Dan Jolin

Psycho’s accepted greatness means we can leave it on the shelf as we look for newer sensations. This prompts an urgent desire to revisit it.

As bold as the original Blade Runner and even more beautiful (especially if you see it in IMAX). Visually immaculate, swirling with themes as heart-rending as they are mind-twisting, 2049 is, without doubt, a good year. And one of 2017’s best.

As ultraviolent as the first film, and as ultrasmutty, The Golden Circle will leave the Kingsfans grinning, even if its characters have less growing to do this time around.

A sorta-sequel to Mrs Brown deals effectively with another of Queen Victoria’s unconventional friendships and reprises Judi Dench’s powerful and unparalleled portrayal.

A difficult film and one that's likely to offend in some ways. But as an elliptical, dream-logic infused visual poem, it certainly leaves a searing impression.

A fiendishly effective holiday-gone-wrong thriller that's better at cranking up the agoraphobic action than fleshing out its characters. Still, it'll find few fans at the Mexican Tourist Board...

A wildly ambitious space opera, but also a self-indulgent narrative morass. Sometimes, it seems, creativity can benefit from a few limitations.

A gorgeously rendered and deeply personal portrayal of a young woman’s life in the part of the world where history’s greatest conflict reached a devastating conclusion.

An odd but frothily entertaining genre cocktail, which coasts on the charisma of its two biggest names and keeps things just fun enough to forgive its considerable lapses in narrative.

Not the return to form you might have been hoping for. Its story might cover all the same beats as the 2003 original, but there’s little of that film’s spark or spirit.

There is a frustrating absence of personality which means, for all her physical presence, this Major’s just not very engaging. It’s more a problem with the film than Johansson herself. A case, if you will, of it being so preoccupied with the shell, it forgot to bring enough ghost.

Solid and stately, a ’70s-feeling jungle adventure film that’s more of a thought-provoker than an excitement-inducer. But there’s nothing wrong with that.

When it comes to playing a properly magnetic anti-hero with a gruff ’70s-cinema exterior and a dark reservoir of inner depth, Jackman really is the best at what he does.

A genre-defying film. Its visual splendour belies its tough, surface-level subject matter, while the performances pull us deep below that surface with their soulful naturalism.

Less a ‘civil rights drama’ than a tender portrait of a marriage suffering unimaginable stress, Loving soars thanks to its narrative approach and career-best performances from Negga and Edgerton.

We've seen all these stunts pulled before, and seen them done better, but there's some pleasure to be had here — even if it's of the extremely guilty kind.

An engaging study of a beautiful but mysterious mind, which also reveals the stressful nature of world-class chess tournaments and raises the deep question of where intelligence actually comes from.

An astonishing true story that’s treated with an admirably light and artistic touch, rather than an overly dramatic heavy hand. Despite a weaker second half, it is ultimately deeply moving.

Part fairy tale/creature feature/domestic melodrama, this adds up to far more than a ‘one boy and his monster’ story — and is a tougher emotional journey as a result.

A handsome period drama with the occasional impressive flourish, but despite its rich subject matter, it's Affleck’s weakest film yet as a director.

It may be predictable, but Bleed For This still grabs with its astonishing against-all-odds true story, and its belter of a central performance from Miles Teller.

Part body-swap comedy, part long-distance romance, part... something else. If you only see one Japanese animated feature this year, see this one, and see it more than once.

Arrival is a beautifully polished puzzle box of a story whose emotional and cerebral heft should enable it to withstand nit-picky scrutiny. And like all the best sci-fi, it has something pertinent to say about today’s world; particularly about the importance of communication, and how we need to transcend cultural divides and misconceptions if we’re to survive as a species.

Too long, arduous, lecturey and patience-testing for even the all-new Matthew McConaughey to rescue. Director Ross is apparently so swamped by a sense of historical righteousness he hasn’t noticed he’s smothered a decent story.

A bit "Up," a bit "Moonrise Kingdom," a bit "Midnight Run," even… Taika Waititi’s latest is an oddball treat of a mismatched-buddy pursuit move.

An otherwise mundane rom-com that doesn’t know how to handle its one point-of-difference; and even that isn’t as much of a big deal as its writers think it is.

Like Avengers Assemble forced through a Deadpool mangle, Suicide Squad gives new life to DC’s big-screen universe. So bad-to-the-bone it’s good.

As spectacular as you’d hope from a sequel to the 1996 planet-toaster, and as amusingly cheesy. You’ll enjoy yourself enough that you won’t even miss Will Smith.

A lesser entry in the LeCarré Cinematic Universe, though Damian Lewis and Stellan Skarsgård rescue it from complete blandness.

