[A] fresh, eerie twist on urban horror.

Another Brit hit, plus Batmanglij is beginning to show dash as director. The duo make a tight fist of hot topicality and high tension from an ideas-packed genre piece.

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

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.

Living up to the imposing enormity of its title, this doc stimulates both conscience and senses.

It’s a smart gen-gap tale with loveable characters.

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

Astonishing macro-photography captures the bees in all their surreal beauty, presenting a tribute to nature’s “messenger of love” and a warning of what might be lost.

A ravishing period piece that simmers with sexual tension while pulling off some dazzling narrative gymnastics.

A terrific thrill ride. With Ford in fine form, Indy’s last stand is a highly satisfying blend of action, humour and emotion.

Gyllenhaal is outstanding in this inspiring warts-and-all story of a Boston bombing survivor’s recovery battle.

Leigh Whannell has done it again, bringing his talents back to the world of Universal monsters with a worthy update to another horror icon. With solid performances, impressive effects and well choreographed action, Wolf Man may be sappy in places but it wears its tragedy on its sleeve to heartrending effect and balances it out with plenty of scares.

Smith casts non-pro Venkatesh Chavan alongside Bollywood star Nana Patekar to achieve credible chemistry, enhanced by his choice of quiet observation rather than Slumdog -style pizzazz and the delicate emotional kick and finespun simplicity of a short story.

Beautifully animated, scored and written, Barras’ little movie has a big heart. C’est fantastique.

Katharine Isabelle is phenomenal in one of the most original and politically engaged horrors of recent years, even if the second half isn’t a patch on the first.

An impressively cinematic drama that fully immerses viewers in a time and place but offers links to our divided present.

An outlandish high concept is a recipe for hope and humour in a film that bears viewing more than once.

Wildly inventive, unpredictable, and unhinged, Riley’s genre-bender stands out from the comedy pack.

Gena Rowlands gives one of her bravest, most startling performances here, waging guerilla combat with the demands of a play she can’t abide, wrestling with demons so real they kick her in the teeth.

Who let the dogs out? This is Homeward Bound: The Incredibly Harrowing Journey, with the feelgood payoff arriving after many feel-shit sequences. Well worth it, though.

The characters are unfailingly polite, whatever their grievances, and there isn’t a single false note in this generous, affectionate portrait of people making the best of their situation.

Marvel’s Phase Four makes up for lost time with an origin story that richly entertains when it’s not pushing boundaries.

Riotously told and enthusiastically performed, Hustlers is hugely entertaining. Edgy, provocative and full of ker-ching

This is also a Christmas horror-comedy – and one of the best since Gremlins.

Sharp as fangs, warm as fresh blood, this could be the funniest movie of the year. New Zealand’s answer to Edgar Wright.

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.

Between Simmonds’ superb lead, the suspense, the slivers of hope, A Quiet Place Part II is worth making a noise for. Just pipe down in the cinema.