Butch Jamie (2007)
Jamie Klein is an out-of-work butch lesbian actor willing to try almost anything for a role. Femme, Butch, and Male Jamie all make appearances throughout this quirky, gender-bending comedy about strug...
Jamie Klein is an out-of-work butch lesbian actor willing to try almost anything for a role. Femme, Butch, and Male Jamie all make appearances throughout this quirky, gender-bending comedy about strug...
High School grad and all American gal, Anna finds her purpose and herself after she hooks up with the radical feminists in The Itty Bitty Titty Committee.
Erik, Ryan, and Cooze start college and pledge the Beta House fraternity, presided over by none other than legendary Dwight Stifler. But chaos ensues when a fraternity of geeks threatens to stop the d...
Two childhood friends decide to enlist in Rio de Janeiro\'s Military Police Department. After juggling their police jobs and college, both make up their minds to try out for a Special Operations Squad...
Father Jonathan Keene--a cold, impatient Catholic priest arrives in a tiny fishing village the week before Christmas to do what he does best: shut down a dying parish. But things take an unexpected tu...
Having found fame and fortune with his debut novel, Richard McMurray is trapped in Malibu, stuck in a bad marriage and under contract to complete a novel he hates. When his wife locks him out, he�...
Fred Claus, Santa\'s bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole.
A young girl turns to a department store Santa (Chestnut) in the hopes that he will help find a new husband for her divorced mother (Union).
At the edge of the Yangtze River, not far from the Three Gorges Dam, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China.
In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.
Dark Knight
50: Semi Pro Click Here To Watch Now
Will Ferrell expands his catalogue of inept sportsmen with this wilfully silly look at the world of basketball. Expect giant afros, male nudity and slam dunks. Outkast singer Andre 3000 also stars. Official site with trailer
49: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Click Here To Watch Now
David Fincher directs Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton in this tale of a man who, annoyingly, begins ageing backwards. Fincher tends to alternate crowd-pleasers like Alien3 with more thoughtful pieces like Fight Club so we are about due a Fincher movie for the kind of person who takes a coffee into the auditorium rather than a Kia-Ora. Benjamin Button fan blog
48: Horton Hears A Who! Click Here To Watch Now
Jim Carrey and the Steve Carrell provide the voices as Dr.Seuss gets the CGI treatment. Trailers
47: No Country For Old Men Click Here To Watch Now
The Coen brothers return to their noir roots for this adaption of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Expect a sun-baked, but bleaker, Fargo. Trailer
46: Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay
The loveable stoners from the sleeper hit of 2005 return in what very sensibly looks like exactly the same film again. Which is precisely what everyone wanted. Official site with trailer
45: X-Files 2
Mulder and Scully return this Summer to explore more alien conspiracies and unexplained phenomena. Perhaps they can explain why they’ve been away so long. No trailer yet: Offiicial TV Show site
44: Wanted
Wish fulfilment for every bored office drone: This comic book adventure tells how James MacAvoy is rescued from cube farm drudgery by Angelina Jolie’s sexy assassin and trained to become a super-cool killing machine. If you liked the ‘secret war’ aspects of The Matrix or Nightwatch but would like to see it mixed up with the recklessly exuberant gunplay of Shoot ‘Em Up, this is the film for you. Official site with trailer
43: Leatherheads
George Clooney’s Gridiron romcom is likely to find more friends in the US than in Britain but it could well score big on DVD in the latter, colder, part of the year. Official site with trailer
42: Jumper
Evil Jedi Hayden Christensen, who has also just signed to star in the long-awaited movie version of William Gibson’s prescient sci-fi classic Neuromancer, stars as a teleporting mutant in a loose adaptation of the Steven Gould book. Trailer + Graphic novel extract
41: The Love Guru
More inspired drollery from Mike Myers. With a script involving groovy gurus causing chaos in the self-help business it doesn’t sound as if he’s straying too far from his Austin Powers roots. Interview and still
