David Parkinson

Once the political correctness is side-stepped, this contains classic chemistry from its two leads.

Audacious, yet sensitive, Fire may shock traditionalists but is the sort of film that ought to win Indian cinema a whole new audience.

Hitchcock's penultimate film deals with many of his previous themes with typical grim comedy and insight into a psychopathic killer's mind.

This director's cut might smack of self-indulgence, but it also says much about love and loss and the language of an artform that flirts with realism while remaining an illusion.

Although packed with compelling archive footage, this never quite gets into Joplin's head, heart or soul.

Tautly scripted by director Per Fly and bullishly played, this is soap for the ciné-sophisticate.

Superb star turn from Maria Alexandra Lungi but this doesn’t grip as it might.

For all its self-conscious pizzazz, this is irresistibly entertaining.

A positive and personal look at the Israel/ Palestine divide through the quest of one woman to maintain her own property.

1954 musical that is woefully miscast in places and extremely dubious in its portrayal of African-Americans but does boast an on-form Dorothy Dandridge.

A snappy, quirky German indie that will thrill fans of early Jim Jarmusch.

More compelling when focusing on long-serving staff and their skills and opinions

Despite its sketchiness, this offers a vivid insight into the rejuvenation of a decaying city through fury, activism and music.

This spends more time on the tensions between the dominant trio than their landmark campaigning.

Baalsrud never claimed to be a hero and the emphasis of this gripping reconstruction rightly falls on the resourcefulness, courage and self-sacrifice of those who epitomised the spirit of resistance.

A simple, elemental tale that makes breaking the heart seem like the easiest and most natural thing a filmmaker can do to his audience. Which, of course, it isn't.

The science is haphazard, the techniques gimmicky, but the point is cogently made.

Not one of Hitchcock's best, but with a few creative sequences and some sharp writing from Dorothy Parker.

Combining widescreen lyricism and neo-realist intimacy, this is a poignant reflection on the stark situation awaiting so many migrants who risk everything to reach a false paradise. The methodology occasionally feels calculating, but the intentions couldn't be more sincere, as the struggles are destined to continue once the cameras leave.

Farhadi’s gifted storytelling and direction is on show again in a damning look at Iranian society.

Despite visceral moments, it often feels like an excuse to use footage that didn’t make the 2010 film.

There are some poignant moments, but Steven's decision to shoot a claustrophobic movie in CinemaScope and the stage-bound feel of the whole enterprise never bring the action to life.

You'll be left as much in the dark as the director about the personality traits that inspired the loyalty of three strong, intelligent women towards this self-centred, physically-resistible enigma.

Slightly jerry-built reconstructions detract from an intriguing film with a unique angle on the country legend.

The first Fred and Ginger feature is a little clunky and short on plot and character but a beautiful and atmospheric treat for all that.

Not Woody Allen at his best, this period piece has some clever writing but is not completely convincing.

Drags in places and deosn't even try for a true-to-life portrait of the great theatre entrepeneur but it's shiny and big spectacle with impressive choreography.

While beautiful, early scenes of shocking violence give way to philosophising and gauche symbolism.