A wholly captivating date movie for eternal romantics who also enjoy slime-and-tentacle transformations.

A storming debut from writer-director Saim Sadiq: emotional, tender, and quietly radical. With any luck, it will herald a new era for Pakistani cinema.

It's a million miles from MTV chic; instead a timeless record of a timeless band, now fifty-somethings uniting an everyman/woman/child audience. Feel the power.

The road-crime movie is such a formula in Hollywood that almost every debuting director turns one out, but writer-director Matthew Bright rings the changes by modeling this white trash nightmare on Red Riding Hood.

Unashamedly romantic and achieved with a beautifully subtle, old-fashioned elegance, it’s a graceful coming-of-age tale ripe for awards.

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.

Stealing the show is Suzanne Flon's immaculate display as the matriarch whose good-natured indulgence of her ghastly relations belies a guilty secret. Mercilessly acute and quietly devastating.

Atmospheric and engrossing, this meticulous recreation of time and place acquires an unsettling contemporary relevance through its analysis of the mindset of a mass murderer with a death wish.

Guaranteed to offend a lot of folks across the political and belief spectrum, but consistently funny and horribly to the point. A sit-com spin-off is probably not on the cards, though.

It's a tight thriller played out smoothly but tying the viewer in moral knots. A film to think about for days, with little hope of finding a comfortable answer.

A timeless musical treat and the most fun you can have with really elegant clothes on.

Douglas and Turner make a great double act in this exuberantly directed adventure movie with a great start turn from the always enjoyable De Vito. Good stuff.

If it’s not God-tier level Kore-eda, Broker explores the toughest themes — emotional and physical abandonment — with the gentlest touch. Treat yourself.

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.

Following up Love Is Strange with another slice of urban bohemia, Sachs’ latest is another gem that's full of heart and warmth.

Michael Lehmann’s feature debut introduced the world to Christian Slater at his Jack Nicholson, subversive best and gave Winona Ryder a career-high role.

Think The Archers with a sprinkling of trendier folk and a lot more shagging. Very intelligently funny, with stellar performances.

Moving and convincing as a case for romantic anxiety being the most isolating thing in the world. Fingernails is funny until it’s not: deeply romantic from the top of your head to the end of your fingernails.

Shohei's journey from unhappy worker bee - the early scenes are cleverly sketched to show his mundane routine without ever themselves being boring - to rejuvenated free spirit is credible, actually earning the film's final emotional wallop. Irresistible.

A spirited gothic tale, played with welcome black humour.

It may not scale the heights of Heat or The Insider, but this is riveting stuff and reconfirms Mann's status as a master of the medium.

There's more than a nod to King Hu's Touch Of Zen as Zhangke unleashes a four-fisted chunk of ultraviolent fury. Tarantino would approve.

In tackling homelessness with deep empathy, one of our most exciting young actors proves himself to be a bold new voice in British filmmaking. Leave some talent for the rest of us, Dickinson.

With each subplot reinforcing the simmering sense of unease, this compelling recreation of a pernicious period soberingly exposes the ease with which morality can become a casualty of human nature.

It’s soppy and sentimental, and it’s no longer possible to take the famous pottery sequence seriously, but some neat special effects and a healthy dose of humour prevent it from becoming mawkish.

Unshowy to a fault, Hytner delivers a fine, moving comedy of English manners between a writer and his eccentric tenant, which slowly deepens into an exploration of human bonds.

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

Mesmerising and mystifying, in equal measure. Enys Men confirms Mark Jenkin as one of the most exciting, original cinematic voices in the UK right now.

As a newly solo director, Safdie summons a thoughtful and moving mood for this unconventional sports film; as a newly serious dramatic actor, Johnson is about to win some awards.

An intense, streamlined exercise in gruesome thrills, with a tiny glimmer of social context (it’s all about the economy) which doesn’t take away from the exciting struggle to get out of this house of horrors.

The smart visual trickery lifts what might otherwise have been a fairly conventional thriller, but it also lets Chaganty say some interesting things about our online lives. Technophobes should stay away.

