A sweetly pitched — and appropriately unorthodox — tribute from a movie megastar son to his filmmaking legend father.

Uneven in places, Pin Cushion nonetheless offers a moving meditation on what it feels like to be different, elevated by great work from Joanna Scanlan and newcomer Lily Newmark.

At heart, this is a simple Zen fable about love and death. In execution, it’s a complex and gorgeous mini-epic with sterling performances from its two stars.

The Canadian horror maestro scrapes away the surface of Hollywood to discover a magnificently Cronenbergian outbreak of tortured families, reprehensible behaviour and extreme violence.

Two men in their 80s power the month’s most pulse-pounding thriller. Who could have seen that coming?

Re-Animator remains a splashy hark back to the glorious 80s love affair with all-things bloody — to the point that Gordon was convinced he'd used more fake blood than anyone else in the history of horror.

An atmospheric rite of passage that suggests big things lie ahead for its writer-director and young cast.

Subtle and unflinching, this is genuine and charming.

M3GAN 2.0 is more absurd, self-aware silliness: a riot of timely tech paranoia, with almost no horror but a ton of successful comedy. Slay, queen!

Another Glum Space Mum, but one who feels complex and real. While the film depicts extraordinary circumstances, it always keeps the hearts (and heads) of its mother and daughter in focus.

While not exploitative and (mostly) not gratuitous, this is as tough as it gets — you bleed for this kid. Even if it gets a bit too much, you just can’t look away. Thrilling filmmaking.

A riveting portrait of a complex man who, like Stone himself, struggles with being a favourite of the institution(s) he attempts to rebel against.

The mesmerising García and sensitive direction by Lelio light up this delicate yet spiky drama. Terrific stuff from both Chileans.

Olivier is truly remarkable in his portayal of the hammy actor, anti-hero Archie.

Darker and more subtly complex than you'd expect from a 1950s crime caper.

It has few fireworks, but still sticks in the mind, and is a definite upgrade from Digimon: The Movie for director Mamoru Hosoda.

Another solid hit from Planet Apatow - charming, funny and remarkably in tune with real life.

Punchy and confronting, with another terrific turn from Seimetz.

Lovingly designed in black and white, and played with a nice sense of irony, this offers the not unappealing spectacle of gorgeous, funny, clever women making fools of hard-boiled Mafia guys.

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

Smart, and sharp enough to balance the sweetness of its simple yet profound message. All we have is time, and this film reminds us, movingly, that it matters how we spend it.

All the affairs and scandals that a French literary genius could wish for, with the bonus of a modern heroine and a story that acknowledges the diversity that has always been with us.

One Cut Of The Dead is a true original, a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse drama and much more besides.

The Hobbit plays younger and lighter than Fellowship and its follow-ups, but does right by the faithful and has a strength in Martin Freeman's Bilbo that may yet see this trilogy measure up to the last one. There is treasure here.

Shot in beautiful black and white with some stunning visuals, Gomes' narrative quest is a understated gem.

Wonderfully acted by a large cast of star bit-players who were obviously just keen on being in this particular movie - and with Edwards amply making up for his criminal appearances in Revenge of the Nerds and Top Gun.

Its skating sequences are impressive, but it’s the intimate examinations of fracturing friendships and emerging adulthood that make Minding The Gap surprisingly resonant.

Sensitively made, thought-provoking and ultimately moving, The Reason I Jump provides telling insights into the neurodiverse worldview. The result is a powerful documentary that presents life through fresh eyes.

A refreshingly humanist and nostalgic reboot of the iconic monster franchise, Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One takes the atomic lizard back to his post-war roots, while making the most of the director’s background in animation and VFX direction through convincing, tactile and classic design work.

Anchored by a great Giamatti performance, Cold Souls is built around a terrific idea and has serious fun with it. It also marks Barthes as a filmmaker to watch.

This remains a compelling Hitchcock thriller but it's Tippi Hedron's remarkable central performance which steals the show.

A funny and touching look at the joys of family life.

George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett utterly thrill in this sexually charged, suspense-filled watch. Don’t let this one pass you by.

A film that, despite being about theatre itself, is remarkably cinematic and entirely unafraid to revel in the English language.

Thrillingly paced, ravishingly shot and eerily topical, Sicario 2 retains much of its predecessor’s dark charm despite its shuffled creative personnel. But a jarringly Hollywood ending dulls its overall impact.

