British is best, it seems, and while the rest of Europe abandoned the big screen with box office takings down as much as 20 per cent compared to last year, Britain, a nation of cinema-goers, continued to flock to the multiplexes.And best of all, during the past 12 months, it was home-grown films, which really tickled our fancy. Tim Burton's candy-striped remake of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which was filmed at Pinewood Studios with a largely British cast, was one of the summer's monster hits, blessed with a sensational performance from Johnny Depp as man-child Willy Wonka.

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit<$>, Aardman Animations' wildly inventive and brilliantly orchestrated comedy for the entire family, was the runaway success of the autumn. However, director Nick Park's elation at the film's success was quickly extinguished by news of a blaze at the studio's Bristol warehouse, which destroyed almost all of the props from the Creature Comforts, Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit<$> films. Keira Knightley beautifully conveyed the internal struggle of young Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's sweeping version of Pride and Prejudice, while the magical Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) came a-knocking with her enchanted walking stick. There was more magic in the air with the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, and Tilda Swinton sent a chill down our collective spine as the wicked White Witch, leading the predominantly British cast of C.S. Lewis's epic tale of good and evil, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe<$>.

Other major British successes of the year included Mike Leigh's critically adored and Oscar nominated Vera Drake starring Imelda Staunton as a backstreet abortionist in 1950s London; The Constant Gardener <$>starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, based on John Le Carr's thriller about corruption in the pharmaceutical industry; Stephen Frears's wartime picture postcard Mrs Henderson Presents<$>; and the feelgood comedy Kinky Boots.

Of course, UK films turned out to be gruel Britannia, like Annie Griffin's misfiring comedy Festival<$> set amid the hustle and bustle of the Edinburgh Fringe; Michael Winterbottom's sexually explicit 9 Songs, which was more yawn than porn; Lexi Alexander's relentlessly violent Green Streets headlining Elijah Wood as an American student seduced by football hooliganism; and Guy Ritchie's Revolver<$>, which shot itself in the foot with swathes of unintelligible Kabbalah 'wisdom'. The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse was a self-indulgent disappointment, while Billie Piper, riding on the crest of a wave with Doctor Who, snubbed the premiere of her own film Spirit Trap, a horror movie about spooky goings-on in a haunted house. Pity she didn't exercise the same good taste by rejecting the script.

The Academy Awards belonged, deservedly, to Clint Eastwood's masterful boxing drama Million Dollar Baby, which sucker-punched Martin Scorsese and The Aviator <$>in the final round, collecting statuettes for Best Picture, Best Director (Eastwood), Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman).

A number of beloved filmmakers returned to the cinematic fold, including horror maestro George A Romero with his bloodless Land Of The Dead<$>, Cameron Crowe and the life-affirming romantic comedy Elizabethtown, David Cronenberg with the masterful A History Of Violence, and Terry Gilliam with his visually stunning yet deeply flawed The Brothers Grimm<$>.

It was also a year of emerging new talents, including Joshua Marston, who directed Catalina Sandino Moreno to a surprise Oscar nomination as Best Actress for the nerve-shredding Maria Full Of Grace, Cate Shortland for the haunting rites of passage story Somersault<$>, and music video wizard Mike Mills for Thumbsucker.

Screenwriter extraordinaire Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) made a spectacular debut behind the camera with Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang<$>, pairing Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer.

Big wasn't always beautiful though. For every finely crafted blockbuster like The Interpreter <$>or War Of The Worlds, there was Elektra or Fantastic Four<$>. There were some nice surprises though, like the rollicking desert adventure Sahara<$> pairing real-life lovers Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz; art imitating life for Brad and Angelina in Mr and Mrs. Smith; a giddily nostalgic Herbie: Fully Loaded<$>; and Paul Haggis' impeccably written and directed Crash.

Sequels and indeed prequels were the usual array of the good (Batman Begins, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith), the bad (Be Cool, Miss Congeniality 2 — Armed and Fabulous) and the downright ugly (Son Of The Mask, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo).

And Hollywood proved once again that it is the most eco-friendly community on the planet, gleefully recycling old films and television series as lacklustre remakes. The less said about The Dukes Of Hazzard and Jessica Simpson's denim shorts the better.

Animation went from strength to strength. Madagascar<$>, Robots <$>and Valiant validated the increasing reliance on computer animation (except when it comes to tampering with an institution like The Magic Roundabout<$>), wooing family audiences in their droves. Hand drawn animation held its own, though, from pictures aimed at very small children (Laura's Star, Clifford's Really Big Movie) to a guilty pleasure for the young at heart (The Spongebob Squarepants Movie).

And the stop-motion triumph of Wallace And Gromit was shared by Tim Burton's Corpse Bride<$>, a spooky yarn of marital hell featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Emily Watson and Helena Bonham Carter.

Laughter was in short supply. Meet The Fockers tickled the nation's funny bone as Ben Stiller introduced the world to his dysfunctional folks (Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman in scene-stealing form), while Wedding Crashers caused many, not just brides, to blush in the summer. The 40-Year-Old Virgin confirmed there is still a market for adult comedies, as was a compelling advertisement against chest waxing. Actor Steve Carell certainly suffered for our enjoyment. But then if you were unfortunate enough to see The Devil's Rejects, Man Of The House <$>or Cursed, you'll already know real suffering.