For all its bleak edges, The Angels’ Share warms like a sip of the good stuff.

Say what you like about director Justin Lin’s lack of subtlety (or understanding of the laws of physics), but he knows how to kick-start an action movie.

As time passes, a real sadness creeps in as we suspect that we might be witnessing the extinction of a species, though an inspired sight gag is never far away. This is a film that needs to be seen to be believed.

Engagingly off-centre, like Charlie Kaufman taking down Quentin Tarantino, this sunbaked shaggy-dog story is a place-holder film for McDonagh, and often closer to chaos than it is to genius.

Despite the odd awkward tonal gear shift, Knight’s origin story makes refreshingly light work of its uphill climb, fuelled by wit and warmth. And – crucially – with better songs on the retro-tape deck.

An intense and gripping dramatization that, a few liberties apart, does justice to a disturbing true story.

Noirish touches flesh out the wispy plot, yet it’s the old-school animation that engages most: lending clarity to the emotions at stake, ensuring our sickly hero’s resilience tugs on the heart.

Sharp and shiny as the jewellery its twisted teens pilfer, Coppola’s cautionary tale eschews action for angsting about celeb- obsessed culture. Worth it just to hear Watson snarl “I wanna ROB!”

Mixing candid talking heads with scarcely believable video footage, Miller’s taut narrative shifts gears (black comedy, thriller, even a love story), but is mostly driven by outrage at the powers that be.

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

Joachim Lafosse’s drama is an unsentimentally observed, credibly acted study of a marriage turned sour.

With recriminations turning to compassion, the film sings when these French titans share the screen, Deneuve’s loose cannon a mixture of hedonism and terror. If only the other scenes were as compelling.

A curious hybrid of grim fairytale and gory horror, del Toro’s ninth feature is striking but sorely lacking in surprises. Great ghosts, but del Toro is capable of so much more.

Amini’s film offers elegant pleasures and holds the interest – but it never grips as it should.

It may not dazzle as much as Attack the Block, but Cornish’s second feature is a fun family adventure.

Eddie Redmayne shines as a transgender trailblazer. But a stiff love story and stately staging make this Danish too sweet…

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

King’s flair for transposing peak British TV comedy’s character to film is also apparent, thanks to a fine support haul of Peep Show and Ghosts alumni.

Freestyle, funny but finally just too repetitive, Ice's affectionate home-movie needed someone to structure it into a deeper documentary.

A taut, chilling little horror-thriller making maximum use of minimal resources to tap into our primal fears of the unknown.

Based on an oft-adapted ’60s sci-fi novel, this charming, visually fertile film captures the conflicted emotions of first love and embarrassment of being a teen with real sensitivity.

Jordan’s apparent resolve to make an anti-Twilight unfortunately results in a movie that, if not for a fistful of moments of shock, style and excess, would be as drained of colour and tension as Ronan’s victims are of hemoglobin.

Like marriage, White Noise might not be exactly what most expect going in… but there’s fun to be had in the many surprises it throws your way.

Director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) tells this pandemic-era David-and-Goliath story energetically.

Simple but effective, The Good Dinosaur doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s still damn fine family entertainment. Slow to get going, it comes into its own when its heroes buddy up.

Despite suffering from middle-act wobbles, The Desolation Of Smaug nevertheless delivers rousing action, incredible visuals and one stupendous dragon.

It isn't perfect but this reboot's wins outweigh its wobbles. The leads charm, the action crackles and the grooves are well-laid for part two. Untold story? Next time, then.

It's definitely the 'other' Gordon-Levitt film out this month, but this silly cycler whizzes by amiably. Star charm helps: JGL's enjoyment in his job adds welcome levels of Levitt-y.

Among the blood, sweat and (ahem) salty tears are musings on desire, family and emasculation, but this is Kim at his most mischievous, the laughs drowning all.

Entertaining enough but inessential, Kingdom offers spectacle and thrills but lacks the ambition, smarts, and gravity of its immediate predecessors.

What Fantastic Beasts lacks in wonderment it almost makes up for in scares and subtext.

Uplifting it isn’t, but there’s poetry to be found in these desperate lives, and Riccobono never judges or sensationalises his subjects. Sensitive, if slightly unfocused.

Thoughtfully shot by first-time director Karl Markovics, the only warmth comes from the stiffening cadavers.

