THE release of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter just weeks apart has dramatically boosted attendance figures at cinemas nationwide to a 30 year high.

Escapism, it seems, is high on the national agenda in the light of current world events but the quality of the films themselves also plays a highly significant part. The trend looks set to continue with the release this year of Monsters, Inc, more spot-on kid/adult fun from the makers of Toy Story (get a preview at http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/monstersinc).

The star of the moment though is Tolkien's classic and if the film has spurred your interest in the books and the author, the following sites should prove essential. www.nytimes.com/specials/advertising/movies/tolkien is a guide to the world of Tolkien, including archived interviews with the author and reviews of the books on their first release.

If you want to brush up on your knowledge of Tolkien himself then you might do well to try www.jrrtolkien.org.uk - a site dedicated to the author's life in Oxford. There's a description of his daily routine, his life as a scholar and even his time spent in Leeds.

The following are some of the best sites to find out more about the latest non-Lord of the Rings movie news and gossip.

At www.aint-it-cool-news.com, this dubiously titled but deservedly world famous site was started by Harry Knowles who managed to dig up the latest Hollywood insider gossip to fill this site and before long Hollywood insiders themselves were consulting it.

And remember, thisislancashire.co.uk has the latest local cinema releases and up-to-date contact details.