Much of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings was inspired by the author’s experiences on the battlefield of the Somme. The dedication of Samwise to Frodo was a reflection of the loyalty of a batman – a military version of a butler- to his officer. And the industry of Saruman’s mines and forges, and the raising of an Orc army to wipe out humankind mirrored the mechanisation of warfare in the First World War.

Narnia returns to the big screen this week as Prince Caspian opens in cinemas nationwide, a week after hitting the very, very big screen of the O2 arena at its UK premiere. The new film sees the Pevensie children – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – summoned back to Narnia by the eponymous hero, who is rightful heir to its throne. But it is an occupied and embattled Narnia to which they return. True Narnians are now a persecuted minority, and the murderous usurper, Miraz, rules by fear, division and violence. Cue lots of CGI, fantastical violence, elaborate sets and beautiful scenery; together with some subtle details that will please die-hard fans of the book.

‘Wrraaaarrggghh! Hulk smash!’ Fan boys have to wait an hour-and-a-half into the new film, The Incredible Hulk, to hear those two, well, nearly three, immortal words roared out by the anything but jolly green giant, but it’s certainly worth the wait. It comes in a smack-down between our verdant-skinned hero and his devastatingly powerful, and equally emerald mutant opposite, The Abomination.

“Is there any comedy in dying under a train?”

That was the somewhat disarming question put to the actor, Mackenzie Crook, when he arrived for the premiere of his new film, Three and Out on Monday evening. It was asked by one of a number of Tube train drivers, picketing the premiere in protest at what they regard as the film’s insensitive handling of suicide on the London Underground.

Quite apart from this particular film, the picketing driver’s question raises the broader issue of whether everything is fair game for comedic interpretation, or whether there are certain things that should remain off-limits.

Cinema, in glorious three dimensions, is back! And there’s not a pair of those frail, cardboard, green-and-red specs in sight! Now you get a natty pair of special polarising specs that would give Ray-Ban a run for their money. Forget the horror that was (for all the wrong reasons) Jaws 3-D; the latest technology is guaranteed to have you gasping in disbelief as images leap to life before your eyes. See for yourself (if you missed Beowulf before Christmas) when U2’s imaginatively titled concert film U23D comes to a cinema screen alarmingly near you next month.

Anyone who has seen The Golden Compass in the last few days without having read the novel it’s based on may well feel bemused by all the fuss being made about it in certain quarters. Although it has been accused of ‘selling atheism to kids’, it seems innocuous enough. The principal problem with the film, in my opinion, is that the story has been mangled to the point of being nearly incomprehensible.

Ian McEwan has come a long way since the days when his menacing, somewhat morbid tales of deviancy and dysfunctionality earned him the nickname ‘Ian MacAbre’. Today, ten novels and five film adaptations later, he is regarded by many literary critics as one of Britain’s finest living novelists. Amsterdam won the Booker Prize in 1998 and his new novel, On Chesil Beach, is shortlisted for this year’s award.