40: Synecdoche, New York
Being John Malkovich writer Charlie Kaufman scripts and directs this typically oddball self-referential tale of an obsessive theatre director who builds a replica of New York. IMDB page
39: Persepolis
Vincent Parannoud directs his own screenplay based on the graphic novel about a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Trailer
38: Flashbacks Of A Fool
Daniel Craig plays against type as a gone-to-seed Hollywood leading man looking back on a life of movie star hedonism. For more mature readers, Miriam Karlin also appears. IMDB page
37: 27 Dresses
This Easter’s most promising chick flick stars Grey’s Anatomy favourite Katherine Heigl as a perennial bridesmaid. Trailer
36: You Don't Mess With The Zohan
In easily one of the most original plots of 2008 a Mossad agent fakes his death so he can start a new life in New York City as a hair stylist. Adam Sandler, Rob Scheider and the Fonz all feature. Trailer
35: Walk Hard
Perennial sidekick John C,Reilly gets his own movie at last, a send-up of every biopic of a troubled musician you’ve ever seen. Trailer
34: Drillbit Taylor
Troubled star Owen Wilson is be bound to attract plenty of attention in this easygoing comedy about playground bullies and the inept bodyguards who confront them. Trailer
33: The Pineapple Express
Seth Rogen and James Franco in a stoner comedy that may not set any box office records, but will undoubtedly be rented on DVD by anyone who has ever inhaled. Trailer
32: Charlie Wilson's War
Well recieved (except by us) gun-running thriller featuring the ever-reliable Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman with some spectacular wigs. Trailer
31: Downloading Nancy
Ever hired a hitman to kill you, and then fallen in love with him? That’s the everyday problem faced by Maria Bello in Downloading Nancy. Jason Patric and Rufus Sewell also star. Trailer, which is not recommended for minors
30: Battle for Haditha
Nick Broomfield abandons the documentary world to make this fact based drama about the war in Iraq. Using real locations and in many cases the real soldiers and civilians involved this is as close as most of us will ever get to the chaos and cruelty of warfare. Offical site
29: The Time Traveller’s Wife
After having been derailed by the Pitt/Aniston divorce Audrey Niffenegger’s ‘sci-fi for women’ finally reaches the big screen with Eric Bana as the man who can’t control his progress through time and Rachel McAdams as the girl who grows to love him anyway. Wikipedia entry
28: How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Toby Young’s mordantly comic memoir of life as a New York magazine journalist gets the big screen treatment. Simon Pegg stars. Official Site
27: 21
Lawrence Fishburne, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth in a true story about a group of maths nerds who used their skills to fleece a casino. Official site with trailer
26: Cloverfield
We’ll be finding out very soon if this monster movie lives up to its incredible hype. Expect an urban Blair Witch meets a pasty-faced Godzilla. Trailers
25: Baby Mama
Do you think the world is ready for a light-hearted look at infertility and surrogacy? Sigourney Weaver and Greg Kinnear seem to think so. IMDB entry
24: There Will Be Blood
Long, dark demanding drama about the early days of the oil industry which serves as a parable about the present day Middle East. Audiences have been polarised about this film, with some hailing at as a masterpiece while others have just been bored. Don't expect a gag reel on the DVD. Trailer
23: Burn After Reading
Clooney turns up again as part of an incredible cast assembled by the Coen Brothers for this tale of two losers who find a disk containing CIA secrets. As if that could ever happen. Working Title site
22: Be Kind, Rewind
Michel Gondry’s next movie has the most original plot of the year, guaranteed. Jack Black’s magnetised brain erases every tape in his local video shop which leads to him re-making the classic films he has inadvertently destroyed. Official site with trailer
21: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The clawed Canadian mutant gets his own movie, set before the events in the X-Men franchise. Ian McKellen’s Magneto may join him on the prequel trail in 2009. Official synopsis at Marvel.com Note: one or two commenters have pointed out that this film will not now be released until 2009. The 2008 date I had was based on an outdated release. I would like to apologise for any distress caused to readers.
