Israel's military conscription and precarious existence ensure that citizens who would never be anywhere near uniforms or guns if they lived in another country can find themselves at the sharp end of modern warfare.

Whatever that means for the country's military - and Lebanon hints that a budding filmmaker is not necessarily who you want next to you in combat - it does mean that Israeli artists of all kinds are exposed to experiences that are rarely presented their equivalents in other countries.

The title seems to say it all, as with the dumb but successful "high-concept" comedy, Snakes on A Plane. But Hot Tub Time Machine turns out to be a peculiar and often surprisingly effective hodgepodge of genres and comic styles.

George Lucas made his name chronicling a conflict in a galaxy far, far away. Now the creator of Star Wars is trying to help resolve a conflict on Planet Earth, one infinitely more complex than the Jedi knights' battle with the evil Empire.

The notoriously publicity-shy film director, whose six Star Wars films has made him a fortune of $3.5 billion, made a rare visit to London this week to advise an Israeli and a Palestinian film student on how to direct movies, and in doing so build a bridge over the Middle East divide.

Both Tina Fey, the star and writer of the TV comedy series 30 Rock, and Steve Carroll, the star of the US version of The Office, have a talent for deadpan humour. They make a fine team and an appealing couple in Date Night, a genuinely funny date movie for grown-ups that harks back to '70s comedy thrillers like Foul Play and Silver Streak.

The Fosters, a hard-working middle aged couple from suburban New Jersey, try to reignite their marriage with a special date night at a fashionable Manhattan restaurant.

With £140,000 in ticket sales and its screenings doubled in its first weekend, the story of the Muslim who turns out to be a Jew has certainly won an audience. David Baddiel's comedy, The Infidel, stars Iranian-born comic Omid Djalili as a British Muslim mini-cab driver who discovers he is adopted and that his birth name was Solly Shimsillewitz.

Do not be misled by the trailer which promises much provocative fun. The Infidel, written by David Baddiel, is a surprisingly strained, often painfully crass satire about religion and extremism, hobbled by its "right-on" multicultural message and a failure to portray Muslims or Jews with much conviction or understanding.

No recent movie has blind-sided Hollywood like The Blind Side. After an unexpected box-office triumph in the US this winter, this sweet-natured family story went on to win two Oscar nominations and then a best actress award for Sandra Bullock.