Selah And The Spades showcases Simone’s star power and suggests a promising future for Poe, but ultimately fails to keep up the pace needed to make it the slick, cutting teen drama that it clearly wants to be.

A moving and often funny self-portrayal of Chapman that will delight Python fans.

It’s sexy, offbeat fun for the most part, but it’s way too laid-back for its own good and, in the end, obstinately refuses to be anything more than the sum of its highly promising parts.

Steve Coogan and Alfred Molina deliver a terrific meditation on insincere actors.

It's solid Miyazaki, although he has reached greater heights both before and since.

The X-Files can stand proud as a genuine movie with a beginning, a middle and an end, two charismatic leads and a franchise ahead of it.

A slick, enthralling look at the life of Vallanzasca but fails to truly get under his skin.

There are effective moments of dark humour.

It falters in the middle and hesitates unnecessarily in setting up the love story, but Gru still has charm and kids will adore the Minions.

A solid John Woo fu-action hero actioner from the 70s with a glimpse of his later promise.

Those who find men in feathers inherently divine will have a high old time here, and there are enough hilarious cinematic moments for the gob-smacked rest.

It's all very, very silly. That, combined with the relentless pace, should ensure that it delights its target audience of under-tens, but the adults shouldn’t fear this dog’s bark too much.

A hit in Berlin, the Taviani siblings' documentary has plenty of wit and punch, although compared to the best of the medium - "Man On Wire," for instance - it sometimes comes off as guileless and clunky.

Genuinely sweet and endearing Murphy film, at last.

Brings a lump to the throat without resorting to emotional manipulation. Deserves an A for effort.

What's missing here though is the novel's trick of being a wonderfully contrived mystery on the surface while underneath lurks an angry and upsetting analysis of class injustice in the USA.

All you'd expect from an X-Men film (or spin-off, or prequel), but not all you'd hope for. It smacks of rush and compromise, but there's thankfully enough to make you feel optimistic about the series' future once more.

Michael Bay goes back to a Bad Boys budget and a big boys’ rating, for a true-life crime story that’s inconsistent and frenetic, but also funny and wilfully outrageous.

An enjoyable journey with a stellar cast, though the baggage we carry as modern viewers sees this ride derailed before its denouement.

An admirably unsentimental biopic with an excellent central performance, but it doesn't impact as strongly as it could.

The tension between the intended tribute and the lack of success on-screen makes for a muted viewing experience, but as a document of what were likely the waning days of American empire, and the curious priorities its agents chose during them, this is fascinating.

Part 4, to its credit, is the noisiest. Disappointingly, it's also the worst: not bad, just not as good.

As an exploration of cultural discord, Nagisa Oshima's film is pretty thin stuff, despite its reputation. Bowie is a potent irritant, but Tom Conti is solid in support and Sakamoto's mesmerising score sparkles anew.

Without a doubt, hard hitting and thoguhtful, but Clarke's style here (as it would continue to do) hints at something altogether more disturbing.

An austere, cerebral reading of a book which is unfettered, blood-bolstered and wildly sensationalist — Lewis is the father of torture porn, not a master of subtle chills. It’s interesting and unsettling, with a charismatic lead performance, but nowhere near as shocking as it should be.

What Above Suspicion lacks in flashy direction, it makes up for in strong performances and gripping true-life material to draw from.

Scoop is not quite the prince that was promised. But there are some gripping moments, and some extraordinary performances — especially from Sewell and Piper.

Sweet-natured, undemanding family fun.

A brainless, bombastic, bomb-tastic action romp, this is absurd on almost every level, and far more fun than it has any right to be.

Neither a splendid phoenix from the ashes nor a complete failure, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is erratic, occasionally inspired, occasionally dull, but shot through with a grandiose sense of ambition. Plus, Driver and Pryce add some magic along the way.

Patchy and in need of a rigorous edit, but amid all the weeds there is some ripe comedy (satire, even) for the plucking.

An enjoyable escapade and a great introduction to the forthcoming series - just not the seventh Star Wars film fans were hoping for.

A superb Kidman takes off the handbrake, and most everything else, in Daniels' southern-fried follow-up to "Precious." Watch it with "Killer Joe" for the ultimate sweaty, twisted double-bill.

A lot of fun.

