Xmas Gifts Guide

It’s time to fire up a few recommendations for the movie fan in your life (or maybe you fancy getting something cool for yourself) for the holidays. Some of the following may feature affiliate links.
First off, a few books.

Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of InnovationIt’s pretty fair to say ILM have changed the movie industry since the early days of Star Wars. Not only have they changed it, they’ve influenced and pioneered to boot. This book is a must have for any movie fan. It’s a big coffee table book, full of info and fantastic pictures, covering an incredible range of movies that have ILM attached. From Star Wars to Rango, everything is here and it's well worth a purchase. US readers buy here / Ireland & UK readers buy here
DARK LENSHere’s another big coffee table book, and its quite an indulgent book, especially for Star Wars fans. Featuring a tonne of photos, mainly from the middle east / Asia, coupled with Star Wars characters, this is an incredibly unique book. It’s worth it alone for the Falcon pictures. This is something that you can go back to time and time again. And would make a great gift for any Star Wars fan, and consider its Cedric Delsaux, a great gift for art and photography fans to boot. US readers buy here / Ireland & UK readers buy here
THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF THE WORLDS GREATEST STUNTMAN Vic Armstrong has seen it all, done it all, and jumped off it all. Without a shadow of a doubt he is an amazing stuntman and heres a fantastic insight into his amazing life. A household name in the industry and a must read over the holidays! US readers buy here / Ireland & UK readers buy here

So from books to movies. It’s nigh on impossible to recommend stuff that works for everybody, but I’ll try to be as general as possible with stuff that should (hopefully) entertain the house over the Christmas holidays.

If old school is you thing, you really could do no wrong with Super-8, which is like one big homage to Steven  Spielberg. Directed by JJ Abrams, this is a big old fashioned hunk of entertainment involving mystery beings and the military. Us readers buy here / Ireland & UK readers buy here
This was one of the surprise hits of the year. If you fancy some bad ass monkeys and James Franco, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes is for you. Just like Super-8, Apes is another big slice of entertainment that is sure to entertain the folks who are round your house stuffing turkey down the throats. And this is the movie that could well see Andy Serkis get nominated for an Oscar, for his mo-capped performance. Tragically, none of these monkeys throw poop at one another. US readers buy here / Ireland & UK readers buy here
Christmas is a time of mundane Television and big blockbuster style movies. And they don’t come any bigger than the visual FX re-defining Jurassic Park trilogy, and heres the trilogy, recently released on Blu-Ray. Sure, the 2nd movie is a bit all over the place, but the kids (and big kids) won’t care less when T-Rex’s are trampling all over the screen. US readers buy here / Ireland & UK readers buy here
In my final recommendation for a few Xmas movies, here’s one thats not suitable for the kids. The greatest Irish movie in years, The Guard stars Brendan Gleeson in one his best roles to date. Poignant, touching and absolutely hilarious this is a must see. Unfortunately, its not available in the UK and US till January. Irish readers can purchase it here

And finally, for fantastic movie themed T-shirts, Last Exit To Nowhere (appearing here 2 years in a row) have probably the best selection on the web. The tees are inspired by the movies, so if you’ve always wanted a Nostromo shirt or Skynet hoodie, this is the place.
So there you have it, our mini Xmas pressie guide. Either way, when shopping online, check delivery dates and duration. Best piece of advice is to order this week (or maybe right now) to ensure delivery in time for Xmas.