Jonathan Pile

An emotionally rich documentary that wows both as a technical achievement and an unforgettable portrait of a terrible period of 20th century history.

A nice idea, and the setting makes it instantly more interesting to a UK audience, but it’s let down by lapses into cliché and by simply not being audacious enough with its action set-pieces.

Stylishly realised against a backdrop of violence and faded Hollywood glamour, Drew Pearce’s vision of the near-future is laced with intrigue and dark humour.

Hampered by a script that fails to make the central love affair work and few new ideas while they’re stranded at sea, even the best efforts of its talented lead pair can’t keep this afloat.

Spielberg has seemingly done the impossible: balancing sugar-rush nostalgia with an involving story to create a pure, uncynical, cinematic ride that recaptures the magic of his early films.

Drawing on mythology and body horror, Annihilation is an intelligent film that asks big questions and refuses to provide easy answers. Sci-fi at its best.

An often amusing reimagining of Bronze Age history 
that, while it doesn’t quite match the best of Aardman, is still solid family entertainment.

Complex, poised and beguilingly earthy. Stephane Brizé’s decade-spanning epic is a sensitively performed, memorably fragmentary look at one woman undone by the feckless men in her life.

What promised so much, delivers so little thanks to a script that too often veers from the point. A missed opportunity.

It has a decent story, Hanks and Streep are two compelling leads, and Spielberg is laughably over-qualified to direct it, but it’s neither as thrilling as All The President’s Men, nor does it have the emotional heft of Spotlight. But there’s no shame coming second best to those two titans of the genre. On its own considerable merits, The Post is first class.

With great performances across the board and a socially relevant story, Mudbound will resonate long after the credits roll.

Brawl In Cell Block 99 takes its time with its set-up, but that only makes the action that follows all the more effective. And Vaughn as an action hero works surprisingly well.

A case of a missed opportunity. It references all the right films, but The Snowman comes off as a pale imitation.

Two compelling leads and a mix of adventure and romance. It’s a pleasant experience, if not one that will linger long in the memory.

A witty and touching father-son tale. And at its centre: a startling debut from Will Tilston, whose compelling performance ensures its emotional moments land successfully.

Brutal in its depictions of violence, Brimstone is tough to watch at times, but never less than gripping, even as the clock creeps up to the 150-minute mark.

An uneven thriller that would have been better served aiming for a lighter tone.

A great cast is let down by a script that fails to provide a compelling mystery to solve. Never mind as a big-screen production, this would be disappointing as a BBC mini-series.

The third Despicable Me film chronologically is also the third-best in terms of quality. But it has just enough energy and flashes of inspiration to suggest it’s a franchise that could run and run.

A fascinating but flawed portrait of a fascinating but flawed man. However, with Cox so good, it’s a surprise Churchill isn’t being held back until awards season.

Scuppered by a lazy script that fails to effectively build tension, Unforgettable lives up to its name, but not for the right reasons.

There is fun to be had.... But it essentially feels like an overlong, mega-budgeted episode of a Saturday-morning serial.

Part Alien, part Gravity, just not as good as either of them. But Life whips along at a decent pace and deploys enough engaging action sequences to make it work.

King Kong lives! But only just. This is an uneven adventure that’s saved by the spectacle of its towering title character and the various beasts with whom he shares his island home.