To say this is the best of the Ernest series is no great compliment, but there are enough knowing film jibes here, and ample seasonal tomfoolery, to keep a family in their seats.

For veteran viewers who’ve seen it all before, it’s not exactly the Second Coming. But novice nunsploitation audiences might find this habit-forming: a stylish enough entry-level initiation.

As a film in its own right, this quirky Ray Harryhausen tribute (a skeleton army!) rocks. As an Evil Dead film, though, it’s ultimately not funny, scary or gory enough.

A charming animation with funny — if samey — moments and a quality voice cast.

Utterly mindless, but on its own snap, bang, and wallop terms, it works well enough.

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.

Disappointingly dull given the explosive subject matter, this at least attempts to get a message into the mainstream. An extra star for effort rather than execution.

The film is a little too long, but makes up for it with a strong cast and enthralling action.

One or two serious scares and some excellent creature design work make this a superior British horror sci-fi.

An odd one. Rogen's latest clown is an angry, confused man who you never feel entirely comfortable laughing at. There are laughs -- you'll just feel guilty afterwards...

"Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" and "Chocolat" man Hallström is an old pro at navigating this kind of undemandingly dramatic yarn and does a pretty fine job with Sparks' story.

In what could have been a definitive tribute to Whitney Houston’s career, surface-level execution means her story is not quite done justice. But Naomi Ackie's performance shines above everything else.

The script hasn't aged well and their's an overdose of the ominous, but when Ford forgets about religion and concentrates on squealer-on-the-run thrills, the film still has a real charge.

Terribly dated, but worth watching for Caine's performance.

It’s enthralling as well as rambling, you do miss the songs, but there is clearly no place for them here. Best to see them as individual films with nothing in common apart from source material, one a classic, the other a strong enough picaresque amongst some decent fabulation.

The Wrong Missy is a little hit-and-miss, but it’s funny and inventive, and Lapkus is good enough to make the word “zany” tolerable again.

An average movie improved by Cruise's star appeal and accomplished supporting cast.

Beautifully acted, it's a tender love story with one or two belly laughs.

This is a bold, unusual and gorgeously realised take on the very familiar slasher template — even if it doesn’t quite live up to its innovative promise.

Judd Apatow’s broadest film yet is a patchy collection of Covid-themed comedy cock-ups — but a talented ensemble of performers means you’re never too far away from your next laugh.

An amazing exercise in character development which successfully shows the character as they were in the first film and as they are now. It is flawed in the basics, but often delightful in detail.

Tender and touching, this gay coming-of-ages story is underpinned by a terrific, subtle turn from newcomer Florizoone.

Marked For Death offers a very proficient range of bang-and-break antics ending with a neat twist.

The founding of a comedy institution shot as a madcap thriller, Saturday Night glides over the surface rather than drilling deep, but it’s largely a hell of a fun 109 minutes.

It’s impossible to overstate how much this film owes to Ryan Reynolds. Even if you don’t understand Pikachu’s world, everyone can understand a great joke superbly delivered.

Too many generic tropes for this downbeat, detached melodrama to convince as a work of social realism but a strong central performance and convincing depiction of the compartmentalisation of Argentina's women.

Not one of Nicholson's best, but an enjoyable comedy nonetheless.

It cleaves closely to the familiar, but Finding The Way Back scores points by finding different beats within the formula and from a great Ben Affleck performance.

Rourke and Rockwell make satisfying, complementary villains, while Downey Jr. delivers again. Shame this sequel feels inessential, over-busy and a little, well, mechanical. Nothing they can’t put right for Iron Man 3.

Not a Farrelly brothers classic, and (some testicle-washing aside) not much in the way of their trademark gross-out humour, but the boys from Boston do an admirable job of transferring Hornby's story into the States and onto the baseball diamond.

Well-intentioned if sometimes lacking in subtlety, Enola Holmes offers a fine, spirited reminder that a traditional story can always be retold — although it might need more refined teachings on feminism next time.

This isn't afraid to be a horror movie.

The film's period settings and spectacular on-stage showbiz set-pieces are fabulous, its meandering script much less so. The thing feels like a movie with its heart ripped out.

Anyone looking for a revelatory portrait of an iconic artist might be a smidge disappointed. But as conventional as it is, this is still a strikingly well-made musical drama with pitch-perfect performances. Don’t criticise, as Dylan once sang, what you can’t understand. 

