Olly Richards

A film that’s at once light, joyful and emotionally devastating, with deeply affecting central performances. A full-hearted romantic masterpiece.

It’s a moving, challenging watch.

With its hackneyed storyline and critical derision in the US, whispers were that Honey was to be the new "Glitter." It's not nearly that bad, which is a shame since it just skims the embarrassingly blind enthusiasm of which camp classics are made -- instead bouncing along the path of bland and forgettable.

Sum up the plot and it sounds interminable. Watch the film and it will spit you out elated, exhausted and cheering for an encore.

One of von Trier’s most confrontingly horrible films is also one of his weakest. A story about a man disguising his lack of worthwhile contribution with violent self-interest is guilty of every point it’s making.

Paddington 2 is every bit as enchanting as the first, perhaps even more so, but it feels arbitrary to pick a winner. The film is a pure delight, as sweet and sharp as, well, marmalade, really.

It's Sarah Polley through and through: slightly too glum for its own good, but reeking of quality and feeling.

Describe it and this sounds completely weird and a bit creepy, like some extremely niche fetish porn with a budget. Watch it and it’s magical; fantastic in all senses. It’s the biggest risk of del Toro’s career and it could not have paid off more.

You don't need to understand anything of baseball to get behind this, a chest-swelling story about second chances and flipping a finger up (even a giant foam one) to The Man.

Tough, but resilience is amply rewarded. If last year’s larky Frank suggested Abrahamson was a director to watch, this makes him a director to be cherished.

Taut, clever, and fronted with two excellent performances, this is a clever choice for Jackson's first step into mainstream filmmaking.

Maybe it’s fitting Playmobil: The Movie is old-fashioned, stiff and only suitable for those between the ages of four and ten, but it sure isn’t much fun.

The movie that brought a hip new sensibility to animated features and which still stands up in the age of Pixar and DreamWorks thanks largely to a blistering improv turn from Robin Williams.

To call it the most important movie of the year so far makes it sound possibly rather worthy. That’s not true at all. Get Out is a comment on a highly complex situation that’s also a total blast.

A gift of great storytelling, this is the best film Chris Sanders has made.

In trying to tell an enormous amount of story it can spread itself too thin and leave some strands feeling unfinished, but when it’s at its best, this is beautiful and bold filmmaking.

The film is at its best when it’s sitting just with them, not doing much, not trying too hard to be eccentric; just shooting the breeze and being cheerfully weird.

The Lego Movie is bursting out of its box with enthusiasm and excitement for the possibilities of a little pile of nubby plastic.

There are films to see on huge screens, but this is one that almost cries out for a small cinema, surrounded by total blackness. It’s a daring experiment brilliantly executed, with Tom Hardy giving one of the performances of his career.

The animation initially looks like something produced on an early Nintendo console, but what it lacks in finesse it more than makes up for in feeling. It makes sense of how a small child sees the world, saturated and magical but not yet subtly detailed.

Jackie does what the very best biopics should: it makes you view someone you’ve seen countless times as if you were seeing them anew.

The boys (now in blue) have done it again.

It’s a riveting, complex film that asks one simple question: what do you do when there’s no right answer?

The first film was so middle-of-the-road that most have probably forgotten it existed. Its sequel creates a more lasting impression, with vibrant animation and a wackadoodle sense of humour.

Simpler, but also bolder and bloodier, than its predecessor, The Bone Temple is a more-than-worthy sequel.

It’s lifted by some very convincing performances.

Bertrand Bonello’s sci-fi epic-cum-period-romance-cum-stalker-thriller is absolutely teeming with ideas. That they don’t all come together in an entirely convincing way doesn’t spoil the overall effect of something thought-provoking, very handsomely made, and appealingly weird.

Eddie The Eagle turns a long-running joke of British sport into a crowd-pleasing story of inspiration. It’s a solid gold winner.

Made absolutely for grown-up fans, this is the Muppets as you fondly remember them: funny, smart and gleefully insane. Kermit, it's great to have you back.

To produce a coherent film from Martel's tricky novel would be achievement enough, but Ang Lee has extracted something beautiful, wise and, at times, miraculous.

Just as with "Once" and "Begin Again," Sing Street will make you laugh, cry and leave you humming its songs for days.

Persevere through the sluggish first two acts and you'll be rewarded with a touching relationship perfectly acted by Lewis and Breslin.

It’s glossy and at times goofily funny, mostly thanks to Johnson’s subtle comic skills, but the novelty of this messy relationship is really beginning to wear off.

