Five star - Latest Top Rated Film Reviews from the Guardian

Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra review – an engrossing celebration of artistic creation
Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin’s beguiling documentary deepens the already magical experience of watching the Indigenous dance company perform - Luke Buckmaster
Flee review – remarkable refugee story told with heart and audacity
A thrilling documentary made with a blend of animation and archive footage tells an immensely powerful tale of a gay Afghan survivor - Benjamin Lee
Summer of Soul review – thrilling documentary reveals a forgotten festival
Revelatory footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural festival, crudely known for a while as the Black Woodstock, is brought to life in a spectacular new film - Jordan Hoffman
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry review – a fascinating look at an artist and idol
RJ Cutler’s two-hour-plus Apple documentary on the pop phenom reveals an exceptional artist grappling with both superstar fame and lame parent jokes - Adrian Horton
Restless Natives review – classic Scottish comedy is a reminder of a sweeter era
A gleeful sense of humour powers Michael Hoffman’s 1985 crime caper, part of Scotland’s cinematic response to Thatcherism - Peter Bradshaw
Ayouni review – a raging lament for Syria's 'disappeared'
Yasmin Fedda’s powerful documentary lays bare the human cost of the Assad regime and salutes those who continue to fight - Peter Bradshaw
Zappa review – a maverick sensibility
Alex Winter’s exhilarating documentary uses Frank Zappa’s own archive to draw us into the world of a musical one-off - Wendy Ide
Bad Tales review – horribly compelling urban fairytale
A sultry Roman backwater provides the oppressive setting for this story of three disaffected families from the D’Innocenzo brothers - Wendy Ide
Zappa review – under the skin of the wild man of American rock
Alex Winter weaves the early experiences of eccentric musician Frank Zappa into a portrait of the artist as a flawed man - Andrew Pulver
I Care a Lot review – Rosamund Pike is exquisitely nasty in toxic thriller
Pike’s black-hearted Marla drains the bank accounts of well-off elderly patients, until she picks the wrong prey - Peter Bradshaw
Bad Tales review – suburban dysfunction in visceral Italian drama
Superbly shot, the D’Innocenzo brothers’ film focuses on families, neighbourly envy and the feral behaviour of men which culminates in tragedy - Peter Bradshaw
The Kiosk review – fond farewell to a Parisian newsstand
The decline of print could close a newspaper kiosk that’s been run for generations, and is warmly sketched in this witty film - Peter Bradshaw
Uppercase Print review – a fierce denunciation of Ceaușescu's Romania
Radu Jude dramatises the case of a disenchanted teenager turned in to the secret police in 1980s Romania in this chilling work of filmed theatre - Peter Bradshaw
Good Grief review – tender film-play hybrid hits home
Sian Clifford and Nikesh Patel rehearsed for two days on Zoom before being filmed in a studio in Lorien Haynes’s impressively naturalistic bereavement story - Susannah Clapp
News of the World review – Tom Hanks fights fake news in the wild west
Paul Greengrass’s hybrid western, which has depth, beauty, topical resonance – and a mesmerising rising star - Mark Kermode Observer film critic
Slalom review – a teenage skier's hopes go downhill in bone-chilling abuse drama
A high-flying young skier’s training is overshadowed by her abusive male coach in Charlène Favier’s astute debut - Simran Hans
Sator review – deeply creepy cabin-in-the-woods horror
A terrifying supernatural being haunts this disturbing tale of spooky shenanigans in the dark heart of the forest - Leslie Felperin
School's Out Forever review – gloriously gory YA sci-fi horror
Lord of the Flies meets The Road in this ruthless, thrilling romp about posh boarding school kids fighting a deadly virus - Leslie Felperin
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things review – charming time loop romcom
Two irresistible performances buoy a fantastical teen romantic comedy about an endless day and the wonder that lives within it - Adrian Horton
Greenland review – comet disaster movie with a surprisingly deep impact
Gerard Butler does more than just punch his way out of imminent apocalypse in Ric Roman Waugh’s sharp action film - Mark Kermode
Judas and the Black Messiah review – electric Black Panthers drama
The true story of assassinated activist Fred Hampton is brought to vibrant life with never-better performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield - Peter Bradshaw
The Sparks Brothers review – Edgar Wright's electric portrait of the pop duo
The director’s imaginative documentary covers the often underappreciated career of Sparks in a funny and vibrant manner - Jordan Hoffman
Winter Flies review – teen tearaways ride their luck with a smile
Olmo Omerzu steers this Czech road movie gently, teasing wonderfully natural performances from his young leads - Phil Hoad
Assassins review – who were the women who killed Kim Jong-un's brother?
