Five star - Latest Top Rated Film Reviews from the Guardian

The Maltese Falcon review – dreamlike tension and the greatest MacGuffin of all time
A dark, steely performance from Humphrey Bogart is at the cynical heart of John Huston’s adaptation of the classic detective novel - Peter Bradshaw
The Story of Looking review – Mark Cousins’ rhapsody of the gaze
An eye operation sets the veteran cinephile out on a delicate and fascinating exploration of what it means to look at movies – and the world - Peter Bradshaw
The Humans review – masterly family drama transfers from stage to screen
Stephen Karam’s Tony-winning play makes the leap to film with ease, an intimate – at times uncomfortably so – look at a family at Thanksgiving - Benjamin Lee
The Servant review – Losey and Pinter’s nightmarish version of Jeeves and Wooster
The subversive 1963 classic crackles with undertones of class, sexuality and communism, with Dirk Bogarde at his finest as the sociopathic manservant - Peter Bradshaw
Frozen review – stunning musical extravaganza creates its own magic
Beyond the visual thrills and powerful ballads, this adaptation brings an unexpected depth to the relationship between two tortured sisters - Arifa Akbar
Sinfonia of London/Wilson/ Chiejina review – a remarkable debut for Vertigo orchestra
The first live concert for the Sinfonia, which once recorded the Hitchcock soundtrack, was exceptional, featuring the exquisite voice of Francesca Chiejina - Tim Ashley
Sundown review – Tim Roth a wonderfully relaxed sociopath in Venice’s funniest film
Michael Franco’s latest collaboration with the actor sees Roth on a Mexican beach holiday, blissfully unaffected by grief - Xan Brooks
Gagarine review – close encounters of the banlieue kind
This mesmerising debut about a teenager looking to fix up his Paris estate passes up the usual angry social-realism in favour of something more celestial - Cath Clarke
Siberia review – Willem Dafoe and Abel Ferrara on fine freaky form
Dafoe has gravitas as a barkeep on a journey of delusion and epiphany in Ferrara’s glacial, woozy dream-odyssey - Peter Bradshaw
Picture Stories review – how one news magazine blew up British photography
By chronicling day-to-day life in 1940s Britain, Picture Post became a visual media pioneer, as Rob West’s inspiring documentary reveals - Phil Hoad
Balloon review – beauty and melancholy in Tibet’s sheep-herding life
Writer-director Pema Tseden tells this story of a clash between modernity and tradition as a woman is dismayed to find she is pregnant - Phuong Le
My Name Is Pauli Murray review – illuminates a brilliant and uncompromising firebrand
This overdue documentary is an informative look at the work of the highly influential civil rights activist, poet and priest - Wendy Ide
Rose Plays Julie review – identity quest goes to truly dark places
A student’s search for her birth mother has haunting results in this tale from the innovative Irish directing team of Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
Mandibles review – lunkhead road movie that will leave you buzzing
The mundane meets the bizarre in Quentin Dupieux’s strangely moving comedy about two friends who discover a giant insect in the boot of their stolen car - Wendy Ide
Oasis Knebworth 1996 review – dreamy music doc looks back in languor
While the gigs’ history-making reputation is overstated, the unchecked euphoria of fans and Gallagher brothers alike is captured perfectly by this 90s nostalgia fest - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
Rose Plays Julie review – eerie, edge-of-your-seat suspense
This uncanny and transgressive film about a young woman who tracks down her birth parents is Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s best work yet - Peter Bradshaw
Fauci review – laudatory but lenient portrait of the US vaccine czar
Anthony Fauci’s firmness in the face of Trump’s anti-scientific stance is rightly celebrated, but this documentary doesn’t fully examine his record on Aids - Peter Bradshaw
Marceline. A Woman. A Century review – vibrant portrait of a fascinating film-maker
Cordelia Dvorák’s intimate documentary about Marceline Loridan-Ivens – writer, director, and Holocaust survivor – captures her irresistible personality - Phuong Le
The Mad Women’s Ball review – Mélanie Laurent’s compelling melodrama
