Benedetta (Dir. Paul Verhoeven)

An erotic offering, the film focuses on a love affair between two women at a convent in the 17th century as sex, sermons and sacrifice abound under the oversight of an excellent Charlotte Rampling as a strict matriarch. Combined with the director’s raunchy worldview, it explores spirituality and sapphism, and demonstrates that even in his 80s Paul Verhoeven still can mix suggestiveness and substance with excellent results. Click for full review

Nitram (Dir. Justin Kurzel)

The controversial subject of mass shooting is explored in a semi-fictionalised account of real-life Australian Martin Bryant and his involvement in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Caleb Landry Jones is magnificent as the disturbed and awkward young man, whilst the director switches between dreamy innocent moments to an increasingly isolated and scary reality. It's a provocative and enraging account of a horrendous incident that changed life and the law in Australia forever, with Kurzel capturing people’s dismay in a shocking and thought-provoking piece. Click for full review

Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (Dir. Richard Linklater)

The most accessible of Linklater's rotoscoped animation projects, Apollo 10 1/2 is full of young-at-heart 60s pop culture references as it looks back at a whimsical time full of games and life-defining experiences set against the period of a NASA-fuelled space race. Mixing fondly-recalled memories with fantasy moon-visiting element, the film is another of Linklater's warm-hearted odes to growing up. In my negative review of the director's (overrated) Boyhood, I asked where all the affectionately remembered childhood events were. Well, I finally found them in this amazing animation!

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Dir. Michael Showalter)

Jessica Chastain stars as a Christian preacher who, with her husband (Andrew Garfield), tours the US sharing a positive take on the gospel via sermons and children’s puppet shows. Chastain is the main draw with her comedic chops shining through the prosthetics and layers of eye-shadow and lipstick. Garfield is on a hot-streak with this and Tick Tick Boom and together they make a formidable pairing ensuring it takes the right pot-shots at religious hypocrisy and throws in some entertaining camp clowning as well. Hallelujah! Click for full review

All Quiet on the Western Front (Dir. Edward Berger)

A shocking and uncompromising World War I film that takes the familiar material of the book and injects cinematic flourishes that will have audiences both open-mouthed and rightly disgusted. Youthful innocents with a rose-tinted view of battle are sacrificial pawns for the war-mongering rich based safely away miles behind enemy lines. The lavish cinematography has the look of a colourised black & white photograph and a great score adds to the work of its virtuoso cast making it a shell-shocking look at paths with no glory.

Top Gun: Maverick (Dir. Joseph Kosinski)

Sequels never work and belated sequels 30 years later certainly will never work but Tom Cruise is here to prove everyone wrong in a film that revisits the glory days of 80s action flicks. Once again starring as a talented fighter pilot, Maverick is now ready to lead a new team of hot-shots to execute a high-pressure mission behind enemy lines. Real plane stunts, a warm homage to the previous film and Cruise's star power ends up making the film an action-packed thrill ride where simplicity and straightforwardness is key to its many successes. 

The Worst Person in the World (Dir. Joachim Trier)

Part of Trier's 'Olso trilogy', Renate Reinsve stars as Julie, a young woman who struggles with life, learning and love as a medical student navigating tumultuous relationships alongside her personal goals. After a chance encounter at a gate-crashed wedding, she jumps into a new affair but finds further difficulties with her latest relationship and has to deal with additional parental pain. Exploring hurt, intimacy and loss with realistic performances, complex emotions and no-easy solutions, a few flights of cinematic fancy add to an incredibly well developed and profound drama.

Elvis (Dir. Baz Luhrmann)

Sumptuous, lavish and rich, oh it's a Baz Luhrmann film alright as Austin Butler takes on the crown of The King of rock n roll and his legendary life. From his controversial 1950s hip-shaking through to his stint in the army via the movies and a final curtain call in Las Vegas, the film is packed full of opulent images and plenty of his magnificent music. A star making turning from Butler, he's joined by Tom Hanks and a vast but excellent support cast leeching off Presley's wealth. You'll be all shook up from the director's mix of vibrant visuals and explosive drama in a movie that explores all facets of Presley's pioneering, fascinating and history-making career.

Prey (Dir. Dan Trachtenberg)

With the last instalment The Predator taking the top spot in my worst films of 2018 list (click here) I was as shocked as anybody that this 5th entry in the franchise was such an entertaining sci-fi with an unique historical twist. Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) makes it two in two with a tale of a Comanche warrior (an excellent Amber Midthunder) trying to prove herself in her tribe before stumbling across the human-hunting alien who takes on her group, a bunch of animals and some 18th century fur traders. Clever action, well-written characters and authentic cinematography make it everything the last film wasn't. More like this please.