There are strong shades of Bo Burnham’s 2018 movie Eighth Grade here. That’s not to call Dídi derivative at all, but to say that it nails that high-school yearning to be cool and complete lack of any idea how to get there, making things worse for yourself with every attempt.

It’s almost churlish to complain that some of the carnage is too basically carnage-y, but at 169 minutes there’s a lot of it to sit through. That running time might test the casual fan, but for Wick devotees this character’s battle through assassin hell will be close to action-movie heaven.

Like its slack-jawed clones, The Island is full of energy and incredibly pretty but burdened with only the minimum of smarts.

A Hitchcockian Poltergeist meets Single White Female, it's exactly as confused as that sounds, but just as intriguing. Stewart shows she’s now one of the most interesting actresses of her generation.

This is very effective, experimental filmmaking – and at 85 minutes it never becomes indulgent – and the most exciting thing Soderbergh’s done in quite some time.

A Molotov cocktail of laughs and anger, Chi-Raq is a powerful state of a nation address. The result is the most creatively exciting Lee has been in a decade.

A very strong debut by writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig deals with all the usual teenage concerns — dating, family, school — in a way that tries to go beyond genre cliché, with a heroine who is often unlikeable but always believable.

The story has a good dose of hokum, but the execution has an oppressive and sometimes feral quality that doesn’t just make the hairs on your neck stand up, it puts your whole body in fight-or-flight mode. An extremely impressive first film.

Sharp, funny and feeling, this isn't just Juno-meets-Girls but a smart film that tackles real-life issues with rare frankness.

Well above the standards of your average romantic comedy, it's funny, sexy and smart. It's just not smart enough to stick to its guns to the end.

Coogan and Reilly’s performances are among the best either has ever given. This film, which pays wonderfully funny tribute to two comic legends, richly deserves them.

It’s essentially, y’know, for kids, but the dedicated fairy tale fan will have tons of fun spotting all the references. Adams, meanwhile, gives one of the comedy performances of the year.

The supporting cast is a kick. Law gets to send up the Bond role, something he could very well have played in his younger days; Allison Janney fills her boots as the angry head of the agency and Statham, frankly, should only ever play this role for the rest of his life.

Even if you didn’t know what comes next, this story of the first days of the Obamas would still seduce as a sweet, smart romance.

The best animated movie of the year and only a whisker shy of the brilliance of Wallace and Gromit.

If you're a novice, this is a plucky introduction to Whedon's world and the most fun sci-fi of the year. If you're a devotee, this is the magnificent return you've been praying for.

A good old-fashioned horror in the best possible way, this is a beautifully told, terrifying ghost story that lingers with you long after the shivers have stopped.

Eastwood’s message that no good deed goes unpunished feels misplaced, but for the crash sequences and Hanks’ turn it’s worthwhile. But for goodness’ sake, don’t watch it on a plane.

It’s way over the top in its style, which is a good thing, but grounded with realistic, loveable characters. This is a romcom milestone and the best thing to happen to the genre in years. It’s crazy good.

This movie does exactly what a horror reboot should, taking the best bits of the original and heading in a smart, inventive new direction. There’s minimal reliance on nostalgia. It’s daft as hell and a heck of a good time.

It's a tight thriller played out smoothly but tying the viewer in moral knots. A film to think about for days, with little hope of finding a comfortable answer.

Its plot isn’t going to win any prizes for originality, but Nair tells the story with immense warmth and cheer. You can see just about every move coming, but it’s making all the right ones.

Through this decade so far, Pixar’s films have held great ideas that haven’t quite reached their full potential. This is probably its best film since Coco, and best sequel since Toy Story 3.

It’s a hugely enjoyable descent into epic gluttony.

Released at any time, The Platform, packed with ideas and moments to be endlessly debated, would have all the makings of a cult classic. Released in 2020, it is an astonishingly apt metaphor for our times.

Witty, wonderful and wildly imaginative, Burton’s first proper ‘family movie’ since "Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure" delivers a sugar rush that’ll last for days.

Another Aardman triumph. The animation house's most technically ambitious project so far and, if not quite at the genius level of Wallace & Gromit, still a comedy treasure and far too good just for kids.

Judged against previous form, this is not Pixar firing on all cylinders, lacking the sophisticated comedy we've come to expect. Judged against fare from other studios, however, it's a triumph.

It may look like a documentary but Gibney's film is a horror film in every sense. Essential, uncomfortable viewing.

Intelligent, classy and skin-crawling. You won't see a better acting masterclass this year.

Potent and visceral in its depiction of street life and blinged-up excess alike, Straight Outta Compton delivers big beats of both kinds.

Terrific performance alone can't mask the lack of originality.