The actor turns director again for a compelling psychodrama about women subjected to experimental psychiatric treatment - Peter Bradshaw
Benediction review – Terence Davies’ piercingly sad Siegfried Sassoon drama
The tragic life of the poet and soldier is revisited with melancholy and theatricality in a bleak, and often hard to watch, biopic - Peter Bradshaw
Ninjababy review – raunchily frank Norwegian pregnancy drama
A young woman is forced to grow up fast in this subversive comedy - Simran Hans
The Lost Leonardo review – attribution and avarice on the trail of Salvator Mundi
The story of the hotly disputed discovery and sales of a purported new Leonardo da Vinci work doesn’t paint the art market in a flattering light - Peter Bradshaw
Herself review – Irish abuse drama turns into home-build heartwarmer
Clare Dunne stars in and writes this self-empowering story of a battered Dublin cleaner who builds her own house, directed by The Iron Lady’s Phyllida Lloyd - Peter Bradshaw
No Man of God review – edgy tête-à-tête with Ted Bundy
Director Amber Sealey manages to dodge serial-killer fetishisation, as Elijah Wood’s FBI profiler interviews Bundy on death row - Leslie Felperin
The Voyeurs review – Amazon’s fun and sexy erotic thriller throwback
The White Lotus breakout Sydney Sweeney stars in a Rear Window homage that provides a certain kind of lurid, twisty entertainment that’s been missing for so long - Charles Bramesco
Captain Volkonogov Escaped review – on the run in through-the-mirror Soviet Russia
Aleksey Chupov and Natasha Merkulova’s film is an impressively deadpan triller about a security agent on a mission to redeem himself - Xan Brooks
Ninjababy review – uncompromisingly brilliant comedy about unwanted pregnancy
Despite kooky touches including a talking foetus, this is an insightful look at a young woman’s life - Cath Clarke
Sweet Thing review – drama of struggling children is a low-key delight
Alexandre Rockwell’s semi-improvised film, which stars his wife and children, is imperfectly plotted but brilliantly acted - Leslie Felperin
Happening review – sex and abortion on the new frontline in 60s France
Adapted from Annie Ernaux’s novel, this drama about a student agonising over an illegal termination plays out as a tense, gripping thriller - Xan Brooks
Wife of a Spy review – wartime mystery thriller of double and triple dealing
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s old-fashioned drama delivers big performances and intriguing plot twists - Peter Bradshaw
Wildfire review – savagely powerful Irish border drama
Two sisters are torn apart by tragedy in writer-director Cathy Brady superb debut feature, starring the late Nika McGuigan - Wendy Ide
Annette review – Leos Carax’s bonkers but beautiful musical fantasy
Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard are all but upstaged by their puppet child in this tragicomic pop opera - Mark Kermode
Sweetheart review – good-natured caravan-park romance
Nell Barlow is the long-suffering gay teenager who falls for a lifeguard on holiday in Marley Morrison’s likably wistful debut - Peter Bradshaw
Intrusion review – Netflix home invasion thriller passes muster
A vacant performance from Freida Pinto can’t quite sink a mostly enjoyable, if mostly familiar, domestic mystery - Benjamin Lee
The Tape review – Cornish-set folk musical bobs along like a floating flip-flop
A disillusioned musician stumbles upon inspiration in a charming film debut from folk singer Martha Tilston - Cath Clarke
The Many Saints of Newark review – Sopranos prequel keeps it in the family
Michael Gandolfini is goosebump-inducing as the young Tony Soprano, amid race riots and antagonism towards rival African American gangs - Peter Bradshaw
The Gateway review – if Dirty Harry worked for social services
A hard-boozing caseworker grimaces his way around St Louis in Michele Civetta’s overblown urban thriller - Phil Hoad
Percy vs Goliath review – Christopher Walken battles Big Agriculture
The New Yorker makes no effort to sound Canadian or look like real life Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, but he still steals the show - Leslie Felperin
Mussolini’s Sister review – interestingly quirky portrait of a grumpy octogenarian
This acute documentary gets under the surface of its Palestinian film-maker’s sharp-tongued grandmother to the loneliness and resentment within - Phuong Le
