Thrillingly paced, ravishingly shot and eerily topical, Sicario 2 retains much of its predecessor’s dark charm despite its shuffled creative personnel. But a jarringly Hollywood ending dulls its overall impact.

Zosia Mamet is the major selling point here. In a film that’s lovely but unlikely to prove memorable, she shows she can carry a film with immense charm.

A solid if, given its subject, oddly workmanlike documentary, this makes a very good case both that the fashion world had a genius on its hands, and that they didn’t have a clue what to do with him.

A sequel nobody needed, and very few demanded, but one that is nice to have anyway. Very daft and very childish and mostly very funny.

Even if his prosthetics make him look a bit like James May, Everett is near-flawless, and his film is a superb showcase for an actor whose celebrity has at times overshadowed his talent. There’s been plenty of due diligence in terms of the details, and anyone who thinks Wilde was just the Stephen Fry of his day will learn a lot here.

There’s some quibbles to be had in an over-familiar setup, and an under-served villain, but overall this is a gloriously fun family parable, and as entertaining as any superhero movie you’ll see this year.

A raw horror masterpiece from a first-time director that deserves to be mentioned in the same frantic breath as the genre’s greats. Even the most jaded viewer should find something in Hereditary to disturb and distress them.

Plot-wise Ocean’s 8 cleaves closely to the tenets of Heist Movie Lore but does little to enliven or tweak the formula. It lacks the jazzy swagger of Soderbergh’s trio but delivers a fun, likeable romp built on the charm and charisma of its cast.

The fear factor is back. This is a Jurassic sequel that plays it both adrenaline-pumpingly huge and thrillingly small. A summer ride that will drive kids out of their minds, and maybe even give the parents nightmares.

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.

A small, slight window into a mixed-up soul, this is more intriguing than engaging. Its restraint, though, is admirable, resulting in a mood-piece with an ongoing sense of unease.

This director's cut might smack of self-indulgence, but it also says much about love and loss and the language of an artform that flirts with realism while remaining an illusion.

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.

Filmworker is an absorbing, important portrait of both a genius at work and the man behind the scenes who made the magic possible, whatever the cost to himself.

A rare animated film without a shred of sentimentality but bucket-loads of heart and soul. “Stories remain in our hearts all our lives,” Parvana’s father tells her. The Breadwinner is testament to that.

If you came for cute canines you’ll get them, but you’d get more entertainment from an hour of dog videos on YouTube.

A bright and breezy sideshow adventure makes up for its overly frantic pacing with a charismatic central turn from Alden Ehrenreich — strong enough to make us want to see even more of him in Solo mode.

Funnier, filthier, and damn entertaining, Deadpool 2 leaves no stone un-deconstructed: the naughty man-child of the X-Men universe who manages to beat them at their own game.

An energetic but erratic film that straddles about a dozen genres at once, none of them that successfully. One for those who like oodles of odd.

More potent as a cautionary tale than future noir, Anon’s digital dystopia certainly gets a Like, even if it doesn’t quite warrant a Share.

Union is committed and convincing, but the script apparently never met a cliche it didn't want to adopt wholesale. This offers some thrills and considerable pace, but never enough narrative force.

Suspenseful and thought-provoking, The Cured is a serious, engaged horror movie. More upsetting than scary, it ratchets up the tension unsettlingly. There’s life in zombies yet.

An opulent, well crafted and acted tale of emotional repression that captures the head more than the heart.

A Mex-set spaghetti Western featuring toilet humour, organ transplants and the closest Mel Gibson’s come to playing Martin Riggs since the last Lethal Weapon.

Even if you think you know where it’s going as its builds to a near-wordless finale (and you might be right), the moments of character detail are beautifully judged, and the gore surprisingly well splashed.

Detached, but never dispassionate, this may not be Andrew Haigh's best film. But its slow-burning authenticity suggests a versatility to go with his acuity for credible characters in recognisable situations.

With its infuriatingly dim-witted characters and generic slasher movie feel, The Strangers: Prey At Night is a surprisingly tame and forgettable rehash. While its superior predecessor managed to boast chills, this only boasts clichés.

Necessary, deft and ultimately shocking. This is a beautifully hewn, brave piece of filmmaking that asks difficult, searching questions that will haunt you long after the credits roll.

Yonebayashi pays perfect tribute to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli with this bewitching and visually dazzling adventure. Studio Ponoc is off to a flying start.

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.

Marvel has solved their third-act problem and villain problem and then some. However prepared you feel, you are not ready for Thanos. But then, neither are our heroes.

Not many teen romances use high-concept fantasy to probe the nature of self. But despite its fascinating conceit – and strong opening scenes – Every Day is undone by blandness.

