With that said, Screenhead is happy to announce we have picked the winner for the Sanctum Giveaway that includes a poster!

Samantha is our winner, so enjoy Samantha!

Sanctum is now playing in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. The movie is rated-R and is being billed as an action-thriller. The cast includes Richard Roxburgh, Rhys Wakefield, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Parkinson and Dan Wyllie. James Cameron is one of the producers.

The 3D action-thriller follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea.

Master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has explored the South Pacific’s Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank’s team-including 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and financier Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd)-are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?

Shot on location off the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Sanctum employs 3-D photography techniques Cameron developed to lens Avatar. Designed to operate in extreme environments, the technology used to shoot the action-thriller will bring audiences on a breathless journey across plunging cliffs and into the furthest reaches of our subterranean world.

This is what Samantha won:

Sanctum Giveaway Prizing

One (1) SANCTUM poster

One (1) Sanctum Baseball Cap

One (1) Sanctum T-Shirt

One (1) Sanctum Mini Penlight

Black Gold – Behind The Scenes
Uploaded by ThePlaylist. – Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

We get a first look at Antonio Banderas in Jean-Jacques Annaud‘s upcoming adaptation of Hans Reusch’s “The Great Thirst,” which is being touted as the biggest Arab-backed film production of all time.

Titled Black Gold, the epic tale will follow the ‘30’s-set rivalry between two Emirs in Arabia just as oil is being discovered while a young dynamic leader begins to attempt uniting the various tribes of the desert kingdoms.

In this CNN clip we see Banderas playing Nessib, one of the two rival Emirs. Menno Meyjes (Empire Of The Sun, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade) scripted the adaptation outlined by Annaud and Alain Godard, with filming still taking place. Having shot since October in Tunisia, the production recently moved to Qatar where they will “shoot battles scenes for four weeks in the desert dunes of Mesaieed.”

“I am delighted to have started filming in Qatar,” producer Tarak Ben Ammar announced. “We are filming in some of the world’s most stunning desert landscapes and that will help ‘Black Gold’ look even more spectacular. Also, filming here gives me the opportunity to support and encourage the Doha Film Institute’s vision of building a sustainable film infrastructure in the country.”

There are plans to release the film at Christmas 2011 but nothing is set in stone.

“Government ‘help’ to business is just as disastrous as government persecution… the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off.” Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged is the pinnacle to her philosophic objectivism. Her first book We the Living is shorter and more to the point of her overall statement against communism. I’d love to see We the Living made into a film, too.

Here we are with Part one of Atlas Shrugged of a three part movie series. The story is ever so relevant today as it was when the Rand’s book was first published in 1957. Think about it as the studio websites suggests: “What would happen, if our producers disappear – Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin and other industrialists fall off the radar, their companies shuttered and their creative genius no longer powering America? The answer lies in Atlas Shrugged Part I.”

Getting the movie produced and on the screen has taken decades. Even Angelina Jolie was recently attached to the production. Finally, it appears that Atlas Shrugged Part One is a faithful adaptation.

I am not a follower of her philosophy, but I do agree with some of her views.

For those who have never read her books, the movie will plant a seed and much dialogue will follow, particularly among social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter users.

Interestingly, I was compelled to write about Rand’s philosophy instead of the movie production. I am sure other sites and reviewers will follow suit. Never fear, I will talk more about the movie production as posters, featurettes and film clips arrive in my email box. After all, it is entertainment.

The movie opens on the most appropriate day in the US: April 15, 2011.

This is not the first time we’ve taken a Roman legion out to Hadrian’s Wall–I personally remember when they did it with King Arthur–but this is one of the better romps we’ve seen, even if it’s a bit on the darker side. It’s called The Eagle, just released today, and it’s a real winner.

The Eagle follows a Roman legionnaire, Marcus Aquila, who finds himself suddenly discharged from the Legion while fending off an attack from Brits meaning to get their land back. Marcus is made a hero of Rome, but hanging over his head is the fate of his father, another legionnaire connected to the fabled Ninth Hispania Legion, who was lost north of Hadrian’s Wall along with their standard, a golden eagle. This is a huge blow both to Rome and to the Aquila family, so it’s not exactly a huge surprise when Marcus decides to set out after the eagle. He takes with him a recently-purchased British slave, who has a deeper connection to Marcus than either realizes, and sets out on a journey of corpses and general-quarters ass-kicking to recover the eagle and his family’s honor.