Gaia review – attack of the killer mushrooms
A terrifying contagion spreads in this chilling South African eco-horror that takes the fun out of fungi - Phuong Le
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie review – superficial charmer with a star turn
Newcomer Max Harwood sparkles in this adaptation of the musical about an aspiring young northern drag queen - Wendy Ide
Mandibles review – bizarre giant-fly comedy runs out of sugar
It’s a truly daft idea, but Quentin Dupieux’s film about a pair of robbers who try to train a giant insect doesn’t quite go the distance - Xan Brooks
Schumacher review – a moving tribute to F1’s boy wonder
Touching reflections from his family and home movie footage make for an intimate biography of the F1 star, if one that leaves his flaws unexamined - Cath Clarke
The Obscure Life of the Grand Duke of Corsica review – Tim Spall as oddball architect
Spall plays an eccentric architect hired to design a tomb for the the eponymous aristocrat, in writer-director Daniel Graham’s homage to Peter Greenaway - Mike McCahill
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie review – The Full Monty in drag
This gutsy musical comedy about a wannabe drag queen teenager adheres firmly to the Britfilm plucky outsiders template - Peter Bradshaw
Prisoners of the Ghostland review – testicle-detonating Nicolas Cage sci-fi
Nicolas Cage teams up with Japanese enfant terrible director Sion Sono for an entertaining post-apocalyptic mashup - Leslie Felperin
My Name Is Pauli Murray review – the legacy of a fearless campaigner
Having made pivotal early contributions to civil rights and women’s liberation, the activist gets a blander documentary than they deserve - Phuong Le
Our Defeats review – French teenagers reckon with politics past
Jean-Gabriel Périot’s slow-burn doc asks current students to re-enact films from a different political era and share their thoughts - Phil Hoad
The Survivor review – Barry Levinson’s solid postwar boxing drama
Ben Foster gives a committed performance as a Polish Jew who survived a Nazi death camp and became a boxer in a derivative yet confident film - Peter Bradshaw
I Carry You With Me review – hybrid feature charts a longterm love
Heidi Ewing’s first narrative film uses elements of documentary in the true story of a relationship between Mexican immigrants in the US - Phuong Le
Back to the Future: The Musical review – the car’s the star
This is a splashy theatre-film mashup, with gravity-defying effects, cute quirks and offbeat gags - Arifa Akbar
The Paper Tigers review – martial arts team reunites in likable comedy
Quoc Bao Tran’s tale of three ageing men who meet up again when their old teacher dies is formulaic but charming, with some great fight sequences - Leslie Felperin
A Brixton Tale review – London girl-meets-boy drama questions the visual narrative
An interesting take on identity, as one half of a young couple videos the other, gets taken over by social commentary - Cath Clarke
The Eyes of Tammy Faye review – Jessica Chastain nails gaudy TV evangelist
A compelling performance from the often miscast actor carries an otherwise by-the-numbers look at a Christian couple who spectacularly fell from grace - Benjamin Lee
Copilot review – heavy-handed attempt to humanise a 9/11 terrorist
The tragic outcome is never in doubt in this German drama focused on the partner of the United 93 hijacker - Simran Hans
The Collini Case review – tense German legal thriller
A time-twisty adaptation of former lawyer Ferdinand von Schirach’s bestselling novel makes for gripping viewing - Simran Hans
Copshop review – taut, 70s-style actioner
Three bad guys and a female sheriff square off in Joe Carnahan’s thriller starring Gerard Butler - Simran Hans
Respect review – an overly reverential homage to Aretha
Personally approved by Franklin, Jennifer Hudson captures the queen of soul’s star power, but this biopic is too well behaved to do its extraordinary subject justice - Mark Kermode
The Forgiven review – Chastain and Fiennes light up darkly comic thriller
John Michael McDonagh’s mostly entertaining adaptation of Laurence Osborne’s novel offers an unusual mix of provocation and penance - Benjamin Lee
Beba review – Rebeca Huntt’s personal, probing documentary-memoir
