Catching Fire delivers on all the promise of Part 1 with a gutsier, tougher, better round of Games.

Clever, violent, and wicked, with a fabulously unhinged turn from Goth, West’s period psycho tale truly does have the X Factor.

Recasting studio formula in fresh, dazzling shapes and shades, Encanto is high-tier modern Disney.

As Jonathan Pryce reads passages and academic voices take turns to chew over Sebald's visionary opus, B&W footage of country roadsides and wind-blasted coastlines turns rural Suffolk into something truly otherworldly.

Quillévéré’s elliptical plot isn’t always spot-on, skipping years to a near maddening degree. But treading a fine line between poetry and realism, it’s still heartfelt and harrowing.

A stylish black-and-white prison romp with a sense of humour as offbeat as its perfectly cast stars (John Lurie, Roberto Benigni and singer Tom Waits).

Gently joyous, from soup to nuts. Take your grandparents and they’ll enjoy it as much as you.

A touch too long, yet never slack, at three hours, TWOWS benefits from independent funding, Scorsese’s brass balls and an A-grade cast’s turbulent improvisations to emerge as an epic, boldly broad screwball comedy about the state of America, then and now.

It never quite gets inside the head of its subject, writer/theologian John Hull. Thankfully, Hull’s observations – an audio diary – provide plenty of insight and engagement.

An intriguing insight into Lynch’s genius, intimately crafted and leaving you wanting more.

Eugène Green’s (The Portuguese Nun) direction favours symmetry over emotion, while the impassive performance style recalls French auteur Robert Bresson. It lacks the profundity to fully merit that comparison, but earns its uplifting ending.

Alain Gomis’ film paints a lacerating picture of a raucous, dangerous city.

Don't overlook this film. It doesn't have the must-see pull of a Mars Attacks! or a Fierce Creatures, but it's a fine, convincingly played drama, and a superlative adaptation of Mr Miller's play. (Married to Marilyn Monroe, he was. Makes you think...)

Another work that could really only come from Anderson’s relentless imagination: exquisite detail, eclectic storylines, superb cast.

Isabella Rossellini’s singer Dorothy is a heart-rending open wound, Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth one of cinema’s great nutjobs, and Lynch’s control a thing of nightmarish beauty.

Theron is astonishingly good, giving a subtle, vanity-free performance.

An Oscar-aimed turn from Gary Oldman anchors this WW2 portrait of Churchill at his most beleaguered.

Interviewing key figures in his life, they build an anecdote-rich bio.

Filled with cherry-blossom gorgeousness and sentimental homages to small-town Japanese life, it's a film of quiet, telling moments, even when big revelations surface.

There’s a bumpy, wholly unexpected dip into melodrama along the way, but the film’s commitment to its characters, and its sheer emotional heft, carries you along regardless.

A whip-smart blend of savvy parody, elegant slapstick and zinger-packed dialogue makes for the year’s most rewarding character comedy so far, and McCarthy’s best showcase to date.

True, John Wick: Chapter 2 doesn’t quite hit the heights of the original – partly because the element of surprise when it comes to the fight-work is gone, partly because it lacks the emotional pull of Wick avenging his wife’s memory. But as badass B-movies go, this really gets the blood pumping.

Here, the working-class milieu invites imagination, adventure, and camaraderie rather than a Ken Loach-style crushing of hope, while a climactic confrontation on divided streets is framed like a thrilling showdown in a black-hat-vs.-white-hat western. But it is the child’s- eye view, the wit, and the generosity of spirit on show that elevate Branagh’s Belfast.

Comprising archive footage and first-hand accounts, Claire Ferguson’s film feels vital in sharing harrowing stories of life in concentration camps.

Taken as speculative fantasy, however, Civil War is never less than vividly, chillingly authentic.

Directed with straightforward economy, The Invisible War sheds much-needed light on a very dark secret.

A once-in-a-lifetime subject, sensitively brought to the screen, the Angulos’ story makes the strange seem ordinary and the ordinary, insane.

The ending stumbles, but not enough to tarnish this study of life lived under society’s radar.

If there’s a risk of the Marvel ‘formula’ becoming stale, there isn’t any evidence of that here. Civil War isn’t just a damn-near-perfect popcorn crowd-pleaser; it doesn’t offer any easy answers for its combatants, or the world going forward. Team Cap or Team Iron Man? The real winner here is Team Marvel.

Mostly, it’s a study of an analogue ghost turned digital star; yet because Maloof is vested in building Maier’s reputation, the film leaves some uncomfortable questions about the ethics of posthumous fame.

Macdonald leaves no stone unturned in this tremendous look at Houston, one that sheds real light on the singer’s psychology.

