Jordan Farley

The seventh and supposedly final Scream is never as sharp or as smart as the series' best, but it still has a few neat tricks up its billowing sleeve. Enjoyably self-aware and satisfyingly bloody, this may be imitation Craven, but it proves Scream's slasher-whodunnit formula is still potent enough to thrill.

The most action-packed Avatar yet still has the capacity to dazzle, with Oona Chaplin's Varang turning up the heat. Even if a frustrating lack of resolution and some repetitive storytelling choices make this feel more like The Way of Water part 2.

Predator: Badlands may irk traditionalists, but it's a big swing that just about works. The odd-couple dynamic between Elle Fanning's busted synth and the more human Yautja adds laughs to the usual lacerations for a fun, propulsive, off-world action-adventure.

Paul Thomas Anderson's bravura comic satire is a serious film of the year contender, and one of the best studio movies in years. An instant classic.

It may not be a perfect movie, but in a word, it’s pretty super.

Part courtroom movie, part behind-bars romance, Folie à Deux is an unconventional musical sequel that fails to hit the high notes.

While the film occasionally pushes you to feel as deeply as Benji, something it can’t quite pull off, there is a profundity to David and Benji’s pilgrimage that leaves an unmistakable impression.

Epic in scope, intimate in execution, Napoleon is a thrilling, surprisingly funny account of the infamous French Emperor’s rise and fall.

Visually astonishing, emotionally daring, this spectacular sequel has enough wit, imagination and thrills to fill several worlds. But prepare to be left hanging till the sequel hits screens.

Like many an auteur filmmaker’s passion project, it’s a huge swing that doesn’t always fully connect, and one that undoubtedly peaks too soon. But at a time when safe-bet sequels, franchise extensions and movies built on brand recognition are more prevalent than ever, the fact that something so singular exists and succeeds on its own terms is something to be celebrated.

McDonagh’s latest is a worthy In Bruges reunion: smart, funny, deeply felt.

Unashamedly absurd, wildly entertaining and face-achingly funny, Love And Thunder makes Ragnarok look like Bresson. Another classic Thor adventure.

The toe-tapping beats of this full-throated biopic will be familiar in more ways than one but Baz Luhrmann, like Elvis, knows how to put on a great show. Butler’s Best Actor chatter starts here.

Unconventional, almost to a fault, Brett Morgen’s impressionistic, experiential Bowie documentary is an electrifying oddity.

Sex, violence and surgery: the king of body horror is back, but the script could do with a scalpel.

George Miller combines myth, magic, and romance to mixed effect in a visually dazzling adult fairytale starring a committed Swinton and Elba.

It’s a sensitive, sweet, frequently heartbreaking trip through deeply personal history, but there’s no getting round the fact that Gray had what most might consider a fairly typical childhood.

One of the smartest zom-coms in recent memory gets a faithful French remake, but it's too well made to convince as the ultra-low budget schlock its aping.

Morbius may be a living vampire, but this supervillain origin story is dead on arrival. A rote, lifeless and cynical attempt to expand Sony’s Spidey-Verse.

A gripping, grimy and sensational street-level detective story, the Dark Knight’s triumphant return is exactly the fresh start needed after a decade of diminishing returns.

Justin Lin gets the series back on track with Fast and Furious 9 by delving into the past while racing into the future. See it on the biggest, loudest screen possible.

That a formula as well-trodden as Saw’s can still surprise, delight, and make you feel like you need a quick shower after is impressive.

Carey Mulligan is electric in a blackly comic #MeToo revenge thriller fuelled by righteous fury.

Though suffering from its own shortcomings, Zack Snyder’s gargantuan Justice League is a commendable improvement on the widely derided original. Stock up on snacks.

Crucially, while there’s plenty here that fans of the famously enigmatic pair may be learning for the first time thanks to Wright’s exhaustive access, it’s a documentary that doubles as an accessible, breezy introduction to a band you may never have heard of, and a springboard to further explore their celebrated back catalogue.

Ben Wheatley goes back to basics for a pandemic chiller where Covid is the last thing to be afraid of.

Prisoners of the Ghostland exists entirely outside the norms and conventions of moviemaking. Really there’s only one word to describe it: nuts.

A stupid film made by very smart people, Subsequent Moviefilm has a noble intent at odds with the loathsome figures that populate it. It’s never quite as gut-bustingly funny as the 2006 original, but you get the sense that wasn’t what Cohen was going for. By simply holding a mirror up to the rampant hypocrisy, division and hatred across America and giving bigots the rope to hang themselves, Borat feels more relevant and necessary than ever.