The Batman (Dir. Matt Reeves)

Echoing Todd Phillips’ Joker-origins take with an extremely gritty, almost nihilistic film, the moodiest of Robert Pattinsons dones the cowl as a young Bruce Wayne learning the crime-fighting ropes. Filled with rage., he works in a rain-soaked Gotham to uncover political corruption whilst chasing Paul Dano’s sick media-savvy Riddler. It sits well between Burton’s gothic Batman and the realism of the Nolan-verse and although it wears its cinematic cues very much on its muscly sleeves, it’s worth spending more dark nights with the Dark Knight. Click for full review

Nightmare Alley (Dir. Guillermo del Toro)

A never-better Bradly Cooper plays Stan Carlisle in Del Toro’s mysterious drama which sees his shady character move from a lwly yet colourful carnival to the high class world of confidence games. Cooper is charismatic and Cate Blanchett gives her own spin on an updated femme fatale-style role. Together, the two’s chemistry leaps off screen and through its moral mysticism and mesmerising cast, this homage to noirs of the past is a deep dark dive into satisfying cinematic manipulation. Click for full review

Licorice Pizza (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

The mix of fresh-faced actors and a strong period soundtrack, plus another great Johnny Greenwood score, combine with pop culture nods evocative of the era in PTA's passionate pet-project about the tribulations of young love. Licorice Pizza may serve as a more accessible mainstream introduction to the director's work, and so may convert a few naysayers with its deep emotional and entertaining core. The two amazing leads add even more positives to its many great attributes meaning Licorice Pizza delivers across the board in almost every aspect. Click for full review

Official Competition (Dir. Mariano Cohn & Gastón Duprat)

This dazzling jet-black comedy stars Penélope Cruz as an eclectic experimental director who seeks actors for a new movie she is planning. Antonio Banderas as an arrogant Hollywood actor and Oscar Martínez as an arrogant theatre actor are cast in her work and through rehearsals and line-readings lay bare their different but similarly self-important egos, passions & rivalries. An incredible insight into the film-making world it adds plenty of bite and includes a trio of terrific turns from the stars.

Men (Dir. Alex Garland)

Two outstanding performances from Rory Kinnear and Jessie Buckley anchors this meta horror-thriller as Buckley moves to the countryside to escape the emotional turmoil of her past. Definitely not for everyone, this polarising film is a bit (very) on the nose at times with its sometimes heavy-handed allegory to toxic masculinity but Buckley shows a vulnerability and strength whilst Kinnear expertly takes on all the male roles. A shockingly gruesome ending rounds the film off making it one of the year's best, and most messed up, movies.

The Northman (Dir. Robert Eggers)

Like a condensed season of Vikings…but good! (Certainly than the last few seasons). Eggers takes the the usual tropes of disfigurement, seers, a family legacy, vengeful sons, trips to Iceland and mythical visions of gods and spirits but adds a cinematic sheen and great star performances from Alexander Skarsgård (who also produced), Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk and Willem Dafoe. It's a visceral and violent experience with great visuals and a satisfying mix of myth and muscle.

The Menu (Dir. Mark Mylod)

A feast of spicy ideas are served up in The Menu which sees an amazing Anya Taylor-Joy head to a secluded island for an evening of posh nosh provided by Ralph Fiennes' chef and his team of cult-ish cooks. The night spirals into chaos as the restaurant delivers pompous plates of retribution to the visitors who all seem to have tasty skeletons in their closets. A riveting watch from start to finish, I recommend you savour its excellent satirical swipes at the upper class food industry as well as the shallow guests that patronise these bourgeois establishments.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Dir. Tom Gormican)

Nic Cage goes “full meta” by playing himself as a struggling actor who is missing out on plum roles before he’s offered $1 million from billionaire Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal) who tries to convince him to make a film with him. Cage is then approached by the CIA to look into arms dealing and kidnapping whilst he's there! It's massively entertaining as a weird gonzo adventure that could have just been a meme-inspired one-note-joke that runs out of steam quickly. But there’s a surprising amount of heart along with weirdness and irreverent humour to make it a great mainstream watch. Click for full review

Watcher (Dir. Chloe Okuno)

Maika Monroe stars as Julia who moves to Bucharest with her partner but without employment & struggling with the language, she feels very ostracised before a stranger in a flat opposite begins following her movements. Not just an exploration of a host of contemporary themes like anxiety and female mental health, Watcher heralds the arrival of a major directorial talent who demonstrates an grip on mixing meaningful material with an incredibly watchable narrative in an excellent thriller full of twists and tension. Click for full review

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Dir. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert)

Michelle Yeoh plays an immigrant laundrette owner who gets investigated by the IRS but is soon drawn into a multi-verse of madness where different iterations of herself body-hop around time and space. In an attempt to defeat an unknown villainous force, we get a splendid central performance with great support from Ke Huy Quan as her timid husband and Stephanie Hsu as her tempestuous daughter. Kung -fu, drama, sci-fi, arthouse, parody, comedy and social satire, the film is a successful blend of familiar elements but powers forward under its own chaotic steam in a dazzling and thrilling movie.

 The Banshees of Inisherin (Dir. Martin McDonagh)

Colin Farrell stars as a man bemused as to why his friend (played by Brendan Gleeson) suddenly no longer wants to have anything to do with him as they both inhabit a small Irish island. Dark humour, gorgeous visuals and powerhouse performances from the two leads (and an excellent support cast) shape a film that explores male relationships and acts of revenge, as well as the nature and meaning of life itself as we approach an older age. McDonagh's work already saw his Three Billboards appear at the top of our Best of 2018 Film List and he's done it again with a tale that warms and breaks your heart at the same time.