Written with great insight by Kogo Noda and filmed with painterly delicacy by Asakazu Nakai, though Ozu's touch brings the magic to this domestic drama.

Stirring stuff that works thrillingly as drama, and should make Sheen a star, even if it compromises on historical insight.

It’s as wistful and sad as it is funny and charming, with the first of Nino Rota’s great scores to keep it burbling along.

A perfectly painted portrait that also makes for sharp social commentary, this just goes to show what you can do with a tiny budget but a huge amount of talent.

Adorable. Ad-or-able. It will melt even the coldest heart.

Another meticulously stylish and deadpan Wes Anderson movie that walks the fine line between masterpiece and folly.

Even with a starry cast, the stirring true story is this drama’s standout feature.

The guy story is so strong that conventional romantic interludes with the woman torn between two men could easily have been dropped.

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

This is Bond film that dutifully ticks all the boxes — but brilliantly, often doesn’t feel like a Bond film at all. For a 007 who strived to bring humanity to larger-than-life hero, it’s a fitting end to the Craig era.

Tossing a malicious vampire kid among squabbling, not-exactly-un-dangerous humans is a recipe for a wickedly enjoyable thrill ride. One of the messiest vampire movies ever made, and winningly so.

A tragic tale of teen rebellion and misplaced faith, this is a sober and sobering account of a young girl's untimely end, made enthralling by great performances and restrained direction.

Serving up stone-cold multiplex mayhem, Sisu makes no bones about it — this is a film about one mad bastard killing a gazillion Nazis. It’s almost impossible not to love it.

With In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift. It may not be new, but it’s a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre: fucked-up, far-out and very, very funny.

A gruelling but ultimately rewarding experience, this is Leigh at his most confrontational, devastating and humane, aided by the unadulterated power of Jean-Baptiste’s career-redefining performance.

Poetic, provocative and unstoppably powerful. But, depressingly, it probably won't change a thing.

Unwieldy and flawed, but Stone remains a tornado in an era of airless formula and -- to paraphrase our Ptolemy -- its failings are greater than most films’ successes.

A slow burner; intense, utterly engrossing and believable.

It might not have the oomph of "Winter’s Bone," but this is a sympathetic, affecting, beautifully realised portrait of lives lived on the margins.

There are no real surprises, and it's arguable whether three such disparate souls as these would, in reality, bond so well. But the acting is flawless, the principals fleshing out their characters far beyond their hastily sketched stereotypes.

The Fannytastic Four leave us on a poo-flecked, piss-soaked, sun-burned high that more than overcomes its familiar flaws to become a real contender for the year’s funniest film.

Paul Schrader delivers another compelling investigation of conflicted men in modern America. Master Gardener has a stately pace but a knockout punch; enriching cinema for the discerning punter.

Fantastic performances, sharp wit and a raw honesty breathe new life into the rites-of-passage drama.

Cultural clashes all over the place in this sweet and gently comedy.

LaBute has crafted one of the most explicit and hilarious films of the year; it's a slow-moving affair, with little camera movement and only the merest hint of a soundtrack.

As harrowing as it is humorous, Giorgos Lanthimos' award-winning journey to a family's heart of darkness is unflinchingly detailed, thought-provoking fare.

Pain & Glory might see Almodóvar working in a minor key but it is a major work, graced with career-best work from Antonio Banderas.

A delight from start to finish.

Two-and-a-half hours long, but never slow, The Wailing takes its time to burrow under your skin, but by the time it weaves its dark, potent spell, it leaves you with a lingering, unshakeable sense of dread that Hollywood horror films can rarely muster.

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.

Bolt’s golden era may be too recent and the sponsors too dominant for any real warts to be included, but his charm and sheer physical wonder make this a compelling watch regardless.

A wonderfully nasty turn from Liotta, along with a novel treatment of familiar plotlines, elevates Kaplan's effort into the 'must see' category.

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 load of kids singing Beatles tunes? You better believe it.

A bruising psychodrama from the Palme d'Or winner that taps into the dark heart of central European superstition.

It’s "Top Gun" with gamer’s thumb. Ethan Hawke shines in a complex, satisfying character study turned combat thriller.

As funny, bittersweet and as distinct as you'd expect from Wes Anderson, a director who helps you know you are not alone. Terrific performances from sprogs to stars and a lovely sense of the sorrow and joy of growing up.

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

A search for freedom and a sororal spirit pulse through Miss Juneteenth. Calmly navigating the intersections of a Black, working-class, American woman, Peoples ensures care, heart and hope are in every step.

Music fans will love this indie documentary. Try to avoid Googling him before you watch, though.

The 4.5 hour-plus runtime might put some off, but that massive canvas only allows for the deepest of deep dives into a monumental achievement in cinematic science-fiction. Another glorious day in the corps!

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.

If not Hamaguchi’s best, this is a gracefully performed and expertly detailed collection of stories, revealing the delicate and unassuming magic to be found in simple conversation.

Hunter is superb as the alcoholic mom trying to keep her life from falling apart, and Wood and Reed are scarily convincing as delinquents.

Indy’s final date with destiny has a barmy finale that might divide audiences — but if you join him for the ride, it feels like a fitting goodbye to cinema’s favourite grave-robber.

It glides romantically along on the surface while political turmoil boils away underneath. Its plea for tolerance isn’t subtle, but it’s a story that deserves to be told.

A film for anyone who’s ever climbed trees, grazed knees or basked in the comfort of a parent’s sympathy as they’ve pulled you off the ground crying. It’ll make your inner child run wild.

It’s chaotic and episodic, but this is Cera’s star turn. "Superbad" meets "Fight Club?" That’ll do it.

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.

A brittle black comedy that has plenty to say about modern manhood and the human survival instinct.

