For another kind of fantasy, there is the 20th installment in the James Bond franchise Die Another Day. Pierce Brosnan returns as Bond, but a more wearied and even tougher man than before. He has been imprisoned and tortured by the North Koreans and even his boss (Judi Dench) doubts his loyalty when he returns. He of course proves himself and we're off to the races.

The arch villains this time are Zao, complete with diamond studded cheekbones (and who said crime doesn't pay?) and his boss Gustave Graves, a diamond mogul, who is really son to a North Korean general. Graves has an anger management problem, and the West is going to PAY.
The Bond girl this time, Halle Berry, makes an homage to an earlier Bond babe, Ursula Andress, rising from the waves in an orange, soaking wet bikini. Jinx (Berry) is a very competent and dangerous American spy. She teams up with Bond, both professionally and personally to save the world. This is the first time that two Oscar winning actresses (Dench & Berry) are in a Bond movie!
The special effects are fantastic in Die Another Day. Let's face it, that's why we come to see these movies - what outrageous gadgets do they have now, and how can they possibly top themselves? Melting a glacier, stopping solar powered weapons of mass destruction, a visit to an ice-palace on the way - these are all part of the fabulous Bond bag of tricks.

If you like Bond movies at all, then you must see Die Another Day. It's action packed from start to finish, more serious & edgy in tone (the director decided to leave the over-the-top cheekiness to the current crop of children's films) and the perfect escapist fare for Christmas, or any other time of year.