Streep and Eastwood's chemistry makes the film.

Not as emotional as "Million Dollar Baby," nor as astounding as "Saving Private Ryan," but Eastwood remains the most astringent American filmmaker around.

Gentle, likable and profoundly touching, it makes you want to dig out the hiking boots and make the same journey.

As a psychological drama, it's a sophisticated, gripping piece that unusually leaves you wanting to go on past its unsettling conclusion.

Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls’ feature co-directorial debut is a riotously funny, unexpectedly poignant ode to gaming, Shakespeare, the indestructible nature of art, and the benefits of befriending bazooka wielding extraterrestrials.

Some may find this sprawling film hard to adjust to, but for those who can, it is a real find. With an imaginative plot and an amusing direction, this charming film is a fitting way to end Cocteau's career.

Initially jarring, the video aesthetic blends beautifully with period footage to give a smart depiction of a nation in transition. A well-deserved Oscar nominee.

Mostly harmless. A very British, very funny sci-fi misadventure that's guaranteed to win converts.

A good-looking and entertaining British horror film.

The kind of heist movie that will steal your affections from under your nose. An Ealing-esque comedy with its heart exactly in the right place, it proves a fitting farewell for the multitalented director, Roger Michell.

Hodges takes a cool, detached approach, designing most scenes in monochrome with disturbing flesh-colours, and manages to make Segal's semi-android a strangely sympathetic monster.

A fittingly poignant treatment of an inspiring subject.

Despite its darker-than-dark premise — Abduction! Dead kids! Imprisonment! — The Black Phone finds hope in the midst of the horror. Looking for soulful scares this summer? Answer the call.

A 1949 for-kids version of the King Kong story still boasting a lot of charm.

Solid and stately, a ’70s-feeling jungle adventure film that’s more of a thought-provoker than an excitement-inducer. But there’s nothing wrong with that.

Alex Cox’s retelling of the Sex Pistols’ story from the point of view of Sid (Gary Oldman) and girlfriend Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) works as both spirited punk biopic and tragically touching love story. It’s a hard film to watch at times, as Vicious plunges deeper into his heroin-induced slump, but told with skill and compassion, which make up for the onscreen squalor.

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

Maestro never truly gets under its subject’s skin, but it’s mightily impressive, full of brilliant filmmaking, many memorable scenes and a superb Carey Mulligan walking away with the entire movie.

A well-rounded, unpretentious, very funny, knockabout adventure - subtly blended so that it's fun for all the family.

It’s way over the top in its style, which is a good thing, but grounded with realistic, loveable characters. This is a romcom milestone and the best thing to happen to the genre in years. It’s crazy good.

For the most part, this is a ‘re-quel’ as fast, funny and ferocious as a Scream movie should be. In an era of elevated horror, it’s a gloriously gory basement party.

It's not always easy viewing, but Hard Candy is an intelligent, challenging film which deserves to be seen.

This is often upsetting (though never to the levels of Irréversible) but as energetic and handsome as its cast. At times you’ll be watching in horror, but you’ll never look away.

While not quite on a par with Happy Death Day, Freaky is an ebullient slasher that strikes a perfect balance of comedy and carnage.

A metafictional work elevated into something new: deeply felt and true as a story about parental enigma, spectral remembrance and ingrained British repression.

If you thought the sweetness of The Straight Story was unprecedented in Lynch’s work, look again at this earlier true-life tale of odd, everyday heroism.

Smart, intriguing, funny and sad, with some primo wisecracking dialogue.

In trying to tell an enormous amount of story it can spread itself too thin and leave some strands feeling unfinished, but when it’s at its best, this is beautiful and bold filmmaking.

Holm’s well-judged adaptation of the bestseller keeps the maudlin to a minimum and plays the black comedy just right. A strong contender for feel-good film of the year.

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.

Heavy-handed but still poignant patriotism in this Hitchcock thriller.

Simpler, but also bolder and bloodier, than its predecessor, The Bone Temple is a more-than-worthy sequel.

