When the announcement was made that the bloke who played Daredevil’s mate alongside Ben Affleck’s blind superhero, Jon Faverau was to direct Marvel’s Iron Man, nobody could have quite predicted it would be the best comic book adaptations since Bryan Singer’s X2.

Since his ultra-low budget 1994 debut, Clerks, writer-director Kevin Smith has forged his reputation and cult status with potty-mouthed comedies, which celebrate the unspoken bonds of friendship between men. No better is this exemplified that the misfit characters of Jay and Silent Bob, who wreak havoc in many of his films. Smith brings those same sensibilities to bear on the action comedy Cop Out, about a pair of NYPD officers on the trail of a stolen baseball card.

Miley Cyrus + the author of The Notebook and Dear John? A quirky but lovable character that finds herself in a heartwarming but ultimately doomed situation? Yep, you’re going to get exactly what you expect. The tweeny-pop sensation has essentially chosen the perfect vehicle in The Last Song for a transition from pop singer to… well… pop actress. But it is actually a film that will affect anyone other than her existing fan base? Probably not.

Everyone loves a buddy comedy, right? Sure the laughs are cheap, but generally they’re thick, fast and cheerful, with a plot that careers like an enthusiastic labrador to a satisfyingly predictable conclusion. Bless them, we say. Bless all who ride in them. Unless, of course, you’re talking about Hot Tub Time Machine; the laziest, dully-degrading, least funny bromance movie we’ve seen in some time, made all the more offensive by the evident comic potential of the cast. Oh dear oh dear. And the title was so awesome.

Absence should make the heart grow fonder but has anyone missed Jennifer Lopez on the big screen during her four-year hiatus to raise fraternal twins with husband Marc Anthony? The slow-burning 1998 thriller Out Of Sight with George Clooney remains her best work, sandwiched between the camp B-movie Anaconda and numerous instantly-forgettable romantic comedies. Lopez makes her return to pouting in front of the camera in Alan Poul’s whimsical chick flick, which asserts that love happens when you least expect it. Excited? Yep.

With his potentially disastrous “terrorist-comedy” Four Lions Chris Morris has managed to create a rare and beautiful thing – a film that, in my opinion, could not be improved. An unflinching attack on stupidity itself, his mastery of both comedy and tragedy is breathtaking to behold. Quite simply, a must-see.

Curry, serial murdering, romantic comedy and zombie spirits suffocated by Nan dough – what on earth can go wrong? Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha certainly serves up a comical and unique enough dish with It’s A Wonderful Afterlife, but it may be at the expense of anything vaugely resembling logic. There are so many bizarre twists and turns to this tale, that once consumed you can’t help wonder if you’re left with anything except indigestion.

We love George Clooney. If there was ever a man who looks like he could build a log cabin using wood he chopped himself, mixing a martini at the same time, while wearing a tux with a perfectly crafted bow tie, it’s him. Seriously, which other actor could come back from the horror that was Batman & Robin to be one of Hollywood’s leading men? And if you don’t think that’s impressive, go ask Val Kilmer how life is treating him post Bruce Wayne duty.

She – the writer/performer that shot to fame on Saturday Night Live, before penning Mean Girls and super-hit TV show 30 Rock. He – initially noticed in his hilarious roles in Anchorman and Bruce Almighty, who went on to star in the American Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. How can it possibly go wrong? Well it doesn’t, of course. But that doesn’t mean it went totally right, either. Despite being an enjoyable romp, we couldn’t help but be a little disappointed in Date Night

Everything sells, if you know how to convince the public to dig deep into their wallets and purses. In these economically-challenged times when we should be saving not spending, the clamour for must-have goods – or goods we’ve been told are must-have – is as strong as ever. The Joneses is a timely satire about consumerism run rampant and the catastrophe that awaits a credit-driven society determined to buy now and pay later – much, much later.