This is a timeless thriller, a reminder of how stars who have been so average elsewhere can produce excellent — some career-best — work when given a decent script and a confident director.

Dark and stormy, even gloomy, this is a distinctly autumnal blockbuster from the man who invented summer.

An understated but compelling look at coercive control, toxic relationships and healing friendships, with perhaps a career-best performance from Kendrick.

There have been many Draculas. But the one against which all others are measured is Bela Lugosi. Tod Browning's 1931 film is stagey and creaky, but it also has wonderful, unforgettable moments.

Lighter and slighter than we may expect from Coppola, On The Rocks is an eminently charming, gorgeous portrait of a daughter, wife and mother finding her way back to herself via the streets of New York City.

The narrative here feels somewhat underdeveloped, but Campion remains a master of sensory storytelling, delivering a scorching study of masculinity rooted in fear.

In his final and perhaps most personal Small Axe chapter, McQueen superbly rounds off a succulent portrayal of the resilience of Black British people ending where it matters most — the youth.

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

It has a nice line in wry chatter and a pleasantly old-fashioned ‘lost posse’ plot with engaging, odd characters striving against the wilderness while swapping cynical frontier wisdom.

Technology, as ever, is examined through a pessimistic prism, but the script is equipped with enough jargon and detail to expose the work and responsibility of the filmmakers.

Drolly scripted, impeccably designed and photographed, and played to succinct perfection, this may only be a slender drama, but it's also a cherishable summation of what makes Aki Kaurismäki special.

Another stunning adaptation of the classic anti-war novel: epic and horrific, in equal doses. War has rarely felt this wretchedly, desperately pointless.

A fulsome, fascinating piece of 20th century Irish folklore.

This pleasant 1940 comedy-drama hit on the successful double-act teaming of crooner Bing Crosby and patter comic Bob Hope, throwing in sarong-clad Dorothy Lamour for glamour and working through a trivial plot about fleeing responsibility for a South Seas idyll.

A funny-serious movie with gorgeous cars and colours and an amazing feel for the artefacts of an instantly vanished era.

A spunky, spiky action comedy that lives on the charisma of its leading ladies and the innovative spirit of director Nida Manzoor. Sisterhood is eternal; weird movies must be protected at all costs.

This is complex, thought-provoking cinema.

While it’s more sprawling than the other entries, Alex Wheatle is Small Axe’s strongest character piece, Wheatle’s coming-of-age and process of ‘unlearning’ the dogma of England’s white upper classes told with powerful emotivity and clarity.

Bruno Ganz is excellent as the victim deceived into committing murder.

Delivers old-fashioned, "Shawshank Redemption"-style entertainment.

For another, this film is that still shamefully rare pleasure, an absorbing ensemble piece in which a fine group of actors get to show their class and range, playing a black American family who are prosperous, cultured and complex.

The bizarre intersection between Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, Haruki Murakami and Anton Chekhov makes for a thematically fat, ambiguous, absorbing psycho-sexual drama. It’s not for the impatient, but it’s so precise and delicate, you won’t notice the gear-changes.

Most of the fun comes from the Davis/Jackson pairing and some frantic action scenes, though problems include too many "meanigful" close-ups of cigarettes being lit and booming (appropriately) sound.

Like any Shaun outing, it skews very young — the comedy is mostly slapstick silly and energetic explosions of primary colour. But any Aardman entry promises to be the best of all-ages-appropriate entertainment, with insane levels of stop-motion craft on show.

Chronicling the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, where Schwarzenegger faced off against TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno, this is now more a compelling document of his days before superstardom than it is a real insight into bodybuilding.

Exploring workers' rights in an age of mechanisation and recession, this isn't always an easy watch. But it's played with spirit, filmed with integrity and is pleasingly full of surprises.

A stunner of unrelenting tension interrupted by action, violence and gore.

So many films address the premise because it’s always thought-provoking and affecting. This also has a bleached, depopulated, effectively catastrophe-struck feel and an intriguing adult-and-child road movie storyline.

Remains hilarious throughout.

An emotional, incredibly intimate portrait of one man’s final days. Ondi Timoner’s documentary avoids the political aspects of the process, focusing squarely on the personal impact. The result is moving, humane, and cathartic.

Combining both the universality and specificity of Springsteen’s music, Blinded By The Light is an exuberant anthem to the importance of music, the need to be seen and the hope of new possibilities.

A precious thing, if likely to please refined aesthetes and odd children rather than win over Pixar-sized crowds.

