An instant cult-classic comedy that should be seen with a rowdy crowd — and then cherished for years to come on repeated quote-along home viewings.

On the surface, this is a very tense and very funny comedy of manners. Underneath all that, though, is a sad, incisive, brilliantly drawn study of a failing marriage.

It’s funny and charming on a level with the first three films, even if it pulls a couple of punches. Pixar’s not just toying with these characters — they take play very seriously indeed.

An everything-and-the-talavera-sink stop-motion delight that synthesises magic, music and the macabre into a mostly exhilarating, occasionally exhausting cinematic experience, Mexico’s first stop-motion feature was more than worth the wait. Bring on its second!

A masterfully executed sci-fi conspiracy thriller that beams us right back into the Spielberg heartland of eerie wonder, everyman — and woman — heroes, and optimistic uplift.

A sharp relationship drama drenched in the casual cool of Charli XCX’s pop persona, with an impressive performance that strips it all way.

Another catchy Valentine to the transcendent properties of music, Power Ballad is perhaps a little more grounded than your average John Carney playlist. Full of native wit, warmth and generosity: play it on repeat.

This affectionate ‘making of’ comes with a runtime that might put some off delving into it, but it is worth it. Just as The Thing was the “ultimate in alien terror”, The Thing Expanded is the ultimate in documentary joy. 

An easy-going thriller throwback that mostly plays all the right notes, Tuner is winning and unexpectedly romantic, with Leo Woodall on fine form.

This Hungarian-language drama is a wild, surreal, harrowing and funny ride that may even win you over to veganism. Think Chicken Run for intellectuals. 

Frontloaded with memorable scares, this precision-tooled shocker is fast-paced, fun and, at times, genuinely frightening.  

A comedically gruesome take on love’s maddening effects — even more so than last year’s Together — Obsession is so fresh and exhilarating, one can forgive its familiar origins. Curry Barker is set for big things.

Bob Odenkirk continues his late-career action streak with a satirical and stylishly violent take on the small-town-under-siege movie. Ben Wheatley meets John Wick? Oh, go on then.

Who was it made for? Everyone. You don’t have to be a diehard Eilish fan to appreciate the artistry in music, performance and filmmaking here. 

Another solidly gripping film from the ever-prolific Soderbergh, this is a terrific two-hander, with Coel and McKellen on fine, fierce form.

A high-energy doc that does a tidy job of spanning 50 action-packed years. We suggest you don’t run to the hills but your nearest cinema instead.

Hokum isn’t just hokum. On top of an affecting personal quest for a non-despairing ending, it delivers a full evening of scares, chills, wicked jokes and haunted escape-room hijinks.

Just a solidly made cat-and-mouse thriller, with muscularly committed performances from its two leads. It’ll make you want to explore the Great Outdoors and simultaneously never leave your house again.

A defiantly avant-garde take on commercial chart-toppers. It’s not for everyone, but it deserves to be: a gorgeous fusion of film, fashion, faith, and certified bangers.

Mark Jenkin is still Mark Jenk-ing: the most stubbornly analogue filmmaker out there has produced another satisfyingly baffling film about Cornish communities and the supernatural tension between past and present.

Closer to the gentle humanism of Paterson than Jarmusch’s cooler, ironic output, Father Mother Sister Brother is a small-scale and singular treat.

A cautionary tale against the dangers of excessive podcasting, this is a supremely spooky sonic ordeal. As an allegory for Catholic guilt, it’s haunting; as an auditory experience, it’ll fuck you up.

A dark and darkly funny dissection of a couple’s ‘perfect’ relationship, examining how internal forces and exterior pressures can drive two people to their breaking point.

The kind of good old-fashioned adult comedy we don’t see enough — delivering a confident commentary on the mess of modern sex and relationships. Unpredictable, unromantic and, most importantly, unbelievably funny.

A slight but consistently entertaining, thoroughly funny slice of life, this is Ben Wheatley untethered, letting off steam with a workout. It is a welcome carnival of misanthropy.

A special sort of film, one which can be enjoyed as a dark climate-change allegory and a bright, colourful, emotional yarn on friendship and family. Fantastique!

A very watchable old-school blockbuster crowd-pleaser. Ryan Gosling and an alien made of rocks are the best space-based double-act since R2-D2 and C3-PO.

A one-of-a-kind cinematic experience from Mona Fastvold, shot in glorious 70mm, fuelled by music and movement that will shake your soul. See it on the big screen, if you can.

So intense you’ll want to scarper but so riveting you can’t leave, Sirāt is an assault on the senses, mind and emotions. If only all movies took swings this bold.

Don’t call it a comeback — but this is really strong stuff from Pixar: funny, thoughtful, sweet, making for a heartfelt paean to nature, and beavers in particular. Dam good.

The offstage elements may slightly underwhelm, but Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic exploration of Elvis’ Vegas residency is one of the most thrilling musical experiences you can have at a cinema.

