If some of the story is predictable that is mainly down to the tight focus of the script from Casale, which means narrative has a tendency to play second fiddle to atmosphere.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

If some of the story is predictable that is mainly down to the tight focus of the script from Casale, which means narrative has a tendency to play second fiddle to atmosphere.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

For fans of Dahl or the director, this is unmissable.

~ Jennie Kermode -

For fans of Dahl or the director, this is unmissable.

~ Jennie Kermode -

An immensely dark, macabre and unsettling work.

~ James Gracey -

An immensely dark, macabre and unsettling work.

~ James Gracey -

It’s not the first time a film has scrutinised what it means to be “a good victim” but Girard’s general restraint, coupled with a controlled central performance from Alaoui bring it home.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

It’s not the first time a film has scrutinised what it means to be “a good victim” but Girard’s general restraint, coupled with a controlled central performance from Alaoui bring it home.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

With a lesser canine star, the film would not have worked, but Nala is sensational.

~ Jennie Kermode -

With a lesser canine star, the film would not have worked, but Nala is sensational.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Tejpal’s debut may be uneven but it's certainly not short of momentum.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Tejpal’s debut may be uneven but it's certainly not short of momentum.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The impact of the plane crash near the start of this retelling of the remarkable true survival story is shown in visceral detail with a sound design that slams right through you.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The impact of the plane crash near the start of this retelling of the remarkable true survival story is shown in visceral detail with a sound design that slams right through you.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

An unusually intimate, exploratory film underscored by dry humour, Sky Peals has an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else.

~ Jennie Kermode -

An unusually intimate, exploratory film underscored by dry humour, Sky Peals has an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else.

~ Jennie Kermode -

There is a redemption arc here, but it’s not the whole of the story, and Arcel uses it to highlight the deep inequities so normalised at the time as to be almost invisible, even the most desperate characters tending to take them for granted.

~ Jennie Kermode -

There is a redemption arc here, but it’s not the whole of the story, and Arcel uses it to highlight the deep inequities so normalised at the time as to be almost invisible, even the most desperate characters tending to take them for granted.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Coppola paints pictures of mid-century Americana and the codes and moral shortcomings that go with it.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Coppola paints pictures of mid-century Americana and the codes and moral shortcomings that go with it.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Lanthimos skillfully transforms this lustful carnival into a coming-of-age drama, emphasising the protagonist's mastery of sexuality as a connotation of her mental evolution.

~ Levan Tskhovrebadze -

Lanthimos skillfully transforms this lustful carnival into a coming-of-age drama, emphasising the protagonist's mastery of sexuality as a connotation of her mental evolution.

~ Levan Tskhovrebadze -

With a background in documentary, director Mika Gustafson captures something that, though not always coherent, feels fresh and raw and real.

~ Jennie Kermode -

With a background in documentary, director Mika Gustafson captures something that, though not always coherent, feels fresh and raw and real.

~ Jennie Kermode -

[DuVernay is] not here to tell people what to think – rather, she’s presenting them with the tools to start thinking for themselves and making their own discoveries.

~ Jennie Kermode -

[DuVernay is] not here to tell people what to think – rather, she’s presenting them with the tools to start thinking for themselves and making their own discoveries.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The performances are generally solid, the soundtrack and visuals wonderful and the ambition is vaulting, but it is ultimately a failed experiment.

~ James Benefield -

The performances are generally solid, the soundtrack and visuals wonderful and the ambition is vaulting, but it is ultimately a failed experiment.

~ James Benefield -

There’s a still photographic quality to the cinematography from Lorenzo Casadio Vannucci, with the studious, fixed framing matching the meter of the film and allowing time for us to appreciate the texture, not just of the lives of these characters but the spaces they inhabit.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

There’s a still photographic quality to the cinematography from Lorenzo Casadio Vannucci, with the studious, fixed framing matching the meter of the film and allowing time for us to appreciate the texture, not just of the lives of these characters but the spaces they inhabit.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Jacob Oostra's work in sound design is part of an overwhelming naturalism, an intimacy of sensation and a sense of intimacy.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Jacob Oostra's work in sound design is part of an overwhelming naturalism, an intimacy of sensation and a sense of intimacy.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Maestro is a starry affair on all fronts.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Maestro is a starry affair on all fronts.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Takes a team approach to her material, using a group of documentary participants as a collective.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Takes a team approach to her material, using a group of documentary participants as a collective.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

There's a disassociation between the original's ennui and what might be the consequences of sleep deprivation. There's also a rebalancing of its violence, and it might be that which most discomfits.

~ Andrew Robertson -

There's a disassociation between the original's ennui and what might be the consequences of sleep deprivation. There's also a rebalancing of its violence, and it might be that which most discomfits.

~ Andrew Robertson -

First-timer Sarr - who is a musician - is a remarkable lead and matched by the support from fellow novice Fall.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

First-timer Sarr - who is a musician - is a remarkable lead and matched by the support from fellow novice Fall.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

With plenty of meat for its fine cast to chew on, the film is often intense but never loses its nuance.

~ Jennie Kermode -

With plenty of meat for its fine cast to chew on, the film is often intense but never loses its nuance.

~ Jennie Kermode -

An impressively self-sufficient horror film with a dash of socio-political commentary.

~ Antoni Konieczny -

An impressively self-sufficient horror film with a dash of socio-political commentary.

~ Antoni Konieczny -

While Louis-Seize’s treatment of the night is atmospheric, the emphasis here is firmly on comedy rather on gore.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

While Louis-Seize’s treatment of the night is atmospheric, the emphasis here is firmly on comedy rather on gore.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

For all the apparent chaos, this is a tightly controlled piece of work which fully delivers on the promise of Stolevski’s earlier films.