The joy comes not from the will-they-won't-they romance between the two leads, but from the sharply written humour from the pen of writer Nora Ephron.

Very funny underdog comedy that’s genuinely heartwarming and full of charm.

This stylish, quietly suspenseful crime film offers a rejoinder to the typical macho ’70s genre, focusing on the female experience in a compelling, nuanced way.

It rarely deviates from formula, but Rush wins big, delivering the most exciting F1 footage created for film. Like Hunt, it is sexy, funny, full of thrills. Like Lauda, it is intelligent, a bit blunt, but ultimately touching.

This is the origin film we really need right now. Directors Cohen and West have brought a liberal trailblazer’s fascinating and largely untold story proudly into the spotlight.

Refocused on the hoof after the catastrophic 2014 earthquakes, Jennifer Peedom's film pulls no punches in exploring the culture and work of this unheralded group, as well as their frequent exploitation by Westerners.

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

A stunning superhero/sci-fi that has appeared out of nowhere to demand your immediate attention.

William Eubank continues to work his particular mind-stretching mix of acute character interplay and cosmic conceptual breakthrough.

Amid a cacophony of cack-handed hijacks of Irish politics for Hollywood gain, Jim Sheridan's clear, intelligent directorial voice once again hits the strident notes of realism.

A powerful meditation on personal freedom from a Hungarian auteur.

It's a stark vision of humanity in a hellish world. Tough and thought-provoking.

Whilst occasionally breathless to the point of exhausting, there’s nothing second-rate about The Beta Test, a sharp satire on the film industry that really packs a punch.

Ferrera successfully breathes life into an old franchise, with only a slight small change in the narrative but making the aliens significantly more frightening. Anwar is equally intuitive and sassy enough to make her a likeable and believable heroine and although the effects aren't up to much, there are still plenty of scary moments.

A return to the Western in its pure, cinematic form.

What could have been a ponderous, predictable sequel to a much-loved Oscar-winner instead turns out to be a fun romp. However Gladiator II fares this awards season, it’s a hell of a ride.

This is not a simple story of an uptight English woman induced to loosen up by those freedom-lovin’ Yanks, but a delicate and brilliantly acted story of overcoming the past to embrace an uncertain future. Emma Thompson, in particular, is magic.

Moving and musical, this is a striking portrait of courage and creativity in the face of some horrific odds chucked at you by life’s lottery.

If it’s not top-drawer QT, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is at once an engaging buddy comedy, an intoxicating fact and fiction mash-up, gorgeous filmmaking and a valentine to the movies that delivers geek nirvana.

An animated film showing you “how it’s done, done, done” — as HUNTR/X would put it — this is a stunning musical treat, a joy for all ages. Now warm up the vocal cords and bring on the sequel.

A bold, brave first effort behind the camera for Viggo Mortensen, elegantly distilling some painful truths for anyone who has ever had a complicated relationship with a parent.

This is simply the finest jazz documentary ever made.

This is a harsh, unsentimental science fiction film, though the performances suggest small surviving flames of empathy and yearning amid the tough, practical attitudes.

Though it rings ever so slightly hollow as cool shades into callousness, this exercise in sexy suspense and brain-scrambling mystery is a dazzling, absorbing entertainment which shows off Danny Boyle’s mastery of complex storytelling and black, black humour.

The conflict here is one of morality, identity and the boundaries of humanity; all the guns and napalm, while present, are secondary to War’s purpose.

Gibson is surprisingly uncharismatic, but Miller makes up for it with whizz bang action.

A dig into the nature of humanity from a director already fluent in the language of brutality and tenderness. A stunning love story that in its finest moments is pure poetry.

Exposing the bleak reality of a supposedly more innocent time, this inspired blend of musical and melodrama succeeds in being both fond and forlorn, artistic and authentic.

DJ Audrey Wells' crafty screenplay brims with truths about the sexes, providing great lines for Garofalo, and great business for Thurman's confused waif, and cranks the feelgood factor up so high it's almost off the scale.

The only phoney note, ironically, comes from Miller's gaffe of enlisting retired Yorkshire biochemist Don Suddaby, extractor of the said oil, for a self-conscious appearance as himself. That aside, this is exhausting, intelligent and undeniably moving .

Cronenberg by name, Cronenberg by nature. Possessor sees Brandon wading into territory often explored by his father, but there’s more than enough originality here, visually and thematically, to prevent this from being a mere cover version.