Top holiday movies

Monsters vs Aliens. Photo / Supplied

Stuck for something to do over the holidays? Here's our pick of top movies to beat the holiday blues:

Race to Witch Mountain

Race to Witch Mountain

is loosely based on the 1968 young adult sci-fi novel by Alexander Key,

Escape to Witch Mountain

.

Verdict:

Heaps of action to keep even the most restless kid firmly planted in their seat. Read the full review

here

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Just like

Sex and The City

and

The Devil Wears Prada

this is serious chick flick material. A light, fluffy romantic comedy,

Confessions of a Shopaholic

is based on a book by Sophie Kinsella and will provoke shoe envy, and naughtily encourage you to go on a shopping spree immediately.

Verdict:

Fashion porn for those who believe spending is the best way out of a recession. Read the full review

here

.

Monsters vs Aliens

Jam-packed with references to

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Blob

and

War of the Worlds

among others,

Monsters vs. Aliens

is both a nod to B-grade sci-fi films, and a family friendly 3D feature that will keep parents and kids entertained.

Verdict:

Worth seeing purely for Seth Grogan perfectly cast as a brainless alien. Read the full review

here

.

Watchmen

So far as being yet another adaptation of the celebrated comic book works of Alan Moore, the

Watchmen

movie is quite something.

Verdict:

Comic epic's adaptation as faithful as it is grim. Read the full review

here

.

Dean Spanley

Perfectly amiable and utterly pointless, it's an adaptation of a 1936 novella by an Irish baron about a clergyman who, when he drinks tokay, a rare and expensive sweet wine, is transported back to his earlier life - as a dog.

Verdict:

Obscure Edwardian whimsy, but finely filmed and acted. Read the full review

here

.

Slumdog Millionaire

The Oscars' favourite is the kind of film that demands critical hyperbole because hyperbole is its native language: it is riotously kinetic, superbly shot, cleverly structured and irresistibly watchable.

Verdict:

Undeniably entertaining but deeply phoney. Read the full review

here

Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls

On the face of it, a feature-length doco about the Topp Twins would seem to crave your indulgence.

Verdict:

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you might just yodel. Read the full review

here

.

The Reader

Bernhard Schlink's 1995 novel

The Reader

was a morally complex, sobering meditation on the nature of intergenerational guilt and the corrosive power of silence.

Verdict:

Bloodless adaptation of a good novel is almost rescued by Winslet at her best. Read the full review

here

.

The Wrestler

Mickey Rourke's Oscar-nominated performance as an ageing professional wrestler has magic in it.

Verdict:

A spellbinding performance by Mickey Rourke. Read the full review

here

.