Ben Travis

There’s a pleasure to seeing such a starry cast in a slick cinematic thriller. But beyond that, Crime 101 offers little to remember after the closing credits.

In a bigger, busier and burlier Avatar, James Cameron once again displays his blockbuster mastery. Despite some repetitive moments, this is truly epic cinema, more than worth plugging into for three hours.

For the most part, Caught Stealing is a riotous, rollicking ride studded with New York’s concrete grit — but its sharper edges prove more difficult to endure.

The sequel we needed is both the film you expect, and the one you don’t. There’s blood, but also real guts and brain and heart — visceral cinema soaked in viscera.

Does Deep Cover work as an improv comedy? Yes, and it delivers strong characterisation, a twisty crime story, and great performances too. End scene.

Given all the elements involved, Fountain Of Youth should be a blast. That it isn’t is a real disappointment. Maybe best left buried.

Freaky Tales never amounts to more than the sum of its parts — but those parts, while uneven, are always high-energy and entertaining.

Not exactly a world leader in the action movie stakes – but entertaining enough, particularly thanks to Viola Davis. 

For all its originality, O’Dessa can’t help but get tangled up in its own mythology, dragged down by a romance that never sizzles.

There’s amazing beauty to be found in Naoko Yamada’s aural odyssey – even when a film about matters of the heart gets a little caught up in its own head.

Not as funny as you’d hope – and yet the emotional character work pays off, right down to a sweet epilogue. Romcom fans should attend.

Despite a handful of cool moments, The Killer’s Game turns out to be one not worth playing.

A solid action-comedy that proves just how much we’ve missed Cameron Diaz in the last ten years. Next time don’t leave it so long, eh?

Destined to be forgotten the minute it’s finished, Time Cut is a passable addition to the slash-up genre – acceptable Halloween fare for the fright-challenged, or anyone with a soft spot for the music of Hilary Duff.

Pacy thrills are doled out in a solid Sam Raimi-approved pulse-raiser with a few nifty ideas up its sleeve. Shall we try ‘Don’t Smell’ next?

The endearing moments in Kevin Smith’s coming-of-age cinema-fest are weighed down by underwritten comedy. Could have done with being more sweet, less salty.

Well-intentioned, with a strong performance from Andra Day — but uneven human drama eventually gives way to boringly familiar horror tropes. All round, The Deliverance struggles to deliver.

Despite great performances, stylish filmmaking, and a distinctive personality, Cuckoo emerges as slightly less than the sum of its parts. But it completes the hat-trick on Dan Stevens’ wildest year.

A solid A Quiet Place entry is elevated by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn’s affecting performances — a surprisingly tender tale of the end of days.

A solid shark thriller whose admirable but clunky eco-warnings almost get in the way of a good time. Best when it allows itself to really go in-Seine.

If Pop-Tarts are barely a breakfast, Unfrosted is barely a movie — but it’s sprinkled with solid gags, stuffed with super-silly guest appearances, and lovingly glazed in sweet ’60s trappings.

Another epic helping of sci-fi wildness from Denis Villeneuve that’ll take true believers to paradise — even if it’s a bit too much Spice to digest in one sitting.

Flashy, fun and light on its feet, Argylle papers over its cracks with twist upon twist — and charming performances from its central duo.

Last-act let-down aside, this is a confident and creepy ghoul-in-the-pool horror that makes Bryce McGuire a filmmaker to watch. Wusses, bring armbands.

Don’t call it a comeback — or another retirement. Do call it an astonishing, sumptuous animated fantasy featuring everything you love about one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Sometimes cheap but largely cheerful, this is a fun stocking-filler for horror fans — with plenty of heart to pump all that blood.

It’s not a classic, but this colourful combination of Halloween and Back To The Future is undeniably a scream.

The result is a middle-of-the-table Conjuring universe film — one unlikely to make a dent in horror history, but well-constructed, with moments of inventive imagery, and that continues to cement Akela Cooper as a writer with a clear eye for freaky fun.