What's the holidays without hitting the cinemas and watching movies with family and friends? With a dearth of good movies this holiday season (no latest instalment of Harry Potter or Narnia in sight, alas) I still managed to over-indulge.

Here's a sampling of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

THE GOOD

Casino Royale

In this prequel to all the Bond movies of yesteryear, Daniel Craig gives an intense, sexy and brooding portrayal of Bond. From the shocking opening sequence that establishes Bond’s newly-established 007 status, to the vertigo-inducing foot chase sequence, the audience is treated to a new persona--tough, brutal and with attitude to rival your surliest teen. Giving the most realistic portrayal of the iconic 007 ever to grace the silver screen, Daniel Craig is rightfully Bond, James Bond. Full Review

Night at the Museum

Great premise--museum exhibits come to life at night at the New York Museum of Natural History. Entertaining family movie that the kids will enjoy and adults will find that the seamless CGI effects and the humor are enough to make up for the blatant sentimentality and the fact that Stiller is present in almost every scene. Light-hearted, fun to watch, it’s the perfect way to entertain the kids for a couple of hours over the holidays. Plus, they might even learn the lesson—history’s not boring at all, quite the contrary. It’s alive with magic and mayhem, and the people who shaped the world as we know it now, live and breathe in its hallowed pages. Full Review

THE BAD

Eragon

Highly derivative, cursed with bland and stilted acting as well as inane and risible dialogue, Eragon does have one redeeming feature. It boasts some of the best special/CGI effects ever seen on the big screen. The dragon Saphira comes magnificently to life onscreen and is the undisputed star of the show. Even at rest, she is stunning, and in motion, she is astounding. Full Review

THE UGLY

Curse of the Golden Flower

Chow Yun-Fat cast against type as a cruel emperor, Gong Li as the disdainful and imperious empress, three sons each with his own agenda--this is the most dysfunctional royal family of them all. But this promising movie is cursed with a long list of excesses, so much so that high drama devolves into melodrama and even, on occasion, into farce. Full Review

And so 2006 goes out with a bang, most notably with a new Bond in the hunkalicious shape of Daniel Craig, and a fire-breathing dragon that stole the show from feeble humans. Plus Zhang Yimou finally, and spectacularly, loses his marbles with Curse of the Golden Flower.