The Mortal Kombat movie excels when it lets the fighting do the talking. The rest of the time, it simply falls flat.

The Mitchells Vs. The Machines is as irreverently funny as 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. And, like Spider-Verse, it has a unique visual style that rewards close inspection.

A small film that hits big, Sound Of Metal is a gem you’ll want to bang the drum for.

Carey Mulligan is electric in a blackly comic #MeToo revenge thriller fuelled by righteous fury.

With a super-spoof that’s occasionally funny but always forgettable, the Melissa McCarthy-verse falls flat at Phase One.

Watching these famous monsters share the screen for the first time since 1963’s King Kong Vs. Godzilla, in a series of expertly choreographed battles, packs real wallop, even if you can’t help wishing that screen was 30ft high at your local cinema.

Though suffering from its own shortcomings, Zack Snyder’s gargantuan Justice League is a commendable improvement on the widely derided original. Stock up on snacks.

It might not venture into the unknown, but Raya takes spirited wing.

Coming 2 America has arrived at just the right time: its eminent watchability and pleasing lack of drama (things never get too dangerous or dicey) mean it should go down well as a cheering antidote to stressful times. But it's hard to imagine anyone opting to watch it over the original in years to come. Ultimately, it’s more fawning subject than rightful heir.

Thankfully, the Russos imbue the often grim proceedings with the right amounts of light and levity to keep you gripped. Meanwhile, the subversive humor peppered throughout lends an anarchic energy that entertains as well as it moves.

Tom Hanks gives a fine leading performance as Captain Kidd, yet the plot falls into problematic stereotypes at times.

An exquisitely rendered period tale, The World To Come is a slow-burning but ultimately rewarding drama of the heart.

Well executed if not entirely original – with werewolves, what is? – Eight For Silver is an assured, engaging chiller.

Crucially, while there’s plenty here that fans of the famously enigmatic pair may be learning for the first time thanks to Wright’s exhaustive access, it’s a documentary that doubles as an accessible, breezy introduction to a band you may never have heard of, and a springboard to further explore their celebrated back catalogue.

Between its genre know-how and furious anger, King’s biopic makes damn sure you feel the weight of Hampton’s loss – and the need for his legacy to be honoured.

Ben Wheatley goes back to basics for a pandemic chiller where Covid is the last thing to be afraid of.

An extraordinarily grim and tender comedy from Jerrod Carmichael, On The Count of Three is buoyed by an exhilarating Christopher Abbott performance.

A visually stunning directorial debut that’s too intimidated by the original source material to be effective.

An end-game disclosure that seems too neat a plot turn can be forgiven for the elegant way Wright and Birchir play it and the buoyant note of catharsis and hope that Land ends on.

Prisoners of the Ghostland exists entirely outside the norms and conventions of moviemaking. Really there’s only one word to describe it: nuts.

Led by a trio of Oscar winners knocking it out of the park, The Little Things is a murky must-see.

Malcolm & Marie is a film of the moment, powered by Covid, BLM and #MeToo – but good enough to stand the test of time.

We’ve all been waiting for Gadot, and it was worth it. A much-needed blockbuster full of humour, spectacle and optimism.

This distinctly amateurish animation may be targeted at tots, but you’d have to particularly hate your children to inflict on them this tale of an elderly vet (Connery) trying to save a missing beaver.

No ray guns, no tentacular beasties, just gravitas in a film that goes boldly about its business but never quite lands.

A rich rumination on the immortal link between artist and subject.

Chadwick Boseman gives this muscular film, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, added punch and poignancy.

A spirited and likeable Christmas musical that boasts terrific songs and looks the part, Jingle Jangle covers a threadbare story with just enough tinsel.

An unexpected delight thanks to its two leads and expertly executed action.

Polished but pedestrian, Hillbilly Elegy is a boilerplate underdog tale that lacks bite – but gives good Glenn Close.

