Upon returning to civilization, our brilliant doctor is ruthlessly pursued by The Abomination (Tim Roth) -- a nightmarish beast of pure adrenaline and aggression whose powers match The Hulk's own. A fight of comic-book proportions ensues as Banner must call upon the hero within to rescue New York City from total destruction. And on June 13, 2008, one scientist must make an agonizing final choice -- accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or the creature he could permanently become: The Incredible Hulk.

I’m meeting with Paramount next week to talk about a sequel to Inconvenient Truth. Too early to talk about details.

Clocking in at 168 minutes, Gore Verbinski's third film based on Disney's spectacular Pirates of the Caribbean theme ride is blatantly self-indulgent as a muddle of 15 stories swirl together like an impressive whirlwind whipping up flashes of brilliance amid the chaos. The film is a bit like a journey on a tempestuous ocean with mountainous highs and fathomless lows. I was confused, enthralled, dazzled and bored.

For 5 minutes we have to endure a barrage of real-life footage of animals being tortured and killed. Whimpering foxes being skinned alive and beaten. Baby seals being clubbed... a skinned animal that looked like a dog suffering, obviously dying very slowly, dogs getting their skulls crushed in by heavy boots.

The film is an atmospheric but deliberately unglamorized recreation that hypnotises with its thoughtful staging, well drawn characters and water dripping pace. Spanning four decades yet somehow still feeling like it is a lot shorter than its 151 minute running time. There is the illusion of constant movement because of the echoing real life, crucial actions arriving with little or no warning.

I went after it. I hunted it down. I am a fan of the comic book. It’s mythology. Stan Lee created the character on a dare to see if he could make a wealthy, establishment, weapons manufacturing, hard drinking, womanising p**** into someone who is likeable and a hero. And I definitely have had to overcome certain perceptions. But I know underneath it, my heart is in the right place. And that’s kind of what the movie is about.

Unlike so many other superhero movies that something amazing happened to them or they were traumatised by bats or something that justifies why they have a transformation, he’s a guy. He’s a guy who has to do extraordinary things. That’s why I love Die Hard and The Matrix. Deep down I’m a big nerd for superhero movies.

Clearly, smoking is increasingly an unacceptable behavior in our society. There is broad awareness of smoking as a unique public health concern due to nicotine's highly addictive nature, and no parent wants their child to take up the habit. The appropriate response of the rating system is to give more information to parents on this issue.

Three questions will have particular weight for our rating board when considering smoking in a film. Is the smoking pervasive? Does the film glamorize smoking? And, is there an historic or other mitigating context?

Blonsky is a KGB agent who deliberately exposes himself to the gamma rays that caused Bruce Banner to morph into the Hulk. Blonsky has upped the dosage, making him larger and stronger than the Hulk, but unable to change back to human form. He blames Banner for his problem, and makes his best efforts to destroy the Hulk.

My feeling is that three and a half hours, it was a long time at the movies for people. The movie itself was three hours and 15 minutes and then there’s 20 minutes of trailers and then parking and everything, it suddenly became a four hour evening for people. So there’s only so many times you can show it in a day and a lot of people getting off work, it was tough for people to find the time to see it. The people that saw it loved it. People were going crazy for it and I think that 25 years from now, everyone will talk about the classic movie Grindhouse and no one will talk about — the words “box office disappointment” won’t even apply.

I really wanted this one to live up to the promise of the first one, which I always thought was the only really good one. That's a studio decision that is becoming more and more common, because they're trying to reach a broader audience. It seems almost a courageous move to give a picture an R rating these days. But we still made a pretty hardcore, smashmouth film.