Singer has refreshed the series with blasts of his original entries’ X-factors: vim, levity, clarity and a sincere, soulful grip on the emotional stakes involved.

What holds everything together and stops the film from sliding into a winking spoof is the intensity of newcomer Kansara’s performance. Her obsessive Ria drives the movie’s frantic pace with sheer willpower and scrappy physical courage

An entertaining, if frenetic, vehicle for Arnett’s Bale-inspired Bats that packs plenty of laughs.

Amy Schumer is a force to be reckoned with – but despite some belly laughs Trainwreck doesn’t quite transcend the romcom formula like the best of the genre.

DuVernay captures the universal experience of loss: the regrets, the suffocating sorrow.

Despite the candid vérité stylings, art-dance powerhouse Grace Jones remains a magnetic enigma in Sophie Fiennes’ docu-study.

Every bit as compelling as any Hollywood political thriller.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation might have its hi-tech gadgets, but it's a pleasingly old-fashioned affair.

Not quite up there with "Tangled," but a solid addition to the canon. Catchy tunes will have you humming, but the hunt for the next "The Little Mermaid" continues...

Best of all...is the mini-animation fashioned out of Suskind’s Walt-inspired scribblings.

Wiig and Hader give winning, finely nuanced turns in a film that deftly mixes light and dark. Also features the best use of ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ since Mannequin…

Matthew Akers’ document of the event skews close to hagiography but is consistently informative in charting Abramović’s career, and genuinely engaging thanks to his subject’s witty, unpretentious presence.

Mashing up Groundhog Day with Get Out, They Live, Sorry to Bother You, Westworld, A Clockwork Orange, blaxploitation films, "X-Files shit", and more, They Cloned Tyrone is a race-conscious conspiracy caper at heart, spruced up with some zippy patter and a razor-sharp cast.

Gomez-Rejon’s sardonic yet sensitive story of geek friendship is the best YA illness novel adap yet. And yes, you can stick that on the poster.

Does for Norman’s place what Room 237 did for the Overlook: reopens old haunts for welcome re-investigation.

Capturing the essence of the source novel, this is a superior adult drama. Harrowing, heartbreaking but utterly compelling.

Burton's finest, freshest film in ages is a welcome homecoming. You'd call it patchwork pastiche, if it weren't so zapped with energy, feeling and imagination. It's alive!

The flow of the date doesn’t roll as smoothly as Linklater’s best walk-and-talkers, but that doesn’t mar the effectiveness of this refreshingly smart date movie.

Driven by a committed turn from Witherspoon, Jean-Marc Vallée confirms himself as the go-to director for triumph-over-adversity character studies.

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

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

Great beginning, patchy middle, bum-note ending. Like the Roses’ 1980s-90s lifespan, Meadows’ loving report on a “live resurrection” is indeed alive and passionate, until too many gaps render it less than godlike.

Based on genuine cases, the film reveals its horrors in a matter-of-fact manner, taking care to show the characters grasping every chance for laughter - however inappropriate - amid the grimness.

McCullin emerges in David and Jacqui Morris’ accomplished film full of integrity, dignity and empathy.

It's a puzzler that holds the interest throughout the film, but there's plenty besides to enjoy, from Plaza's mysterious, comical appearances to Stella's candid chats with her friends – including West Side Story’s Maddie Ziegler as Ruthie – about life, relationships and everything.

Direction and cast pack a wallop.

Jackass Forever has laughs and thrills and will goose your nostalgia, but it’s like a modern-day Rolling Stones gig – the hits are replayed but satisfaction is elusive.

No, this isn't another tale about the son of the Almighty, but a perceptive, naturalistic study of disenchanted French youth, which effectively conveys the tedium and frustration of small-town life.

A winning mix of deadpan comedy, retro stylings and escalating insanity. Too idiosyncratic for some perhaps, but this one-of-a-kind indie makes ’80s nostalgia feel new again.

Playing out in real time, Theo and Hugo offers a warm, frank, unexpectedly romantic view of relationships today.

If Eric Rohmer were British, this is the kind of film he’d make.

Nodding to Badlands, Natural Born Killers, My Own Private Idaho, even The Lost Boys, Bones And All is as interested in loneliness, connection, self-identity, and fiscal invisibility as compulsion. Who misses the murdered if they don’t ‘exist’? And what adolescent hasn’t felt the creeping dread that their needs or bodies are out of step with society?

An astounding spectacle, vast in scale and ambition. Prepare to have your breath snatched away.

Utterly gripping. Aided by two punchy lead turns, an Oscar-worthy script and stunning in-car footage, Howard’s race film delivers top-gear drama. A piston- and heart-pumping triumph.

