Apples is an offbeat treat that manages to embrace ironic distance and emotional weight through a prism of perfectly judged absurdism.

Strong performances and meticulous direction make this consistently disconcerting, but the subplot distracts from the moving human drama.

Beautifully performed and tough as nails, Vinterberg's social drama could not be any more timely.

There's more than a nod to King Hu's Touch Of Zen as Zhangke unleashes a four-fisted chunk of ultraviolent fury. Tarantino would approve.

Coppola’s most traditional film to date is a heightened, darkly comic, sexually tense drama that flips the male gaze, to show what happens when a man, for once, gets caught in the crosshairs of desire.

Meadows in a minor key but still a major delight; his improvised feel, sparky comedy and interest in the truth of youth services a story that’s both winning and winsome.

The sight of Brynner walking indestructibly toward the camera, all in black, his eyes cold and unerring like a couple of silver bullets, is as haunting as any screen bogeyman.

A terrific, sophisticated comedy that tackles serious issues with a lightness of touch and a spirit of steel, Philomena is the British film to beat come BAFTA time.

Sweetening up a smidgen without chilling out, this is Miike having fun, bombarding us with squirm-inducing violence while making us laugh and — ever so slightly — tugging on the heartstrings.

Challengingly spellbinding.

Suffused with the pessimism of Taxi Driver, Blue Collar is one of the most brutally honest films to have come out of 70s Hollywood.

Grizzled Texan Tommy Lee Jones has made an exceptionally moving, surprisingly funny, often beautiful film, packed with unforgettable moments and note-perfect performances.

A gruelling, nightmarish, ferociously vivid riot epic that recreates one of the darkest chapters in American history. Unflinching, unmissable and terrifyingly pertinent.

A welcome antidote to anodyne Hollywood cartooning.

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.

When it comes to playing a properly magnetic anti-hero with a gruff ’70s-cinema exterior and a dark reservoir of inner depth, Jackman really is the best at what he does.

The sequel we needed is both the film you expect, and the one you don’t. There’s blood, but also real guts and brain and heart — visceral cinema soaked in viscera.

Close gives a performance that demands the Oscar voters consider her for a seventh time, and with Pryce matching her barb for barb, this is a heavyweight piece of theatre that grips whenever they’re on screen.

At times terrifying and too tough for tinies, this is nevertheless a triumphant sequel that puts its faith in Hiccup and Toothless to find a way through dark times for man and dragon. Until we all get our own dragon to go flying with, the result is a story sufficiently thrilling to have us all airborne.

As is the norm with the best of Leigh, Career Girls is a masterly observation of the foibles of the human condition, rendered with an incisive bite and delivered with boisterous wit.

Once again Audiard articulates big themes within a mosaic of everyday struggles. A painful yet rewarding tale of social strife and uplifting resilience.

Sincere and sporadically funny, The Disaster Artist is an endearing tribute to failing in Hollywood. Anyway, how is your sex life?

As Cunningham goes about his work chronicling changes in fashion and the city he loves, a portrait emerges of a man deserving of ever bit of the respect and esteem in which he's held. There's few sharp edges or dirt digging, but it's no less engaging for that.

What makes Freddy truly terrifying, and an inspired invention on Craven's part, is that he exists not in the real world but in the shadowy realm of dreams.

A vibrant and vivid documentary masterwork, DiG! will have you celebrating independent filmmaking while lamenting the state of independent music-making.

Having the mordant wit and tonal confidence to parlay The Troubles into a punchline, Kneecap has laughs, smarts and verve to spare. Get on board or, as the characters put it, fuck up.

Gorgeous and seductive, if pitched at Almodóvar fans and perhaps a touch long. Those drawn by Cruz’s divadom will wonder why it takes so long to get to her -- though she is wholly dazzling when it does.

At times puzzling due to the diverse panorama of subject matter, the film nevertheless corners touchy issues more than it flinches them.

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 perfectly cast comedy of manners that couches complex emotional questions in joyous farce and continues Gerwig’s reign as the undisputed Queen Of Quirk.

Smart, sassy and sweet. This showed John Cusack's promise as a romantic lead, and some.

There are familiar moments in Vera Brittain’s stirring story, though the Kent's craft and Vikander’s exquisite talent will ensure that the author’s memories live in the minds of a fresh generation...

