Charming and uplifting.

Get Duked channels both Trainspotting and Deliverance to create a scattershot shotgun-blast of gags, gore and bedlam. Winningly performed by its young cast, it’s a (laminated) calling card for director Ninian Doff.

A grimly funny social allegory that doesn't pull a single punch.

A strange foreboding of what was to come from the Hitch.

Chucky's smartest, sharpest outing yet.

With great performances across the board and a socially relevant story, Mudbound will resonate long after the credits roll.

Ten Canoes is a rare and valuable movie, providing fascinating insight into another culture without pandering or being stuffy. Seek it out -- swim if you have to.

Trying too hard and generally too trying. Seek out Howard Hawke's Bringing up Baby instead and be done with it.

If it had lived up to its golden first five minutes, Up would have been the film of the decade. As it is, it remains the best animated flick of 2009, a funny, moving, beautifully made argument that dreamers can move mountains.

While it's all grand opera, and driven by sweeping gestures and pompous, overwritten dialogue, it is prone to plain silliness - especially in granting us the big showdown at the close. But the sheer dynamism of the action, coupled with Hans Zimmer's lavish score and the forcefield of Crowe, still makes this a fiercesome competitor in the summer movie stakes.

A sometimes shocking, often moving journey through a blood-stained corner of the past. Like Costa Gavras's "Missing" through the eyes of an everyday Chilean.

Rose Plays Julie is impactful and unsettling, heightened by slippery performances and enigmatic visual construction.

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

Late director Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter) beautifully captures her personality and her passion for creativity.

A devastating, urgent reminder that art can be dangerous and important and political and powerful — especially in ten-inch heels.

A very neatly plotted blend of elaborate heist and twisting thriller, peppered with amusing gags and smart one-liners for its top class ensemble.

A coming-of-age story like no other, Lady Bird is smart, emotional, funny and completely original. Rarely has a directorial debut been so assured, so singular and so heartwarmingly affecting.

Mad About The Boy is a heartfelt, charming return to the chaos surrounding the one and only Bridget Jones. You might even shed a few tears.

Wang never loses the pieces, directing with clarity, force and evident affection, building a multi-plotted, multi-layered collection of intimate individual stories into a sweeping, emotional mosaic of life. Wonderful.

Slow-paced and self-indulgent in places but a bravely intense use of camera work to explore the internal psychology of the characters.

It's not as poetic as My Darling Clementine or as historically accurate as Sturges' sequel-remake, Hour Of The Gun, but it is a wonderful evocation of the brassy Westerns of the 50s, when Burt and Kirk demonstrated more machismo than a whole posse of Arnies or Slys.

Turn off the snark-o-meter, and this is a return to form for Marvel, introducing a new hero we'll be happy to see again in, oh, about a year or so.

It gives artistic types an easy ride but it’s a feast of rich writing and great acting. And if you’ve only ever seen Kristen Stewart in Twilight movies, she is in a different class here.

Part political drama, part history lesson, part gripping spy thriller, Coup 53 gives what has been relegated to a small footnote in Iran’s story the big, expansive, dramatic treatment it deserves.

Cute, comical kids help make this ballroom dancing comp-romp a feelgood winner despite inexpert editing.

While Michael Pearce’s second feature may not deliver quite the same wallop as his debut feature Beast, it demonstrates the same mastery of filmmaking craft and another incredible performance from Riz Ahmed.

Hitch's remake of his own film results in an equally compelling action thriller with sterling performances from Stewart and Day.

A minor-key coming-of-age triumph that manages to simultaneously be relatable and wildly distinctive. Will almost certainly have lapsed, adult skateboarders (unwisely) dusting down their decks.

Angry, impassionate filmmaking that demands - and deserves - serious answers.

This doesn't have the high style that made Taxi Driver or American Gigolo instant cultural icons - although Schrader shows more than a few traces of Scorsese as his camera creeps- perhaps because it's concerned with a chilly 90s that looks back with a sort of nostalgia on the cocaine-fuelled craziness of earlier years. But it does develop powerfully the themes of Schrader's earlier work and will not disappoint his fans.

If ever there was a movie equivalent to the one-night stand this is it - not necessarily something you'll remember next day but fast, furious and damn good fun while it lasts.