A clever, funny, suspenseful, interestingly cynical science-fiction horror movie with a great collection of monsters — courtesy of make-up geniuses Dave and Lou Elsey — and a cast whose enthusiasm is, appropriately, infectious.

A beautifully hand-crafted love letter to childhood, self-discovery, and the life-changing power of really good chocolate, Little Amélie is 78 minutes of pure animated joy that welcomes one and all. 

With images of violence brushing against understated strength — amid a search for love, safety and self-actualisation — this is an astonishing cinematic experience that lures the past into the present.

An energetic, urgent and damning assessment of our prison crisis, Wasteman marks Cal McMau as an exciting new homegrown director.

Though not one for subtlety, Bronstein’s pressure-cooking, panic-mongering sophomore feature is perversely enjoyable — as long as you can take the stress.

An uncompromising debut that weaves Lidia Yuknavitch’s rich but troubled life into hypnotic poetry. Kristen Stewart reintroduces herself as an exciting filmmaker who’s out to make a splash.

A hugely impressive debut. Personal and political, this is a tender and spellbinding depiction of family in fraught times.

A wry, sharp and never self-serious take on pop stardom.

A cute, warm-hearted indie darling this is not. Twinless is an uncomfortable, pitch-black comedy you won’t be able to look away from, with a career-best performance from Dylan O’Brien.

Essentially “Men will literally do stand-up rather than go to therapy”, in cinematic form. An appealing tragicomedy-drama, told with veracity and heart by Cooper, Arnett and Dern.

Gnarly, gross and delightfully unconventional, this is exactly the kind of Sam Raimi film his fans have been waiting for, carried by a committed, no-holds-barred Rachel McAdams performance.

A profoundly affecting story of doomed love and lost time that boasts captivating performances from Mescal and O’Connor. Come for the boys, stay for the magic of storytelling through song.

It might lack the edge of Godard’s own movies but this courses with love for cinema, creativity, youth, Paris and ’60s cool. Film history is rarely this charming.

Cut it, print it. These are brutal executions, brilliantly executed. Director Park has said he wants No Other Choice to be his “masterpiece” and he may well have done it. Hopefully he won’t be jobless any time soon.

About as powerful as cinema gets. Its hybrid blend of documentary audio and devastating dramatisation is heart-wrenchingly, shatteringly effective.

A gripping, zig-zaggy potboiler, this is a crime thriller in the old-school tradition, with some enjoyable turns from Boston’s finest, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Just lovely. Tourette syndrome has not been afforded its cinematic dues, but what an affable, funny character to explore it with in John Davidson — and what a performance from Robert Aramayo.

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

A bold and tender story well told, and elevated by its personal nature. This is a strong debut from Gharoro-Akpojotor — she’s one to watch. 

A true original: an impressionistic portrait of a lost life, recreated in multiple forms with a gorgeous soundtrack. Odd, but unique.

Paying fitting tribute to a photography legend, this slice-of-life film is a delectable treat, with among the best marriages of the ordinary and the transcendent since Perfect Days. 

With strong performances in service to a clear, confident vision from Chloé Zhao, this is a wrenching contemplation of the “undiscovered country” of death and grief.

Ultimately, overlapping notions of family, cinema and healing are neatly tied up in an arresting and heartrendingly gentle finale that will leave an ache in your chest. Stripping dialogue and editing flourishes away, Sentimental Value’s final note is a showstopper.

In a bigger, busier and burlier Avatar, James Cameron once again displays his blockbuster mastery. Despite some repetitive moments, this is truly epic cinema, more than worth plugging into for three hours.

A strong directorial debut from Winslet with — as you’d expect — stellar performances from her cast. It might be the perfect antidote to other, overly saccharine Christmas films.

It may be a tad predictable, but Eternity skirts the trappings of its romcom tropes by elevating the love triangle to a riveting existential quandary.

Quentin Tarantino’s thrilling pastiche of Eastern and Western genre tropes returns to cinemas in the form of one massive magnum opus. It’s even better made whole.

Josh Safdie follows brother Benny’s The Smashing Machine with his own sports biopic, of sorts. This uncut gem dazzles, from its spotlit table-tennis contests to its dark portrait of American dreams.

Haunting, serenely composed and beautiful, this is an elegy for a life and a country that America used to be. 

Dreams and nightmares, innocence and experience, civilisation and nature… an elegiac horror/neo-noir debut that captures a snapshot of America’s lost soul. Director Joshua Erkman is one to watch.

Dusted with magic — and more than a little malevolence — this is one of those films you want sink into on a cold winter’s night.

Gothic, iconoclastic, engrossing, slyly excoriating of modern-day America and very funny to boot, it’s another solidly satisfying whodunnit from Benny B. Keep them coming, please.

Finnish him! Gore-soaked and unbelievably bloody, this will make you wince, gasp and cheer for the little guy. Another authoritarian regime is in for a bad day, and that’s a lovely thing to watch.

A surreal, endlessly creepy exploration of love and desire, with a terrific turn from Tatiana Maslany, makes for an exciting and unpredictable departure in Osgood Perkins’ oeuvre.