20: Wall-E
Pixar do sci-fi as the last robot on Earth (who owes more than a little to the talkative automaton in Short Circuit) who finds a way to bring the human race home. Trailers
19: The Eye
Another Oriental horror film remade by Hollywood This one has Jessica Alba and Parker Posey as the appealing young women in supernatural peril. Trailer
18: The Incredible Hulk
Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk movie was seen as something of a misfire, despite respectable box office. This not-quite-a-sequel promises Ed Norton as the short-tempered scientist who turns into the jolly green giant, better effects, and a connection to the Iron Man movie to set up a future Avengers flick. We’ll be happy if they can just keep the Hulk the same size all the way through the film. Marvel Site
17: 10,000 BC
Roland Emmerich directs a cast of unknowns in a prehistoric epic which promises to show us hairy mammoth, sabre-toothed tigers, and some impressively huge CGI ziggurats. Trailer
16: Sex & The City
American Idol alumnus Jennifer Hudson, best known for her showstopping turn in Dreamgirls, joins the Gucci Golden Girls for one last round of Sea Breezes, sex, and shopping. Trailer
15: Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian he second most popular instalment in CS Lewis’ Lion, Witch and Wardrobe series of fantasy novels, Prince Caspian will be the children’s movie most likely to please accompanying adults in 2008. Official site with trailer
14: Valkyrie
Tom Cruise leads an all-star cast in the controversial true story of a failed attempt on Hitler’s life. Only a more contemporary political assassination will keep this movie off the newspaper front pages next autumn. Fan site with trailer
13: Mamma Mia
Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth in the film of the show of the song. England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 will double its audience as thousands of men will be dragged unwillingly along to view this fluffy confection which whips up the basic plot of forgotten 1960s gem Buona Sera Mrs Campbell with a frothy selection of classic Abba songs. Trailer
12: Righteous Kill
DeNiro and Pacino together again in a gritty-sounding cop drama, and this time they may actually have a few scenes together. Despite the entirely dispensable presence of Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, it’ s a must for every film fan. Trailer
11: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
John Hurt apparently defies onscreen death in the first Hellboy film to return in another outing for the slacker demon hero. Bros fans will be pleased to see Luke Goss popping up as an evil prince. Trailer
10: Body of Lies
Ridley Scott directs Gladiator star Russell Crowe and popular Norman Lamont lookalike Leonard di Caprio in a CIA drama adapted from the novel by David Ignatius. No trailer available: Wikipedia entry.
9: Star Trek XI aking place, in the increasingly complex Star Trek universe, during the period after ‘Enterprise’ but before ‘Star Trek’ this movie introduces new actors in the well-loved Kirk, Spock, Scott and McCoy roles as it explains how the classic crew came to be. If anyone can pull off that extraordinary feat of cinematic cheek it’s JJ Abrams. Official Star Trek site + Teaser trailer Viral site
8: Speed Racer
A hyperkinetic 1960s Japanese cartoon series provides the source material for the next sci-fi hallucination from Matrix creators the Wachowskis. Trailer
7: Hancock
Superhero comedies can be as knowingly funny as Mystery Men or as plain silly as Condorman. Hancocks’s secret weapon will be the perennially likeable Will Smith in the title role as a super-powered crime fighter who creates almost as many problems as he solves. Trailer
6: Sweeney Todd
Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bohnham Carter conspire in a dark plot of pies and hairdressing. Spectacular somgs from Steven Sondheim are the icing on a wonderful, sinister, cake. Trailer and review
5: Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Transformers star Shia LaBeouf pops up as the son of the world’s hardest-working archeologist in what must surely be the final Indy adventure. Official Site
4: Iron Man
Next up from Marvel’s collection of flawed supermen is Tony Stark: Former arms dealer turned terrorist captive turned armoured avenger. To critics who suggest that movie fans aren’t ready for a moody alcoholic superhero Iron man has one response: Talk to the hand. The glowing metal hand. Trailer
3: Bond 22: Quantum of Solace