It’s a sensitive, sweet, frequently heartbreaking trip through deeply personal history, but there’s no getting round the fact that Gray had what most might consider a fairly typical childhood.

A meditation on repressed desire with deep secrets, Thelma throbs with hypnotic intensity: it burns slow, but its magnetism holds right up to the teasing climax.

Turtle Power is back, thanks to a potent combo of winning humour and gnarly animation. Cowabunga!

This is an acutely observed, well-judged, and original take on a popular genre. That it’s also a directorial debut is extremely impressive.

Taraji P. Henson excels in a heart-warming history lesson that proves not only rocket men had The Right Stuff.

Lowery’s understated authority lifts his tragic romance above mere Malick mimicry, while Affleck and Mara bring heart to the scrupulous artistry. All you need is a little patience...

Magical and melancholy, tender and robust: rippling reserves of theme and style compensate for wobbly pacing in Keiichi Hara’s adaptation of Hinako Sugiura’s manga Sarusuberi.

The film never hides its uncomfortable truths in the shadows.

From multi-talented Belgian/Canadian duo Dominique Abel and his partner Fiona Gordon comes a slice of light-hearted whimsy.

Sully is a skilfully made reconstruction of a recent real-life feat of heroic professionalism. But narrative tension is sorely lacking.

Herzog's tapestry testifies to life's light from death's darkness. Its honest humanity and sideways-on character bare his illuminating imprint.

Nolan reaches for the stars in spectacular fashion, delivering a mesmerising sci-fi epic that, despite a testing running time and few too many flights of fancy, is grounded by an on-form McConaughey.

With his trademark subversive playfulness and delight in human foibles, Ozon weaves together comedy, suspense and occasional intimations of darker emotional themes, aided by subtly gauged performances from his two principals.

Terence Nance’s unique film, freely mixing autobiography, animation and artiness, is a dizzyingly complex collage about romance and memory.

If it sometimes feels a bit overstuffed, put that down to Lim’s understandable urge to prove that a gal-centred, globetrotting comedy can offer diversity, sharp social commentary, and dick jokes.

It’s not without its moments, but more comic dexterity and less brute force would have made a less choppy watch.

What could be better than watching Doris Day reprise her signature role, whip-cracking away in buckskin as the deadwood stage comes a-rolling in over the hills?

For a while, the film seems unsure which direction to take. But a darker third act sees Paul’s benign personality begin to warp in people’s dreams, impacting his entire life. Meanwhile, echoing the work of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich in particular), Dream Scenario morphs into a wickedly funny satire on the pernicious nature of social media.

After "Frozen," Disney delivers a heart-melter. The sweet, witty main pairing focuses a potentially busy, derivative super-group tale. Stay for the sting: Big Hero 7 is practically a given.

Exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure – a decent approximation of how the characters feel – Mommy puts us through every setting on the emotional wringer.

You root for them as they bond, bicker and endure grim dangers – gangs, traffickers, police – but Quemada-Díez doesn’t play soft, and the stinging climax really sticks with you.

Bursts of poetry, characters suddenly freezing, bees flying out of a priest’s crotch: there’s rarely a dull moment, but when it comes to explanation, the sparrow’s not the only one left hanging.

Ragnarok is both the MCU’s funniest outing yet and its clearest beneficiary of a playful, character-ful director’s voice since Guardians.

Delivering her first narrative feature since 2016’s American Honey, Arnold initially seems to be retreading familiar social-realist ground, delving into poverty-stricken working-class lives. But in its second half Bird crosses into fable-like territory, with impressive results.

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

Avoiding the pitfalls of prurience and sensationalism, this dreamily photographed film reveals its young subjects to be vibrant and articulate individuals.

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

Uses all the tricks in the Final Destination book to weave an intricate thrill ride packed with jaw-dropping, gasp-inducing, laugh-out-loud moments of gory fatality. With its killer set pieces, blood-soaked spectacle and knowing nods, Bloodlines delivers a worthy addition to a well-loved horror franchise that should satisfy existing fans and garner new ones to boot.

Enjoyably acted by a fine ensemble cast, it crisply skewers the hypocrisies of its left-liberal, middle-class characters.

Triumph and tragedy form an inseparable tag team in writer/director Sean Durkin’s (Martha Marcy May Marlene) emotional chronicle of the Von Erich clan, a close-knit family of sibling wrestlers whose rise to prominence in 1980s Texas was accompanied by a remorseless, almost Shakespearean succession of setbacks.

Tense and thought-provoking in equal measure, this is first-rate – a modern-day Dr. Strangelove played out on video screens.