Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight”
Sublime and surprising coming-of-age, romance and social commentary masterpiece with pitch perfect performances, sumptuous visuals and a haunting soundtrack
Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection”
A low key but compelling, fresh and sincere take on the boot camp story telling the true life experience of a gay man hoping to turn his life around by joining the US Marines
Elizabeth Banks’ “Cocaine Bear”
Entertaining set pieces only just hold the film together under the weight of ropey CGI and missed opportunities at suspense and horror
Maya Duverdier & Amílie Van Elmbt’s “Dreaming Walls”
The passing of time and the ghosts of brick and mortar are explored in this wistful documentary on New York’s Chelsea Hotel
Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking”
Thoughtful dialogue-led drama based on Miriam Toews’ epynonymous novel based on events that occurred in Bolivia is an intriguing parable on forgiveness, perspective and misogyny
Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York”
Fellini’s 8½ as a temporal, impressionistic representation of life, death and regret which weaves moments of tenderness and melancholy into a tenuous whole
Parker Finn’s “Smile”
Okay pulp horror fable that never reaches the heights of the films from which it borrows being let down by a series of baffling and unconvincing characters
Mary Nighy’s “Alice, Darling”
Anna Kendrick’s best performance since Up in the Air is an undertold story of coercive control and emotional abuse told well but without flourish
Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale”
An emotional adaption of a problematic play with terrific performances and moments of greatness marred by tired tropes
William Brent Bell’s “Orphan: First Kill”
Surprisingly fun pulp prequel with a crackling script by David Coggeshall which has some surprises up its sleeve
Oliver Park’s “The Offering”
With standout performances from Paul Kaye and Allan Corduner, this is a decent horror that should have been great let down by an over-reliance on ineffective jump scares and bland cinematography
John Patton Ford’s “Emily the Criminal”
Social commentary through crime thriller is engaging and reminiscent of Vondie Curtis-Hall’s “Gridlock'd” with a terrific performance from Aubrey Plaza
Sam Raimi’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
Fusion of some of the best of Raimi’s work from both his horror and superhero backlog, this won’t convince the uninitiated but will delight existing fans despite being under the shadow of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Joel Crawford’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
Surprisingly mature story of mortality, family and ego supported by a powerhouse cast, electric visuals and good humour
Gerard Johnstone’s “M3GAN”
Competent but predictable satirical “horror” that never quite rises to the quality of the design and performance of the robot at its centre
Scott Mann’s “Fall”
Another film that would appropriately be called “Nope” delivers relentless, unforgiving vertigo inducing thrills in a survival thriller with heart
Roxanne Benjamin’s “There's Something Wrong with the Children”
Half-baked b-movie horror that fails to get started until the last third would have benefitted from stronger direction and a script that made better use of its first two acts
James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water”
If effects were gravy and story the meat, you would be drowning in a vat of gravy clinging for dear life to a salisbury steak
Michael Morris’ “To Leslie”
With a centrepiece performance by Andrea Riseborough which has garnered attention from Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and others, “To Leslie” charts the fragile path of addiction and the importance of empathy and forgiveness in a nuanced and frank narrative
Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild”
Surprisingly mature collaboration with Jordan Peele that puts style in service of story in a tale of loss, guilt, community and political intrigue which isn’t afraid to bare its teeth