Now practically an exile from his homeland, Kiarostami follows Certified Copy with another film-literate relationship drama with the enigmatic overtones of Hitchcock.

Alex Cox’s retelling of the Sex Pistols’ story from the point of view of Sid (Gary Oldman) and girlfriend Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) works as both spirited punk biopic and tragically touching love story. It’s a hard film to watch at times, as Vicious plunges deeper into his heroin-induced slump, but told with skill and compassion, which make up for the onscreen squalor.

This intelligently scripted and imposingly played costume noir revisits the conventions of Victorian melodrama to comment on modern attitudes to oppression, prejudice and morality.

It's certainly a Spike Lee film, but no Spike Lee Joint. Still, he's delivered a pacy, vigorous and frequently masterful take on a well-worn genre.

A delightful blend of hand-drawn animation and CG style that'll be soul food for hopeless romantics everywhere.

As much as Guardians largely thrives through its lovably scuzzy style, it cannot avoid the immense tractor-beam pull of The Big Marvel Studios Final Act.

John Frankenheimer, during his decade as one of the screen's most innovative and exciting directors, tells a difficult story with imagination and compassion.

For all the flying fists and the hero’s nightmarish predicament, the notions of redemption examined here are plenty deep. Add that to the bone-crunchingly effective technique and flawless lead performance, and you have yourself something very rare: a testosterone-driven narrative that’s about nurturing, rather than destruction. And one that achieves a bleeding-knuckled profundity.

The joy comes not from the will-they-won't-they romance between the two leads, but from the sharply written humour from the pen of writer Nora Ephron.

A brilliant Vicky Krieps performance, ample surprises and a series of playful anachronisms elevate Marie Kreutzer’s period drama about a 19th century Empress above the ordinary. That, and a fine soundtrack to boot.

If Miike's re-tune of Masaki Kobayashi's bleak samurai tale is a surprisingly subdued affair, aficionados will still find enough sword-based shenanigans to keep them engrossed.

Compelling performances and beautifully told heroics but the pacing is flawed in terms of a thrilling cinematic experience.

The film not only lives up to its "Increase The Peace" subtitle but by refusing to overtly moralise puts its concerns across with astonishing impact.

A beguiling and beautiful film about a total toerag, Red Rocket is a unique character study: Mikey Saber will charm your socks off, and you’ll hate him for it.

There's no question it's stunningly mounted, and Wasikowska makes a much stronger Jane than Alice, but the romance is overripe and the climax underdone.

Part fairy tale/creature feature/domestic melodrama, this adds up to far more than a ‘one boy and his monster’ story — and is a tougher emotional journey as a result.

Anchored by a superb Gemma Arterton, Their Finest is a funny, winning, beautifully acted ode to working women and cinema.

Ramin Bahrani offers a kinetic and textured satirical commentary on caste friction in modern India with Adarsh Gourav serving up an immensely watchable leading performance.

Demanding, even confusing at times, this is required viewing that requires your full attention.

The entire cast is superb and it so perfectly paced, that the story unfolds with wit, pathos and sensitivity and completely free of emotional shortcuts.

There’s amazing beauty to be found in Naoko Yamada’s aural odyssey – even when a film about matters of the heart gets a little caught up in its own head.

Fascinating history, very good movie -- but demanding, and its lack of easy answers will frustrate some. Lessons about 21st century terrorism are implicit, but not overly stressed.

Ardent, accomplished, overwhelmingly emotional, with something to say and a dream cast saying it in song. Bravo.

Another stunning adaptation of the classic anti-war novel: epic and horrific, in equal doses. War has rarely felt this wretchedly, desperately pointless.

Definitely a Disney classic but misses out much of the darker side of J.M.Barrie's fantasy tale.

Boasting one of the most iconic characters ever in Plissken, and an effective sci-fi set-up, this is entertainment of the highest order.

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.

Some plot developments are more convincing than others, but it’s still a compelling drama with an impressive turn from Garfield as well as Shannon and Dern as Garfield’s concerned mother.

As far as documentaries go, this doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but its emotional account of Reeve’s life is a fitting tribute to a true superhuman.

