At the venerable age of 84, documentary maven Wiseman hasn't lost his touch.

As bold as the original Blade Runner and even more beautiful (especially if you see it in IMAX). Visually immaculate, swirling with themes as heart-rending as they are mind-twisting, 2049 is, without doubt, a good year. And one of 2017’s best.

Fantastic performances, sharp wit and a raw honesty breathe new life into the rites-of-passage drama.

Partly the story of a music scene, but mostly the story of a man who realises that living the dream isn’t always the best thing for your life. Vivid, immersive and blessed with a perfectly nostalgic soundtrack.

At first, it's hard to sort out who knows who and where the stories connect, but it eventually comes together, combining the gripping power of a soap opera with the skewed, unusual perspectives of Carver and Altman.

Improv comedy at its best: subtle, hilarious, excruciating and affecting in equal measure.

Sheen thrives in the guise of the idiosyncratic Clough in a brilliantly candid, if bitty, football parable.

A made-for-TV movie that proved so remarkable it received a theatrical release (first in Europe, then 10 years later in the US), Spielberg's calling card is as distinctive a piece of visual storytelling as you're ever likely to see.

It may be a tough watch, but, boasting a quartet of excellent performances, Fran Kranz’s directorial debut is a technically adept, emotionally exhausting yet deeply cathartic film that couldn’t be more timely.

As simple and charming as you could wish for, this is a genuinely pioneering debut from a female Saudi filmmaker and a striking piece of work by any standards.

The strength of the piece is that it realises which aspects of its genre have been seen too many times, always coming back to Nelson's blank but expressive stare as he watches terrible things the director doesn't need to shove in our faces.

Unflinching in its depiction of rural reality, this may be a dour drama, but it has been made with sincerity and an exceptional sense of place.

Musically sublime, gracefully directed, and filled with an inspiring optimism that couldn’t be more timely, this is another first-class exercise in capturing music on film from Dominik, Cave and Ellis.

Arrival is a beautifully polished puzzle box of a story whose emotional and cerebral heft should enable it to withstand nit-picky scrutiny. And like all the best sci-fi, it has something pertinent to say about today’s world; particularly about the importance of communication, and how we need to transcend cultural divides and misconceptions if we’re to survive as a species.

A sharp-edged, sweet-centred, warm-hearted coming-of-age movie that’s always just that little bit smarter than you think it is.

A hugely accomplished horror achievement, and a significant step up from Barbarian: tense, sad, hilarious, unsettling, ridiculously entertaining, and ultimately oddly uplifting.

A pure firework display of technical bravado, wild invention, emotional storytelling, comedic genius, action mastery and outstanding performances, Everything Everywhere All At Once is everything cinema was invented for.

A raw but beautiful picture of love uniting and dividing: tender, real and heartfelt.

Despite a hugely harrowing storyline, Close somehow musters the strength to take care of its audience and leave us with something beautiful and brave. There’s faith in a better future.

The Dissident explodes genres by combining them, equal parts political analysis, murder investigation, cyber thriller and paean to free speech. It also celebrates the life of late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who tirelessly gave a voice to the voiceless. 

Oak solid and unsinkable, Master And Commander is old-fashioned entertainment crafted with considerable care; but compared to "Pirates Of The Caribbean's" pleasure cruise, this voyage is choppy and difficult without ever troubling deeper waters.

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.

A merrily ferocious pop at the Hollywood bubble that balances sharp, acid laughs with a sweet, believable meet-cute. Top of the pack and Chris Rock’s best movie.

Alan J. Pakula directs with an aptly chilly eye on blue steel and grey walls, favouring whirring tape recorders and silently lurking voyeurs. Sutherland's melancholy title character is constantly challenged and prodded into the background by Fonda's Oscar-winning turn, which takes centre stage until the film becomes more obsessed with probing the riddles of her personality than solving the fairly transparent mystery.

Combining farce and tragedy in equal amounts, DiCillo has made a film that should appeal to anybody who has ever had a particularly rotten day.

Pixar has raised the animation bar again, with its most musical — and arguably most magical — film yet. If this is the afterlife we’re all headed to, don’t fear the reaper.

So godlike is Spielberg’s status that we often take his talents for granted. The strange, riveting mix of Bridge Of Spies is another sterling reminder that we shouldn’t.