Ian Freer

The Neon Demon pulls off the unique feat of being both boring and bravura all at once. Like the world it depicts, it’s a feast for the eyes but little else.

It’s tastefully shot and Crowe commits to the horrors of Jake’s illness (his seizures are upsetting) but the writing lacks depth, the character psychology is dime-store Freud and the performances are variable.

A landmark film book gets its just deserts. The cleverly curated clips are stunning and the analysis thought-provoking in this richly rewarding piece.

Anomalisa has more heart, soul and pathos than 99.9 per cent of live-action movies. The best hotel-set love story since "Lost In Translation."

The interesting world of the film doesn’t get the story it deserves.

A strong cast and impressive action sequences can’t find subtleties or surprises to enliven a rote period disaster movie. It hits the right points, but mechanically.

The astonishing true life story of The 33 deserves a better movie than this. Trite above and below ground, it is not suitable for miners. Or anyone else really.

On a par with "Inglourious Basterds" and "Django Unchained," The Hateful Eight starts low-key but ultimately delivers big, bold, blood-soaked rewards. Roll on, QT Western number three.

More interestingly, it paints the Bolshoi as a microcosm of Russia, in thrall to tradition but beset by greed, backstabbing and corruption.

Redmayne’s transformation may grab the headlines but it is Vikander’s touching turn that steals the show. Sedate, certainly, but The Danish Girl is touching, timely and exquisite.

Deyn is a revelation in a difficult but rewarding take on Scottish rural life. The most English of directors has done a Scottish classic proud.

It doesn’t all land, but The Night Before is largely a salty, sweet jingle ball.

It’s a sad, emotive, important subject but it deserves a more detailed, heartfelt film than this.

Anchored by another great turn from Matt Damon, The Martian mixes smarts, laughs, weird character bits and tension on a huge canvas. The result is Scott’s most purely enjoyable film for ages.

A thriller in the key of Woody. The “same old, same old” but still entertaining.

A smart riposte to the ’hood drama stereotype. Dope is funny, stylish and mostly exuberant fun.

An engaging, if familiar, mix of teen rites of passage, the fun of friendship and mooning over a cool girl. Still, Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne make for a watchable duo.

Noah Baumbach’s great run continues. Sharp, fast and witty, it’s old school screwball comedy with a cool modern twist. And Greta Gerwig is a bona fide genius.

Inside Out is audacious as it is silly, as funny as it is imaginative.

This is the film Brian Wilson’s talent deserves: original, smart and affecting.

With Soderbergh now only on cinematography duties, this one takes all of the original’s surface — chiefly the hip gyrations — and none of the substance, interesting character arcs or charms.

The filmmaking is exemplary but most impressive of all is the tone that mixes comedy, melodrama and darkness.

Edwards’ film boasts great filmmaking, noble intentions and cracking monster action. Yet it never reconciles its B-movie origins — preposterous premise, clichéd characters — with its solemn, Nolanised tone. This Godzilla stomps but very rarely romps.

Graced with great performances from Garfield and Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man is a rare comic-book flick that is better at examining relationships than superheroism. If it doesn't approach the current benchmark of Avengers Assemble, it still delivers a different enough, enjoyable origin story to live comfortably alongside the Raimi era.

Zoo is the antithesis of edgy, an overlong, all encompassing experience that despite Crowe's integrity and lightness of touch doesn't deliver the emotional experience of, say, "Jerry Maguire" or "Almost Famous." Still, it is good to have the righteous dude back.

Rough around the edges and too ambiguous for some tastes, this is grim but clever, insidiously creepy and affecting. And in Olsen and Durkin, it marks the arrival of two exciting talents to watch. It still should be called Mental Sex Cult.

The movie that really showed Tom Hanks' promise as a deliverer of great comedy and heart-warming pathos.

Incredible set pieces and songs that have entered the culture forever, this is also extremely well-paced and beautifully played. Truly one of the greatest musicals ever made.