Marlene Dietrich tries not to give anything away as usual while Agatha Christie's whodunit plot whirs tidily about her expressionless beauty.

Perfectly played, simultaneously serious and light, endlessly inventive, this is a strong contender for the most original date movie of the year. (Terrific) stuff.

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

A frank look at 21st century mores, this succeeds in saying new things about anxieties as old as the human race.

Though it doesn’t ever make you really feel, Spencer is a bold, compassionate, poetic riposte to standard royal biopics. It 
also confirms Kristen Stewart as one of the most exciting actors working today.

The cast are terrific, but byt he end, the film is struggling to stay together as much as the family it depicts.

DiCaprio's raw performance helps elevate what could have been just another man-versus-nature drama.

A sportsman biopic that concentrates more on the man than the sport, this offers food for thought for those who can stand the languorous pace.

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 deeply human and often brutally honest depiction of trauma and recovery, anchored by three superb performances — though it often falls victim to formula.

Compelling and excellently acted, September 5 is a shining study of journalistic integrity, even if it skips some of the bigger and more important questions raised by the event it documents.

The twist-filled storyline, which digs up nasty secrets all over the show and offers a satisfying range of suspicious suspects and a truly disgusting killer, remains gripping, and the excellent, understated lead performances don't harp on the racial angle in that embarassing fashion which makes so many Socialy Significant films instantly dated.

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

Arguably Harrison Ford’s finest performance, and one of the strongest thrillers to emerge from the heady gloss of the ‘80s, this is director Peter Weir at his most adept.

As a satire on the seduction by media and our infatuation with celebrity, it's hardly "The Truman Show," but Garrone’s Gomorrah follow-up is wry and witty. Plenty of fun.

Inna De Yard, while not always incisive, is soulful and uplifting in its exploration of the hearts behind the music Webber clearly loves — a feeling compounded by its charming subjects.

As stirring and heart-warming as you’d like, this is a hugely touching family opus. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s straight from the heart and gets you in the gut.

Part psychological horror, part erotic thriller, with none of the conventions of a biopic, Shirley will keep you enthralled (and guessing) until the very last second.

A difficult film and one that's likely to offend in some ways. But as an elliptical, dream-logic infused visual poem, it certainly leaves a searing impression.

The tone is pseudo-Sopranos at times, but the oppressive ambience is grippingly sustained.

Thrillingly capturing both time and place and fizzing with non-judgemental empathy and cinematic flair, this is a magnificent debut that catapults Laetitia Dosch into the front rank of French actresses.

There are effective moments, a dime clutching tot watching an ice cream van plough gently into a garden wall after its driver has a heart attack, gives a stylish laugh, but at the end of the day perhaps a trip to the bar will be more fun.

Wildland is an original, a compelling gangster film unusually driven by women and told in stark, measured strokes. A unique calling card for director Jeanette Nordahl.

Here it is at long last: a truly great vampire comedy. And also the funniest horror film to come out of New Zealand since Braindead.

Abrams’ you-didn’t-see-this-coming announcement was an effective piece of theatre, which the film itself ably lives up to. A thriller that winds you tighter and tighter before its secrets come tumbling out in a cathartic finale.

A witty and likeable horror-comedy that manages to put a stake to the heart of some real issues while it tickles your ribs.

A compelling look at the tragic and bizarre life of an enigmatic champion.

Despite a top-notch cast performing well, and bravely in the case of Knightley, this is an austere, somewhat repressed movie. It never really gets under the skin in the way Cronenberg does at his best.

From its baddie-eviscerating opening sequence through innumerable car chases, shoot outs and tongue-in-cheek dialogue exchanges, this is exactly the kind of film that James Cameron would make if they ever let him through the Disney front gates.

Kidman, in particular, hasn't been this good since "To Die For" and maybe not even then.

An entertaining romp through familiar cop-and-crim cat-and-mousery, bolstered by strong star turns from Washington and Crowe. Still, it has neither the intelligence nor the grip to jump from the merely good to the truly great.

A bold, intelligent, 21st century take on Mark Twain — with added occult tendencies.

