Barry Hertz

To watch Portman’s every move is to not only watch history being recreated, but to also witness history being made. No one will ever be able to touch this role again. Or, at least, no one should.

Whatever praise heads toward Sandler should be tripled in the direction of the Safdies.

De Palma is a true visionary, even if you might not quite agree with what that vision is. Either way, a trip through his wild and hugely influential filmography is mandatory for any film fan, and that’s just what directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow offer in their new documentary.

The new film is easily’s Gray’s most ambitious, bare-your-soul work, and one of the finest films of the year, too.

Like Wheatley’s 2011 film "Kill List," High-Rise switches genres effortlessly – black humour one moment, dystopic parable the next – until it becomes its own singular, horrifying, immensely captivating thing.

This is hilarious, heartbreaking cinema – a work that will make you burst out laughing one moment, and leave you tearing your hair out the next.

Anne is such a startling and overwhelming work that the act of discussing it can feel unapproachable and crippling.

Sharply subverting the male gaze at every turn, Sciamma has created an unforgettable treatise on thwarted desire. It is so very easy to label a film incendiary, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire deserves the scalding honour. It will ignite every flame you might have.

Reeves keeps the action moving steadily, never letting the film’s 140 minutes feel even slightly bloated, and surrounds Caesar with a visually stunning, compassionately conceived group of side characters.

An exhilarating and furious indictment of class struggle, Parasite might be the masterpiece South Korea's Bong Joon-ho has been working toward his entire career.

Mother! is an unparalleled achievement, entirely unprecedented and unexpected in this era of studio filmmaking.

It is glorious.

Room is a film of tiny little miracles.

It is immersive, engaging and dizzying filmmaking.

Led by a magnificent Viola Davis, the cast is ridiculously stacked. The action is tremendous. And the ultimate message – that nothing comes for free in America – is devastating in its swift brutality.

The drama is an intricately constructed and intensely felt work that transcends the easy “coming-of-age” genre label that is so tempting to slap onto it.

It’s a delightfully cruel work of high tension, perfect in just how quickly and easily it gets under your skin.

The Zone of Interest is a knockout in all senses. It will pummel your heart, and flatten your soul. It cannot, must not, be missed.

Firecrackers is not as casually joyful as its title suggests – but it is absolutely as incendiary.

By twisting around preconceptions of what an outer-space epic should be, French auteur Claire Denis returns to the fertile ground of her Trouble Every Day era, using genre to dig beneath themes that others would only treat as skin-deep.

This is a master artist putting a stamp on not only his own career, but also the entirety of American cinema and, why not, American history, too.

Quiet and reverent, as if filmed entirely in hushed tones, Sciamma’s film is supremely confident in its every element.

It’s bold, captivating cinema, with a soundtrack that threatens to never leave your head.

A portrait of America that is devastating and freeing, bursting with sorrow and empathy.

A majestic feat of filmmaking, an intimate portrait of a family that also serves as a broad portrait of a changing nation.

Set against the high-tension strings and jarringly funky synthesizers of Greenwood’s score, the film is transformative and transfixing.

There is no rookie-film handicap required in grading the excellence on display. There are no fireworks or twists or unnecessary frills here, nor should there be – this is simply perfect filmmaking from a voice that demands to be heard. The fall movie season is saved. Thank you, Greta Gerwig.

Utterly magnificent and intoxicating.