After a shooting schedule more secretive than the ageless super-spy, Bond 22's title has finally been revealed.It's not a title that offers too many clues as to the storyline, but it looks as if the adversary from Casino Royale, Mr. White, is going to be replaced by a no less sinister Mr.Greene. The suggestion that it continues almost immediately from the end of Casino Royale, and in much the same vein, is all the advertising most movie fans will need. Official site
2: Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince
The vast regiment of Potter fans will already know what they’re getting. Despite Guillermo del Toro’s pleas this instalment of the boy wizard franchise will be directed by David Yates, who everyone except Guillermo seems to agree made a decent fist of Order of the Phoenix. Preview
1: The Dark Knight
The hype machine is almost up to full speed now for The Caped Crusader’s next outing. (read our article here) Great notices for director Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and an irresistible trailer make The Bat the boy to beat in 2008. Trailer
Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
"Greeted with universal approval from the critics, an exceptional, masterful piece of film-making that combines social realism, political comment and nail-biting tension" - Wendy Ide
Babel
"A stunning piece of cinema that hinges on one reckless moment of childish stupidity. The most exhilarating Oscar contender by a long stretch" - James Christopher
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
"It has taken 25 years, three cinema edits and possibly a round trip to Mars for Ridley Scott to arrive with the definitive version of his sci-fi masterpiece" - James Christopher
The Seventh Seal
"Ingmar Bergman’s black and white masterpiece has matured like a great wine over 50 years [and had a welcome re-release a month before the director's death]" - James Christopher
300
"A high-speed ride into the white heat of the battle of Thermopylae in 480BC. The result is something fantastic, voluptuous, bloody, ferocious and sublime" - Cosmo Landesman
3:10 to Yuma
"A thrill-filled ride across a flyblown dustbowl where the heroes are iconic, unwashed and deadly. They spit out killer lines like bullets" - Wendy Ide
12:08 East Of Bucharest
"Droll delight that questions the nature of historical record and the realities of postcommunist Romania with a slyly comic and disarmingly self-mocking tone" - Wendy Ide
Alpha Dog
"Cynics will doubtless fear the film for all the wrong reasons. They will fume about its credibility. They will wonder about the phenomenal number of tattoos on show" - James Christopher
American Gangster
"A gangster epic from Ridley Scott is no Goodfellas, but it has all the right ingredients for a fine crime flick" - Wendy Ide
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
"Blake Morrison’s delicate tear-jerking memoir stars Firth as the embittered son Blake, and Broadbent as the garrulous, insensitive father" - Kevin Maher
The Assassination of Jesse James
"It's 1881 and when Brad Pitt swaggers into view, dressed from head to toe in black, we know we are in the presence of a superior bastard" - James Christopher
Atonement
"Starry, sexy and unmistakably British, Atonement is the kind of film that comes along all too rarely" - Wendy Ide
Beowulf
"The dreary bête noire of English literature students, is given a surprisingly potent makeover by its co-writers Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman" - Kevin Maher
Black Book
"Paul Verhoeven’s Second World War thriller is a remarkable departure for a director best known for Robocop and Basic Instinct" - James Christopher
Blame It on Fidel
"Director Julie Gavras has created a very funny and moving look at the clash between the personal, the political and parental" - Cosmo Landesman
Bobby
"An eloquent requiem for what might have been, and a tragic reminder of how much that bullet cost" - James Christopher
The Bourne Ultimatum
"The latest Jason Bourne film leaves you truly shaken and stirred – but why is he reading The Guardian?" - Cosmo Landesman
Blue Blood
"This assured and highly entertaining film could hold its own against pretty much any sporting documentary you care to name" - Wendy Ide
The Brave One
"We haven’t seen Jodie Foster in a big dramatic role that really had some power to it since The Silence of the Lambs" - Cosmo Landesman
Bridge to Terabithia
"This is a remarkable film for children – and pretty powerful for adults. A sudden and unexpected twist should have all the family weeping together" - Cosmo Landesman
Climates
