you'd never guess that most mappers are male... 

I think Ming Na could be a part of your top 5 asian actress...

http://pro.corbis.com/creative/crop4/default.asp?setName=celebrity&pageNum=8

I like this kind of "doctor" .. grrrr... 

dirty pretty things - really good, the lead actor was excellent. Audrey Tatou had a nice change from her Amelie role too.

dial m for murder - more class from hitchcock, easily one of his better films. Great script.

the producers - very clever film and script. I dont really like Mel Brooks' slapstick humour generally but this was different to his usual stuff, but still had that manic energy that seems to be prevalent in all his films. Highlight was easily the castingof the hippie as Hitler. 

Chronicles of Riddick - any good??

Hellboy - any good??

Would like some feedback please (not based around how faithful they are to comics/prequels etc etc - just how they are in their own right) - more about what they're like rather than just "s4wk / r4wk".

Also, another other sci-fi / thriller / weird films around or coming out this autumn?? Can quite happily watch trashy sci-fi in it's own right but prefer other films to have a bit more bite (not into arty abstract weirdness though). 

Trashy sci-fi; nothing at all like Pitch Black. Vin Diesel co-produces; the result is about what you'd expect. 

i thought it was alright. good music, and cool effects... ending was strange and a bit awkward. just don't go in expecting pitch black 2. 

I don't really know about new releases, but Dark City is always a good bet. And of course the original Pitch Black if you haven't seen it.

...

Um, this was actually going to be a very big list, but I don't really have anything else to add. 

I'll second the Dark City vote, and add a few faves from the sci-fi/thriller/weird camp:

Angel Heart
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The City of Lost Children
Harvey
The Man Who Would Be King
Sorcerer
The Stunt Man
True Romance
Wild at Heart 

I'm interested in the cinema shizznaz at present. 

Dark City. 

Dark City was smelly, don't watch it. 

riddick is crap, some of the design work is good but the movie is crap.

Hellboy is ok, decent effects and so forth but it's a bit too long and there's nothing truly spectacular in it.

Good current stuff in line with what you asked for :

donnie darko (I think the director's cut, albeit an inferior version, is playing at cinemas around the world)

Spartan's not bad for a thriller.

Collateral is also pretty good for a thriller.

Also, I havent seen it but Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looks like an interstingly styled pulp sci-fi film. 

a direct qote from my brother

' so, so, so, bad. Cutesy crap made me wanna gash my eyes out.'

I haven't seen it. 

a direct quote from my brother

' so, so, so, bad. Cutesy crap made me wanna gash my eyes out.'

I haven't seen it. 

When Shambler said "not into arty abstract weirdness though", I pretty much assumed that Donnie Darko would be out. Plus the sci-fi themes aren't as much in the foreground of the film as other sci-fi films. 

they are in the director's cut (to the detriment IMHO but that's another issue). 

Donnie Darko sounds fine actually, but I thought it was long gone to DVD.

Funnily enough the Sky Captain thing looked pretty entertaining - the style of it looked cool, and it makes no pretence to have an ounce of sense to it.

Will consider Collateral then.., 

the original cut of Donnie has been on DVD for ages. However, a new director's cut (with about 25 mins extra footage) is showing in many cinemas around the world. 

Like Saying Britons Are Not European

Try asking my average countryman about it and they'll deny it vehemently.

Xenophobic bastards the lot of them. 

It has some excellent moments. Style++ for about 3/4 of the movie. Towards the end it starts to decohere, but all in all it's worth the price of admission. 

how noticeable is the cg? I hate obvious cg (hello Matrix sequels), especially when it's used in large parts as it is here. 

Predictable. Nothing special in the writing. There is a small bit to consider after you're through watching, but as I said it's not anything special. Visual style is kinda nice and dark.

Oh, and it had the phone ringing sound from The Matrix. 

the salton sea, yeah it wasn't AMAZING, i didn't rush out and buy the dvd, but I didn't walk out of the theatre feeling ripped off.
It had some giggles, some sad, some bad, and some yummy val kilmer. 

Well since I am neither A) a homosexual male, nor B) a heterosexual female, I didn't find Val Kilmer all that hot. The sad was just cliche stuff (can you say "The Crow"?). The giggles were... okay, they were giggles.

As I said, it had a decent style in the visuals, but everything else was either mediocer or cliche.

Oh, and I didn't feel ripped off. But the movie just wasn't that great. 

It holds up pretty well. The fact that the whole thing is done in one style is what makes it all work. The only time I thought the cg was off was for the rain. Rain is hard.