Honor is just a huge part of this movie. They will hammer it into you like lunatics, honor this, honor that, honor out the wazoo–but it’s actually pretty close to the kind of thing they thought at the time. It’s a very entertaining movie, it’s nicely put together, I didn’t even notice much in the way of plot holes, though trying to pick my way through the various British tribes wasn’t exactly easy–I’d never even heard of the “Seal People” before this, and I spent a good chunk of time wondering when the Celts would show up–and frankly, by current standards of moviegoing that’s going to make it worth your time and your ten bucks.

It’s an action flick, and an unusually dark one–there are enough human bones piled up in this thing, along with fresh corpses, to easily let it drift into horror in points–but there’s no denying that there’s plenty of primitive weaponry clanging together to make this an action flick. One part I really enjoyed, though, was this part toward the end in which the music abruptly shuts off and all we’re left with is clanging and clattering weaponry; it has this oddly stark quality that has a strange beauty all its own, and it’s a really inspired way to put up that “final boss” fight scene.

Yes, we’ve trod this ground before, you and I, but we haven’t done it quite this well in some time, nor have we had quite this much fun.

You want a fun action romp with a bit of a darker edge, then strap in for The Eagle. The Screenhead Ten Scale gives it what most fun movies of its kind get, a seven out of ten for having a few issues, but still being solid enough entertainment to pass a night.

I am very happy to announce the winner of Screenhead’s giveaway of a $25 Fandango gift card for Sanctum! The winner is Joanne Schultz! I know, Joanne will love seeing Sanctum in 3D.

First of all, I encourage all of you to check out iJustine’s live underwater interview with James Cameron on the Virgin Mobile LIVE Facebook page.

As you probably know by now, Sanctum is playing in theaters and was the number two movie last weekend at the box office.

Thanks for playing the giveaway everyone!

Screenhead is hosting a giveaway to promote the DVD and Blu-ray release of Woody Allen’s comedy drama You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, releasing on February 15, 2011.

Here are the details about the giveaway:

Screenhead has one copy of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger DVD to giveaway.

Post your name and Screenhead will pick the winner March 1, 2011.

Written and Directed by Woody Allen, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones), and their daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) and husband Roy (Josh Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds.

This is how the story unfolds:

After Alfie leaves Helena to pursue his lost youth and a free-spirited call girl named Charmaine (Lucy Punch), Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller.

Unhappy in her marriage, Sally develops a crush on her handsome art gallery owner boss, Greg (Antonio Banderas), while Roy, a novelist nervously awaiting the response to his latest manuscript, becomes moonstruck over Dia (Freida Pinto), a mystery woman who catches his gaze through a nearby window.

Despite these characters’ attempts to dodge their problems with pipe dreams and impracticable plans, their efforts lead only to heartache, irrationality, and perilous hot water.

Taking its title from the prediction fortune tellers use to beguile their marks, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, illustrates with wry humor how easy it is for our illusions to make fools of us all.

You can check out the trailer here:

Screenhead is a little tickled over the idea of hosting a giveaway for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Tamara Drewe, which is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

I posted quite a bit about the flirtatious comedy that follows Tamara Drewe’s return to the rustic village of her youth transformed by a glamorous new career as a columnist – and a dazzling new nose – she captures the imaginations of all of the men in town. But when she turns out not to be the innocent lass everyone remembers, passions are enflamed and lives are changed forever. But when a bit of silly mischief puts lives and loves at risk, Tamara Drewe must choose between getting it all and getting the one. In this fun, witty romance, director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Dangerous Liaisons) perfectly captures the spirit of the beloved graphic novel.

Screenhead has available two prizes for two winners:

1st Prize: Tamara Drew DVD and a copy of the graphic novel that inspired the film
2nd Prize: A copy of the graphic novel that inspired the film

To enter the giveaway, post your name and we will pick the winners February 25, 2011.

I am excited to present a brand new trailer and poster for The Double Hour, a multiple Venice Film Festival award-winning thriller starring Fillipo Timi (Vincere) and Ksenia Rappoport (The Unknown Woman). The movie is directed by the renowned music video director Giuseppe Capotondi making his feature length debut.

The story is about Guido (Timi), a former cop, is a luckless veteran of the speed-dating scene in Turin. But, much to his surprise, he meets Slovenian immigrant Sonia (Rappoport), a chambermaid at a high-end hotel.

The two hit it off, and a passionate romance develops. After they leave the city for a romantic getaway in the country, things suddenly take a dark turn. As Sonia’s murky past resurfaces, her reality starts to crumble. Everything in her life begins to change – - questions arise and answers only arrive through a continuous twist and turn of events keeping viewers on edge until the film’s final moments.

The Double Hour is the winner of Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Italian Film at the Venice International Film Festival.

The movie will be released in select US cities on April 15, 2011.