~ Jennie Kermode -

For all the apparent chaos, this is a tightly controlled piece of work which fully delivers on the promise of Stolevski’s earlier films.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Hoard goes further, creeps around, becomes something you can start to smell, to taste.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Hoard goes further, creeps around, becomes something you can start to smell, to taste.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Hesitation Wound is a melancholy piece of cinema but such an accomplished one that it is a delight to watch.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Hesitation Wound is a melancholy piece of cinema but such an accomplished one that it is a delight to watch.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Essential, urgent and damning.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Essential, urgent and damning.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Peyrot’s documentary becomes increasingly absorbing - so that we want to see this original film as much as they do.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Peyrot’s documentary becomes increasingly absorbing - so that we want to see this original film as much as they do.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Whatever structuring the directors are doing is achieved with the lightest of touches, so that we feel as though we’re just along for the ride with these guys.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Whatever structuring the directors are doing is achieved with the lightest of touches, so that we feel as though we’re just along for the ride with these guys.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Philémon is a very sympathetic character, and Hammond brings a real sense of vulnerability to the role.

~ James Gracey -

Philémon is a very sympathetic character, and Hammond brings a real sense of vulnerability to the role.

~ James Gracey -

The car racing scenes are the best in the history of cinema.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The car racing scenes are the best in the history of cinema.

~ Jennie Kermode -

At 12, Regan was a helpless child in 1973; in today's world we instinctively grant her more agency so the territory between self and demon becomes more obscure.

~ Jennie Kermode -

At 12, Regan was a helpless child in 1973; in today's world we instinctively grant her more agency so the territory between self and demon becomes more obscure.

~ Jennie Kermode -

How it feels to take credit for something you haven’t done is one of the questions Coup! invites us to contemplate.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

How it feels to take credit for something you haven’t done is one of the questions Coup! invites us to contemplate.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Purev-Ochir gives a sense of the pressures the younger generation are under through their experience in the classroom, with a tacit implication that Ze’s struggles are reflecting a spirit of a nation.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Purev-Ochir gives a sense of the pressures the younger generation are under through their experience in the classroom, with a tacit implication that Ze’s struggles are reflecting a spirit of a nation.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Cannibal Holocaust is perhaps the ultimate example of a film that eats itself; it will be debated and misunderstood for years to come.

~ David Graham -

Cannibal Holocaust is perhaps the ultimate example of a film that eats itself; it will be debated and misunderstood for years to come.

~ David Graham -

The Beast explores what Henry James diagnosed so devastatingly. The chill of egotism and the feverish dance around the void are so desperately relevant today that it leaves one breathless.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The Beast explores what Henry James diagnosed so devastatingly. The chill of egotism and the feverish dance around the void are so desperately relevant today that it leaves one breathless.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

There’s a genuine unpredictability to Honey Bunch, both structurally and thematically.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Where the episodes work is when they have a driving, kinetic energy about them. When they don't it's repetitious loop.

~ Donald Munro -

The film, directed by feature debutant Shaun Dozier, retains the density of dialogue you might expect from a stage play but, by leaning into the theatrical nature of the proceedings, Dozier is in some ways able to make this into a virtue.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A very effective piece of low budget storytelling.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Coogan is well cast in this tricky role, moving easily from humour to heartbreak..

~ Jennie Kermode -

Manizha Bakhtari may not be a household name but after watching Natalie Halla’s documentary you’re likely to think she ought to be.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Sung’s own camera plays tricks, placing objects too close in the foreground so that parts of an image are out of focus, like an incomplete memory.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The concept, narrative, dialogue, cinematography and action sequences are elements of Scanners that can't be faulted.

~ Donald Munro -

The film hangs on Pemberton’s performance, and he imbues Doug with a sweetness that makes us feel for him despite his deeply misguided actions.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The screenplay written by the filmmaker and Andrea Piva is a proper masterwork, from the basic plotting to the intelligent, insightful dialogue.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

From the start, there is something different about this film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Despite the anger at the unfairness of what has gone before, this is ultimately a warm-hearted, life-affirming film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It is a ride, okay, and it is a bit nauseating and therefore not sterile.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

It’s also striking to think that when Leila is looking forward into the future, she is already, in some senses, looking at our recent past, which only reinforces the sense of the cyclical and ongoing nature of her themes.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Thorne still comes across as being at the stage where many aspects of her work are experimental. She’s yet to settle into her style.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The characters work well...but there’s never quite enough energy to events.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Ahmed doesn’t need to include war footage for us to feel its weight and understand its shadow.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The colour elements prove all the more striking when in contrast to black and white.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The beautiful cinematography, the bluesy jazz score and the gentle pace of the film are beguiling, but Masciari makes sure that we don’t lose sight of the ridiculous.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Shot over 17 years, it mingles intimate personal moments with visceral concert footage, its musical sequences knitted together with some of the best editing you’re likely to see this year.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A very effective piece of low budget storytelling.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Having set up all the elements of a thriller, the film proceeds to untangle them in a refreshingly different and mature way.

~ Jennie Kermode -

[Hart] doesn’t turn up the volume, but uses tone and repetition so effectively that the film becomes a microcosm of the real experience.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Once again, Guiraudie proves himself the master of setting up a mystery by the means of perfect script economy that functions strictly on “need to know” basis.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

It’s ironic that a film about a family who have built a perfect facsimile of a life for themselves should feel so overly constructed itself

~ Amber Wilkinson -