Beautifully crafted and exquisitely observed with an outstanding performance from Eddie Marsan in the lead.

Elevated from nice to beautifully memorable by wonderful performances and thoughtful direction of perfect small moments.

A Lower key than Wallace and Gromit or Pirates, but tightly packed with charm

Considering how its inflammatory ambition and scattershot execution put it closer to Spies Like Us than The Great Dictator on the political comedy spectrum, The Interview should ultimately stand as the boastfully juvenile lightning rod that modern American culture deserved — no butts about it.

It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it’s incredibly powerful and often moving, anchored by an awards-worthy performance from Oyelowo.

Son Of A Gun has the gritty, rough feel of 1970s heist/hit picture

An insightful examination of racism, homophobia and identity in Latin America.

Another winner from Daldry, this is an unexpectedly gritty crime drama set in the teeming favelas and grimy backstreets of Rio. A cracking script from Richard Curtis, with roughly 80 per cent of the dialogue in street patois, is brilliantly served by the three leads.

The Scooby-Doo-ish central plot is forgivable in a movie with so much visual verve, energetic action and a character so wondrously designed as Baymax.

Take it from us — ignorance is bliss. The less you try to figure out Anderson’s rambling, mesmerising mystery, the better. Just relax and let this beautiful, haunting, hilarious, chaotic, irritating and possibly profound tragicomedy wash over you. There is nothing else out there like it.

Sloppily structured, indifferently played and unbearably smug.

It would be easy to dismiss this as a plastic Hugh Grant rom-com but it has enough smarts, laughs and feel for its likeable characters to make it worth your while.

A rare grown up thriller, full of interesting bits and a strong turn from Wahlberg. But as a whole Wyatt’s film doesn’t grip as it might.

Stylish, sophisticated, simmering crime and character drama with Shakespearean dimension and bravura performances. Who knew heating oil could be a sexy subject?

Stylish, elegant, tense, cerebral, satirical and creepy. Garland’s directorial debut is his best work yet, while Vikander’s bold performance will short your circuits.

May be contrived and overlong, but it is also technically distinctive and utterly compelling in its analysis of Swedish attitudes towards race.

A challenging and intelligent Swedish drama that still raises laughs.

A strange story that's no less disturbing for its unbalanced telling.

A quietly moving coming of age story that resists formula or easy redemption, driven by a strong, unvarnished performance from Witherspoon, who deserves huge credit as both star and producer.

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...

Oscar heralds will no doubt dub it "The Hurt Locker" for snipers, but the fitting combo of Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper have created a thrilling Iraq war story that manages to both honour the necessities of heroism and ruminate on what heroism might cost a man.

Sum up the plot and it sounds interminable. Watch the film and it will spit you out elated, exhausted and cheering for an encore.

Handsome, well-mounted but dull, dull, dull.

Megaton’s choppy editing barely disguises his star’s hatred of running, while a brutal 12A neutering lessens what limited fun remains in seeing Oscar Schindler creakily throw a Russian bad ‘un into some supermarket shelves.

There are brilliant, bewitching moments allied to hilarious and touching ones. Just not enough of them in what veers, at length, between the clever, the terrifying and the bit tiring.

Another dramatic triumph for Bennett Miller, though it is his toughest and least glamorous outing yet. A sad and horrible story, expertly and compellingly told.

A compassionate and inspiring look at an extraordinary life, anchored by two of the best performances of the year.

A much bolder, braver horror sequel than most. Except for a wispy ending, it’s a match for the first.

The doppelgänger trope may sound well worn but Enemy finds fresh, deeply unnerving ground. And Jake Gyllenhaal gives two spellbinding performances.

Birdman is everything you want movies to be: vital, challenging, intellectually alive, visually stunning, emotionally affecting. And welcome back to the big time, Mr. Keaton; you have been sorely missed.

Perhaps the riskiest mainstream movie in years, Vaughn’s love letter to spy movies may be uneven in places, but it’s ultra-violent, envelope-pushing, and fun enough to overcome the flaws.