This true-life tale takes some believing in the era of global warming (too much ice? Really?) but the sledgehammer emoting should let you know you're in a family drama.

Maclean has made a Western of such confident ease that it’s hard to believe this is the director’s first feature film.

When Gunn took on Guardians Of The Galaxy, he turned nonsense into gold for Marvel. By giving The Suicide Squad the same sense of mischief and an equally surreal streak, he’s done the same for DC.

The smart visual trickery lifts what might otherwise have been a fairly conventional thriller, but it also lets Chaganty say some interesting things about our online lives. Technophobes should stay away.

It’s a tremendously enjoyable type of horror, full of giggle-inducing jump scares, but sending you off with some intelligent questions to gnaw on.

Strong performances and direction make the most of a lightweight tale.

It cleverly pulls at the supposed laws of the series in a way that makes it more interesting without diluting the fearsome nature of the title character. Trachtenberg is making the franchise richer with every instalment. And if the film’s final shot is any reliable indication, he’s far from finished.

A very smart take on the stalker movie, which resists easy laughs for harder truths, and might make you think twice the next time you’re lining up a photo for social media.

It’s extremely antic for the most part, covering a lack of real story with a lot of distracting quirk. Yet when Petit’s foot slips out onto a wire thousands of metres from the ground, it’s quietly mesmerising.

It may sound dismissive to call a film ‘nice’, but that’s exactly what this is. It’s beautifully produced, entirely uncynical niceness. If you’re after just a lovely time, come on in and put your feet up.

A fascinating documentary that captures all the glamour and grubbiness of the 20th century’s most famous nightclub. All the thrill of being there with none of the hangover.

A story with all the qualities of a classic LA noir is given a very effective spin by transposing it to politically charged Cairo. It’s angry, frustrated and thrilling.

As both teen comedy and mid-life crisis comedy it’s terrific. It feels honest and modern in a genre that so very often uses dick jokes and gross-outs to cover old-fashioned morals.

A great, big joy. Even if you're a bit bah humbug, just delight in the supremely clever Aardman comedy.

21 Jump Street has that "Anchorman" experimental-chaos vibe, with all the hit-and-miss moments that implies. It's completely lunatic and sort of a mess. It's also the funniest high-school comedy to come out of Hollywood in ages.

The Outfit follows a pattern set by countless gangster flicks of the past, but its freshness is in the intelligence and surprise of the script. Like a well-made suit, it’s not old-fashioned — it’s classic.

As thrilling and smart as it is terrifying. There have been a number of big-gun literary series brought to screen over the past decade. This slays them all.

A wonderful comedy of romance, pain and getting it all wrong until somebody makes you do it right. The kind of film that makes you want to call someone the minute it's over, even if just to tell them to go see this movie.

It's a collection of cop-movie clichés but presented with sufficient flair and strong performances that the ride is enough, even if it's on rails.

An absolute treat of an interview with a man who has told other people’s stories wonderfully for decades and tells his own just as well.

It's not on a gasp-inducing making-the-Statue-Of-Liberty-disappear level, but with its opulent presentation and confident storytelling, The Illusionist has the power to keep an audience rapt like a good old-fashioned card trick.

A film for every age, whether you’re an awkward kid, former awkward kid or awkward kid-adjacent. Funny, real and uplifting. A film that reaffirms your belief in the human spirit.

A gripping, moving, sometimes frustrating portrait of a man consumed by a need to speak up, even as he wonders if anybody’s watching.

Despite a few early narrative bumps, it’s hard to imagine what more you could want from a movie with this pairing. Marvel has found its mojo again.

A few big laughs but weakly drawn characters mean a film that is enjoyable enough in the moment but then quickly forgotten.

A great debut from a promising talent.

It’s fun to take another turn with Derek and Hansel, but they probably don’t have another season in them.

Old friends and new voice talent will delight kids with a never-ending love for the most undemanding animation out there. A megabucks franchise drifts on.

The gleefully Gothic fingerprints of Guillermo del Toro are all over this zippy excursion into Mexico's myths and legends, although the gag-count falls quite a lot short of Pixar greatness.

A retrograde fantasy with the depth of a dressing-up box, but it’s spirited, genuinely funny and played to the hilt by an excellent cast.

Rather than the cynical ‘one last grab’ of the series, Kung Fu Panda 3 might actually be the best. Also, and this is so rarely the case that it’s worth mentioning, it deserves to be seen in 3D.

Clever, original and terrifically witty.

Fast Five was a good example of how applying The Rock to a tired series could bring it back to life. G.I. Joe, by opting for self-seriousness instead of knowing daftness, has squandered its secret weapon.