The acclaimed artist’s debut feature is an unsentimental look back on her upbringing with a rich texture but an opaque tone - Peter Bradshaw
The Guilty review – Jake Gyllenhaal’s tense 911 call thriller
A glossy Netflix remake of the 2018 single-location Danish thriller about a kidnapped woman seeking help is a well-made piece of entertainment - Peter Bradshaw
Malignant review – lurid Argento-influenced horror is hit-and-miss
The Conjuring and Saw director James Wan’s latest is a curious combination of plodding thriller and spectacular body horror - Charles Bramesco
The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station review – awe generators turned up to 11
The multi-national International Space Station gets it story told through the men and women who worked on it - Andrew Pulver
Copshop review – lean, mean nailbiter with a pop-culture fetish
Joe Carnahan’s claustrophobic thriller is packed with the satisfying basics: neat setups and payoffs and gratuitous violence - Phil Hoad
Kate review – stylish Netflix assassin thriller just about does the job
Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a killer with 24 hours to live in a familiarly plotted yet diverting enough Japan-set thriller - Benjamin Lee
Halloween Kills review – indestructible killer returns in efficient follow-up
Forty years on from John Carpenter’s classic slasher film, David Gordon Green’s latest reanimation of the title is functional but enjoyable - Jonathan Romney
Martyrs Lane review – gothic supernatural mystery with a warm beating heart
Ruth Platt’s fairytale of fusty parish England is subtle, highly atmospheric and illuminated by surprising love and care - Phil Hoad
The War Below review – plucky shot at telling amazing story of wartime tunnellers
Real-life account of miners recruited in the first world war to burrow beneath German lines is fascinating does well on a limited budget - Phil Hoad
Yakuza Princess review – stylish gangster tale makes its kills count
Story of a yakuza turf war survivor smuggled to Brazil has real style and a devil-may-care cheek - Mike McCahill
La Caja review – mystery box of bones ignites brooding surrogate-father tale
The final instalment in Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas’s trilogy about fathers and sons takes on social issues as well as emotional ones - Xan Brooks
Islander review – change and contradictions on Robinson Crusoe island
Stéphane Goël’s documentary merges the past and present of this small island off the coast of Chile - Phuong Le
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon review – B-movie thrills in New Orleans superhero gumbo
The new film from Ana Lily Amirpour will keep the fans happy with the tale of mind-controlling waitress on the loose the French Quarter - Xan Brooks
Misha and the Wolves review – a stranger-than-fiction exposé
A bestselling Holocaust memoir is revealed to be a fraud in an intriguing doc that fails to hold the author accountable - Wendy Ide
Shorta review – a racist cop’s redemption
Police brutality triggers unrest on a Danish housing estate in this visually striking but misconceived morality tale - Wendy Ide
The Ballad of Billy McCrae review – erotic noir is on rocky ground
This Wales-set tale of sex and intrigue among quarry workers is strangely murky, although the scenery looks lovely - Leslie Felperin
True Calling review – a government minister goes awol on long night of the soul
A politician’s long night of the soul becomes a confusing debate on the climate crisis in Erik Knudsen’s tiny-budget drama - Cath Clarke
Together Together review – Ed Helms surrogacy comedy that’s a little over-polite
Wan jokes land softly as pregnant Anna gets to know single father Matt in a film that looks wussy next to The Surrogate - Leslie Felperin
Prisoners of the Ghostland review – Nicolas Cage outdoes himself in deranged action movie
Brace yourself as Cage at his most OTT and Japan’s barmiest director wreak havoc - Wendy Ide
Gunpowder Milkshake review – ‘John Wicks with chicks’ does no one any favours
A secret society of assassins is played by a stellar cast – but does it really matter that they’re all women? - Wendy Ide
Escape from Extinction review – eco plea bordering on pro-zoo propaganda
Helen Mirren narrates this documentary which seeks to correct some misconceptions about zoos but ends up feeling hard to trust - Phil Hoad