A fiery condemnation of the police state and government overreach, this is both timely and timeless. Sorkin and a superb cast make legal proceedings compelling, and then show that the law is an ass.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest film is a chilly and mystifying expression of a modern malevolence which hangs over our lives — like a cloud, if you will — worsened by constant digital connection.

A love story, but not in the way you think. Carney’s latest ballad to the musical arts stays in tune, with a stand-out central performance from Hewson.

Although its politics may be shaky, this comedy still works thank to the charm of Kline and an excellent supporting cast. But it's more likely to provide warm, fuzzy smiles than belly laughs.

It sets some sort of record for use of the expressions "nigga" and "muthafucka".

Inventive and lyrical, A Very Long Engagement is a joyous contradiction in terms: a war-torn romantic comedy.

A triumph for Scorsese and a document for the band, Shine A Light is a five-star experience for Stones fans. For those less enamoured with the ageing rockers, it goes a long way to explaining their longevity.

A fun and frothy mock-doc with a message buried in its axle.

Serra’s sad, stately, haunting addition to the slow-cinema genre doubles up as both an intimate study of the Sun King’s death and a requiem for Europe’s fading arthouse scene.

A motorsports movie you don’t need to be a petrolhead to enjoy. Rev up those whiteknuckle thrillride clichés, you're going to need them.

It's a credit to Hákonarson's poised execution of his own bare-bones script that both worst- and best- case scenarios seem possible once Inga finds allies in the community.

Firmly establishing Aaron Pierre’s credentials as a thinking man’s Rambo, Rebel Ridge might not be particularly groundbreaking, but this Netflix-and-kill thriller is an undeniably fun night in.

Truly classic film-making.

A real treat for fans of Ali and music alike.

An interesting first effort from Nichols - making him a director to look out for in the future.

A surprisingly good and compelling film, that is made by its two leads.

A devilishly funny documentary that blends improbable imagery, self-awareness and religious provocation with a genuine sense of political purpose.

As with a number of arthouse films, the ending leaves something to be desired. But, courtesy of its meticulously mundane digital imagery, this is a film of precise details that sketches an outline of existence and then leaves it to the audience to draw their own conclusions.

Bravo stylishly delivers a dreamlike odyssey with slick, character-driven performances full of conviction, but that courage dissipates by the final act with nary enough steam to power a satisfying ending for its eponymous hero.

Alex Gibney adds to his forensic examinations of Enron and Abu Ghraib with another fine documentary. Undeterred by grey areas or the hostility of his subject, the filmmaker tackles one of the stories of our times with dynamism and smarts.

Tense, stressful and savagely staged, this is a scarily good debut from YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou. Be sure to hold someone’s hand while watching.

Nichols mounts impressive visual effects and frantic bursts of action.... But the film’s strength is in its humanity rather than its super-humanity.

While it can be a lot to take in, Occupied City is a poignant sociological portrait. Through the history of one space, it studies how fascism pushes people out of spaces  — but is also hopeful on resilience, solidarity and resistance.

A languid, quietly moving love triangle.

With each subplot reinforcing the simmering sense of unease, this compelling recreation of a pernicious period soberingly exposes the ease with which morality can become a casualty of human nature.

Sounds rather soapy and melodramatic, but director Susanne Bier, assisted by an able cast, ensures the traumas are painfully realistic and subtly observed.

Handsome, engrossing, frequently very funny for a literary bio drama, and ultimately deeply moving, with pitch-perfect performances from one and all.

Mainstream audiences may find this too oddball to appreciate as a straight thriller. But tune into its strange frequency and there is much to enjoy — perhaps even adore.

Chock-full of terrific performances, Margin Call is the kind of gripping, grown-up film that these days is usually found on the small screen.

This charmingly odd tribute to Sorrentino’s formative years is slighter than it possibly deserves to be, but when it’s this handsome, who cares? Will have you absolutely salivating for Italy.

Ultimately, this has the feel of a lazy literary adaptation of a half-remembered novel.

Superb star turn from Maria Alexandra Lungi but this doesn’t grip as it might.

As Diana, Gadot is excellent, a rocking electric cello riff in human form.

Showing how paradise can be hell, this audiovisual treat is spiritedly played by its leads and bristles with a brooding menace that can't quite disguise the story's essentially melodramatic nature.