A painful and poignant excoriation of the American dream.

Grand in scope, the best thing here is still Sir Ben Kingsley's central performance; the film will always deserve to be seen for this alone.

Absorbing if not quite insightful, due to a fair degree of self-editing, this remains a moving, often melancholic document of a fabulous songwriter and singer whose legacy becomes ever more obvious as the years pass. A must for fans.

As a spectacular war film with a powerful moral dimension, Zulu pre-dates Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan by more than three decades. Like the defence of Rorke's Drift itself, its legend grows with the passing of time.

An unconventional sequel to an unconventional film, this works as a standalone picture with its own distinctive take on alien invasion but also expands what now seem like a franchise with potential to deliver more and varied snapshots of human behaviour in extreme circumstances.

Scorsese is the Bob Dylan of cinema – poetic, truthful, idiosyncratic – and Rolling Thunder, despite some longueurs, is an important document of a major artist – by a major artist.

Despite its bleak locations, High Hopes is in fact very funny, with wonderful observations on life in the capital...and believable, touching performances all round.

Belfast is exactly the kind of film that wins an audience award at a festival — highly entertaining and beautifully done without ever being innovative or challenging, finding the universal in the specific, the upbeat in dire circumstances. Slight but winning.

Elements of self parody from the master of slapstick leave you yearning for the early work that made his name. But it's worth a watch to see Chaplin and Keaton in one of few on-screen appearances together.

Loveable - especially if you're as fond of a pun as we are - and extremely silly.

Beautiful and resonant, this provokes deeper thoughts on the nature of living with violence than most gangster films.

Telling an age-old story in a singularly original way, Border is a compelling, sometimes excruciating fairy tale for our times — with a bizarre sex scene to rival Team America’s.

For fans of Cassavetes, Opening night is a must see. As per usual it features a superb cast.

It’s almost as structurally daring as "Memento," demanding that the audience fills in the gaps.

This is one of those documentaries that stays with you for years. The injustice infuriates and the story, simply and deftly told, breaks your heart.

Roth and Reeves locks us in for an increasingly terrifying thrillride.

Provocative, principled and richly detailed, this is compelling stuff. Emotionally it’s a little dry, but as brain-food, it’s absolutely invigorating.

A simple entertainment in a summer of overcomplicated disappointments. Also much harder-edged than you may have expected.

Even without his box of political tricks, Oliver Stone remains the foremost cinematic shrink for America's distress.

Jonny Owen’s winning doc appeals beyond football tribalism with a universal underdog story, boosted by a thumping disco score that gives a thud to the match footage.

A surprisingly good and compelling film, that is made by its two leads.

From the visceral plunges of the first person mind clip sequences (including a terrifying, controversy courting rape sequence) to the overwhelming finale this is a, literally, stunning event. Some directors can, thank God, still make you experience films.

Another dramatic triumph for Bennett Miller, though it is his toughest and least glamorous outing yet. A sad and horrible story, expertly and compellingly told.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest film is a chilly and mystifying expression of a modern malevolence which hangs over our lives — like a cloud, if you will — worsened by constant digital connection.

It's not a great film, but Lee's superhuman skills make it an occasionally jaw-dropping experience.

Claire Oakley has created a vivid sensory experience out of limited means. Make Up is anything but cosmetic — it gets right under the skin.

Hitchcock's coldest, hardest movie until its controversial ending.

Less confrontational than most Solondz movies, in that it refrains from violence or kink, but still unsettling and affecting.