Damon Wise

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).

Ahmed excels and the set-up is compelling but ultimately this is middle rank stuff from the Monsoon Wedding director.

Though Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's handsomely mounted period piece evokes the era with impressive detail, Lovelace's journey remains difficult to tell.

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

A decent, well-cast and mounted adaptation that hits all the right notes but plays them in a respectful, muted monotone.

Jennifer Lawrence is the standout in a tonally uneven, eccentric romantic dramedy that fuses "The Fisher King" with "Romy And Michele's High School Reunion."

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 good, efficient crime thriller, let down by clunky social commentary but lifted by excellent performances, including perhaps Brad Pitt's recent best.

Solid production values lend a polish to the spooks and there are strong performances all round, especially from the ever-excellent Rebecca Hall, but there's little here to add to the well-worn haunted house genre.

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.

Formulaic, yet scrappy, and extremely funny in fits and starts, General Aladeen is the first of Cohen comic creations to get a better vehicle than it probably deserves.

Though short on shocks and mild in horror terms, Fresnadillo's fantasy has a lot of heart and sincerity in equal measure.

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.

An uneven study of a notorious love story, raised by some superb performances and nuances, but brought down by awkward direction.

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.

Excellent performances from the cast elevate this otherwise slightly flawed a hokey interloper story.

Compared to its direct inspiration - Hal Ashby's blackly brilliant "Harold And Maude" - Restless comes off like an anemic facsimile. After the excellent "Milk," this is more like curdled cheese.

Just don't walk in expecting to become a believer by the end.

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.