Cry Macho review – Clint Eastwood’s dull 70s drama evokes no tears
The director’s latest film, in which he stars as a former rodeo star who travels to Mexico to save a friend’s son, is an inert disappointment - Benjamin Lee
Dear Evan Hansen review – ghoulish Ben Platt sinks high school musical
The film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical can’t overcome its 27-year-old star’s creepy teen makeup and the story’s wobbly handling of mental health - Adrian Horton
The Djinn review – evil genie with a very particular set of DIY skills
David Charbonier and Justin Powell’s horror about a mute boy who wishes for a voice is let down by its weak script and CGI - Phil Hoad
La Cha Cha review – caravan park comedy is fun, for the cast
Antics of ageing misfits living off-grid have a decidedly sitcom feel, but don’t expect to laugh - Cath Clarke
Lakewood review – Naomi Watts school shooting thriller falls short
A pandemic-made project, starring the Oscar winner as a mother racing to save her son, starts out with tension but ends up in silliness - Benjamin Lee
Herself review – a domestic abuse survivor’s tale in search of the right tone
Co-writer and star Clare Dunne brings grit to this drama about a Dublin single mother doing it for herself, directed by Mamma Mia’s Phyllida Lloyd - Simran Hans
The Collini Case review – Nazi courtroom drama tackles postwar guilt and racism
This adaptation of Ferdinand von Schirach’s thriller about a grandfather with a murky past is let down by conventional storytelling and clunky acting - Cath Clarke
Come Play review – screen demon from mobile phone spooks autistic boy
Jacob Chase’s horror film about a monster that pursues a non verbal kid on the autistic spectrum via mobile devices is a mixed bag - Leslie Felperin
The Last Duel review – Affleck, Damon and Driver deliver damp mullets in the fog
An all-star cast and some showstoppingly horrible hair can’t save Ridley Scott’s medieval epic - Jonathan Romney in Venice
Encounter review – Riz Ahmed can’t save uneven sci-fi invasion drama
A strong central performance isn’t enough to sell a disappointingly plotted follow-up to British director Michael Pearce’s thrilling breakout Beast - Peter Bradshaw
Respect review – one-note Aretha Franklin chronicle follows every biopic beat
Jennifer Hudson plays the soul legend, but this biopic reduces the complexity of her upbringing and artistry to corny life lessons - Peter Bradshaw
Old Henry review – a rootin’ tootin’ barrel of wild-west cliches
Tim Blake Nelson has a blast as a pig farmer with something to hide, but this low-aiming western is as familiar as refried beans - Xan Brooks
Copilot review – 9/11 terrorist fantasy backstory is flawed and naive
Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker-pilot on the United 93 flight, is reinvented as a considerate husband in Anne Zohra Berrached’s film - Peter Bradshaw
Thalaivii review – if Margaret Thatcher went to the Rank charm school
Rackety biopic of Tamil film actor turned politician stars controversy-ridden Kangana Ranaut and seems to reveal more about the latter - Mike McCahill
Iceland Is Best review – quirky coming-of-age indie never takes off
Feisty teenager Sigga longs to move to California from her small hometown in Iceland. At least the scenery’s interesting - Phuong Le
Here Today review – Billy Crystal’s disingenuous dementia romcom
This frustrating tale of a comedy writer battling memory loss lapses into another showcase for Crystal’s onscreen charm - Wendy Ide
Sacrilege review – an unholy desecration of women’s roles on screen
Debut writer-director David Creed falls prey to antiquated tropes in a stale folk-horror led by four vacuous final girls - Phil Hoad
Small World review – full-throttle trafficking tale goes off the rails
Polish director Patryk Vega’s usually slick technique fails him utterly here in this lurid story about a cop investigating a girl’s kidnapping by the Russian mafia - Mike McCahill
The Starling review – toe-curlingly embarrassing Melissa McCarthy drama
Netflix’s strange, sentimental film about a grieving woman who befriends a bird is a wildly misjudged mess - Peter Bradshaw
From the Vine review – laugh-free comedy of midlife Italian escape
Joe Pantoliano stars as a disaffected executive setting out to revive his grandfather’s vineyard in this tiresomely whimsical tale - Cath Clarke