Lewis Gilbert, and two career best performances from his leading actors, give this film such energy it leaves the pleasant aroma of life and possibility.

The Lost Boys remains a supremely watchable example of something the '80s did right.

A witty, warm exploration of family life that's conventional and unconventional in equal measure.

This Cannes favourite regards Egypt’s recent political uprisings from a fascinating new angle. A minor masterpiece of claustrophobia and expertly managed tension.

Like “The Lord Of The Rings,” The Lovely Bones does a fantastic job with revered, complex source material. As terrific on terra firma as it is audacious in its astral plane, it is doubtful we’ll see a more imaginative, courageous film in 2010.

Unarguably one of the great war movies of all time.

Also known as The Liver Eaters (although no livers are eaten only a rabbit that may have been a cat) and Cannibal Orgy (though there are no orgies), the long-delayed Spider Baby is definitely one to file under weird and wonderful.

Yes, it's beautiful, and yes, it's classic. But it's also got rather a bland pair of lead characters. That said, it's still enjoyable family entertainment, and shall remain forever so.

Witty, absurd and far more entertaining than it has any right to be, this could finally shed light on the financial crisis for those of us who found it all too boring to contemplate.

Winning WW II story of british pluck that manages to side-step the propaganda trap.

More "Moonlight" than "Twilight," The Transfiguration is a defining vampire film of the mid-2010s. An acutely observed study of social/emotional deprivation, but also a gripping, disturbing horror movie. And, yes, it’s ‘realistic’.

It sounds like a downer but A Single Man is exciting, emotionally alive filmmaking, a potent cocktail of style and substance. And Firth thoroughly deserves the Oscar.

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. 

Simple, but effective.

An impressive filmmaking debut from actor-turned-director Rebecca Hall which largely avoids cliché or soapboxing about race, featuring two excellent performances from Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.

Oh alright, it ain't "Shane." But it is about as much shamelessly disreputable, stylish, ultra-violent fun you're going to have at the movies this year.

In this haunting social lament Mati Diop pulls off shifts from social realism to genre mysticism with a poise as supernatural as the force that overtakes her young lovers.

The unfamiliar young cast all show a lot of potential in a well-thought-through, sting- in-the-tail plot. It’s a well-assembled genre movie rather than a great statement, but none the worse for it.

A very different take on female friendship than Bridesmaids, this has future cult favourite written all over it. As bright and breezy as a pair of pastel culottes.

An incredibly tense, tightly contained bottle horror, showcasing a genuinely chilling turn from Hugh Grant. You’ll never watch Notting Hill the same way again.

Thoroughly charming, and thoroughly deserving of its cult status.

A richly nuanced American comedy, with two acting talents working at their absolute peak.

Come for the near-endless rows that convincingly carry the venom of a collapsed, resentful marriage; stay for the extended critique of Russia’s contemporary spiritual vacancy.

At two hours, things get flabby around the rock-opera era, but the film fizzes and clatters with anecdotes.

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.

Not for the faint-hearted — and even the tough-hearted might struggle in a few places. But this uncompromising, unflinching meditation on violence should be seen as widely as possible.

A finely-acted, sensitively-written tale.

A time capsule now of all that was considered controversial and gutsy in 1966.

Alfre Woodard gives an unforgettably moving performance in Chinonye Chukwu’s slow-burning, perfectly observed drama about the repercussions of state-sanctioned violence, in which the stakes could hardly be higher.

Roger Moore’s third outing as Bond is undoubtedly his best.

Never reaching the heights of Malick’s ’70s heyday (what does?), Song To Song represents some kind of return to form following Knight Of Cups. It won’t convert the unconvinced, but it is beautiful, melancholic, audacious and well-played, a refinement rather than reinvention of a singular filmmaker.

A return to fun, and a return to form for the new version of the old Trek. The 13th Trek movie is also the second good odd-numbered instalment in a row. Lucky for some.

Walter F. Parkes and Lawrence Lasker's script is tight, and Badham directs the whole thing with economy and pace but it's Matthew Broderick's film.

The Godfather Part II of on-the-farm slasher-movie prequels, this is an American gothic shocker with a lot to say — and an awards-worthy lead performance from Mia Goth.

Easily the third-best Terminator film, which is more of a compliment than it sounds. It’s great to have Hamilton back in this role, but she’s ably matched by Reyes and Davis.