Sharp, dark, satirical and bone-rattlingly thrilling, with a career-peak turn from Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s this year’s "Drive."

Moving and musical, this is a striking portrait of courage and creativity in the face of some horrific odds chucked at you by life’s lottery.

Truly delightful. Wes Anderson leans into his trademark eccentricities for a trip to the desert that won’t win any converts but will keep the Anderson faithful content.

The small screen doesn't quite do justice to the rich visuals but with an incredible story and fine performances, it is still a compulsive and moving epic.

Tense and tightly plotted, How To Blow Up A Pipeline is existentially terrifying but not nihilistic. It’s an exciting, humanist eco-thriller that figures there’s still time to take action — but only so much.

Defying rote heroics and sidestepping those solemn Frodoisms lurking in the role, Lawrence seeks out the complex, human and earthy in Katniss, still the beating heart and total triumph of these movies.

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.

Violent and sometimes shocking, this is nevertheless superbly acted, brilliantly shot piece.

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.

Sharply written, beautifully shot, but confusingly paced, Paris, 13th District is an enjoyable if forgettable snapshot of modern love and relationships.

A cracking conspiracy thriller that's well-cast, slyly satirical and -- as a solid, glossy, contemporised remix of a classic -- rings enough creepy changes to surprise.

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.

Like a lot of human relationships Greenberg is complicated, infuriating, good-hearted, funny, often painful, and well worth the effort. A sad little movie but also a great one, lit by two astonishing central performances.

A mighty accomplishment, and possibly the bravest Britflick yet made.

It's a more dynamic adventure than Potter IV but lacks the majesty and richness of LOTR. Still, it's an enjoyable adaptation and good enough for us to welcome this new franchise.

While The Godfather delivers certainty and a comforting dramatic resolution, Once Upon A Time In America delivers a profound kind of mystery. While Coppola's film delivers answers, Leone's asks questions. It lingers and plays on the mind; its meanings shift and change like a faded memory or a half-remembered dream.

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.

Vibrant visuals, a stack of stellar songs, and a story with real heart make for another Disney banger. Sixty films in, the Mouse House still has that magic.

An uncliched teen movie that features terrific performances from a young cast.

Noah Baumbach’s great run continues. Sharp, fast and witty, it’s old school screwball comedy with a cool modern twist. And Greta Gerwig is a bona fide genius.

A certain percentage of the audience will instantly sieze on this as their favorite movie of all time, and a small, but not insignificant demographic will have nightmares. Verbinski and Depp probably like it that way.

With so many films adapted from novels, it's nice to see cinema paying homage to unheralded greats of literature like Sebald. While this one often struggles to do justice to his sense of grandeur and poetry, it'll be manna for fans of the German's work.

Telling an age-old story in a singularly original way, Border is a compelling, sometimes excruciating fairy tale for our times — with a bizarre sex scene to rival Team America’s.

A compassionate and tenderly performed love story, with a musical current coursing through it. British cinema is lucky to have Clio Barnard.

An entertaining thriller that also functions as a character study with a dark side, Emily The Criminal is above all else a spectacular argument for casting Aubrey Plaza in as many off-beat and well-written indie movies as she has the time and inclination to appear in.

Dreams of rock stardom become a warped reality in this barking-mad but affecting comedy about the side-effects of being a non-conformist genius.

The execution could be improved, but the sheer zip of the real life story just about carries this wartime tale along.

There's plenty here to show why director Daniel Espinosa caught Hollywood's eye, even if this pre-Safe House crime drama holds few surprises.

For once, a great remake, smartly executed. Great performances and a killing ending that will stay with you forever can't hurt, either.

Small-scale and slow, The Kindergarten Teacher works best as a showcase for the brilliance of Maggie Gyllenhaal. Adding another complex character to her resume, it’s another reminder she is among the best actors working today.

Humerous, but doesn't gel as well as Levinson's previous efforts.

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”.

Pollack does right to put his faith in one man and a whole lot of mountains. The result is impressive.

A decidedly grown-up thriller boasting several compelling performances, The Order is as tense and visceral as it is timely.