An effective, micro-budget sci-fi horror, that makes up in confidence and competence for what it lacks in frills.

Genre thrills with a big dose of originality.

It deliberately makes no sense, but it has more bizarro gimmicks to the minute than any other horror picture of 1979.

Compelling morality tale that works on multiple layers.

Quiet, thoughtful and deeply human, this is one of Jarmusch’s finest and features Adam Driver’s best performance yet — although you do risk coming out with a new affection for modernist poetry.

A delightfully obscene alternative to the usual Christmas tosh.

The most terrifying fashion film since The Devil Wears Prada, Deerskin is a deliciously ridiculous farce played largely straight. This is a jacket you will feel the benefit of.

Campion has created another resonant paean to love’s pain and joy, and gives new life to John Keats, too often now associated with dusty school books.

A true emotional epic.

Funny and inventive vehicle for Chevy Chase's hapless and genuinely funny comic creation.

The plywood acting’s pretty funny, as is the coy sex; what amazes is the beautifully lurid, near-fetishistic set design.

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.

Before John Woo went all Hollywood on our ass with the likes of Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II, he made several films in his native Hong Kong, this being arguably the pick of the bunch. Although not as slick as his later films, it's more inventive and stylised and with great early performances from Fat and Leung.

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.

Undemanding, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable.

The most disappointing of the original three episodes but still charming and thrilling.

Despite its familiar story beats, Eggers’ retelling suffocates like a coffin, right up to its chilling final shot. Lily-Rose Depp is full-bloodedly committed, and Bill Skarsgård’s fiend gorges with terrible fury.

Although lacking specific context and fussily presented, this is a harrowing account of the Arab Spring as witnessed by seven reluctant and committed activists in Libya, Syria and Bahrain. The footage of the violence inflicted upon civilians is truly terrifying.

The feel-good hit of the year thus far. Be warned, though: if you think a little Jack Black goes a long way, then this isn’t for you.

Written by Roddy Doyle this was never going to be a depressing tale of single parenthood. Instead we watch through rose-tinted glasses as the ever watchable Colm Meaney bonds with his family over his daughter's pregnancy out of wedlock in Catholic Ireland.

A terrific alternative to the diabetic's nightmare that is most of Disney's output, Kiki's Delivery Service takes pride of place in Miyazaki's exceptional body of work.

One of the least famous of Clint's Western this is an enigma of the genre with ambiguity and psychological depth all over the place.

Bogdanovich’s perfect recreation of the sense of time and place, and his ability to mix wit with poignancy that make this such a charming, timeless film.

However familiar the terrain, this is a vivid, heartbreaking and captivating character piece and travel movie in one, guided by an outstanding Wasikowska.

Easily, almost nonchalantly, best in franchise, Rogue Nation dispenses with the dead weight of realism or relevance for state-of-the-art thrill-making in a classical mould. The series has finally found its voice.

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.

Not as divine as Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility," but engagingly comparable to the Gwyneth Paltrow-starring Emma and vastly superior to Mansfield Park.

Long, but engrossing and frequently enraging drama that not only exposes the flaws in the Romanian health service, but also in modern humanity.

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.

The plot pulls you along at breakneck speed, so the plausibility of two US leaders on the lam matters not a jot. What does matter, however, is the excellent script which has a kiss-off line at least once every five seconds and keeps the mush down to an absolute minimum.

This gripping character study becomes more agonisingly suspenseful as it gets closer to an answer that can't be confirmed.

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.

There’s enough dark humour to entertain.

There are films to see on huge screens, but this is one that almost cries out for a small cinema, surrounded by total blackness. It’s a daring experiment brilliantly executed, with Tom Hardy giving one of the performances of his career.

In The Fade manages to be absorbing character study, courtroom nailbiter and vengeful woman flick, all the while taking the temperature of neo-Nazism in Germany. It’s flawed but powerful, mostly down to a revelatory performance from Diane Kruger.

A splendidly detailed and rousing caper movie.

Unstintingly raw and cynical, this disconcerting and deeply affecting State Of The Union treatise regularly comes dangerously close to caricature.

Helgeland’s savvy new take on this well-known story proves that crime can pay, while Hardy is astonishing and magnetic in two truly towering performances.

William H. Macy is a scream as the composite radio announcer whose hyperbolic racetrack reports are not only hilarious, but illustrate the impact of radio in creating a mass culture and how it was instrumental in making sporting events a nationwide obsession.

Macy hasn’t had a role this good since Fargo, and demonstrates again his mastery of the droopy-eyed, apologetically desperate, borderline bitter shrug.

Bolstered by a grounded performance from Meghann Fahy, Drop deftly weaponises its titular tech to update the paranoid thriller for the iPhone age. Better check those security settings.

A deeply disconcerting provocation about the future of civilisation: a powerfully performed vision of an insignificant humanity.

Challengingly spellbinding.

A very welcome return from Moodysson. The music is Wyld Stallions-grade, but the charm and spirit of the three girls will have you moshing in your seat.

A solid A Quiet Place entry is elevated by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn’s affecting performances — a surprisingly tender tale of the end of days.

A daring, distinctive and downright delightful debut from Domee Shi, and a welcome change of pace from Pixar. Turning Red is, appropriately, its own beast — and one that’s easy to love.

Love And Monsters is a blast, an unassuming, immensely winning monster movie filled with great lo-fi creatures and a likeable cast. As a template for making a leaner, less bloated summer movie, Hollywood could do a lot worse.

Hughes has made funnier (Ferris Bueller) and better (Pretty In Pink), but this is the only one you could get away with calling iconic. Good and bad, it's still the definitive '80s teen movie - and, to paraphrase Simple Minds - don't you forget about it.