Post

9. ALL OF A SUDDEN (dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi) Despite the sprawling runtime and the unbearably dense emotional weight it carries, Hamaguchi’s latest slow burn wonder is a beautifully and sensitively constructed story of life, death, the people we are, and those we connect with along the way

10. ROGUE TROOPER (dir. Duncan Jones) While the weird uncanny valley mo-cap mostly looks like a video game cut scene & the plot feels like a rehash, with an impressive voice cast & a chaotic, oddball sense of humour, there’s definitely something to appreciate at the heart of this 2000 AD adaptation

11. GODZILLA MINUS ZERO (dir. Takashi Yamazaki) Good god(zilla)! #GodzillaMinusZero is terrifying, thrilling & silly in the ways it needs to be. As with its predecessor #MinusZero is a triumphant blend of character, real world horror & badass kaiju action that nails both its humans & monster carnage

12. WILD HORSE NINE (dir. Martin McDonagh) Crackling with his trademark dialogue & centring on a pair of sad, morally stunted men, #WildHorseNine plays like a McDonagh megamix. But while the it feels familiar, the director shows growth by offering his most potent & thoughtful effort to date

13. PAPER TIGER (dir. James Gray) A solidly put together crime drama that I wanted to love, and liked a lot, but never felt like it clicked into gear. Offers a gripping setup and a thrilling first act but doesn’t feel like it knows what to do with it all from there as it gradually runs out of steam

14. JULIÁN (dir. Louise Bagnall) What a wonderful little film. Cartoon Saloon have pulled another gem out of the bag with a vibrant, culture-soaked queer-coded tale of identity & self discovery. Tinged with fantasy but rooted in a very real, overtly black Latino New York, Julián radiates with warmth

15. RAY GUNN (dir. Brad Bird) With a dose of Tomorrowland & Incredibles, Brad Bird raids his filmography with enjoyable results. Full of retro-futuristic fun, a witty script & a twisty noir plot, #RayGunn doesn’t win any prizes for originality but it does what it does with energy & charm to spare

16. THE BLOOD COUNTESS (dir. Ulrike Ottinger) The highest of high camp & relentlessly bonkers, you can’t help but admire its swing but it all eventually wears thin. The sets, costumes & Isabelle Huppert are magnificent but I honestly had no idea what was going & I’m not sure the film did either

17. ANIMOL (dir. Ashley Walters) Gritty & harsh but with enough heart & hope to alleviate the bleakness, #Animol is a solid prison drama & a promising directing debut from Walters. It’s hard to avoid comparisons with Wasteman & while Animol lacks that film’s punch, satisfies on a more soulful level

18. WILDWOOD (dir. Travis Knight) Laika have finally nailed it! Impeccable craftsmanship, genuinely mind-blowing stop-motion, unbelievable scope, enchanting imagination, a stacked voice cast, brutal (and I mean BRUTAL) action and a deeply affecting story combine for a bona fide animated masterpiece

19. PRIMETIME (dir. Lance Oppenheim) Driven by a monster performance from Pattinson, #Primetime is a grimy, grainy descent into tv’s dark heart, society’s murky soul & one man’s spiralling madness. Gonzo visuals, paranoia & unsettling levity combine for a thoroughly uncomfortable viewing experience

20. ROSE (dir. Markus Schleinzer) Sandra Hüller once again proving just how far ahead of the game she is with yet another masterclass performance in this quietly haunting b&w slow-burn beauty that immerses you in its restrained but deeply poignant tale of gender and identity in 17th century Germany

21. BEING HEUMANN (dir. Sian Hedder) Big, broad & bristling with righteous anger, Hedder’s retelling of Judy Heumann’s fight for disability rights is a stirring crowdpleaser that goes for the feels & gets them. Like CODA it keeps its message simple but does so with tonnes of heart & spikey rebellion

22. LA BOLA NEGRA (dir. Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo) What a picture. A sweeping, multi-era masterpiece about queer identity against an overly Spanish historical backdrop yet universal in its execution. All three time strands intricately interweave with one another in a beautifully intimate way

23. BEHEMOTH! (dir. Tony Gilroy) Pascal is as excellent as ever & the script pops while the way the score weaves through the story is brilliantly done however the scattered narrative & lack of emotional punch mean that while there are many beautiful notes played, it doesn’t quite together as a piece

24. FATHERLAND (dir. Paweł Pawlikowski) A fascinating, contemplative story that reflects on home, family, nationality & identity in post-war Germany. Quietly powerful performances & stunning cinematography coax you in yet it plays its cards so close to its chest it’s tricky to fully latch onto

25. A LONG WINTER (dir. Andrew Haigh) As cold emotionally as it is geographically, this is a well crafted slow-burn drama but no more than that. Beautifully shot & well performed yet with plot threads left dangling & a glacial pace, it’s a subdued follow up to ‘All of Us Strangers’ from Haigh

26. TENDER LOVING CARE (dir. Mike Leigh) Burning with righteous anger but anchored by heart & empathy, this is a latter-stage Leigh classic about the need for caring. Part hug, part gut punch TLC plays like a Mike Leigh greatest hits & if this really is it for him, then it’s a very fitting swan song

27. KLARA AND THE SUN (dir. Taika Waititi) Mournful & wholesome with a sweet humour that has Taika dampening his goofier instincts, #KlaraAndTheSun is a delight. Jenna Ortega radiates charm in a role that, like the film itself, is very twee yet balances levity, sentimentality & melancholy well

28. CLUB KID (dir. Jordan Firstman) What a cute little film. Incredibly funny & told with heart, warmth, affection for its characters & style for days, Jordan Firstman’s feature debut is basically gay Big Daddy but offers a lot to love with the setup. An absolute banger soundtrack too, innit babes

30. FJORD (dir. Cristian Mungiu) Offers a fascinating debate however #Fjord never quite delivers in a way that warrants all the buzz. Reinsve & Stan are both great & it ask provocative questions but with 2.5 hours of constant obfuscation, I found it difficult to fully connect with

31. 7 MILES OUT (dir. Carol Morley) Raw, reflective, bleak, playful, intimate & painfully personal, #7MilesOut is Carol Morley putting it all out there for a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale drenched in scuzz, humour & heart-wrenching tragedy that bobs along to a cracking New Wave soundtrack