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

The finale, as Ai's Twitter tirades lead to a serious human-rights breach, will make your blood boil.

No small achievement. Alexander Payne re-confirms his position as one of US cinema’s premier filmmakers.

Even if it lacks a stand-out turn it's still a grippingly authentic slice of life.

If the Collette/Carell reunion suggests Little Miss Sunshine, it’s not quite that crowd-pleasing. But, crafted with much TLC and sympathy, it’s perfectly tailored to the tongue-tied teen in us all.

Hardly the most original film of the year, but one of the most purely pleasurable. The ideal horror intro for fledgling genre fans – scary fun that definitely fills a hole.

Jan Ole Gerster’s deceptively slender character study has a complex undertow, subtly linking its wallflower anti-hero’s acceptance of his failings with his country’s wider atonement for its World War II past.

A master docu-maker gets the inside dope on a master dissembler. It requires stamina, but its charismatic subject exerts genuine magnetism.

Fresh from portraying another counterculture icon in Alex Cox’s Sid And Nancy, the 29-year-old Oldman could hardly have been better cast as the cocksure genius whose saucy farces turned the West End stage on its ear.

A rib-tickling homage to the gumshoe shows of yesteryear, with an endearingly daffy mindset.

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.

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

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

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.

Buoyant, buffed and with the promise of even better to come, this is the freshest Trek in decades.

Loving and lavish, Kenneth Branagh’s take will please traditionalists more than revisionists, but there’s enough here to enchant both young and old.

Robert Eggers’ measured, meticulous debut builds into one of the most genuinely scary horror movies of recent years.

For those who think legendary cine-Swede Ingmar Bergman's films are aloof and coldly austere, this warm, welcoming 1957 road movie of aged reflection - the inspiration for Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry - might come as a surprise.

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

An impressive directorial debut – and acting turn – from Parker that deserves to be seen, despite the PR firestorm.

This chilly thriller is another highly accomplished feature to add to a formidable body of work.

Lynne Ramsay returns with a scuzzy, stripped-back thriller focused on the man, rather than the mission.

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.

Vogt’s droll, daring meta-drama flows in subtle, surprising fashion. Petersen provides a magnetic focus for a mischievous, moving debut.

Should be called ‘The Funny Guys’. The Crowe/Gosling partnership drives Black’s lurid comedy at top speed. Enormously entertaining.

Firth is terrific in an unbelievable-but-true tale that charts a course from the ridiculous to the profound.

This blend of tongue-in-cheek exoticism and desire so strong it makes crocodiles melancholic amply rewards your patience.

Bolstered by a fine performance from Nahon, this even merits comparisons with Scorsese's Taxi Driver.