Ian Freer

There are inconsistencies — why does a brand new house have the standard creaking door? — but the pace is so compelling that it is impossible to carp.

In depicting the Johnson County War of 1892 (immigrants versus cattle barons), Michael Cimino delivers soaring ambition and scale, but always syringed with a deep sense of regret.

Marie Antoinette is gorgeous, giddy, gilded filmmaking.

If you hear the Rocky theme and think '118 118', you might wonder what all the fuss is about. For the rest of us, this is a reminder of why we fell in love with the character in the first place.

The filmmaking is immaculate and the emotional wallop undeniable.

A consummate display of populist weepie-making.

Although peppered with colourful, sharply drawn characters, this is Stewart's movie, instantly loveable as a small town dreamer who sacrifices everything for others. His journey to despair and back warms the cockles like little else. Enjoy it in a cinema so you can sob among others.

Whilst this takes itself a little too lightly it has a lot going for it.

It's fun spotting stars under cakes of make-up and the panache, great supporting cast and good-natured, old-fashioned feel make for a better movie than you remember.

Larger than life, faintly ridiculous, completely cool, Goldfinger is the quintessential James Bond movie.

Roger Moore’s third outing as Bond is undoubtedly his best.

It has all the required Police Academy staples and is one of the better sequels but this whole franchise is so dated that isn't saying much.

Arguably Woody's finest, now neurotic intellectuals have a film they can cherish.

Director Bong’s on song for his dark debut. A little rough around the edges, Barking Dogs Never Bite still delivers the blackest comedy lightened by some thrilling filmmaking, a clear calling card for Parasite. Caninophiles beware.

Place your faith in Saint Maud. Original, unsettling and surprisingly moving, it’s a strong calling card for filmmaker Rose Glass and actor Morfydd Clark.

Despite some inventive photography and decent gore for its day, its uneven pace renders it a curio for Coppola fans.

Despite half-a-dozen recent attempts to "correct" this biopic, Minnelli's agonised portrait of the life of Vincent Van Gogh remains the definitive movie word on the subject.

It's one of the most highly-wrought (indeed, overwrought) films ever made, with art direction, editing, sound effects, weird camera angles and lighting orchestrated to fill every frame with hints of the unsettling.

Boasting one of the most iconic characters ever in Plissken, and an effective sci-fi set-up, this is entertainment of the highest order.

What matters is the affection Wang has for his characters and the portrait of assimilation represented by the characters the amateur sleuths encounter. Whimsical, certainly, but also generous, insightful and funny.

This is probably worse than you’d expect, even from a sequel to a sequel to a sequel to a sequel to a sequel.

Eastwood is in good, if not great form, Bridges steals the whole show, and Cimino displays a sense of unpretentious fun and appealing grasp of character.

It may not scale the heights of Heat or The Insider, but this is riveting stuff and reconfirms Mann's status as a master of the medium.

Citizens On Patrol might well have been subtitled When The Rot Set In.