Against the odds, perhaps, but part three injects a tiring franchise with new life and some surprisingly dark jokes. Some fun cameos and another winning Dan Stevens turn also add much needed unpredictability to the miniature goings-on.

A mushy mix of sentiment and some off-key singing lets the air out of this beloved musical's limo tires.

Tim Burton’s return to real-life storytelling is entertaining but flawed. See it for a fascinating true story and a fantastic Amy Adams. Beware the uneven tone, a lack of depth and Christoph Waltz’s monumental mugging.

Overlong and underpopulated with gags that really land, there's still moments of mirth for devotees of the original.

A solid telling that spans several fascinating periods of 20th century life.

A soapy but stirring romance with two committed leads.

As spectacular and surprising as you would expect from Scott. Its spiritual uncertainty – and lack of triumphalism – perhaps robs it of a truly satisfying, cathartic conclusion, but also makes for a truly modern, thoughtful biblical blockbuster.

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.

Worse than being buried alive in an actual pyramid, if mercifully less time-consuming.

Lavish and sporadically powerful, Jolie's POW biopic may have just enough gravity to entice the Academy, but struggles to bring truth to an unbelievable truth.

A fitting conclusion to Jackson’s prequel trilogy and a triumphant adieu to Middle-earth. Now complete, The Hobbit stands as a worthy successor to The Lord Of The Rings, albeit one that never quite emerges from its shadow.

A fun and insightful slice of Roman life. Next up, M25: The Movie?

Murray’s finest, funniest, meatiest performance since "Lost In Translation" — just a shame it’s contained in such a lightweight dramedy.

It may not be much more than six of the most imaginatively staged and filmed fight scenes in the cinema, but that’s almost certainly enough to recommend it.

Both heavy-handed and ham-fisted, this is a self-important morality tale where you can see everyone's uppance coming long before it arrives.

Though it perhaps inevitably lives in the shadow of some subgenre masterpieces, Black Sea is a superbly shot men-on-a-mission thriller with chest-tightening tension and a striking contemporary resonance.

A powerful and provoking take on a violent and volatile era.

The word 'icon' is overused but as this charming Muhammad Ali portrait shows, occasionally it's utterly warranted.

Marmaladen with gloriously silly jokes, pitch-perfect performances and incidental detail, this is a warm, witty and wondrously inventive great big bear-hug of a movie.

Your opinion of this unasked-for but likable comedy sequel depends entirely on whether your reaction to the statement “It’s better than the first one” is 1) “Dear God, it could hardly be worse” or 2) “Awesome!”

Farhadi’s gifted storytelling and direction is on show again in a damning look at Iranian society.

As startling and bleakly compelling as you'd expect from this rare combination of director and subject.

There’s beautiful visual and verbal comedy, and the film has the creative spontaneity of a dream, foreshadowing Spirited Away (it influenced Miyazaki). However, the lack of momentum and focus may end up boring children, while the English dub actors sound a little stilted.

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.

The witty, loquacious Cocker is watchable as ever and the gig scenes will thrill Pulpers.

Elba's reunites with Luther director Sam Miller to lesser effect in a workaday home-invasion thriller.

Another solid directorial effort from the occasional filmmaker.

It will test your concentration, resolve and butt cheeks to the limit but Winter Sleep will reward your staying power: a perfectly played, beautiful-looking, exquisitely nuanced picture. Would make a great, if gruelling, decaying-wedlock double bill with "Gone Girl."

Energising, stylish and engrossing, although its scattershot chronology and egocentric approach might not be to everyone;s taste. Still, Boseman is brilliant - it would be madness if he isn't among the Oscar runners this season.

The drama and tone are powerful and effective and Lawrence makes an exceptionally charismatic heroine, but an almost total lack of action means this is less catching fire than treading water.

If "Crash" set your teeth on edge, book in at the dentist's before seeing this one.

A clear-eyed celebration of a giant of film writing. We’ll refrain from the thumb jokes, but consider this a hearty recommendation.

The cute puppy almost steals the show but Hardy is ace and quite the watchable chameleon in his surprising switch from lovable dumb ox to cannier-than-we-thought.