Michael Moore proves that in six years between films he’s lost none of his power as a popular polemicist, and while the overall structure of his argument here is flimsy, the details he reveals have impact, suggesting a fair and just society is not an unattainable Utopia.

Matching its blockbuster scale and spectacle with the smarts of a great, grown-up thriller, Captain America: Civil War is Marvel Studios’ finest film yet.

A largely inventive and energetic portrayal of a past-their-prime music legend that’s let down by its unnecessary trad biopic beats.

Nichols mounts impressive visual effects and frantic bursts of action.... But the film’s strength is in its humanity rather than its super-humanity.

Writer/director Peter Landesman has turned out a film that nonetheless remains desperately conventional and never communicates that sense of inspiration.

It’s not like the film is hollow — hidden at its heart, in fact, is a struggle for the soul of Hollywood — it’s just that it feels more like a series of pleasant diversions rather than a single, solid journey.

It feels terrestrial rather than cinematic, but the joy of Trumbo is in the heroism of its subject and an amazing performance from Cranston.

A fittingly poignant treatment of an inspiring subject.

It may be a little overwrought for some tastes, borderline camp at points, but if you're partial to a bit of Victorian romance with Hammer horror gloop and big, frilly night-gowns, GDT delivers an uncommon treat.

A beautifully murky, hard-edged thriller. Quite simply, one of the best films of the year.

Helgeland’s savvy new take on this well-known story proves that crime can pay, while Hardy is astonishing and magnetic in two truly towering performances.

Partly the story of a music scene, but mostly the story of a man who realises that living the dream isn’t always the best thing for your life. Vivid, immersive and blessed with a perfectly nostalgic soundtrack.

Director Alan Taylor handles the big action adeptly as he did in Thor The Dark World, but the script is an ever-decreasing cycle of tool-ups, chase sequences and daft monologues.

For all the charisma of its hero and villain, it falls down on its failure to resist cliché.

If you crave Emmerich-esque disaster-porn with a mega body count, there’s plenty here to OMG at. But when it comes to character depth or plotting, San Andreas is a sadly familiar wasteland.

Belying its title, this is a pretty flaccid offering which fails to gel the comedy stylings of Hart and Ferrell.

Unique, beautiful and endlessly fascinating. It really is a work of art.

The Scooby-Doo-ish central plot is forgivable in a movie with so much visual verve, energetic action and a character so wondrously designed as Baymax.

Stylish, elegant, tense, cerebral, satirical and creepy. Garland’s directorial debut is his best work yet, while Vikander’s bold performance will short your circuits.

Another dramatic triumph for Bennett Miller, though it is his toughest and least glamorous outing yet. A sad and horrible story, expertly and compellingly told.

Here it is at long last: a truly great vampire comedy. And also the funniest horror film to come out of New Zealand since Braindead.

Energising, stylish and engrossing, although its scattershot chronology and egocentric approach might not be to everyone;s taste. Still, Boseman is brilliant - it would be madness if he isn't among the Oscar runners this season.

A superb thriller and a worthy biopic of a real hero. It’s also simultaneously an encouraging follow-up for Headhunters’ Morten Tyldum, an impressive debut for screenwriter Graham Moore, and a big-screen career highlight for Benedict Cumberbatch.

Sharp, dark, satirical and bone-rattlingly thrilling, with a career-peak turn from Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s this year’s "Drive."

Like a good butcher’s cleaver, it’s weighty, solid and sharp — an effective matching of director and star in what is hopefully the first of a new film series.

A fascinating and visually impressive intellectual helter-skelter ride, but the lack of narrative coherence lets down its promising sci-fi concepts and satire.

As much as Guardians largely thrives through its lovably scuzzy style, it cannot avoid the immense tractor-beam pull of The Big Marvel Studios Final Act.

With Hercules, Brett Ratner and Dwayne Johnson are out to entertain you — no more, no less. And that is just what they do.

A playful and frantic science-fiction twister which mimics the best (Aliens, The Matrix, Groundhog Day) while offering something fresh and — most importantly — thrilling.

While Miyazaki’s two-hour-long, historical-melodrama swansong is destined to be his most divisive film yet, it is also his most adult and interesting, and never less than visually breathtaking throughout.

Inventive, ambitious, brutal and beautiful: a potent mythological epic. But also wilfully challenging, as likely to infuriate as inspire, whether through its unmitigated Old Testament harshness or its eco-message revisionism. If only more blockbusters were like this.

It may climax with an overly formulaic splurge, but The Winter Soldier benefits from an old-school-thriller tone that, for its first half at least, distinguishes it from its more obviously superheroic Marvel cousins.

A tender, nostalgic and warm ‘family’ drama which also quietly seethes with the threat and tension of imminent danger. Labor Day shows a new side to Jason Reitman as a filmmaker, and we like it.

