Home entertainment for couch potatoes

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Luke Ford, Michelle Yeoh
Up to around 200 BC, seven states in what is now China tried various means to be recognised as the leader.

One devious king (Jet Li) used his army to achieve the goal. Thousands of people died and kingdom after kingdom fell as he ran amok. Soon he was "emperor of all under heaven". Then mystics taught him mastery over the five elements (fire, water, wood, earth and metal). But was he happy? No. He wanted to live forever.

So when news came about a powerful witch Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh) who knew about eternal life, he entrusted his ally, General Ming to find her. However, things didn't go according to plan. The general and the witch were killed and the king and his army turned into clay.

Fast forward to the 20th century. Alex (Luke Ford), the 20-year-old son of Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn O'Connell (Maria Bello), the acclaimed adventurers of the two Mummy sagas, is in Shanghai looking for the tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

As is obvious, the story hinges on Alex finding the tomb where the king and and the other clay mummies are hanging in limbo. Also, Rick and Evy have to be transported to Shanghai to become a part of the action.

Critical acclaim for this movie was subdued but Mummy fans won't mind.

Rating: 12.

Shrek the Halls
Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas
It's almost a month after Christmas, so what are Shrek and co. up to in festive gear?

Well, a movie that features the green ogre (Mike Myers), Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) can be watched anytime, even though the story revolves around Christmas. What you might object to is that this movie is just 27 minutes long.

Shrek the Halls opens with Donkey startling Ebenezer Shrek with the announcement that there are only 159 days left until Christmas. An irritated Shrek declares he doesn't care. But when C-day looms and Fiona expects it to be her best Christmas ever (it's the first time she'll be celebrating the festival with the family), Shrek heads for the local library and borrows Christmas for Village Idiots.

Fully prepared for a merry time with the family, Shrek sits down with the kids and begins to relate the tale of The Night Before Christmas when Donkey, Puss and the rest of the gang barge in. But chaos eventually leads to enlightenment.

The 12 Days of Christmas Sing Along and Deck the Halls Sing Along stand out in the Special Features section.

Rating: G.