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.

Spielberg lovingly restages the classic musical – but while the songs still soar, it feels more indulgent than essential.

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.

This solid if unspectacular finish to the Apes trilogy features an A-game Andy Serkis and incredible VFX, but its darker excesses threaten to suffocate at times.

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.

Despite a typically strong performance from Blunt - and a fun, if one-note, Evans - neither the rise nor the inevitable fall ever feel all that compelling. It lacks the sheer audaciousness of the similarly structured The Wolf of Wall Street, and doesn’t come close to the energy of The Big Short, which whipped up furious indignation while being massively entertaining at the same time.

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.

Two immensely enjoyable central performances and some of the best race sequences yet filmed fuel an otherwise standard sports movie.

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.

First-time writer/director Ritesh Batra deserves credit for mining gently captivating drama from a pitch that could have just ended with passive-aggressive Post-its left on the office fridge.

Writer/director duo Sam and Andy Zuchero take an admirably big swing with their feature debut Love Me, but it never engages emotionally in the way this kind of material needs to.

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

Amy Schumer is a force to be reckoned with – but despite some belly laughs Trainwreck doesn’t quite transcend the romcom formula like the best of the genre.

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.