After 30 years of gestation, Mank emerges one of the great films on the machinations of Hollywood

A stupid film made by very smart people, Subsequent Moviefilm has a noble intent at odds with the loathsome figures that populate it. It’s never quite as gut-bustingly funny as the 2006 original, but you get the sense that wasn’t what Cohen was going for. By simply holding a mirror up to the rampant hypocrisy, division and hatred across America and giving bigots the rope to hang themselves, Borat feels more relevant and necessary than ever.

It’s ‘Hello Dahl-y’, as Anne Hathaway’s Grand High Witch brings camp not creepiness to Zemeckis’ entertaining fairytale.

Handsome, risk-taking Netflix remake sacrifices suspense for sweeping sadness.

A stark, sinister chamber piece built on atmosphere and performances. Morfydd Clark is a revelation.

Moving ever-onward from the sequels years, Pixar gets right back in the zone with Soul. Deep, witty, and fast on its jazz-loving feet, it doesn’t miss a beat.

Sofia, so good. Coppola takes Manhattan with a breezy, beautifully observed daddy-daughter portrait.

An emotionally tough watch – though an exhilarating one tahnks to Aaron Sorkin's reliably taught script and direction

A memorable showdown from yesteryear is recalled in an enjoyable yet frustrating film that stubbornly refuses to pick a side.

Robert Pattinson delivers another film-stealing supporting turn.

Enola Holmes falls into the ‘something for everyone’ category.

Like the inscription on her daddy’s sword, the new Mulan is loyal, brave and true… but not quite as funny or dramatic as it might have been.

A huge misfire that even the most hardcore X-Men fans will find hard to warm to. Avoid, avoid.

A last, cheering hurrah from two dudes.

Tenet is a practically perfect (re)introduction to the big screen. Whether audiences are ready – where safe – to return to cinemas en masse is another question entirely. Certainly, Tenet’s a more challenging film than some may be comfortable with after a five-month absence, but this is an all-too-rare example of a master filmmaker putting everything on the table with, you sense, not a modicum of his vision compromised. The stakes have never been higher, but Tenet is exactly the film cinemas need right now.

There’s a chemical imbalance here… Netflix’s super-drug thriller is less than addictive.

“I’m always going to be inside your head,” growls Crowe. Maybe not, but this fast, brutal chase-fest is trashy fun while it lasts.

A solid if unexceptional sea movie whose brevity is welcome after the stodgy likes of "Midway." Hanks keeps the propellers churning.

Even an axe-swinging Charlize Theron struggles to wallop much life – endless or otherwise - into Gina Prince-Bythewood’s comic-book riff, a derivative fantasy-actioner so laggy it puts you right off immortality.

Do not throw away your shot at watching Hamilton’s original cast both make and recreate history. ‘Satisfied’? You will be.

Love Eurovision? You'll love this. Never heard of Eurovision? You may find it all bewildering.

Without the darkness or depth of the Harry Potter movies, Artemis Fowl fails to find an audience over 10 years old

OK, so the ‘Nam firefights are more routine than we’d expect from Lee and the treasure hunt element almost feels it belongs to a different film, but this is a frequently fierce, fascinating picture. The world needs it right now.

Pete Davidson lacks the charm to make an insufferable protagonist likeable.

Set pieces play saviour in Netflix and Chris Hemworth's generic kidnap thriller.

The odd spirited turn aside, this is a throwback to the bad old ’90s days of comic-book movies.

A late fight scene is staged with verve, and Gilpin is good value in an underwritten role. But given the politically fractious times we live in, this inane satire is a colossal missed opportunity.

With Moss’ brilliance in full view, Whannell’s taut exercise in suspense gives Universal’s monsters a jolt of life.

The animation is spellbinding as Onward builds into a galloping adventure full of amusement, excitement and enchantment.

The excessive CGI can be distracting, some performances veer towards caricature, but this is still a big-hearted take on London’s classic.

A relic of the ’90s in more ways than one, Sonic offers frenetic fun for younger viewers, and in Jim Carrey’s preposterous Robotnik an enjoyable shot of nostalgia for adults.

Bong has once more proved what an exciting filmmaker he is, and Parasite is strong contender for Oscar Best Picture.