"It’s a handsomely photographed film. Minutely observed, painfully honest and acutely perceptive, this is a mournful masterpiece" - Wendy Ide
Control
"By fateful coincidence, the Cannes debut of Corbijn’s cinematic homage to Ian Curtis fell just one day short of the anniversary of his suicide" - Stephen Dalton
The Counterfeiters
"Germany seems to be producing a wealth of quality drama at the moment, the latest being a lean, urgent piece based on a real-life Second World War story" - Wendy Ide
Curse of the Golden Flower
"Zhang Yimou’s latest has spectacular, beautified action of the sort he delivered in Hero and House of Flying Daggers, combined with over-the-top melodrama" - Edward Porter
The Darjeeling Limited
"It may not have you weeping in the aisles, but it will be with you for days after you see it" - Kevin Maher
Days of Glory
"Bouchareb’s film carries its message with dignity and a restraint that never dominates the storytelling. The result is the most powerful war film of the year" - Wendy Ide
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
"All of Julian Schnabel’s films have been about the struggle to create art. This is a gorgeously atmospheric and deeply affecting piece of work" - Wendy Ide
Dracula
"Hammer’s 1958 account of the blood-sucking Transylvanian is back in cinemas, in a restored print, for Hallowe’en" - Edward Porter
Earth
"Wondrous footage from the BBC natural-history series Planet Earth has been remixed to create this documentary feature" - Edward Porter
Eastern Promises
"A film about the horror and kindness of strangers, and an industry that enslaves young lives. Cronenberg doesn’t paint theme-parks; this is the curb-crawling reality" - James Christopher
Enchanted
"I haven’t been as delighted and surprised by an old-fashioned Disney tale since I was a child" - James Christopher
Far North
"Throw another log on to the fire because the story I’m about to tell blows as cold as an Arctic wind. The tale begins with a curse" - James Christopher
Flanders
"The most potent antidote to a Bruce Willis myth that you could possibly inject. An extraordinary and raw piece of work" - James Christopher
For Your Consideration
"Christopher Guest’s timely comedy about the turmoil of winning an Oscar nomination is tinged with disgust and despair" - Wendy Ide
Funny Ha Ha
"The humour is never forced and the dialogue is completely persuasive. Bujalski is one of the most original film-makers of his generation" - Wendy Ide
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
"Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it is the male director of Secretary who has painted this almost feminist fairytale of Arbus" - James Christopher
The Golden Compass
"That rarest of blockbuster beasts: a film that stretches children’s imaginations and stimulates their intelligence with important ideas and issues" - Cosmo Landesman
The Golden Door
"Gorgeous to look at, unfashionably optimistic and quirkily seductive, certainly one of my favourite releases of the year so far" - Wendy Ide
Hairspray
"John Travolta has made plenty of mistakes as an actor, but he has rejected every film role that could tarnish his 1970s musical legacy" - James Christopher
Half Nelson
"Ryan Gosling gives one of the outstanding performances that only turn up every 10 years or so. A special film, rich with heart and laced with a bittersweet melancholy" - Cosmo Landesman
Hallam Foe
"It’s a testament to Jamie Bell’s growing talent that we can accept this half-crazed boy in a badger-skin headdress and warpaint as the lead" - Wendy Ide
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
"The formulaic structure notwithstanding, the Potter films continue to be one of the most visually inventive and meticulously detailed franchises" - Wendy Ide
The Hitcher
"So similar to the 1986 original you wonder why Meyers bothered. The answer is simple. The ingredients still scare us 20 years on" - James Christopher
The Hoax
"To describe Clifford Irving as a consummate liar would be an understatement. The man elevated bulls*** into an art form" - Wendy Ide
Hot Fuzz
"Pegg and Wright dispense lines crafted from purest comedy gold amongst the cast like sweets. Even the briefest cameo appearance gets a laugh" - Wendy Ide
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone
"Tsai Ming-Liang brings a dreamlike beauty to his native Malaysia: there’s a languid sensuality to the story" - Wendy Ide
I'm Not There
"Todd Haynes’s film about Bob Dylan is one of the greatest rock’n’roll swindles of all time. The real star is Cate Blanchett" - James Christopher
