Damon Wise

Coppola’s most traditional film to date is a heightened, darkly comic, sexually tense drama that flips the male gaze, to show what happens when a man, for once, gets caught in the crosshairs of desire.

A visceral, artful horror about childbirth and trauma released in the UK just in time for Mother’s Day.

Sparks fly, but the grim cynicism of modern politics adds subversive weight to the film’s screwball comedy stylings and has a lot to say about modern politics, in the US as well as abroad.

Roth and Reeves locks us in for an increasingly terrifying thrillride.

Neatly balances a folkloric coming-of-age tale with violent action thrills.

The dirty compañeros of the old Spaghetti West ride again in this stirring tale of hate, murder and revenge.

Superbly acted allegorical drama with a climax that is not only breathtakingly exciting but flawlessly handled.

When Abbot and Nixon start their sparring, Mond’s film takes on a magnificently physical and tactile quality.

Cahill's second feature film is another smart, inventive and engaging offering.

Filmmaker Sean Ellis does terrific work balancing the disparate elements of his crime-laced drama.

Dreams of rock stardom become a warped reality in this barking-mad but affecting comedy about the side-effects of being a non-conformist genius.

A very welcome return from Moodysson. The music is Wyld Stallions-grade, but the charm and spirit of the three girls will have you moshing in your seat.

A brutal, immersive prison survival story with a breakout performance by British actor Jack O’Connell.

Another meticulously stylish and deadpan Wes Anderson movie that walks the fine line between masterpiece and folly.

The oddest thing of all about The Wolf Of Wall Street is also the most unusual for a Scorsese film: it is incredibly, incredibly funny.

Though it begins as a murder-mystery, Kill Your Darlings may be best described as an intellectual moral maze, a story perfectly of its time and yet one that still resonates today.

A charming road movie that develops into a full-blown study of life and roots, offering a beautiful insight into the way families migrate and change.

A terrific, sophisticated comedy that tackles serious issues with a lightness of touch and a spirit of steel, Philomena is the British film to beat come BAFTA time.

A terrific human drama about two boys about to be consigned to the scrapheap, with standout performances from its young leads.

Gordon Green follows up a pair of execrable comedies with a wise and witty slow-motion road trip that catches the sun.

A bulked-up James McAvoy dominates the screen in this razor-sharp Glasgow smile of a black comedy, packed with aberrant sex, hard drugs and maximum David Soul.

The acting isn't perfect (which is perhaps understandable under the circumstances), and the film's dream states sometimes try too hard, but Escape From Tomorrow has an otherworldly atmosphere that both hooks and engages.

Experimental and uncompromising, Winding Refn and Gosling’s Drive follow-up is a tripped-out riff on the crime family movie in which The Grifters — literally — go to hell.

Made Of Stone somewhat brilliantly sees the individual moments and faces in the crowds, making this the best, most immersive concert film since Jazz On A Summer’s Day.

An incredibly provocative piece of work, featuring a brave and vulnerable performance by Naomi Watts (who seems perhaps a little too young) and a career-high acting masterclass from Robin Wright (who is cast perfectly).

Forget the sci-fi trimmings and sentimental pay-off — this is a gleefully subversive character study of a charming but unapologetic rogue.

An often brilliant '50s-throwback character drama that never feels nostalgic, with terrific central performances and a luminous, unforgettable visual beauty.

Beautiful, funny, timely and tender, this is the American arthouse movie of the year.

Bursting with insights and a droll sense of the absurd side of fashion, it's a fitting tribute to one of the industry's key figures.

A little pretentious maybe, but then you've got to wonder at a woman who could sit motionless in a wooden chair, eight hours a day for three months.

Talented Norwegian Joachim Trier - distant cousin to the better-known (and Danish) Lars - delivers a wonderful, melancholy character piece that's funny and tender, and as fresh as a breath of Oslo sea air.

This isn't traditional heritage cinema and it may not tickle the same taste buds that devoured "Tinker Tailor" or "The King's Speech." It does, however, represent the unique vision of an artist who needs to be met halfway, and in an age of hubbub, its patient elegance is a rare thing we should nurture.

