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.

Ten years of production, the development of a whole new stereoscopic technology and a marketing blitzkrieg so intense that even lost tribes in the jungles of Borneo are aware of it. 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.

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

Does the idea of an a cappella “Don’t Stop Believing” turn your stomach, or fill it with butterflies? Your answer to this digestive conundrum will probably reveal your attitude to Glee; the US’s latest TV phenomenon. Like it or loathe it, there’s no denying that Glee – a musical sitcom set in a US high school – has whipped up a storm over the last few months with its catchy tunes, day-glo characters and ridiculously addictive plot-lines. Can you help but sing along?

Clash of the Titans is a remake of the 1981 classic of the same name, and tells the tale of the legendary Greek hero Perseus. Perseus (Sam Worthington) is the son of Zeus, but he’s been living the life of a fisherman down on Earth, unaware of his divine heritage. Perseus’ adopted family are killed by the evil god Hades and he vows revenge. Hades tells the King of Argos that unless he sacrifices his daughter Andromache to the gods, the Kraken will destroy the city, so Perseus and a rag-tag bunch of misfits set off on a quest to find three legendary witches who can tell them how to defeat the monster.

Enter the next generation of comic-book movies. Kick-Ass is truly a brilliant and original take on a sorely overdone franchise, but if you’re looking for a laugh-a-minute flick you’ve come to the wrong place. Kick-Ass is not for the faint of heart, with humour as black as coal and violence to rival the goriest of horrors. However, it could be that it’s all the better for its darkness. Though its pretty impossible to avoid the hundreds of stars thrown in Kick-Ass’s direction, we tried our very hardest to come to it with an open mind. And we’re glad we did.

The lunatics are taking over the asylum, or that’s what Martin Scorsese’s impeccably crafted psychological thriller 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). But sadly, for all its style, Shutter Island is a largely predictable and pedestrian yarn, elevated by a superior cast.

Paul Greengrass’s The Green Zone centres on one of the fundemental questions surrounding the Iraq war – When American and British forces withdraw completely from Iraq – a military strategy which seems unthinkable seven years into the campaign – 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 behind it are perhaps just a little too easy.

Zombieland comes lurching out of the same genre as that of 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, a film which set the bar for the zomcom, and it set it pretty high. Luckily, Zombieland has still got enough going for it to compare favorably with the yardstick.