Quotation Quiz:

"I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites you on the ass!"

From which film does this warning come? The answer is at the bottom of the page.

Our feature presentation: Atonement

Released on September 14th, we have "Atonement", a British film based on the Ian McEwan novel of the same name. English rose Keira Knightley stars as Cecilia alongside BAFTA-winning Scot James McAvoy who plays her lover Robbie.

It is 1935 and Cecilia (Knightley), a twenty-three year old student of high social standing, returns home and finds herself falling for Robbie (McAvoy), the son of her cleaning lady. Briony, Cecilia's younger sister, becomes convinced - through various misunderstandings on her part - that Robbie is dangerous. Upon witnessing the rape of her cousin Lola, Briony convinces herself Robbie was responsible. He is soon arrested and imprisoned. Released three years later, he enlists in the army. The film then addresses Robbie and Cecilia's long-distance relationship, Lola's marriage and Briony's realisation that she may have been wrong about Robbie all along.

On the face of it, "Atonement" is a typical tale of forbidden love, a three act movie which, whilst giving us the lavish surroundings one would expect, then surprises with the gritty realism of World War II. Keira Knightley gives a performance which will almost certainly be Oscar nominated as does James McAvoy, whose Robbie never loses his humanity despite being so terribly wronged.

Forthcoming attractions:

If the October half-term is guilty of anything, it's a flurry of half-baked kid's movies designed to part parents from their hard-earned money. Luckily, every cloud has a silver lining and "Ratatouille" is it. The eighth offering from Pixar, the makers of the "Toy Story" movies and "The Incredibles", follows Rémy - a rat living in Paris who dreams of being a chef. Released in the US in June to critical acclaim, "Ratatouille" opens here on October 12th.

Anyone who has been unfortunate enough to see "Mortal Kombat", "Street Fighter" or "Super Mario Bros" will know that video games don't make the best movies. Xavier Gens hopes to buck that trend with "Hitman", a "hunter becomes the hunted" affair based on the popular game of the same name. Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant stars as Agent 47, a professional assassin who finds himself on the run after a political coup. "Hitman" is a slick, stylised action-adventure which hits our screens on October 19th.

Moviewatch grapevine

Filming on James Bond's 22nd outing has already begun. Scenes for Daniel Craig's sophomore effort as gentleman spy 007 were shot during Siena, Italy's traditional Palio race in mid-August. The race, which pits local neighbourhoods against each other in a street horse race, will serve as the backdrop to two chases - one on foot and one involving Bond's Aston Martin. Troubled singing sensation Amy Winehouse has been tipped to sing the film's title song. "Bond 22" is set to be released on November 7th 2008.

Kate Beckinsale and Matt Dillon are in talks for "Nothing but the Truth". It's a drama about a newspaper reporter in Washington DC who outs a woman as a CIA agent and is imprisoned for refusing to reveal her source. Beckinsale is in negotiations to play the journalist and Dillon would play the prosecuting lawyer. Alan Alda, Edie Falco (The Sopranos) and Vera Farmiga are also attached.

J.J. Abrams, not content with creating TV smash "Lost", has unleashed his latest monster on the public - and no one knows what to call it. A trailer, depicting New York City being destroyed by an unseen monster, was quietly attached to prints of the summer blockbuster "Transformers". The preview was shot using hand-held cameras and named only "1-18-08", January 18th 2008 - the film's US release date. Rumours are rife as to what the film will be - everything from "Godzilla" to a spin-off from "Lost" have been mooted - but with Paramount's incredible viral marketing campaign set to continue, hopefully we shan't be left wondering too long. "Slusho" a.k.a. "Cloverfield" a.k.a. "1-18-08" crashes into UK cinemas on February 1st 2008.

Some movies seem doomed to a place known in the business as "development hell", a barren wasteland for projects that have people attached but lack the studio's green light. There is still hope, it seems, for even the oldest residents languishing there when George Lucas' forever-delayed "Red Tails" appears to be moving forward! The Star Wars creator, who completed his double-trilogy in 2005, may well be busy with the fourth instalment of the ever-popular Indiana Jones series but he's made time for his first real love: American War history. "Red Tails" will tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of African-American pilots, whose exploits during World War II have become the stuff of legend. With Lucas' own special effects house ILM looking after the visuals, expect breathtaking dogfights and action. Interestingly enough, Lord Of The Rings' director Peter Jackson will unleash his re-telling of the 1955 classic "Dambusters" in 2008. Who will rule the cinematic skies remains to be seen.

And finally, Hollywood's fascination with bringing comic book heroes to the silver screen continues with 2008 promising big screen outings for Batman ("The Dark Knight"), Captain Marvel ("Shazam!"), Iron Man ("Iron Man"), X-Men's Logan ("Wolverine") and Dr. Bruce Banner's green alter-ego ("The Incredible Hulk"). Hardcore comic fans are up in arms years in advance, however, with Warner Brothers' prospective 2009 release "The Justice League Of America" which will see the key roles of Batman and Superman re-cast. It is felt that having anyone other than Christian Bale and Brandon Routh (the current movie Batman and Superman respectively) play the roles will confuse audiences and detract from the recently re-established Batman and Superman franchises.

Quotation quiz answer:

And the quote comes from Richard Dreyfuss' character Hooper in "Jaws".

This month's Moviewatch was guest written by Tom Shires