A bold, entertaining riot that captures the manic energy of its lead character and ushers in a gang you’ll want to join.

Daniel Kaluuya is the motor for this lyrical but hard-hitting road-movie, fuelled by fury and frustration.

Proves The Witch was no fluke. Dafoe and Pattinson dazzle in a luminous exercise in maritime madness.

An uneasy combo of adventure film and gag-heavy kiddie-com, Dolittle fails to satisfy on either front.

A Hidden Life is the most soulful war movie since "The Thin Red Line": elegiac, emotional and exquisitely shot. Malick’s back!

Devastating and uplifting in equal measure, this emotionally draining film makes good on Shults’ early promise.

Jamie Foxx is on awards-worthy form.

Delivers as a Friday-night actioner, with some smart moves and good banter. Smith and Lawrence are on crackerjack form.

Adam Sandler is off-the-scale good in the Safdies’ latest: a scuzzy shot of adrenaline into the crime pic’s heart.

A lot of talented people have done their utmost to make Hooper’s vision succeed. Sadly, it doesn’t.

Ritchie makes a solid return to his wheelhouse with a crime yarn that turns the air so blue you can swim in it.

Tries to fit in so much it threatens to tear apart at the seams, but ultimately rises to the impossible occasion.

Some of the vibrancy has worn off but this Rock-solid sequel has enough giggles and gasps to attract herds of viewers.

Theron is gobsmackingly good as the real-life screen queen determined to unearth the victims of Fox News’ most powerful predator.

Greta Gerwig’s warm, woke take on America’s classic girlhood novel takes liberties, but makes a tender, engrossing tale.

Sam Mendes audacious WW1 epic is a sensational technical achievement, grounded by George MacKay’s gritty intensity.

A deeply affecting and intimate tale that rings right through the nerve-ends.

Sometimes fun, sometimes flatly awkward.

A generic cop thriller that rumbles along thanks to a quality cast but ultimately offers nothing fresh.

“You did well!” Bening tells Driver. Writer/director Burns deserves the same praise, and more besides.

Proving there’s life in the zom-com yet, Forsythe’s down under rib-tickler might just be 2019’s funniest film.

Driver and Johansson face off to stunning effect in Baumbach’s finest feature to date. So good it hurts.

A solid sequel that hits the right notes and entertains without ever being quite as satisfying or essential as the original.

A so-so Christmas romance undercut by some baffling choices, musically and narratively. A wasted opportunity.

Jillian Bell goes the distance in an inspirational comedy that’s funny, fresh and feelgood.

Cut from the same cloth as I, Daniel Blake, Loach’s latest is a powerful state-of-the-nation dispatch.

Don’t overlook this spiritual sequel to "The Shining." But don’t expect it get close to Kubrick’s original, either.

Dark Fate gets more right than it gets wrong (just about, anyway), and there’s an undeniable thrill in seeing Hamilton and Schwarzenegger reunited onscreen for the first time in almost three decades. But this fourth attempt at crafting a worthy sequel to James Cameron’s peerless sci-fi double bill only just gets passing marks.

Gore and guffaws go hand in weapon-wielding hand in a belated follow-up that struggles to replicate the original’s winning formula.

An uninspired and unnecessary sequel that won’t leave you spellbound. There’s neither enough Maleficent or genuine magic to make it worth a revisit.

The ghosts of Scorsese’s past can be found in these gaunt GoodFellas. An engrossing and, yes, haunting epic.

El Camino, then, offers a final – if not wholly necessary – farewell to some of the greatest characters ever put to television screens. And Jesse, poor Jesse, finally gets the closing chapter he deserves.

Zellweger knocks it out of the park, lighting up this punchy and moving late-life biopic with big-hearted, big-voiced panache.

Come for the technical innovations, stay for… hmm. Two Will Smiths for the price of one just ain’t worth it.

Not subtle (and might put you off getting hitched), but hits its mark with baseball-bat force.

Awkwafina and Zhao shine in a deft comedy-drama with a higher US per-screen take than Avengers: Endgame.