Well-paced, expertly performed, and an urgent call to stand up to fascism, Nuremberg is a powerful, sweeping story of the attempt to bring an unthinkable evil to justice.

Edgar Wright’s biggest film yet feels like something out of both the future and the 1980s: a scathing satire that’s also a lot of fizzy blockbuster fun.

Lynne Ramsay’s raw and animalistic character study proves to be the perfect vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence. She’s never been better as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

If you can get on board with the paradigm change, this is an amped-up rock-gig of a movie and the most fun Predator since the original.

Riveting, unhinged, and sardonic to its honey-soaked core, this is another Lanthimos-Stone winner. (With a great opening-title typeface, to boot.)

Tessa Thompson has never been better as the titular not-so-desperate housewife in Nia DaCosta’s bold, stylish reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s timeless play.

Carmen Emmi compellingly mines thriller tropes to capture the fraught experience of suppressed sexuality, but it's Lucas and Andrew’s heart-rending, beautifully performed love story that endures.

A powerful story about father and sons, told by a father and son. At once a showcase for a monumental talent, and the arrival of an exciting new one.

Lightning, camera, action… Frankenstein is brought to life in glorious, Gothic fashion by Guillermo del Toro’s painstaking artistry and Mike Hill’s elegant creature design. A big film with a huge beating heart.

A highly effective indie horror that overcomes the familiarity of its scares with the brilliantly executed novelty of its canine conceit.

Kathryn Bigelow is back with a bang. This is a bleak but adrenaline-pumping experience that’ll leave you shaken, and searching for the nearest bunker.

As a newly solo director, Safdie summons a thoughtful and moving mood for this unconventional sports film; as a newly serious dramatic actor, Johnson is about to win some awards.

In tackling homelessness with deep empathy, one of our most exciting young actors proves himself to be a bold new voice in British filmmaking. Leave some talent for the rest of us, Dickinson.

A trippy mix of horror, thriller and sports movie, Him is a very wild ride. A launching pad for its director and lead, and a shining moment for Wayans.

Derek Cianfrance delivers a hugely empathetic, very entertaining depiction of an extraordinary life, featuring one of Channing Tatum’s best performances. Expect laughs, tears, and noughties nostalgia.

Making full use of Cillian Murphy’s emotional range, Steve is a rallying, railing portrayal of a broken education system — and contemporary cinema’s worthy answer to Dead Poets Society.

In years to come, when this appears on TV late at night, it’ll be impossible to switch off. It’s just one of those films. A stone-cold, instant classic.

The first of two King-as-Bachman 2025 thrillers featuring a deadly reality show in a dystopian future. Edgar Wright’s The Running Man will need to bust a lung to keep up.

An animated film showing you “how it’s done, done, done” — as HUNTR/X would put it — this is a stunning musical treat, a joy for all ages. Now warm up the vocal cords and bring on the sequel.

A heck of a debut from first-timer Shawn Simmons, and another powerful argument for A-list status for Samara Weaving. Bring on the sequel, which is obliged to be titled Miny Moe. 

Denzel Washington’s unshakeable gravitas anchors a dazzling, jazzy riff on the crime drama that somehow feels wildly uplifting for all its grit.

Part end-of-the-world drama, part musical, part coming-of-age ghost story, The Life Of Chuck won’t please everyone. But, if you open yourself to its brazen sincerity, you might just shed a life-affirming tear or two.

An audacious, farcically funny digest of where we are now, and how we got here: the cinematic equivalent of pandemic primal therapy, a mad scream into the void.

Less a black comedy than an indispensable reinvention of the so-called trauma plot, this grounded post-MeToo story is navigated with a light sprinkling of humour and the utmost grace.

A modern love story with a dash of Cronenberg for good measure — a brutal portrait of messy, intense long-term love. Warts, blood, bones and all.

A hugely accomplished horror achievement, and a significant step up from Barbarian: tense, sad, hilarious, unsettling, ridiculously entertaining, and ultimately oddly uplifting.

The result is a film that has a better chance of producing a belly laugh than any in recent memory: one that deserves, as Drebin would say, “20 years for man’s laughter”.

With an exemplary cast and shiny new alt-universe to enjoy, this is the best Fantastic Four yet. And if that bar’s too low for you, then it’s also the best Marvel movie in years.

A big hand to the Talk To Me directors for navigating the filmic equivalent of that difficult second album. An accomplished and disturbing work, with Sally Hawkins on startling form.

This zany debut dials up the cringe comedy to its most excruciating extremes — and it’s a riot. Andrew DeYoung and Tim Robinson are a match made in heaven.

The Shrouds certainly fits neatly into Cronenberg’s filmography but stands apart as his most intimate work. It’s a hypnotic descent into the darkness of grief, punctuated by perverse Cronenbergian pleasures.

A really good, dumb comedy can be a joyous thing, and this is a really good, dumb comedy.

M3GAN 2.0 is more absurd, self-aware silliness: a riot of timely tech paranoia, with almost no horror but a ton of successful comedy. Slay, queen!