A genre-defying film. Its visual splendour belies its tough, surface-level subject matter, while the performances pull us deep below that surface with their soulful naturalism.

A flawed work held together by Alwyn’s tender presence.

An insightful and, on occasion, laugh-out-loud piece of filmmaking. Artfully shot and structured, while its warmth and wit shine as brightly as the Californian sun.

Alice Lowe’s directorial debut may falter in its grip, especially in story and tone, but it’s a daringly evocative film that marks a filmmaker of imagination and promise.

Despite moody flashbacks to the Nazi takeover, Hirschbiegel draws a blank. Elser remains an enigma, a great what-if whose German torturers cannot comprehend acted alone.

A highly quotable, visual treat that’s packed with in-jokes but is entertaining enough on its own terms to work for fans and non-fans alike. The best Batman film in years.

Complicated and long but deftly handled adventure/caper/satire that ends up being thoroughly entertaining

Impeccably played by Rebecca Hall, this is a thoughtful reflection on life’s casual cruelties and how little attitudes towards women have changed since Watergate.

Less a ‘civil rights drama’ than a tender portrait of a marriage suffering unimaginable stress, Loving soars thanks to its narrative approach and career-best performances from Negga and Edgerton.

Set in the unpromising world of German business consultancy, Toni Erdmann is a low-key triumph, especially for writer-director Maren Ade and star Sandra Hüller. A weird, thoughtful, affecting treat.

Nothing you haven’t seen done better elsewhere, this one’s a missed opportunity. McConaughey’s hard work is impressive, but that’s the only message Gold is interested in conveying.

Reasonably entertaining but hectic (supposed) finale for the up-and-down series.

A simply extraordinary film without crashes, bangs and wallops but full of towering performances delivered with intelligence, power and heart.

A brutal, bruising bullet ballet of a sequel that builds upon the promise of the original.

This mess isn’t likely to reboot or revive the American franchise.

Occasionally soapy on the homefront but cataclysmic in combat, this is a worthy addition to the WWII canon. Garfield underpins it all with skill, showing that sometimes, war can be humanising too.

Although it’s like being assaulted by a jumping jukebox for two hours, Garth Jennings’ first animated movie has enough bounce and brio to carry the day. Immensely likeable.

A sturdy by-the-numbers legal drama that really belongs on the small screen.

In some senses T2 shares elements with its Terminator namesake. It’s inventive and full of surprises. But unlike Cameron’s sequel, it doesn’t reimagine the original in quite the same glorious way.

We've seen all these stunts pulled before, and seen them done better, but there's some pleasure to be had here — even if it's of the extremely guilty kind.

An engaging study of a beautiful but mysterious mind, which also reveals the stressful nature of world-class chess tournaments and raises the deep question of where intelligence actually comes from.

This psycho-thriller showcases an awards-worthy performance from James McAvoy. Shyamalan papers over plot-holes with dry black humour and well-judged suspense, and — as always — holds back some surprises.

An astonishing true story that’s treated with an admirably light and artistic touch, rather than an overly dramatic heavy hand. Despite a weaker second half, it is ultimately deeply moving.

Jackie does what the very best biopics should: it makes you view someone you’ve seen countless times as if you were seeing them anew.

Rising to the challenge of doing something new(ish) with an overworked sub-genre, this may not be particularly scary or funny. But it belies its modest budget to splatter to knowing effect.

Blood Wars is tragically bereft of the pulp verve this nonsense needs to be tolerable.

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.

Persuasively played by fine leads and a well-cast ensemble, this thoughtful treatise captures provincial life and the medical mindset with authenticity and tact.

A handsome period drama with the occasional impressive flourish, but despite its rich subject matter, it's Affleck’s weakest film yet as a director.

Masterfully told and beautifully acted, Manchester By The Sea is a shattering yet graceful elegy of loss and grief.

Audacious, retro, funny and heartfelt, La La Land is the latest great musical for people who don’t like musicals – and will slap a mile-wide smile across the most miserable of faces.

Ruinously prioritising chic over content, this is intellectually and stylistically shallow when it should have been dynamic and compelling.

In a month of "A Monster Calls" and "Manchester By The Sea," Collateral Beauty serves up a hollow portrait of grief. Despite its quality cast and slick visuals, the result is sombre and saccharine rather than uplifting.

Ruinously prioritising chic over content, this is intellectually and stylistically shallow when it should have been dynamic and compelling.

