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
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
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”
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
Hannes Holm’s “A Man Called Ove”
Swedish comedy melodrama (recently given the remake treatment with Tom Hanks) is a sweet and weepy Capraesque fairytale that doesn’t always hit the mark but is carried by pitch perfect casting
Scott Mann’s “Fall”
Another film that would appropriately be called “Nope” delivers relentless, unforgiving vertigo inducing thrills in a survival thriller with heart
Santiago Mitre’s “Argentina, 1985”
Compelling and accessible true-life courtroom drama recalls the antifascist struggle of a group of prosecutors tasked with indicting key members of the military for their brutal campaign which resulted in the murder and torture of thousands
Eric Appel’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”
A hilarious, cinema-literate pastiche of the rock biopic whose strength comes from its ability to play even the most ridiculous with a straight face led heroically by a terrific comedy performance from Daniel Radcliffe
Tom George’s “See How They Run”
Enjoyable, theatrical whodunnit built around Agatha Christie’s long running stageplay The Moustrap(which it doesn’t spoil) is a playful romp led by pitch perfect performances from Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan
Matthew Warchus’ “Matilda the Musical”
An adaption of the stage musical(Matthew Warchus, Dennis Kelly, Tim Minchin) adapted from Roald Dahl’s book Mathilda, this is a joyous rendition with enough to differentiate it from Danny DeVito’s non-musical film to exist on its own while not invalidating its predecessor
Ti West’s “X”
A well crafted retro-horror that finds time to skewer fundamentalist Christian values and touch on issues of aging and sexual politics while maintaining its lightness
Ti West’s “Pearl”
An outstanding prequel to “X” which is fresh and stands on its own paying homage to Hitchcock in his prime as well as the movies of the period
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King”
An entertaining action epic which frames African history from a long overdue perspective with a terrific cast and pacy script
Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”
Another modern spin on classic whodunit movies that’s well crafted, enjoyable and about as serious as Craig’s sleuth, Benoit Blanc
Steven Soderbergh’s “Kimi”
Competent enough but forgettable low-key thriller that doesn’t come anywhere near Soderbergh’s earlier work hampered by a weak script from David Koepp and bland cinematography lifted by a solid performance from Zoë Kravitz
Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light”
An intimate, poetic narrative which is a coming of age story that touches on racism, mental illness and exploitation that manages to be uplifting without being vapid
Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis”
An ornate, engaging and fizzing experience which avoids the pitfalls of most biopics and maintains focus on its core story while packing in a huge amount of information
Janus Metz Pedersen’s “All The Old Knives”
Surprisingly effective, twisting spy yarn that plays out like a murder mystery and offers plenty of twists
Tommy Wirkola’s “Violent Night”
If a "b-movie Die Hard with magic and Santa Claus" sounds like a good idea, you deserve this movie
Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans”
A potentially great film obscured by sugar-coated and stagey visuals with great performances keeping its head above water