This is the rare comedy sequel that doesn’t just equal the original: it betters it, with bells and ball-sacks on.

Gleeks and Glee-haters alike should rally around this raucous musical comedy. Rebel Wilson is hilarious, Anna Kendrick is terrific and there are as many gross-out gags as there are singing numbers.

A sweet, evocative throwback that delivers all the feels – in the most delightful way.

Tapping into the same rich vein of British folk horror the likes of 2015’s The Witch and 2022’s Enys Men mined so productively, Starve Acre roots its dread in a gloomy past that is mundane, real and tangible.

Some overripe dialogue and a well-worn plot are tempered by an admirable reluctance to humanise the terrorist.

Funny and tense, rather than hilarious and terrifying, You’re Next doesn’t rip up the rulebook but it’s definitely read it. If all horror comedies were this good we’d be laughing – and squirming.

From the texture of the underground havens to the idea that our leads have to – literally – cling to each other lest gravity tears them apart, it’s a wonder of detail and ingenuity.

Fine turns from Streep and Jones bedrock this compassionate, quietly subversive drama.

Rogue One might trade heavily in nostalgia but it's bold enough to take risks, and will leave you stirred, fired up and raring for more. Now, if only there was a follow-up we could go away and watch immediately…

A lot of thrilling, dazzling, sometimes frightening fun.

Antonio Banderas chews scenery with varying results but Olivia Colman is pitch-perfect as the all-singing all-dancing Reverend Mother. Paddington's latest adventure may be the weakest of the films so far but it remains a total delight.

The farce is infectiously fun and visually joyous.

Unlike the stock teenagers of Ouija, the Zander family are likeable and convincing. Scares are still rudimentary, but rooted in a sharper script.

It may skip so quickly through historic events that it can feel rushed and flimsy, but excellent performances elevate it to serious Oscar contender.

A brief cameo from producer Benedict Cumberbatch provides some additional mid-film star wattage. Yet who needs it when you have Comer, a force of nature to rival any city-swamping deluge?

As Johnson enters Columbine-style turf, a clearer slant on our modern mindset is required than the one he offers.

There’s an undeniable charm here that, allied with the picturesque locations, results in a nostalgic throwback to a gentler age.

There’s a neat final twist up [Attila Till’s] sleeve – and by casting paraplegics, he avoids the easy sentimentality that subjects such as this often invite.

Like Pacino’s Shakespeare rumination Looking For Richard (1996), Wilde Salomé is passionate and absorbing, though the insertion of lengthy clips from the film might irk viewers who’ve just watched it.

All prologue and no pay-off, but compelling all the same, this curio plays out like Diary Of The Dead with more diaries and fewer dead.

A last, cheering hurrah from two dudes.

The burgeoning bond between man and monster hits soaring emotional heights, even if the new world feels a little under-developed.

Cruise is on top form in a based-on-fact thriller that overcomes its familiar trappings with audacious details and flat-out pacing.

A salty road trip tinged with sadness, sensitively handled by Linklater and his cast. Unfocused in places, but never less than diverting.

This furiously bizarre follow-up deserves full marks for throw-everything-at-the-screen entertainment value, but none for execution.

Alexander Sokurov’s riff on Goethe’s tragedy is a bewildering but blazingly styled fever-dream epic.

With echoes of the Dardennes and Lucrecia Martel, Corpo Celeste's acute sense of place, feel for adolescent confusion and miraculous resolution suggest that Rohrwacher is a talent to watch.

Offering a fascinating window into a world often distorted and oversimplified, this is informative, stimulating and moving stuff.

Director Amber Fares finds a frankly astounding subject for her first feature-length doc, using the story of a few brave sportswomen to shine a bright headlamp on lives lived under occupation.

Sex, drugs, murder, radical verse and Radcliffe make persuasive bedfellows in Krokidas’ live-wire lit-pic. It gets busy, but fizzy direction and Rad’s rigour help to keep its pulse alive.

Jennifer Lawrence shines once again in a fitting send-off for cinema’s best YA franchise. The hefty action and high stakes outweigh any shortcomings.

Hanks takes to Walt like a pair of cosy slippers, but it’s Thompson who adds layers to a classy but predictable slice of Disney schmaltz.

A delightful live-action recreation of a familiar fable. You’ve seen it before, but its spirit and pizzaz are pretty much irresistible.

