Offender was released into cinemas in August this year and is so self-consciously ‘gritty’ that it scrapes at your eyeballs. Riddled with angry-young-men cliches, scattered with graphic violence, and littered with clunky references to Modern Culture, Offender cannot be forgiven for a painfully badly-judged script, confusing cinematography and appalling sound quality. Offender is The Shawshank Redemption for the Plan B generation. If Tim Robbins was a giant turd.

Director Rafi Pitts chose himself as lead in a very biased bit of casting for The Hunter. Too bad it didn’t pay off, as his taciturn presence makes the potentially tense cat and mouse narrative drag.

The first Iron Man was the surprise hit of 2008 and propelled Robert Downey Jr back into super-stardom. It was the first movie from Marvel Studios, the Marvel comic group’s own production company, and was hailed as a huge success. So just two years after the first movie, Robert Downey Jr is back as the eccentric billionaire Tony Stark. But is the sequel any good? Well, no. Not really.

Richard Gere and Jesse Williams team up in Antoine Fuqua’s New York drama Brookyln’s Finest. Unfortunately, though strong performance create a compelling drama, a cobbled together storyline means that you never quite believe the NY skyline in front of you.

This is War is a documentary that feels like a movie. A marine’s footage of training, fighting and surviving in Iraq has been turned by professionals into an experience that says little of politics, but plenty about what it’s like to be a marine. Like Jarhead… but real.

There are 150,000 endangered tigers in the world – and one is in your house. Classy low-budget action thriller Burning Bright is more than just a tiger action movie. It’s a heartstopping ride with human interest and genuine surprises in store…

The lunatics are taking over the asylum, or that’s what Martin Scorsese’s impeccably crafted Shutter Island would have us believe. But then perception and reality are completely blurred in this 1950s-set mystery, adapted by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis from the best-seller by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone).

Ah Paris. City of love. Known throughout the world for romantic overtures, fine cuisine, star-lit walks and, of course, kick-ass car chases. Director Pierre Morel returns to the scene of previous cinematic crimes for this explosive tour of the capital in the company of two mismatched American agents on a quest to dismantle a terrorist cell. Unfortunately, the terrible script and dodgy casting means that the only love we brought back from Paris was the relief in seeing the ending credits.

Paul Greengrass’s Green Zone centres on one of the fundamental questions surrounding the Iraq war – when American and British forces withdraw completely from Iraq will the lasting legacy be peace and democracy? Or will it will be a deep-rooted suspicion that the infamous weapons of mass destruction, the supposed justification for the invasion, never existed? It’s an interesting question, though the answers in this film are perhaps just a little too easy.

Back in that popular bestseller – the Bible, the character of Solomon (son of David, King of Israel) is known throughout the land for his wisdom. Sadly, the only thing noticeable about Solomon Kane, the star of Michael J Bassett‘s historical action adventure, is how unnaturally white his teeth are.