A stylish, laugh-out-loud blast that has something to say but doesn’t sacrifice enjoyment to do so, anchored by a trio of great performances. Quite the debut for Juel Taylor.

Unbearably tense and thematically rich, this feels like an entirely fresh take on a 123-year-old story.

Unexpectedly raucous comedy which trades off a few laughs for an interesting religious spin. Jordan can thank his lucky stars, but give himself a massive, stubborn pat on the back while he's at it.

Thanks to Rushdie's sensitive handling of his own material, this is an adaptation big in both ideas and heart.

As jolly as Tigger, as sweet as honey and as undemanding as a balloon ride, this will delight the wee'uns and put a smile on the face of animation fans of all ages.

Even if it hits well-worn beats, Come As You Are still shines a light on the oft-ignored sexual wants and needs of the disabled community, with humour, empathy and poignancy.

A highly enjoyable glance at Gotham's veteran haute couturists.

Ritchie's colour-desaturated style, use of unusual background music, scattershot slang (some subtitled) and mostly tasteful black comedy give the whole film the feel of an altered state of perception.

Hilarious in places, hideous in others, this struggles to make its philosophical case. But the performances are exceptional and the conceit could not be more daring or distinctive.

Smart and stupid in equal measure, this is a palate cleanser after the doom and gloom of Justice League. The Titans could make you fall back in love with the entire DC Universe.

Don’t Look Up takes the pulse of contemporary life and finds it crazy, scary and, most of all, funny. It doesn’t all land but enough does to make it a sharp, bold, star-studded treat.

Inevitably, there is a tacked-on quality here, yet Cousins’ flair for providing visual pleasure means that, like that first champagne cocktail of the night, The Next Generation bubbles with sparkling uplift.

A smart riposte to the ’hood drama stereotype. Dope is funny, stylish and mostly exuberant fun.

Bewildering in all the right ways, this is a poetic, sublime interpretation of a sorry story. An evocative, emotional experience, it pits humanity against inhumanity, resulting in something refreshingly new.

It might also be the case that the film is more taken by emotions, beauty and passing fancies than plot and character.

Grown-up but not too serious; action-packed but not juvenile… Not only is this the mullet-free Robin Hood movie we’ve been waiting decades for, it’s also Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe at their most entertaining since Gladiator.

This impressionist Western won't be everyone's slug of bourbon but it's a slow burn that will richly reward the patient.

The quintessential Lynch. Prepare to be confused/intrigued/frustrated/disturbed/hooked.

Ridiculously charming, immensely funny, and shot with an unusual zestiness, Rye Lane is purely joyful company — and a shot in the arm for future romantic comedies.

With a brilliantly unhinged performance from Alyssa Sutherland, and a note-perfect ending that unlocks more tales to come, Evil Dead Rise revives the dormant franchise more effectively than the ‘Necronomicon’ itself.

Six years after "Little Miss Sunshine," Dayton and Faris deliver a comedy that sparkles with wit and substance. But from the script to her portrayal of the title character, Ruby Sparks belongs to Zoe Kazan, who joins the likes of Sarah Polley and Brit Marling in the rarified ranks of actress/screenwriter double-threats.

A witty, stylish and imaginative variation on the vampire movie.

A work of beautiful rage.

Those who predicted this wouldn’t hold a talking candle to the animated original will be pleasantly surprised. The tale may be as old as time, but it’s retold with freshness, brio and flair.

Powerful and mesmerising, this offers an fresh approach to a tough topic.

A welcome return to live-action filmmaking for Zemeckis, who hasn't lost his knack for a brilliant shot or for extracting great performances. It may not exactly be a first-class experience throughout, but there's nothing wrong with premium economy.

Campion's grasp of her material is intellectually and emotionally assured, while Fox's extraordinary performance demonstrates an honesty, courage and power that's rarely attempted, let alone achieved.

This imaginative and intriguing Anime deserves all the plaudits heaped upon it.

A hauntingly beautiful film.

Inventive suspense, spiky characters, outrageous horror and wicked satire. Welcome back, George - you've been away too long.

Ambitiously constructed, deeply compelling, thrilling and in no way only for those who like watching cars drive in circles. A worthy paean to a true talent.

This is an infectious musical story of rise-and-fall.