Vibrantly recreating a seminal period in Jodorowsky's personal and artistic development, this bullishly played saga has enough quirky detail, audacious incident and visual panache to sweep the storyline through its less persuasive phases.

The true story of a revered general instigating one of the most daring ploys in military history might seem like the perfect vehicle for Liam Neeson to return to more serious fare, but even he cannot breathe life into some truly terrible dialogue. It’s left to the Korean actors to save the day.

Objectively ridiculous but mostly fun, this is better than you could have predicted given the title but squarely aimed at a young and undiscerning audience.

The film’s bleak, Coen-esque sense of isolation, cold brutality and clutch of confident performances...make for a decent and engaging story that culminates in an enjoyably nasty conclusion.

The frenetic action is Assassin’s Creed’s saving grace. Inventively choreographed and beautifully executed, its game-inspired brand of wushu-meets-parkour delivers some genuinely awe-inducing feats.

Filled with striking and scarringly disconcerting images of vandalised nature, satanic mills and redundant modernity, this is a mournful tribute to a maligned migrant workforce and a sobering reminder that nothing comes cheap.

Passengers is as surprisingly traditional as it is undeniably effective. A timeless romance wedded to a space-age survival thriller, it may be a curious coupling but Tyldum’s Turing follow-up is a journey well worth taking.

The ultimate Star Wars fan film, it’s short on whimsy but when it gets going there’s enough risk-taking and spectacle to bode well for future standalones.

Aided by a dialled-down Gordon-Levitt, Stone skilfully demystifies one of the Obama era’s most compelling stories. It’s a welcome return to form for a cinematic sleeping giant.

An unapologetic, impassioned biopic, The Birth Of A Nation begins quietly but ends in a howl of rage. It might not be perfect, but it’s powerful enough to stay with you.

Russell Tovey gives a layered, career-best performance in an intense interior drama that never quite shakes its theatrical origins.

A touch twee at times, but the use of classic and original animation is admirable, while Owen emerges as the king of sidekicks.

Breathing new life into the overfamiliar terrain of the serial killer, Irish director Billy O’Brien here both successfully reintroduces Max Records to the world, and elicits Christopher Lloyd’s best performance in a long time. His film deserves cult classic status at the very least.

Less showy than The Last Temptation Of Christ, more gripping than Kundun, the third part of Scorsese’s unofficial ‘religious’ trilogy is beautifully made, staggeringly ambitious and utterly compelling.

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.

In a year of Bad Moms, Bad Santas and Bad Neighbours, this is, essentially, Bad Employees: another irresponsible-adults comedy, another great cast, and another erratic script. Catch it for McKinnon.

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.

Eastwood’s message that no good deed goes unpunished feels misplaced, but for the crash sequences and Hanks’ turn it’s worthwhile. But for goodness’ sake, don’t watch it on a plane.

It may be predictable, but Bleed For This still grabs with its astonishing against-all-odds true story, and its belter of a central performance from Miles Teller.

A Molotov cocktail of laughs and anger, Chi-Raq is a powerful state of a nation address. The result is the most creatively exciting Lee has been in a decade.

A photocopy of a photocopy, this could perhaps be the nadir of the wave of decade-too-late comedy sequels. Only Thornton completists, and hopeless nostalgists, need apply.

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.

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.

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.

Zemeckis’ old-school romance has its moments and Cotillard gives it her all, but it lacks the zip and chemistry to truly spark.

Impossible to appreciate in a single sitting, this masterly piece of polemical filmmaking is as intoxicating as it is intriguing.

Played with restraint and individuality by a fine ensemble, this is a moving but provocative study of belief, duty, compassion and acceptance.

It’s hard to begrudge such an earnest endeavour, but this is missing the wit, nuance, and insight of a book thought by many – correctly, maybe – to be unadaptable.

Part body-swap comedy, part long-distance romance, part... something else. If you only see one Japanese animated feature this year, see this one, and see it more than once.

Hackneyed and somewhat dated Tarantino-isms abound. But for the committed fan of such things, there is more than enough to enjoy here: not least an entertainingly unhinged performance from Willem Defoe.

Big, bold and teeming with imagination, it is so busy world-building that it occasionally forgets to have fun. But with this heavy lifting done, there’s every reason to hope for an even more magical adventure next time.

Well-crafted and compelling, if a little inaccessible to western audiences...

It remains entertaining throughout — a testament to the inventiveness of the on-screen action. And Pixar’s influence.

Vikander and Fassbender are riveting in a handsome period drama that begins beautifully, but becomes increasingly contrived as it tries to wring as much drama as possible from its set-up.

