There's so much more to the summer holidays than playing outdoors and soaking up the sunshine. Why risk damaging your skin when you could be in the shade watching telly? Why endure the humidity when you could be reclining in the air-conditioned splendour of your local cinema watching movies? Why run from bees from you could be stuffing your face with popcorn? Now, more than ever, we need to be hiding from the elements, from nature and extreme temperatures, and cramming our brains instead with solid summer entertainment. How else are we going to make up for all that time we wasted watching football? I'm Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius, and this is my Big Summer Preview.

To cases then, and a selection of big screen offerings keeping film fans busy this month and next. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest you may have already seen. Though I don't think it holds a candle to the first, it's already well on its way to becoming one of the most successful films of all time. Which means someone likes it, even though its cliffhanger ending is more frustrating than tantalising.

You might have also seen Superman Returns by now, either the normal version or its IMAX adaptation, with 20 minutes of the movie in 3-D. Christopher Reeve's original Superman remains my favourite superhero movie of all time, and though I thought this new one paid adequate homage to it, what with John Williams' original music and the swishy opening credits, it felt more like a promising opening chapter than a proper movie in its own right. Plus I'm not convinced by the new Lois, and think Kevin Spacey needs to work on his Lex too. I was neither under nor overwhelmed. I was merely whelmed, and I've never been that before.

There are lots of cartoons out this summer, all of them computer generated. Small boys will love Pixar's Cars, though it does go on a bit. Over the Hedge I liked much more, mostly because of hyperactive squirrel Hammy, voiced by Steve Carell. Ant Bully looks quite promising, the tale of a bug-squishing kid shrunk down to the size of an ant for a taste of his own medicine. Listen out for Paul Giamatti as the villainous exterminator. Finally we have Monster House, a distinctively animated spine chiller about three teenagers who discover their neighbour's house is really a big, scary monster - as voiced by Kathleen Turner. It certainly looks like fun, but it's definitely not for little kids.

Also on the big screen this summer season is Miami Vice, Michael Mann's no-holds-barred adaptation of his own '80s TV show, with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx fighting crime in slick, designer style; Stormbreaker, a very enjoyable first outing for Anthony Horowitz's teenage spy Alex Rider, a little bit thin but loaded with style; M. Night Shyamalan's latest head-scratcher Lady in the Water (again, with Paul Giamatti); Dumped superhero Uma Thurman wreaks comedy vengeance on former boyfriend Luke Wilson in Ivan Reitman's glossy My Super Ex-Girlfriend; Jack Black moonlights as a Mexican wrestler in Nacho Libre, a strange and silly film from the writer/director of Napoleon Dynamite, Jared Hess; and finally, the memorably titled Snakes on a Plane, which is exactly what it sounds like, only even nastier than you'd imagine, especially since, at the request of online nerds, the producers added lots more sex and violence to the final cut. Magic!

A quick look, now, at what DVD holds in store, as you're going to have to find something to do when you get home from the cinema. Please don't be tempted to go for a walk or a swim. A film that turned out much better than I expected, Ant and Dec's Alien Autopsy is actually very funny, well made with a decent story, and not just a gimmicky comedy vehicle for the popular telly hosts. The inspiring tale of a resolute old man, a souped-up bike and miles of salty flats, The World's Fastest Indian is a must see biopic which comes complete with Anthony Hopkins' best-ever performance. Desperate Housewives devotees and pretty much everyone else should marvel at Felicity Huffman's performance as a pre-op male-to-female transsexual who discovers that he/she has a kid in Transamerica. A powerful hostage thriller with a great a-list cast - Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe - Spike Lee's Inside Man will pass a couple of tense but enjoyable hours. Literate and provocative, the Wachowski's adaptation of Alan Moore's V For Vendetta is a surprising and satisfying adventure with a great masked performance from Hugo Weaving as a righteous terrorist with a Guy Fawkes fixation. Then there's Final Destination 3, in which a fresh batch of teenagers learn they can't cheat the reaper, and we get to sit back, relax, and see them picked off one by one by the cruel hand of fate.

Finally, there's loads of great telly to enjoy this summer, not the stuff they actually broadcast, but DVDs of the complete-season-in-a-box variety. Season one of Rome is a marvelous spectacle with some great acting, lots of essential nudity and blood by the bucket load. King of the Hill season 3 guarantees you several hours of propane-themed fun. Battlestar Galactica just gets better and better, as season two transports sci fi fans to some very unexpected places. And then there's my favourite show on the telly right now, the peerless Boston Legal. It's like LA Law only smarter, funnier and with a perfect cast including William Shatner and James Spader, a classic TV double act that rivals even Kirk and Spock. It's that good, so please, add it to your list, along with anything else that's grabbed your attention.