With its moody heroine, sex and reliance on talk it would be easy/stupid to dismiss Let The Sunshine In as oh so French, but Claire Denis’ most conventionally entertaining film is a delight. And it’s yet another reminder Juliette Binoche is an international treasure who should be cherished.

A strong debut from director Michael Pearce, with a gripping performance by newcomer Jessie Buckley. So much more than just another serial-killer movie.

A well told, beautifully acted drama that offers nothing new but a comforting level of familiarity and cosiness.

I Feel Pretty is an intermittently funny vehicle for Schumer’s talent that never really gets to grips with the ramifications of its high concept. Its heart is in the right place, but its head is somewhere else.

Knowingly blending realist grit with generic guile, this unrelentingly tense account of a fragmented family living in constant fear thoroughly merited the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival.

The truth is, it’s not very good – and entirely without scares. But we dare you to watch it without unleashing a few unintended laughs along the way.

Ridiculous, of course, but not as ridiculous as it might have been. As much fun as it has with the idea of animals stomping cities to rubble, it seems shy of going completely over the top, and it’s the poorer for it.

A boxing drama with a difference, Journeyman packs a powerful punch — and reminds us not to take Paddy Considine for granted.

Haynes’ film has lovely performances from both actors, and a keen sense of time and place help, but the story is a little too shaggy and unformed to entirely hold the attention.

Dark fun, with performances to savour and a set of references too seldom made in today’s pictures, this is a treat. It may peter out at the end, but what a calling card for Cory Finley, and this could be the last outing for its leads before superstardom beckons.

The high school teen romcom is reborn for 2018. Funny, sentimental and smart: John Hughes would be proud.

Sadly, Donald Trump hasn’t quite found his Leni Riefenstahl: this is a film too embarrassed to be what it is. And shorn of capes and costumes, vigilantism is pretty ugly. Though Roth’s gift for the gruesome gives it a small voyeuristic appeal.

Not quite a terrifying thrill-ride, Ghost Stories is a creepy, disturbing ghost train with a beefier backbone than its source material, trading on tropes but still making your skin itch.

It’s far from the perfect storm, but The Hurricane Heist is stupid fun with a belter of a final sequence. Like the sound of a film called ‘The Hurricane Heist’? Then you’ll probably enjoy The Hurricane Heist.

It delivers in fits and starts but mostly baffles.

Mark Felt is a lacklustre staging of a fascinating episode in recent US history. Despite Neeson’s strong presence, this is a deep throat that never finds its voice.

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.

An engaging, visually striking attempt to uncover the ‘real’ Grace Jones which is only partially successful in those terms. Nonetheless, it’s still a fitting tribute to a music icon.

These Mark 6 Jaegers with their electric whips, “gravity slings” and plasma swords deliver all the giant robot thrills you could wish. Thanks to Boyega and Spaeny, you might even care about the human characters, too.

Spielberg has seemingly done the impossible: balancing sugar-rush nostalgia with an involving story to create a pure, uncynical, cinematic ride that recaptures the magic of his early films.

Pondering everything from free expression and sexual harassment to bourgeois guilt and migrant rage, this superbly acted saga may not always hit the target. But it unerringly leaves its mark.

A bravura monster movie which just doesn’t let up, ratcheting tension with nary a word uttered on screen. It also boasts great creature design and a breakthrough performance from young Millicent Simmonds.

It’s a different kind of Tomb Raider, certainly. But for an adventure film, it’s disconcertingly dull.

A life story packed with incident means that this sometimes rushes past events that would be formative for anyone else, but equally means that Lamarr’s life story is never, ever dull.

Dark, disturbing and difficult, this is a deep dive into a troubled headspace and never lets you leave. Ramsay is now four for four, one of our most exciting filmmakers. If she could not leave it so long next time, that’s just fine with us.

Sweet Country is epic and personal, daring to tell a simple story in a challenging, arresting way. It’s a demanding two hours but leavened by great performances, especially from newcomer Hamilton Morris.

A pitch-black, often very funny slice of pulp fiction with a number of stand-out performances, notably the ferocious Theron.

The film’s glowing, golden cinematography suggests a far warmer story than it in fact delivers, but Winslet’s stunning turn is worth a look if you can stand the consciously stagey feel.

An interesting new take on a very well-known tale and a praiseworthy act of revisionism, but one which doesn’t ultimately deliver on its early promise.

The animals are cute and Gleeson is extremely game. What keeps Peter from Paddington-style delight is a self-conscious need to distance itself from its source material.

Drawing on mythology and body horror, Annihilation is an intelligent film that asks big questions and refuses to provide easy answers. Sci-fi at its best.

This spectacular adventure sometimes wanders across the borders of invention into artificiality, but finds its feet when it focuses in on its characters and their relationships.

