JHollis

There are some shows which sound dodgy on paper but prove themselves to be better than they sound. Life on Mars is not one of those shows. It starts with such a fantastic concept - 21st Century Police Officer goes back to the 70s - that everyone involved must have known they had a chance of making something truly great. While the first episode was not perfect - in particular the opening 10 minutes was overly crammed with exposition masquerading as dialogue - it is already fulfilling much of its initial promise. As well as the superb production values that one would expect from the producers of Spooks and Hustle, this show has set up two intriguing ongoing mysteries both of which ought to be well worth watching unspool over the next seven weeks.

How rarely do we see romantic comedies where we can truly empathise with the feelings of both leads? How rare is it for us to see a romantic comedy where we do not know how things will end after 5 minutes. Paul Thomas Anderson has fashioned a film that is littered with hilarious moments and is more romantic than a thousand "She's All Thats".

With this film Adam Sandler proves he can really act. In many ways he plays the stock Adam Sandler character - quiet, shy, prone to sudden and uncontrollable fits of violence - but the effect is both more subtle and actually funnier than in his previous films.

Much has been made of Anderson's stated decision to make a short film. Well he does it the right way. Punch Drunk Love concentrates wholeheartedly on the 2 leads and so the supporting characters are just that. They are shown because they exert some influence on the lives of the leads.

This is a romantic comedy that is actually romantic and funny. How often can you truly say that?

Another amazing work by an outstanding writer-director. Pedro Almodovar is a genius and this is his latest masterpiece. The film within a film is hilarious. At times Hable con ella is unbearably poignant, at others it's witty, at others blackly comic. Great movies teach us something about life and something about film. Hable con ella is a great film.