In The Shadow of the Moon
"For those who grew up with the Moon landings already a fait accompli, the film presses home the excitement, wonder and fear of an incredible journey" - Holden Frith
Infamous
"How many Truman Capotes does it take to nail the myth? Toby Jones defies the odds with an extraordinary impersonation of the author" - James Christopher
Into The Wild
"I’ve always loathed Penn’s films, and suspected that they were given special praise because people love his veneer of I-hate-Hollywood hipness"- Cosmo Landesman
Jindabyne
"The Australian director Ray Lawrence turns a murder chiller into a debate about right and wrong within a marriage" - Wendy Ide
Knocked Up
"The story is hardly revolutionary – boy meets girl, boy gets girl pregnant, and life as we know it is thrown into turmoil" - Kevin Maher
The Last King of Scotland
"Forest Whitaker not only plays Idi Amin, the most celebrated lunatic in African history, he is half-convinced he actually is him" - James Christopher
Last Tango in Paris
"Bernardo Bertolucci’s erotic masterpiece - utterly dominated by a bullish Marlon Brando - still has the unnerving power to shock after 35 years" - James Christopher
Letters from Iwo Jima
"You suspect Eastwood has a sneaking respect for the heroism of the Japanese, who, outnumbered and knowing they would die, fought bravely to the end" - Cosmo Landesman
The Lives of Others
"Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar triumph should have earned him a firework display, a team of nubile cheerleaders and a nifty title to add to his preposterous name" - Wendy Ide
Michael Clayton
"Gorgeous George is wonderfully jaundiced as Michael Clayton, an amoral corporate lawyer who has made his name by defending the indefensible, discovers" - James Christopher
A Mighty Heart
"Winterbottom’s harrowing film about Danny Pearl, the reporter kidnapped in Karachi, is a raw account about the frantic efforts to get him back" - James Christopher
Miss Potter
"The thought that Beatrix Potter might actually have enjoyed a sex life will doubtless come as a terrible shock to Mrs Tiggywinkle’s many admirers" - James Christopher
Mr Brooks
"Kevin Costner has come over all Jekyll and Hyde in a preposterously enjoyable thriller. Lead us into temptation" - Cosmo Landesman
Mutual Appreciation
"Shaping up to be the voice of a generation that communicates through dead air and stuttering silences, Bujalski returns with his second film" - Wendy Ide
Oceans 13
"It’s one of the smuggest franchises in cinema, but it’s also a guilty pleasure to watch. You know the score" - James Christopher
Once
"A unique film: a low-budget, low-fi modern musical that is scruffy, soulful and full of beautiful tunes about battered hearts and bruised hopes" - Cosmo Landesman
Raging Bull
"Reissued in a new print, Scorsese’s 1980 portrait of boxer Jake La Motta should still stop younger audiences unfamiliar with it in their tracks" - Peter Whittle
Ratatouille
"Anton Ego, the restaurant critic of The Grim Eater, is one of the greatest performances of Peter O’Toole’s career" - James Christopher
Reprise
"A playfully irreverent take on traditional Scandinavian pursuits such as depression and suicide attempts" - Wendy Ide
Rescue Dawn
"The work of a man who is tired of being a legend and wants to make a living. Herzog’s most accessible, and enjoyable, film to date" - Cosmo Landesman
The Savages
"A satisfying sense of a rite of passage: the characters we leave at the end of the film are still flawed, but perhaps more fulfilled" - Wendy Ide
Sherrybaby
"Maggie Gyllenhaal’s most memorable performance since Secretary. Sherry’s problems are revealed with all the gradual menace of a horror film - Wendy Ide
Sicko
"This is probably the best of Michael Moore’s films, in the sense that you don’t have to share his leftist politics to appreciate it" - Cosmo Landesman
The Simpsons Movie
Homer Simpson, the oafish paterfamilias of America’s favourite dysfunctional family, emerges from his big-screen debut a bona fide Hollywood action hero - James Bone
Sleeping Dogs
"Goldthwait’s inspiration is to coax genuinely affecting performances. Hamilton is wonderful as the bruised victim of an oedipal insanity for truth" - James Christopher
Sparkle
"A bittersweet joy, the film is a delicate daisy chain of unexpected sex and East London manners" - James Christopher
Stardust
"A magical kitchen sink is the only thing not thrown into the mix in this comic fairy tale, mixing humour, action and sweetness" - Edward Porter
Sunshine