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.

A raw, lean and abrasively effective thriller from Steven Soderbergh, which features Claire Foy as we’ve never seen her before.

With an uncompromising attitude to complex plotting and graphic content, Red Sparrow is a promising beginning to a potential new spy franchise. Just be aware of its unexpectedly barbed edges.

Fans of Moon and Source Code be warned: Mute is sadly, almost tragically, not worth the wait.

If you’re playing Wes Anderson bingo, you can tick off ‘droll whimsy’, ‘visual pizzazz’ and ‘Bill Murray’. Yet, thanks to the Far East setting and a rollicking story, this is a fun and fresh-feeling experience.

With its clever, whip-smart script and enthusiastic ensemble cast firing on all cylinders, crime comedy filmmakers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein score big with Game Night.

Given it could be re-titled ‘Microaggressions: The Movie’, this is an unsurprisingly upsetting watch at times, but it’s made compelling by Vega’s dignified, heartfelt performance.

Limp jokes, bad chemistry and the least believable onscreen fraternal bond make for a very lacklustre viewing experience. Even a late appearance from Christopher Walken can't save the day.

Robbie and Janney are flawless in a compelling and corrective account of a misunderstood figure; one of the more darkly funny biopics you’ll ever see.

Almost certainly the second worst thing to happen to Bruce Lee, this toothless and tame movie doesn’t even come close to capturing the great man’s dangerous charisma.

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.

Clint Eastwood’s bold choice to have real protagonists does little to enliven a listless story about friendship. Although the terrorist attack is effectively staged, The 15:17 To Paris fails to spin a remarkable film out of a remarkable act of heroism.

Take out the BDSM, and Fifty Shades Freed would play perfectly as afternoon thriller on Channel 5. An end to a damp squib of a trilogy which sees Johnson as the only one to emerge unscathed.

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.

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.

Like Taika Waititi before him, Ryan Coogler gives the Marvel template a bold auteurist twist with an African extravaganza that packs a muscular intensity and challenges as much as it exhilarates.

Slick and solid in moments, Den Of Thieves disappoints with its reliance on easy plotting and gruff, overcooked acting. One for Butler completists only.

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.

The third Cloverfield film is just about a Cloverfield film, but definitely a disappointment, trading on its name but not living up to its already muddled heritage. Only intermittently fun.

Despite an intriguing premise, Winchester misses the mark. Its anti-gun message is a shot in the right direction, but lazy fright tactics and a contradictory ending leave it firing blanks.

A well-meaning look at the issue of arranged marriage, garnished with some Hollywood star power, but it’s too meandering and sluggish to grip.

Last Flag Flying is a thoughtful tally of the cost of war on ordinary lives that also manages to be a funny, moving men-on-a-road-trip movie. It’s that rare thing: a sequel, albeit 44 years late, that is worth catching up with.

An often amusing reimagining of Bronze Age history 
that, while it doesn’t quite match the best of Aardman, is still solid family entertainment.

Payne’s lm is full of invention, wit, great scenes and big — if not fully realised — intentions. Downsizing may be about a small world, but it is an audacious, out-sized peach of a picture.

More The Magnificent Seven than American Sniper, this flag-waving true story is an effective — if overly simplistic — neo-Western that's eventually carried over the line by a sparky ensemble cast.

Paul Thomas Anderson does gothic romance in prestige Brit picture style, eliciting a worthy final performance from Daniel Day-Lewis that’s admirably matched by newcomer Vicky Krieps.

An outstanding cast savours performing a play that has stood the test of time. Avoiding sentimentality, this is a valuable rejoinder to those who would sugar-coat mass slaughter.

A worthy but wordy look at the inequities of the US legal system, saved by a handful of terrific scenes and a tour-de-force turn from Washington.

Straightforward, unpretentious and well-acted, this is a solid if unsurprising genre piece.

This is one teen dystopia that sustained its quality across the trilogy. It may not set the world alight — ironically, given the solar flare that started its story’s disaster — but it 
will get the blood pumping.

It feels more like a ciné dissertation designed to showcase Zvyagintsev’s appreciation of the medium than an original piece of cinema.

Pixar has raised the animation bar again, with its most musical — and arguably most magical — film yet. If this is the afterlife we’re all headed to, don’t fear the reaper.

Beneath Garrel’s unassuming, subdued style lies a deceptively powerful study of fidelity, lensed in stark, moody monochrome and featuring a compelling screen debut from Louise Chevillotte.

A sub-Hitchcockian thriller with enough forward momentum to thunder over its many plot holes, The Commuter is a surprisingly enjoyable if instantly forgettable crowd-pleaser that takes the audience for a ride — in more ways than one.