The thematic weight drags down the tension, yet just when it seems Janiak has forgotten the scares she pulls off a creepy finale.

Sharper, meaner, and meatier than Prometheus, Covenant's weak narrative drive stalls its brutal good intentions.

A moving morality tale set in a world rarely seen in western cinema, Metro Manila is an underdog drama that feels as authentic as it is original.

Pixar falls back on the tried and tested in an entertaining caper that will be a surefire kid pleaser this summer. Old favourites are always welcome, but it would have been nice to see some more new ideas too.

Loud, lewd, inventive and outrageous, Deadpool is a delight. All credit to Reynolds and co. for having the steel balls to go this far.

Garland’s bold, original version of what horror can be when it swaps tired old tropes for visceral, visionary thrills is an absolute game-changer.

The sci-fi settings – dystopian grit-scape, rainbow-coloured cosmos – are dazzlers; the satire is playful not snarky; and as you’d expect, several unexpected cameos. It doesn’t sweat too hard to appease both kids and adults – the latter’s pain much felt in a scene you might describe as product mis-placement.

Wheatley, Jump, Hiddleston and co occupy Ballard’s towering inferno with brazen style. If the plot wobbles precipitously, chalk it up to the high-rise ambition of a genuinely wayward Brit-film one-off.

Though it covers similar thematic ground to Laurent Cantet’s haiti-set "Heading South," Seidl’s gruelling film proves his knack for leaving viewers emotionally discomfited.

Propelled by Lust’s performance, this is a fascinating study of solitude and sociopathic obsession, up to a point.

Both revealing and good-natured, its a very inviting exploration of one of the 20th Centurys major artists.

Glen Powell’s whirlwind ascent continues in a film that does pretty much all you could ask for from a Twisters movie.

All of this is watchable enough, but Strange World does rather lack dynamism in the final third, especially after such a hallucinatory set-up. As the story heads towards resolution, it becomes more likely to elicit shrugs not shrieks.

Jaw-dropping in colour and splendour, but if the constant awe gets a bit tiring, at its best you can genuinely feel some great wheel turning.

A visually striking and inventive overhaul of well-oiled IP that suggests animation was the right path all along. Autobots, roll out!

Torn between mountains and karaoke bars, Tharlo looks as lost as his lamb: a parallel delicately developed in this warm, wise fable of uncertainty.

With A+ acting, a solid script and sensitive handling, there’s enough here to move even the hardest of souls.

So what if director Charles Walters settles for mimicking George Cukor's set-ups shot for shot - he still deserves a fat slap on the back for flawlessly shoehorning in a half-dozen belting Cole Porter numbers.

Cooper’s western may be too meditative for some, but its grit, beauty and honesty are too potent to ignore.

A low-budget, highconcept WTF thriller that might have been conceived by Rod Serling in the heyday of his Twilight Zone series. Spread the word.

This classy, female-centred Omen prequel is devilishly good at keeping its nun on the run.

The Dardenne brothers deliver a perceptive portrait of professional integrity under pressure.

A huge, CGI-heavy popcorner that still feels personal. Come for the epic monster-on-mecha showdowns, stay for the likeable humans.

André Øvredal (Troll Hunter) ruthlessly ratchets the tension – with no little assistance from Olwen Kelly, conveying menace without moving a muscle.

Fantastic Four may not be the confident stride Marvel fans were hoping for but, at the very least, it's a solid first step.

Adventurer, narcissist or both? Marshall Curry’s riveting study of a momma’s boy turned freedom fighter never editorialises, leaving us to decide.

It’s not the most probing doco, but the man himself, mobbed wherever he goes, emerges as a genuinely charismatic, likeable individual.

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

The final act loses its way, but in the main West wraps his slasher trilogy in satisfying style, putting a blood-soaked, Hollywood-branded bow on his eras-spanning saga.

Though the action and characters are sketchily served, Brown’s match-dry lead, Bradbeer’s brisk direction, and fine support casting make a persuasive case for Enola’s return.

The cumulative effect offers a tender tribute to the resilience of his subjects’ spirits against the thrum of traffic.

A satisfying standalone launch for Marvel’s latest superhero combines sci-fi action with ’90s nostalgia. Overcoming minor stumbles, it ultimately soars.