While you cannot dismiss its place in history, its power is in what it represented rather than what it did.

Knocked Up touches places most comedies wouldn't dare, some of them scarily biological, some of them scarily accurate. It's the sleeper hit of the summer, but don't worry: it's much better than that.

Ideal Sunday afternoon fare.

Back to the streets and with a stellar cast, Martin Scorsese proves once again that he's the master of urban storytelling -- and of thrillingly violent filmmaking.

Utterly absorbing, extremely smart and - considering this is a sad, shabby, drably grey-green world of obsessives, misfits, misdirection, disillusionment, self-delusion and treachery - quite beautifully executed.

A gift of great storytelling, this is the best film Chris Sanders has made.

A scrappy but soulful delight. Regina Hall brings everything to this nuanced and loving portrait of working women whose stories seldom make their way into the foreground of film.

Just wonderful with its offbeat but wholly credible storyline, down-to-earth style and exceptionally fine performances.

No mere creature feature, this 1940s classic offers more subtle chills.

The luxurious feel of the film is a perfect counterpoint to the painful truths drawn on each brother's face, whilst Pfieffer is much more than eye candy.

A tight plot that's enriched by wonderfully crafted characters that each have their own key weaknesses.

The comparisons are inevitable, so let's get them out of the way. Hero is a better film than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Carla Simón’s film is a tender peach itself. A lament for a world slipping out of reach is brought invigoratingly to life by a vividly drawn cast of characters.

Tries just a tad too hard to be a classic, with Ladd's Roy Rogers woodenness not quite getting the depths of author Jack Schaefer's fallen hero, but the support - Jean Arthur as the yearning farmer's wife, Ben Johnson as the conscience-struck bully - are excellent, and some scenes lodge forever in your memory.

Dramatically, this may seem slight. But bounteous pleasures lie in the intimacy of the acting and in the exquisite cinematic and culinary craftmanship on display.

Shows the famed songwriter's performance and work off with reverance, and a faithfullness to the live experience.

With great performances across the board and a socially relevant story, Mudbound will resonate long after the credits roll.

An impressive filmmaking debut from actor-turned-director Rebecca Hall which largely avoids cliché or soapboxing about race, featuring two excellent performances from Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.

Stunningly beautiful and quietly powerful, this is a portrait of a vanishing way of life and of a determined woman who’s just trying to make her way in the world.

Splashing around in the same mad puddle as Lynch but a good deal funnier, this tale of a man with many faces is an exhilarating, audacious, lunatic rocket-ride. Hop on board.

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.

Altogether, this is as fine a piece of craftsmanship as one could expect of Eastwood, with Hackman and I Freeman's performances standing out, and given the sombre tone there are entertaining surprises and even some good laughs to be had.

Clouzot achieves an analysis of the human condition at least as bleak as Huston's The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre but without the grandstanding speeches and with more subtle performances.

Ledger's performance is monumental, but The Dark Knight lives up to it. Nolan cements his position as Hollywood's premier purveyor of blockbuster smarts – and the Batbike is kinda cool, too.

A perfectly pitched blast of nostalgia, which will transport you to that time in life when the future stretched before you and anything seemed possible.

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.

A bold, honest film about family life that showcases a terrifically unpeppy turn from Bejo.

An unconventional love story that finds pathos amid the PVC, this triumphant directorial debut bares so much more than flesh. Bruising and brilliant.