With two astonishing child performances, Capernaum is a real heart-breaker. It can make Ken Loach look happy-go-lucky but it’s a gripping, sympathetic cry for the dispossessed.

This was the film which fixed Wayne's image forever as a tough-as-leather patriot with a well-hidden heart.

Rough around the edges and too ambiguous for some tastes, this is grim but clever, insidiously creepy and affecting. And in Olsen and Durkin, it marks the arrival of two exciting talents to watch. It still should be called Mental Sex Cult.

Sickles and Santini’s documentary is intimate, unvarnished and hugely touching, finding universal truths in its two subjects’ unconventional romance.

This is a sexually frank and arrestingly tender perspective of a young man in freefall. It occasionally leans too far into the horrors of street prostitution, but it’s mostly an open-minded view of its shiftless main character.

Almodóvar lets rip with a story of great emotional intensity, while retaining his signature stunning visual style and a central performance quite unlike anything previously seen in his work. A potent and strikingly well-delivered combination.

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

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 "Ferris Bueller" with an existential crisis. Very funny and very weird.

Shades of Pinter and Beckett are affectionately retouched with dark humour, dynamic wordplay and a tension all Kubrick's.

The oddest thing of all about The Wolf Of Wall Street is also the most unusual for a Scorsese film: it is incredibly, incredibly funny.

With its singular design and two-hour runtime, this isn’t aimed at casual moviegoers. But for film buffs and Hitchcock fans, it’s a refreshing, essential alternative to the usual fodder.

It's hard not to be seduced by this folky yarn.

The Two Popes shouldn’t work, a two-handed conversation about Vatican minutiae. But with great writing, smart direction and late career-high performances from Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, it’s a high-end treat. Send up the white smoke, we have a winner.

A stomping good documentary.

There are a few holes in the plot, mainly towards the end, but from start to harrowing finish, it is blissfully apparent that Rob Reiner can indeed turn his hand to virtually anything.

Funny, agreeable and thoroughly enjoyable, if a little bit too neat and fortuitous in sorting out its entangled strands.

Bit of a mediocre drama from writer-director Assayas despite some good turns, not least from Nick Nolte and Beatrice Dalle.

Occasional misgivings about Streep's accent aside the powerful performances and sharp script augment this revealing human drama.

Crucial for serious fans of Lynch, even if it may baffle newcomers. Since pretty much the only thing more interesting to lovers of his work is the enigmatic man behind it, there’s a lot for them to get their teeth into here.

In this almost perfect screen adaptation, the lingering question is the most important one: what caused such madness?

The French Dispatch is a designed-to-within-an-inch-of its-life delight. If it lacks a compelling story, only one filmmaker could have made this film. And, in these cookie-cutter-director days, it’s a vision to be cherished.

A light and lively showcase for a very under-rated double act, Road To Morocco was also unusual for its time in constantly drawing attention to itself as a movie.

Finally, a female ensemble comedy that balances realistic characters with smart laughs and side-splitting farce. Not everything works, but there's more than enough here to keep you chuckling - not to mention baying for a sequel.

A funny, filthy, iconoclastic riot. Paul Verhoeven’s latest erotic satire won’t be for all creeds, but it is bursting with enough ideas that even doubters can find something to believe in here.

One for lovers of ravishing craft, although the elusive emotional engagement is frustrating.

Sharply observed but tenderly realised, Tully brings back the Reitman we knew and loved, represents Cody’s finest work since Juno, and reminds us why Theron deserved that 2004 Oscar.

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.

Churchill’s darkest hour is Gary Oldman’s finest. Gripping, touching, amusing and enlightening, his performance is the prime reason this film must be seen — but not the only one.

Powerful, intelligent and surprisingly entertaining.

Simmering study of a petty hood-cum-wannabe pianist succumbing to his innate violent side - but there might be a touch too much ivory tinkling for some.

Both enthusiastically irreverent and deeply sincere, Nimona is a revisionist fairytale that forges its own path visually and narratively to beautiful effect. Insert celebratory shark-dance here.