Matt Maytum

As the film glides towards its climax, Song dismantles your heart with the cool proficiency of a bomb-disposal expert.

This is a challenging and troubling film that asks a lot of the viewer, before sending them away with a great deal to consider. There won’t be many films this year that you’ll turn over more thoroughly in the hours, days, and weeks that follow.

Miyazaki’s first film in 10 years proves that he’s still a master of the medium. And if it’s his last film, it’s a fine one to go out on.

Told with economy, and evading any easy genre classification - it’s part romance, part fantasy, part thriller, and more besides - it’s a very moving piece of work, and a testament to the power of love.

With the entire cast on their A-game, depths are found in characters that could’ve easily been caricatures.

A tour-de-force turn from Toni Collette powers one of the most affecting horrors in recent memory. Genuinely unsettling in a way few genre efforts are: you’ve been warned.

A joyful, trippy new incarnation of Spider-Man that you didn’t know you needed, brimming with wit, soul and jaw-dropping visuals.

Compared to the average family-friendly animation, this is very much an upgrade.

Ridiculously funny and meticulously detailed, The LEGO Movie is far better than a toy tie-in movie has any right to be. Despite a couple of dips, you’ll be grinning throughout.

Daniel Craig is on fine form leading a killer cast in Rian Johnson’s boisterously enjoyable murder mystery. All the evidence points to a winner.

A small film that hits big, Sound Of Metal is a gem you’ll want to bang the drum for.

A truly distinctive epic, blending brutal violence, powerhouse performances and otherworldly imagery into its volcanic rampage of revenge. Unmissable.

If the formula feels familiar, the girls’ personalities obliterate any chance of tedium, with Broadway producer-turned-director Amanda Lipitz providing sensitive insight into their home lives while capturing the toe-tapping with joyful aplomb.

An intelligent, eloquent and stirring sci-fi that grips from start to finish, Arrival is up there with the year’s best movies.

The Mitchells Vs. The Machines is as irreverently funny as 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. And, like Spider-Verse, it has a unique visual style that rewards close inspection.

Sam Mendes audacious WW1 epic is a sensational technical achievement, grounded by George MacKay’s gritty intensity.

A fleet-footed and boisterously enjoyable Dickens adaptation that breathes new life into a well-worn story. A winning Dev Patel leads a highly amusing cast.

A delightful live-action recreation of a familiar fable. You’ve seen it before, but its spirit and pizzaz are pretty much irresistible.

The flow of the date doesn’t roll as smoothly as Linklater’s best walk-and-talkers, but that doesn’t mar the effectiveness of this refreshingly smart date movie.

Turtle Power is back, thanks to a potent combo of winning humour and gnarly animation. Cowabunga!

This is an acutely observed, well-judged, and original take on a popular genre. That it’s also a directorial debut is extremely impressive.

Michael B. Jordan keeps the Creed formula feeling fresh with a confident directorial debut that's also 2023’s second threequel supercharged by a Jonathan Majors antagonist.

Claflin and Bettany stand out among an impressive ensemble in a harrowing, powerful WW1 drama well worth enduring.

Midsommar features a standout performance from Florence Pugh and an expertly assembled atmosphere of dread, even if its lacks the propulsion and all-consuming terror of Hereditary.

About as funny and charming as superhero movies get. Expect it to make household names out of its title character and leading man.

With inventive action and a gag-rate that bests most comedies, Ant-Man and the Wasp is the kind of slick entertainment you’ve come to expect from the MCU, with Rudd and Lilly’s winning double act at the centre.

With a string of gratifying action sequences, and a breakneck pace leavened by a frequently witty script, The Winter Soldier stands alone as a solidly entertaining blockbuster.

It’s a welcome spin on the once-dominant genre that now struggles for oxygen. It’s also less brutal a viewing experience than Mortensen’s punishing directorial debut, with plenty of shoots of hope, and an abundance of natural beauty.