It’s always a bit awkward when Adam Sandler tries a serious role, so when viewing this comedy-drama in which he plays a successful comedian coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis, we approached with caution. Sandler actually proves his chops as an emerging dramatic actor well, and Seth Rogen is equally capable in support as the struggling amateur comic who Sandler decides to mentor. Naturally, the pairing of these two giants of the genre along with the equally impressive Judd Apatow as writer/director delivers a load of laughs, but a lack of balance in the script as a whole means it’s not as good as it could be.

Yes Man is basically Peyton Reed’s (Down With Love) version of Liar Liar and, of course, it stars none other Jim Carrey as the leading man. Carl Allen (Carrey) a miserable banker notorious for saying “no” to everyone and everything. In a plight to change his life, he signs up to a self-help programme which enforces one rule – he must say ‘yes’ to everything. EVERYTHING.

The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow’s thrilling and hard-hitting war drama, is a master class in sustained tension as a three-strong bomb disposal squad attached to the US Army risks life and severed limb to defuse roadside IEDs. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Anthony Mackie, it’s one of the sharpest and most intelligent films concerning the War in Iraq, but it’s in no way easy viewing.

Richard Curtis’ (Love Actually) The Boat That Rocked is set in 1966, a time where people could only listen to one hour a week of rock’n’roll on radio. Bill Nighy stars as Quentin, boss of Rock Radio – the pirate radio station which millions of music fans illegally tuned into for their fix of rock’n’roll.

The fourth in the increasingly desperate-sounding Final Destination series sees another premonition-prone twentysomething (Bobby Campo) foreseeing the death of himself and a few of his similarly hot-to-trot mates. This time, the trouble starts at a race car track, with Campo’s Nick persuading his sceptical chums to exit just before a multi-car pile up blitzes the just-vacated seats.

Produced by Sir Peter Jackson of Mordor and directed by talented newcomer Neill Blomkamp, District 9 is a smart, slick sci-fi thriller that tries to hit all the buttons and almost – almost – succeeds. The film concerns the attempts of corrupt corporation MNU’s attempts to evict the stranded aliens – derogatively referred to as “prawns” – from a slum in the centre of town to a concentration camp far away from the dismissive human populace.

When it comes to inappropriate but tear-inducing laughs, Family Guy is about as reliable as they come, and even more so the DVD specials. Particularly if you combine the hilarity of the show with a cultural icon we’re all too familiar with: Star Wars. This release follows on from Seth McFarlane’s first Star Wars tribute episode, Family Guy: Blue Harvest, and the jokes are just as reliable, the accuracies to the original film just as nerdishly faithful. Whether you’re a devoted George Lucas fan or just looking for an hour’s easy laughs on a Sunday afternoon, you could do a lot worse than the typically sick wit of the Griffins.

It was about time Sherlock Holmes got the Hollywood treatment – audiences have been continually fascinated with Arthur Conan Doyle’s series of short detective stories through the years, yet they undoubtedly needed a little sexing up to succeed with a modern audience. Enter Guy Ritchie, whose new action-packed adaptation is certainly a departure from the original series, but nonetheless entertaining in its own right. The screenplay has enough intelligence not to completely insult fans of Conan Doyle’s stories, and it’s perfectly complemented by Downey Jr’s sarcastic, slightly camp take on Sherlock. This adaptation won’t set the world on fire, but it’s a fine two hours entertainment for a dreary winter’s night.

The buzz around Avatar has been almost unprecedented – James Cameron’s long-awaited return to sci-fi has been panned, praised and everything in between even before it was released. Approaching Avatar with an open mind, we discovered one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and immersive films of recent years.

No – scratch that. One of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and immersive films ever released.

Having won four British Comedy Awards, two Baftas and a South Bank Show award, James Corden’s comedy drama Gavin and Stacey is one of the BBC’s most well-received comedies of..