Hanna Flint

This is intimate, culturally rich storytelling on a brutally epic scale. Skarsgård is in his element, bolstered by a sensational cast throwing themselves headfirst into Eggers and Sjón’s awe-inspiring vision. A cinematic saga worthy of the ancestors.

Sorry, Baby is a captivating comedy-drama that avoids the reductive binary of hero or villain. Instead, Victor articulates the flaws of humanity, of people, but also the hope we can find in each other and ourselves.

With a blistering score and a darkly comic undercurrent, Tornado is a timeless revenge thriller filled with hurt and heart.

Guillermo del Toro sprinkles his signature dark whimsy on a fairytale classic with stunning puppetry and catchy original songs. Filled with heart, humor, and historical grounding, it’s a phenomenal feat of animated cinema.

The Harder They Fall both subverts and embraces the Western tradition with some spectacular shootouts, slick dialogue, and a top-notch ensemble cast firing on all cylinders. Add a rollicking soundtrack to all of that and you’ve got fun and suave modern Western that smartly places a Black narrative squarely at its center.

Colin Farrell plumbs emotional and comedic depths in Martin McDonagh’s witty and wistful period drama, with Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan on solid supporting duty. Set against the stunning vistas of Ireland, The Banshees of Inisherin tells an effective and corrosive tale of friendship.

A beautifully crafted love story, End of the Century has two understated, thoughtful performances at its heart. It explores its existential themes – of the passing of time and of roads not taken – with delicacy and deftness. It’s a road worth travelling.

Knight has mined her own traumatic experience to bring emotional depth to the character, and this extra layer of authenticity gives the film its impact.

Zlotowski smartly articulates the complex choices modern women are faced when it comes to motherhood, step-parenting and relationships.

Ultimately, Blue Jean is a non-judgmental tale of self-acceptance, intergenerational solidarity and sapphic power.

In his debut big-screen performance, the warm-hearted and witty Patel – like Aysha – steals the show.

It’s comforting to know that when Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and pals put themselves through the most dangerous, juvenile stunts they could imagine, a hilarious time will be had.

Evil Dead Rise is not for the faint-hearted but for long-time fans and horror nuts, just sit back and let the blood wash over you.

Encounter has a whole lot of heart and takes a sensitive approach to PTSD that is underscored by a cultural tension that comes to a head in its high-octane, action-packed final act.

Sure, Raimi’s latest Marvel entry is a theme-park ride, lighter on character development and heavier on gnarly sh*t that may signal a shift into a darker, more deranged phase of superhero storytelling. But it’s one hell of a ride.

It’s an affable biopic about a great but troubled man, with plenty of artistic spirit of its own.

System Crasher may veer towards being over-sympathetic in its approach to its violently problematic protagonist – Benni is a wrecking ball at times – but it delivers a powerful exposé of the limitations of the foster system. And with its impressive young star to the fore, it is heartbreakingly intimate.

Featuring some brilliant camerawork by Liu and the late Dylan Sakiyama, Minding the Gap is an impressive feature that provides an intimate and grounded examination of racism, violence, manhood and economic anxiety in the US. It will warm your heart but possibly break it a little too.

Not all heroes wear capes, some wear swimming caps – and The Swimmers is an empowering reminder that it is a human right to live safely, no matter where you come from.

Deftly handled direction from Sophie Hyde and a thoroughly impressive dual performance from Emma Thompson 
and Daryl McCormack enlivens an electric script, tackling taboo sexual subjects with wit, flair and welcome realism.

The bold risk of transforming Robbie Williams into an enjoyable CGI chimp pays off both emotionally and visually. Turning his back catalogue into epic musical numbers with stunning choreography and heart-wrenching storytelling, Better Man comes out swinging and winning.

Despite a few narrative gaps that needed filling, Sam Hobkinson delivers a rollercoaster-ride of a documentary with superb characters, insightful talking heads and jaw-dropping plot twists.

‘My problem is how to communicate better,’ Paik notes and this documentary might have dug a little deeper to communicate who this endearing man was beyond his artistic legacy. Still, it does an impressive job of showing why Nam June Paik was a brilliant artist who remains worth listening to

Though a little messy and increasingly absurd in places, Titane is a brash body horror with intense central performances, certain to leave you wide-eyed and slack-jawed at such a risky cinematic endeavour.

Ramin Bahrani offers a kinetic and textured satirical commentary on caste friction in modern India with Adarsh Gourav serving up an immensely watchable leading performance.

By the final act, Sister Midnight breaks free from the shackles of submissive feminine stereotypes and raucously leans into a woman behaving very, very badly.

Baltasar Kormákur delivers a compelling survival thriller with both Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton throwing themselves into their adversarial roles. Theron crafts a relatable and grounded performance bolstered with emotional sensitivity and physical prowess, while Taron Egerton proves his worth as a weirdly menacing antagonist. Immersively conceived and nerve-rackingly realized, Apex is a visually-commanding action film bursting with impressively dynamic stunt sequences.

Jane Campion serves up a nervy psychodrama set against an astonishing cattle country backdrop with impressive performances from Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst, but an obvious plot trajectory that dulls the storytelling impact.