It doesn’t always successfully balance its comic and poignant tones, but yet another powerhouse performance from Olivia Colman makes Joyride a disarming experience.

Could have been a little more darkly comic in places but the performances are superb.

If you do pick up a penguin, you could do worse than experience Michell’s kind of spiritual and moral awakening. Still, the film is thankfully sharper and less cute than it initially appears.

A timely documentary that seeks to amuse and inform as much as alarm.

There's more here for the under-tens than over-, but it's still charming, amusing and energetic enough to win you over.

Elvis not only rocks the city of lights but also showed he could act.

The missing link between '00s wushu, '80s kids' fantasy and '70s chop-socky, this manages to be thoroughly entertaining - and the face-off between Chan and Li is worth the entrance price alone.

A remake that does not disgrace the original, this is sufficiently different to stand alone and just as relevant in its concerns – as well as succeeding (arguably better) as a thriller. And after this performance, are we sure that Keanu Reeves is really human?

As the body count mounts, De Palma blurs the line between fantasy and reality with gleeful affrontery, creating a dazzling tapestry of visual cheats and narrative trickery which propels his scarcely credible characters and ludicrous plot - involving multiple personalities, babynapping and homicidal maniacs - through to its nervy conclusion.

Long-in-the-tooth characters detract from the usual high-spirited fun and frolics.

A darker middle act, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 lacks the verve of 1994 but still delivers enjoyable summer camp-based bedlam. Next up: 1666.

The first film was so middle-of-the-road that most have probably forgotten it existed. Its sequel creates a more lasting impression, with vibrant animation and a wackadoodle sense of humour.

A sci-fi which balances big themes and claustrophobic action with apparent ease.

The main problem is that the supposed good guys are all such reprehensible toads it’s impossible to care whether they get to bring down Willem Dafoe’s charismatic, polo-necked super-crook.

The result never comes close to being hilarious, merely cute in the corniest way. That it is more of a pleasure than it deserves, is down to the light, bright leads. Cage and Fonda are both charming, though he’s particularly endearing in his uncharacteristic but welcome turn as a soft-hearted, irresistable darling. The slightness is a disappointment, but the concoction is still very sweet indeed.

Like its slack-jawed clones, The Island is full of energy and incredibly pretty but burdened with only the minimum of smarts.

The scares and monsters are effectively conjured, but if you’re not familiar with Austin Schwartz’s source material, you may be left a little cold.

It’s not as scary or as effective as the first film, but points for the performances, and for trying hard to do something different and fresh.

There’s a wobble about how committed this is to being a scary movie rather than an inside Hollywood drama, but — like Exorcist III — it springs one great lunge-out-of-an-unexpected-corner-of-the-frame jump scare.

It doesn’t hit the heights of Raw and Titane, but strong performances and the moving familial drama mean Julia Ducournau’s third feature is still an impactful watch.

Guest star Dan O'Herlihy steals the film as a Celtic joke tycoon (‘the man who invented sticky toilet paper and the dead dwarf gag’) who hates the way American kids are despoiling the religious spirit of Samhain and decides to teach them a nasty lesson.

This would have been a striking calling card, and it’s still an impressively solid piece of genre filmmaking with great cinematography and score. But there’s not much here of the ambition of Animal Kingdom, leaving Michôd in ‘difficult third movie’ territory. Let’s hope he gets a move on this time.

A semi-sequel to the acclaimed "Baraka," Fricke delivers another stunning spectacle in 70mm, interspersed with some tiresome sermonising.

Strong performances keep the viewer guessing as much as our heroine, but the character drama recedes as the thriller element builds, to its detriment.

The sum of the parts is a cautiously optimistic view of love's power to re-shape lives, propounded with considerable appeal.

Some interesting creative choices make this more a curio than a great film.

Film is elegant but never beautiful, a pretence at Lean’s magnificence contradicted by a lavish but anachronistic score by Vangelis. It is the words and performances which excite; their director is out of his depth.

You can really tell that the people making this film had a lot of fun doing it. The plot is thinner than a compressed wafer, but who cares? It's fun and cheap laughs all the way, and that ain't no crime.

Lemmon and Maclaine fail to reproduce the chemistry from The Apartment but this slight film is not as ignorable as reputation suggests.

Well-shot thriller but with a weak performance from Beatty.