Devastating, yet ultimately rewarding, Paris Memories offers an alternative to the usual socio-political consideration of a terrorist attack by drawing a humane, kaleidoscopic portrait of various survivors’ crisis responses.

Both hilarious and heartfelt, Joy Ride packs a nuanced exploration of Asian identity into a Trojan Horse comedy, filled with enough narcotics to get the blood pumping.

Inventively animated, giddily funny, and a surprisingly authentic take on the outsider experience: it is virtually impossible not to be charmed by these reptilian bros.

Resembling a kids’-birthday-party remake of 1973's The Legend Of Hell House, this suffers from being not that funny or spooky. Its saving grace is a cast you’re happy to spend time with.

Tense, stressful and savagely staged, this is a scarily good debut from YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou. Be sure to hold someone’s hand while watching.

Thought-provoking, intimate and brave, the outstanding performances from its leading stars and Edwards’s smart direction make this a great entry in Black British cinema.

Take That have more than enough hits to give this a solid soundtrack, but the story they’re loosely tied to is weakly constructed and far gloomier than the cheery music deserves.

Sometimes the storytelling can feel like a stretch, but this is mostly a lively, well-told account of a bizarre toy craze gone wrong, and the big personalities behind it.

With its singular design and two-hour runtime, this isn’t aimed at casual moviegoers. But for film buffs and Hitchcock fans, it’s a refreshing, essential alternative to the usual fodder.

A gripping, moving, sometimes frustrating portrait of a man consumed by a need to speak up, even as he wonders if anybody’s watching.

A masterfully constructed character study from a great director operating on a whole new level. A film that you don’t merely watch, but must reckon with.

Greta Gerwig delivers a new kind of ambitious and giddily entertaining blockbuster that boasts two definitive performances from actors already in their stride. Life after Barbie will simply never be the same again.

A stylish, laugh-out-loud blast that has something to say but doesn’t sacrifice enjoyment to do so, anchored by a trio of great performances. Quite the debut for Juel Taylor.

A largely uninspiring re-tread of a superior film, this has some decent moments and enough gnarly deaths to keep horror hounds vaguely entertained until the inevitable arrival of ‘Bird Box Santorini’.

Madder than a bag of cats. Quentin Dupieux’s latest is even more absurd — and more pointless — than his film about a sentient car tyre. But it’s cheering to know he is still being allowed to make this sort of bollocks.

Franchise fans will enjoy seeing the Lamberts again, but newcomers will be baffled by the under-developed story and nonplussed by the over-familiar scares.

Pixar’s first out-and-out love story, Elemental is overstuffed and inconsistent — but packed with enough moving sentiment, gorgeous design and punchy voice performances to mean it still burns bright.

This one’s an endlessly thrilling, continuously propulsive beast, tense from the start: even the quieter, conversational scenes have you on edge. Mission, once again, accomplished.

Beautifully designed and voiced, this has a solid message at its heart. But it’s a well-told tale that’s suffers from being too well-trodden already.

Margaret Qualley is lively and engaging, but Stars At Noon is let down by a wearingly meandering plot and lacklustre chemistry. Not one for the Denis hall of fame.

Much better appreciated as an unlikely friendship story than the raunchy comedy it’s billed as, No Hard Feelings is formulaic but fun, fuelled by the lead pair’s engaging chemistry.

Both enthusiastically irreverent and deeply sincere, Nimona is a revisionist fairytale that forges its own path visually and narratively to beautiful effect. Insert celebratory shark-dance here.

It’s far from a complete biography, but it makes at least some effort to engage with the messier aspects of Lee’s life. Ultimately, however, this is a celebration of Lee and the cheerleading he did for comics, and that is surprisingly moving.

This overambitious, flawed feature debut is simply trying to do too much. It lurches erratically between genres and themes, resulting in a muddled story whose reach exceeds its grasp.

Hargrave, a stuntman turned director, knows where to put his camera for maximum impact, and genuinely disturbing foley work showcases sounds of crunching bones and splattering blood. You feel every punch land.

A pressure cooker of a period picture, Brooklyn 45 is a smart take on the spooky séance staple, a film where the scariest spectres are the ghosts of the past rather than any pixel-packed phantoms.

The story of how Flamin’ Hot Cheetos came to exist barely demands to be told (if it is even true). But like all good junk food, there are still some guilty pleasures to be had here.

Restrained but promising stuff from Keough and Gemmells, who exhibit strong world-building and lightness of filmmaking touch. A moving exploration of fatherhood, racial tension and reservation life.