LORD 'Dickie' Attenborough is hoping Birmingham Mail readers will join in the voting to help decide a Film of the Year Award that will be announced in our name and his.

The star of Jurassic Park, director of Gandhi and producer of Whistle Down the Wind knows a thing or two about movies.

Now it's your turn to help him when it comes to the fourth annual Richard Attenborough Film Awards.

Or RAFAs for short.

Voting closes on January 22 and the winners of all the categories in the RAFAs - including the Birmingham Mail Film of the Year Award - will be announced on Thursday, January 28... before the Oscars and BAFTAs.

Click on the link below to find out more.

And then cast your vote for YOUR award.

HERE IT is at last... the definitive list to the greatest movies of the decade.

Or at least according to how much I could best remember the films within at the time...

Simply click on the link below to found out by how much you disagree!

AND so here we are. Ten years after the Queen was shaking (hands) with Tony Blair inside The Dome, we can now look back at a whole decade of film - the first of the 21st Century.

That's 120 months, 520 weekends and some 3,652 days and 87,648 hours worth of potential movie-watching time.

But first, before I launch my films of the decade overall, here's one last look at the whole of 2009 itself.

What were your favourites? Click on the link below to read about mine.

In the meantime, it's worth nothing that the second decade is being launched tomorrow with what can only be described as an abominable collection - there's Post Grad, a live action film from Shrek co-director Vicky Jenson, Ashton Kutcher in Spread and, would you believe, an early hot contender for turkey of the year 2010. . . Hugh Grant / Sarah Jessica Parker in Have You Heard About the Morgans?

All of these will be explored in the New Year's Day edition of the Birmingham Mail so don't forget to buy your copy to find out why they are only worth one star between them!

There will also be a lovely, full-colour double page spread illustrating the best movies of 2009.

It's just as well the distributors of Nine refused to screen that film to regional critics before its Boxing Day release in the sticks followed its West End release on December 18.

Otherwise I'm not sure what we'd have done for a cover story review for our New Year's Day What's On section if Penelope Cruz hadn't stripped off for us to save the day.

Happy New Year!

WE'RE just hours away now from the end of the first decade of the 21st century.

And that means it will soon be time to reveal my top films of 2009, the whole decade and a little feature which explores some of Birmingham's astonishing facts re the movie industry in general.

All of this will be up and running before the end of New Year's Day so do keep returning to this site.

Meanwhile, time is beginning to play tricks.

It's impossible to believe that Heath Ledger died TWO years ago on January 22 in our latest featured year, 2008.

He could have made another two or three movies since then already. Perhaps if Clint Eastwood had had him under his wing for a period, things might have turned out differently. But we'll never know.

To find out all you need to know about 2008 - especially if you are the sort of person who likes to compile pub quizzes! - simply click on the link below.

WE'RE on the home straight now with this look at the year 2007 in movies.

On December 31 it will be the turn of 2008, before New Year's Day heralds the arrival of a look back at the Films of the Year 2009, plus a special feature on the role that Birmingham has played in movie history down the years.

For all you need to know about 2007, which as once seems so near yet so far away, simply click on the link below!

DOESN'T time fly when you are having fun?

The year 2006 is our seventh year to come back up for inspection during our ongoing day-by-day, countdown review of the decade.

It was something of a vintage year. To read more about 2006 simply click on the link below.

WELCOME to the start of the countdown for the second half of the decade representing the years 2000-2009.

Today's year is 2005 when I liked Crash to much I decided to make it my Film of the Year.

I don't always agree with the Oscar results, but I was delighted that this movie went on to win the Best Picture award at the next ceremony in 2006.

To read much more about the year in question, simply click on the link below.

Happy reading. And even better viewing!

HERE we are at the exact halfway mark during my countdown of the first decade of the 21st century.

We've already had the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Now it's the turn of 2004 to stand up to be counted.

And how!

Please click on the link below to find out more. . .

Welcome to our Boxing Day countdown of the decade in film.

Today we're up to 2003, when Pirates of the Caribbean arrived and The Lord of the Rings bowed out in style.

Click on the link below to read all about it.