Tenet is a practically perfect (re)introduction to the big screen. Whether audiences are ready – where safe – to return to cinemas en masse is another question entirely. Certainly, Tenet’s a more challenging film than some may be comfortable with after a five-month absence, but this is an all-too-rare example of a master filmmaker putting everything on the table with, you sense, not a modicum of his vision compromised. The stakes have never been higher, but Tenet is exactly the film cinemas need right now.

Without the darkness or depth of the Harry Potter movies, Artemis Fowl fails to find an audience over 10 years old

A late fight scene is staged with verve, and Gilpin is good value in an underwritten role. But given the politically fractious times we live in, this inane satire is a colossal missed opportunity.

A relic of the ’90s in more ways than one, Sonic offers frenetic fun for younger viewers, and in Jim Carrey’s preposterous Robotnik an enjoyable shot of nostalgia for adults.

Proves The Witch was no fluke. Dafoe and Pattinson dazzle in a luminous exercise in maritime madness.

A Hidden Life is the most soulful war movie since "The Thin Red Line": elegiac, emotional and exquisitely shot. Malick’s back!

Proving there’s life in the zom-com yet, Forsythe’s down under rib-tickler might just be 2019’s funniest film.

Cut from the same cloth as I, Daniel Blake, Loach’s latest is a powerful state-of-the-nation dispatch.

Dark Fate gets more right than it gets wrong (just about, anyway), and there’s an undeniable thrill in seeing Hamilton and Schwarzenegger reunited onscreen for the first time in almost three decades. But this fourth attempt at crafting a worthy sequel to James Cameron’s peerless sci-fi double bill only just gets passing marks.

More character study than comic book movie, and anchored by an Oscar-worthy Joaquin Phoenix, Joker is a bravura blockbuster that proves you don’t need superpowered scraps to dazzle.

Tarantino’s ode to Hollywood is his best since "Jackie Brown"; an evocative and disarmingly heartfelt LA story, capped by a finale you won’t forget.’

Another home run for the MCU that puts Pete’s responsibilities in a post-Iron Man world front and centre during a rib-tickling summer romance. Whatever you do, don’t skip the credits.

Egerton gives it his all, and there are moments of visual invention, but this largely formulaic rock biopic can’t hit the high notes.

It may not dazzle as much as Attack the Block, but Cornish’s second feature is a fun family adventure.

Blow for blow Creed 2 is a closer match for its heavyweight predecessors than anyone dared hope. Transparently formulaic at times – but boy will it get your blood pumping.

Living up to its billing as the most ridiculous film of the summer, The Meg is one to laugh at rather than with. Instantly forgettable, but undeniably fun.

Rampage was always going to be the cinematic equivalent of junk food – enjoyable enough while consumed, but devoid of nourishment. When the homo sapiens are on screen, you can feel the film start to flatline but, against the odds, a computer-generated gorilla might just win you over.

A barking mad shaggy dog story with imagination to spare. 13/10, would watch again.

The beauty of Alice Springs offers a profound contrast with the ugly acts committed by its inhumane colonists.

Lynne Ramsay returns with a scuzzy, stripped-back thriller focused on the man, rather than the mission.

This chilly thriller is another highly accomplished feature to add to a formidable body of work.

It may lack the ingenuity of their finest outings, but this is Pixar’s best film in ages. Visually splendid, frequently emotional and culturally nourishing.

The cast do decent work, but Clooney’s ersatz Fargo misses the mark. A Coen pastiche rather than the real deal.

Justice League’s most significant shortcoming is how forgettable it all is. There’s barely a moment that sticks, not a single sequence to rival the standout superhero set-pieces of recent years.

Incendiary storytelling with nuanced performances, but the transition from stage to screen lacks focus.

An exquisitely crafted sequel that stands shoulder to shoulder with one of the greatest films ever made. Everyone involved is operating at the height of their powers.

Earnest intentions may be behind this bawdy yet heartfelt sport-quel, but it’s a largely unnecessary rematch.

The burgeoning bond between man and monster hits soaring emotional heights, even if the new world feels a little under-developed.

An uncompromisingly bleak slow burn, it leaves the pulse frantic and nerves frayed.

Sharper, meaner, and meatier than Prometheus, Covenant's weak narrative drive stalls its brutal good intentions.

A ravishing period piece that simmers with sexual tension while pulling off some dazzling narrative gymnastics.

It lacks the subtlety of Night of the Living Dead, but deftly balances laughs and bloody thrills.

Derivative and a little dumb but consistently fun: there’s personality and panache to spare in this monster blockbuster.

The Death of Stalin review: "A frighteningly funny satire that finds humour in historical horror"

Wonderfully whimsical children’s fantasy about a young boy’s journey through the space-time continuum in the company of six cantankerous dwarves.