As horrifying and hard to watch as you'd expect a paedophile's-eye view of life to be. It's neither sensationalist nor trite, and the questions it asks are intelligent and thoughtful.

Brave, beautifully acted and emotionally revealing - an early strong contender for the most provocative and compelling film of the year.

A tough, post-punk Tintin-meets-Klute for the Occupy Wall Street set, this kinetic, hard-edged thriller is the perfect festive comedown for Fincher fans and dysfunctional families everywhere.

A dark rites-of-passage story meets lethal Shakespearean drama, with low-key performances that artfully get under the skin.

A sharp study of corporate greed for those who felt Michael Moore pulled too many punches.

A surprisingly fun, effervescent against-the-odds drama that offers an upbeat moral without the usual punishing survival-story clichés. Not for the faint-hearted, mind.

A beautifully rendered, long, drawn-out but ultimately very satisfying story of betrayal and revenge in an uneasy setting of wartime paranoia.

A slick, fun film that has by no means sacrificed the fast action beats of the first three.

A stately, rich and moving Italian melodrama in the spirit of Visconti.

A rich, understated character drama that gleefully exposes the petty playground politics at the centre of one of the internet-era's most bitter court cases.

Fans of David Gordon Green, you may well leave feeling confused. Fans of daft laughs and James Franco, you're in for one of the funniest comedies of the year.

A splendid study of the forces and passions behind the world’s biggest fashion magazine.

George Clooney dazzles and Jeff Bridges shines in a scattershot but often hilarious military farce.

A dazzling and exquisitely original riddle as told by an enigma, featuring a superb, multi-layered performance by Laura Dern.

A refreshingly low-key treatment of teenage trauma, with a lovely star performance and an unforgettable approach to orthodontics.

Almodovar consolidated his status as a challenging and bold filmmaker by forcing Americans to drop their zany preconceptions of him and see his world through his eyes.

Tight as a drum, glamorous and exquisitely funny, this one should earn them (Coens) enough cash to make five more offbeat minor masterpieces like "The Man Who Wasn't There" -- and the Coens deserve that as much as we do.

A stylish, darkly satirical horror-thriller, raising serious questions about Hollywood’s sanitisation of violence.

With In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift. It may not be new, but it’s a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre: fucked-up, far-out and very, very funny.

A visually stunning Swiftian satire, Children Of Men may appear clumsy, but its message is simple, heartfelt and ultimately rather moving.

A compelling, adult period thriller, with an Oscar-assured performance from Angelina Jolie.

With a superb lead turn by rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rian Johnson’s debut is a smart, original neo-noir that works as an ingenious mindgame as well as a slick Hollywood calling card.

A compelling, intelligent and provocative sins-of-the-father story with a terrific ensemble cast, and a standout Mr. Ripley turn by the ever-versatile Gael García Bernal.

Great performances, provocative ideas and gripping action scenes fall prey to Hollywood logic and pat storytelling in the final hour.

This is not a film about narrative but loneliness and life on the road, which it captures with a mysterious brilliance.

A sombre, slow, but well-paced study of organised crime in urban Naples that leaves a very grim taste in the mouth.

Arguably not the most proficiently crafted film in Cannes this year and certainly not the most balanced, but Moore’s assault on the Bush administration is a terrific polemic.

Very humane portrait of a potentially extremely unlikeable character.

Although it is often seen as a precursor to the multiple parts played in Dr Strangelove, Sellers' turn here is a reminder of his true potential, soon to be swallowed up by a stream of ever more awful Pink Panther films.

Ultimately this is a film about feelings, moments and things not said. Like "Lost In Translation," it’s about what happens when people living in their own little worlds collide.

Tense, kinetic, intelligent and real – as if Paul Greengrass had remade Vera Drake.

A hard film to love, but a hypnotic meditation on all the elements -- gossip, religion, bullying -- that can turn a parish and country bad.

More than a fascinating misfire, it’s a rare and telling glimpse into a legendary filmmaker’s fiercely guarded soul.