A superb thriller and a worthy biopic of a real hero. It’s also simultaneously an encouraging follow-up for Headhunters’ Morten Tyldum, an impressive debut for screenwriter Graham Moore, and a big-screen career highlight for Benedict Cumberbatch.

As passionate and wide-ranging as you'd hope, but disappointingly mistrusting of its audience's interest in the finer points of the case.

Like Paranormal Activity at a wedding - Paranuptial Activity? - this low-budget horror has its moment. Much, much better than Legion, although not as scary as the actual Book of Revelation.

Frustrating, funny at points, heartbreaking and quite magnificently shot throughout, Leviathan is one of the films of the year.

An engaging comedy drama lifted by two revelatory performances. Wiig in particular suggests an Academy Award-winner-in-waiting.

Brainy, barmy and beautiful to behold, this is Stephen Hawking’s Star Trek: a mind-bending opera of space and time with a soul wrapped up in all the science.

With the feel of prestige telly, it's nicely done, sweet and moving.

An engrossing slice of modern history.

Bold, unblinking filmmaking – no less than a living document of a global scandal straight from the whistleblower. Alarming and essential – anyone with a phone should see it.

Long-shelved, the final product never lives up to the promise of its contemporary-Grimm-brothers conceit.

A painful and poignant excoriation of the American dream.

Shimmering with awards potential, Leigh’s glorious picture is a hilarious, confounding, wholehearted and dazzlingly performed portrait of an artist as an ageing man.

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

A persuasive, warts-and-bolts depiction of warfare from the guts of a tank yoked to an overwrought, sub-Private Ryan account of innocence under fire — so a hit and a miss.

Likeable leads and the odd good joke makes this romance an amiable time-passer.

Touching and well-acted, Brazil's Best Foreign Film entry is a worthy Oscar candidate.

The gleefully Gothic fingerprints of Guillermo del Toro are all over this zippy excursion into Mexico's myths and legends, although the gag-count falls quite a lot short of Pixar greatness.

Commercially it looks a disaster. Artistically, if very far from a triumph, it’s interesting, almost held together by its charismatic stars.

A dream cast are on good form in a film that makes you want to call your siblings, but very glad you don’t live with them.

One of the strongest, most effective horror films of recent years — with awards-quality lead work from Essie Davis, and a brilliantly designed new monster who could well become the break-out spook archetype of the decade.

Heroes in a half-arsed shell.

A great cast and promising premise get swamped in an awkward mix of airport-novel noir and blokey family melodrama.

A couple of good jumps but this Conjuring spin-off is led down by poor writing, anodyne leads and and overwhelming sense of familiarity

If TV had a Saga Channel, this intriguing, if never quite gripping, serial killer thriller would play on a loop, in between reruns of Matlock and NCIS.

It’s a well-made adventure with great energy and considerable style, but it’s essentially a maze without an exit.

The villainy is, perhaps unavoidably, somewhat signposted, but this is a tense, gripping thriller that combines real-world relevance with high-concept entertainment. In a superb ensemble, O’Connell is outstanding.

The unfamiliar young cast all show a lot of potential in a well-thought-through, sting- in-the-tail plot. It’s a well-assembled genre movie rather than a great statement, but none the worse for it.

Armour-clanging, cloak-swishing tosh with okay battles, terrible dialogue and sadly little horror or heroism. Nowhere near as bad as I, Frankenstein – but what is?

Since the adorable, simple Garden State, Braff’s ambitions as a filmmaker have grown. He’s reaching for answers to really big questions, but they are, just slightly, beyond his grasp.

It might not feel fresh but Palo Alto feels real, honest and moving. An impressive debut by an exciting new talent.

We must surely now be getting close to some sort of zombie saturation point, with even the zomromcom becoming a distinct subsubgenre. On Beth’s evidence, however, there’s life in the undead yet.

A tense, two-piece horror with serious kick.

Cahill's second feature film is another smart, inventive and engaging offering.

Pawlikowski has a photographer’s eye for composition, and every crisp, monochrome frame could be a postcard from Poland’s tragic, turbulent past.