A Street Cat Named Bob has its heart in the right place but doesn’t quite land on a tone to unite hard hitting drama and a cat-based comedy.

Ford’s artfully composed and emotionally clever noir is well-paced and, in stark contrast to the naked flesh that opens the film, never, ever sags.

Despite an intriguing premise, an impossible-to-buy plot contrivance and a deeply unsatisfying ending put paid to this sci-fi psycho-thriller.

The Stooges’ story is a natural fit for the silver screen. Unfortunately, superfan Jim Jarmusch’s love letter to them does not quite do it justice.

A crowd-pleasing oceanic musical with big tunes and beguiling characters, Moana is likely to thwack a big smile on your face. And did we mention the idiotic chicken?

Arrival is a beautifully polished puzzle box of a story whose emotional and cerebral heft should enable it to withstand nit-picky scrutiny. And like all the best sci-fi, it has something pertinent to say about today’s world; particularly about the importance of communication, and how we need to transcend cultural divides and misconceptions if we’re to survive as a species.

The story of Britpop’s iconic band at its peak is told with wit, honesty and swagger. Which, given its two leads, is entirely fitting.

A bizarre and beautiful detour on the Marvel journey, which culminates in a mind-bending, expectation-inverting final act. Not to be watched under the influence.

If you’ve asked yourself why on earth there needs to be a movie about Troll dolls, this doesn’t really provide a strong answer, yet for all its awkwardness and fluff-brained logic, its enthusiasm is infectious.

Overall, a superior sequel. Some people will never get over the height discrepancy but character-wise, Never Goes Back brings Reacher closer to the books for the type of thriller that rarely gets made these days.

Covering alcoholism, manslaughter, infidelity and petty crime, there’s a rich spread of melodrama on offer, but none of the tales have meat enough to satisfy alone. Together, though, they form a varied backdrop to showcase some respectable character work.

It’s a little too long, but holds the attention thanks to Lane’s charisma, Ryan’s breathtaking cinematography and the dizzying power of young love.

Perhaps it’s fitting that this story about babies has the attention span and grasp of logic of a newborn.

Neither tribute nor analysis, this doc offers an inappropriately off-beam treatment for such a serious subject.

Wheatley continues an unbroken run of quality, helped by a great cast and a startlingly effective premise. This is seriously cool, stuffed with great dialogue and riddled with bullets.

An unfortunate misfire that has the odd moment of charm and the odder chuckle, but otherwise isn’t worth keeping up with.

Loach scans the contemporary landscape, and instead of a firebrand approach of stereotype, delivers a film of immense sadness. Someone should project this on the walls of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Its plot isn’t going to win any prizes for originality, but Nair tells the story with immense warmth and cheer. You can see just about every move coming, but it’s making all the right ones.

Character motivations are glossed over, explanatory scenes are jammed in haphazardly, and the finale relies on a tonally bizarre combination of schmaltz, coincidence and violence that seems to betray the arc of the whole movie.

This is Mel Gibson back to doing what he once did best, just older and grumpier. The movie has problems but delivers when it needs to.

If you can take the assault on your senses it’s worth sticking with for a core of genuine, affecting drama and dollops of sly, quotable humour.

Theroux’s first big-screen doc is an entertaining affair, peppered with surreal moments and wry wit, but its elusive subject remains out of reach.

An interesting introduction to (or reminder of) Amanda Knox’s story following the murder of her flatmate Meredith Kercher, but it doesn’t have the depth of other recent true-crime investigations.

It’s not the worst of the trilogy, but this is less for fans of thrillers and more for people who are pining after last year’s holiday to Florence.

It's the thriller aspect that most lets the film down, failing to truly engage or offer enough plausible red herrings to send your mind whirring through different theories as to what could have happened. The twists rarely, if ever, have the impact that were intended.

A thinking person’s Bad Boys, this off-kilter indie crime comedy introduces two deliriously warped lawmen to the screen. Here’s to a Cuba-invading sequel.

Too long, arduous, lecturey and patience-testing for even the all-new Matthew McConaughey to rescue. Director Ross is apparently so swamped by a sense of historical righteousness he hasn’t noticed he’s smothered a decent story.

A quality ghost story with an unusual backdrop and great performances.

The premise sounds like an off-Broadway play gone wrong. Far from it — this is extraordinary, vital, and fuelled by great performances.

Even if you didn’t know what comes next, this story of the first days of the Obamas would still seduce as a sweet, smart romance.