"The only thing more dazzling than the star throbbing at the centre of our dying solar system is the design on Danny Boyle’s visually arresting sci-fi pic" - Wendy Ide
Superbad
"Avoids the regular pitfalls of the teen comedy and instead manages to be funny, crude and charming at the same time" - Cosmo Landesman
Taking Liberties
"I came out of this eloquent mugging exhausted and in despair. It’s a film that champions free speech by a director who once championed Blair" - James Christopher
Tell No One
"It’s so rare to find in a thriller a character whose fate you could possibly care about – but you hope against all reason for a happy ending" - Cosmo Landesman
Ten Canoes
"It’s a hypnotically slow-burning, magical piece of film-making, the spell occasionally disrupted by disarmingly ribald humour" - Wendy Ide
This Is England
"I don’t think Shane Meadows set out to shoot a state-of-the-nation parable. This is by far his most personal and powerful testimony" - James Christopher
A Throw of the Dice
"The BFI re-release of Franz Osten’s 1929 Indian melodrama is one of those rare moments when you feel blessed to be sitting in the stalls" - James Christopher
Two Days in Paris
"Reveals the darker side of Julie Delpy, a wonderfully acrid and bleakly funny persona that her previous collaborators (mostly men) have clearly been keen to suppress" - Kevin Maher
The Upside of Anger
"Binder has created a funny and dramatically engaging study of a dysfunctional mother trying to hold her family together as she falls apart" - Cosmo Landesman
Venus
"It’s a romantic comedy with a difference: instead of meeting cute, we get prostate cancer, impotence, incontinence and death." - Cosmo Landesman
The Walker
"Woody Harrelson plays Carter Page, a gay and witty socialite whose “job” involves squiring the wives of the rich and powerful" - James Christopher
When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan
"On this riotous six-week tour of the US, we are introduced to the fastest violinist in the world; the mother of 47 children; and the daughter of a singer so fat that she looked like a cathedral" - Wendy Ide
Withnail & I
"Timely reminder of how British movies can have impeccable writing, bravura performances and deft direction without once resorting to either sledge-hammer plotting or narrative inanity" - Kevin Maher
The Wicker Man
"Back from the celluloid grave, and no doubt inspired by the failure of last year’s flaccid remake" - Kevin Maher
Zodiac
"So appealing are its characters, and the performances of the cast, so we become participants in a riveting jigsaw puzzle" - Cosmo Landesman
28 Weeks Later
"A blockbuster horror that chimes noisily with local fears: immigration, needy strangers, feral disease and Draconian laws" - James Christopher
Air Guitar Nation
"Instead of portraying her subjects as sad wannabes, Lipsitz focuses on the theatricality, camaraderie and fun that bind the air-guitar community" - Cosmo Landesman
Blades of Glory
"The writing is as slick as the ice rink they train on. This is a script that puts an Olympic effort into making us laugh" - Wendy Ide
My Blueberry Nights
"Cannes celebrates 60 dazzling years with an opener so beautifully painted you can forgive it any number of sins" - James Christopher
Death Proof
"Tarantino's film is an eloquent lament for a sleazy age when drive-in movies were the norm and flea pits were tacky and smoky" - James Christopher
Die Hard 4.0
"He may be bald and on the wrong side of 50, but in Die Hard 4.0 John McClane is a hero for our times" - James Christopher
The Good German
"The first 20 minutes of Soderbergh’s black and white thriller are an old-fashioned sensation. It’s like discovering the missing reel in Casablanca" - James Christopher
La Vie En Rose
"Watching Olivier Dahan’s film about the life of Edith Piaf, it occurred to me that if you’ve seen the life of one tragic artiste, you’ve seen ’em all" - Cosmo Landesman
Rocky Balboa
"Spare a tear for Sylvester Stallone. The vintage beefcake is back for one last shot in Rocky Balboa, and only the most stony-hearted critic would deny him" - James Christopher
The Science of Sleep
"Eccentric, indulgent and yet somehow disarmingly sweet. It’s also the kind of confidently original work that’s almost impossible to summarise" - Wendy Ide
Straightheads
"Has the pornographic ingredients of a first-rate cult thriller. It's cheap. And there is copious footage of Gillian Anderson's naked breasts" - James Christopher
Do you agree with our selection? What have we missed? What were your favourites this year? Have your say
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