The kind of good old-fashioned adult comedy we don’t see enough — delivering a confident commentary on the mess of modern sex and relationships. Unpredictable, unromantic and, most importantly, unbelievably funny.

A daring, dark satire strewn with allusions to modern times.

Combining genuine emotional stakes, biting black humour and enough blood and dismembered limbs to satisfy even seasoned gorehounds, Chris Baugh’s terrific, unorthodox vampire flick has got it where it Counts.

Powerful, moving and melancholy. A low-key treat.

It may lack the fine-tuned inventiveness of Toy Story or the knowingness of Shrek, but it still delivers solid laughs and thrills wrapped up in an infectious sense of character.

An extremely interesting insight, proving that rap music is an art form in its own right.

As well as a gifted photographer, Rock is a raconteur, with the subjects of his stories needing no introduction. But the real stars of the show here are his pictures, and that is as it should be.

Visually striking, intellectually challenging and emotionally harrowing.

You already know if you’ll enjoy a film where LSD-crazed leather daddies are summoned via something called the Horn Of Abraxas. A no-holds-barred ride into madness destined for a thousand midnight screenings.

It is the last great Western ever made, and it will always remain so.

A delightful blend of hand-drawn animation and CG style that'll be soul food for hopeless romantics everywhere.

A viscerally rendered plane crash gives way to an affecting story of humanity and survival. Bayona is on impressive form here.

Handsome, engrossing, frequently very funny for a literary bio drama, and ultimately deeply moving, with pitch-perfect performances from one and all.

Masterfully manipulative and bloody scary.

An amiable, amusing story of unlikely friendship, which is as aware of what makes people tick as it is of what makes tech troubling.

This arty approach may dismay hard-core horror fans, but it captures the dark grace of the original with wit and style.

Genuinely funny. A life lesson in never prejudging a man just because he's skinning a squirrel.

Very sweet, very funny, really quite touching and exquisitely handmade, by a film lover with humour and a heart, for a like-minded audience.

Time will tell if it’s worthy of being talked about in the same breath as Easy A, Clueless, Booksmart and the like, but Amy Poehler’s teen comedy is smart, funny, likeable and winningly performed. Moxie by name, moxie by nature.

Thought-provoking, intimate and brave, the outstanding performances from its leading stars and Edwards’s smart direction make this a great entry in Black British cinema.

This not being Hollywood, Michele and Filippo do not benefit from life lessons learned as exemplified in coming-of-age pap like "Now And Then." The sweet life, this ain’t.

Movie Marmite. Many will be perplexed. Donnie Darko fans should lap it up.

As before, Lee's acute observation distils humour from accuracy rather than caricature but his growth as a filmmaker is impressive.

Unfairly neglected, perfectly creepy and disturbing suburban bizarro drama.

This is - gasp! - a Hollywood movie actually daring to bare its teeth at silly American flag-waving.

A thoughtful approach to a much-covered topic, mixing prickly issues of roots and genocide with an eye for the surreal and an ear for the earthy.

Carnivorous lunar activities rarely come any more entertaining than this.

Frenetic, kinetic action meets satisfyingly soapy drama. See it before everyone tries to copy the best bits.

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.

Charming and watchable. The three leads show their comedy potential.

You don't need to understand anything of baseball to get behind this, a chest-swelling story about second chances and flipping a finger up (even a giant foam one) to The Man.

If there are post-Harry Potter children who don’t know or care about The Wizard of Oz, they might be at sea with this story about a not-very-nice grownup in a magic land, but long-term Oz watchers will be enchanted and enthralled. There’s even a musical number, albeit an abbreviated one. Mila Kunis gets a gold star for excellence in bewitchery and Sam Raimi can settle securely behind the curtain as a mature master of illusion.

With its woozy aesthetic and dynamic, beguiling cast, Priscilla is textbook Sofia Coppola: not breaking the mould, but a sublime continuation of her sad-girl sensibilities.

A gorgeously rendered and deeply personal portrayal of a young woman’s life in the part of the world where history’s greatest conflict reached a devastating conclusion.

Still gripping after all this time.