Inside Llewyn Davis throbs with melancholy, hunches under heavy skies, revels in music history's unsexiest scene and unapologetically leaves you dangling. It is also beautiful, heartfelt and utterly enthralling.

Patchy and in need of a rigorous edit, but amid all the weeds there is some ripe comedy (satire, even) for the plucking.

Bitty and frustrating, its bigger laughs are set against some off-balance storytelling and crude comedy. Not one to take your nan to.

Both Greengrass and Hanks are on award-deserving form in a riveting, emotionally complex and hugely intelligent dramatisation of a real-life ordeal.

Writer / director team Kureishi and Michell add to their partnership with an insightful look at life-long commitment.

Violent, silly, embarrassing, clumsy, confusing, juvenile, occasionally offensive, occasionally a little bit fun.

A decent, cogent, greyly atmospheric thriller with something to say about War-On-Terror America.

Ruddy hilarious. Just what big-screen comedy needed.

Polley’s fearless personal journey is a huge achievement, a genuine revelation — but the less detail you know beforehand, the better. Go in cold, come out warmed.

A solid, straightforward biopic about a fascinating individual and his destructive relationships, with strong performances and a healthy sense of naffness.

It aches for more depth and warmth and humour, but this is spectacular sci-fi — huge, operatic, melodramatic, impressive. It feels the right Superman origin story for our era, and teases what would be a welcome new superfranchise.

A bold, intelligent, 21st century take on Mark Twain — with added occult tendencies.

All the boys might love Mandy Lane - discerning horror fans, however, will not.

As beige as an old PC, but beneath the surface the blood pumps bright scarlet. An intelligent and emotionally charged spy drama.

A confident, ambitious and action-rich Brit thriller, albeit one whose characters and clarity suffer from the frantic intensity of its pacing.

Another strong, sparky and bloody entry in the QT canon. Although, creaking under its running time, it's not quite as uproariously entertaining as his last pseudo-historical adventure, "Inglourious Basterds."

The Hobbit plays younger and lighter than Fellowship and its follow-ups, but does right by the faithful and has a strength in Martin Freeman's Bilbo that may yet see this trilogy measure up to the last one. There is treasure here.

An old-school espionage thriller with a movie-biz comedy twist, all the better for being (almost) entirely true. It is to Ben Affleck's credit that the tension and laughs complement rather than neutralise each other.

An honest, affection-hooking, coming-of-age drama which proves that there is life beyond Hogwarts for Emma Watson.

The grave tone makes it stiff and leaden, the digi-saturated look is a turn-off. Damnable and disordered.

A strong visual style tussles with flaccid storytelling in this ambitious retelling of Grimm. It won't exactly have Walt Disney spinning in his secret ice chamber, but you may wish they spent more time worrying about what exactly the film is than who it's for.

Part "Evil Dead," part "The Truman Show," part "Arthur Christmas"... For horror hounds who love a larf, and those of us who always wondered exactly what that dry-ice stuff that rises out of the forest-floor moss is. A fun ride - but not quite a "Scream."

Stanton has built a fantastic world, but the action is unmemorable. Still, just about every sci-fi/fantasy/superhero adventure you ever loved is in here somewhere.

A familiar story oddly presented, but with a powerful central performance from Woody Harrelson.

A beautifully crafted, intimate adventure movie and - presented in hand-drawn 2D - one of the most visually arresting you'll enjoy all year.

A marvellous follow-up to 2004's "Sideways" - well worth the wait.

One of Streep's finest-ever performances. But beyond that - whatever Morgan and Lloyd's intentions - it's little more than a myth-enshrining exercise.

A starkly effective ensemble drama which could well do for the sniffles what Jaws did for great whites.

Stupid, with three o's. But also fun, never boring, and never insulting (to anyone other than Dumas) - unlike certain of the summer's A-pics…

It hardly rewrites the rulebook, but Warrior is a powerful, moving and brilliant sports-pic-cum-family drama. Like "The Fighter," but with kicking.

Ambitiously constructed, deeply compelling, thrilling and in no way only for those who like watching cars drive in circles. A worthy paean to a true talent.

Gripping, heart-wrenching, powerful and a sad indictment of scientific practice, which shows that 'human' and 'humane' are all-too-often mutually exclusive.

A simple entertainment in a summer of overcomplicated disappointments. Also much harder-edged than you may have expected.

A solid, often entertaining life-of-crimer which benefits from some stylistic touches and a faithful, convincing central performance.

All you'd expect from an X-Men film (or spin-off, or prequel), but not all you'd hope for. It smacks of rush and compromise, but there's thankfully enough to make you feel optimistic about the series' future once more.

A difficult film and one that's likely to offend in some ways. But as an elliptical, dream-logic infused visual poem, it certainly leaves a searing impression.