The two young women accused of murdering Kim Jong-un’s half-brother are the subject of this slick documentary - Simran Hans
Mass review – excruciating drama deals with school shooting aftermath
Two sets of parents meet up years after a devastating tragedy in a difficult and impeccably acted film about forgiveness and blame - Benjamin Lee
Beginning review – a Jehovah's Witness under attack in Georgia
The wife of a congregation leader is beset by religious and sexual bigotry in Dea Kulumbegashvili’s powerful feature debut - Simran Hans
In the Same Breath review – Nanfu Wang's shattering Covid-19 documentary
The One Child Nation film-maker has assembled an impressive, infuriating film flipping between China and America throughout the last chaotic year - Charles Bramesco
Censor review – disturbing descent into video nastiness
A woman working as a film censor in the 80s is shocked to discover a horror movie that recreates a traumatic incident from her childhood - Peter Bradshaw
The Capote Tapes review – inside the iconic writer's ice-cold mind
Ebs Burnough’s doc centres on Truman Capote’s unfinished novel but its real intrigue is its subject’s unknowable psyche - Peter Bradshaw
Assassins review – the 'prank show' killing of North Korea's pretender
This gripping documentary explores the story of the two young women who carried out a nerve-agent attack on Kim Jong-nam - Peter Bradshaw
The Dark and the Wicked review – devilishly directed farmhouse horror
There’s little that’s new in Bryan Bertino’s Texas spooker, but an emotionally literate script and clever direction give it an edge - Cath Clarke
Young Frankenstein review – Mel Brooks' cult classic gets clever, camp revival
There are plenty of belly laughs and a stellar lead but Alexander Berlage’s take on the original text lacks the nuanced meta-commentary he usually excels at - Cassie Tongue
Jailbreak review – the great, ingenious, Chilean escape
The last days of Pinochet’s regime form the backdrop of this exciting dramatisation of a real prison-break plot - Phuong Le
IWOW: I Walk on Water review – freeform meditation on New York's dispossessed
Khalik Allah chronicles his Harlem encounters in this patience-testing but immersive part-street documentary, part-autobiography - Peter Bradshaw
I Care a Lot review – Rosamund Pike excels in gleefully vicious tragicomedy
Pike is magnetic in J Blakeson’s tale of a legal guardian swindling older people out of their money - Mark Kermode Observer film critic
Allen v Farrow review – effective docuseries on allegations of abuse
The sexual abuse allegations leveled at Woody Allen are put under the spotlight with exhaustive research in a damning if bloated series - Charles Bramesco
Pelé review – valedictory tribute to Brazilian football great
Netflix’s admiring documentary about the three-time World Cup champion is best when it focuses on Brazil’s turbulent 1960s - Andrew Pulver
Shook review – stalk-and-slash horror with social media angle
With the gore unfolding on Zoom-style calls and home surveillance cameras, the story of online influencers being hunted by a killer is very 2021 - Leslie Felperin
The Owners review – OAP burglars get more than they bargained for
The young cast of this clever thriller undertake a hair-raising manor house heist, but it’s Sylvester McCoy and Rita Tushingham who steal the show - Leslie Felperin
Archenemy review – wacky fight for justice in parallel universes
Joe Manganiello plays Max Fist, a super powerful fighter for good from another world, in a colourful sci-fi-adjacent film - Leslie Felperin
White Colour Black review – Dudley O’Shaughnessy is one to watch
The boxer turned actor anchors this tale of a UK photographer who travels to Senegal after the death of his estranged father - Cath Clarke
Ashes in the Snow review – heartfelt but brutal YA gulag drama
This soapy, semi-harrowing wartime drama follows Bel Powley as a teenager sneaking snogs behind the prison huts - Cath Clarke
Digger review – family tensions are unearthed in slow-burn Greek drama
A corporate destruction project offers a symbolic backdrop for this poignant drama about a father-son relationship - Phil Hoad
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar review – Wiig and Mumolo laughing all the way to the beach
Bridesmaids co-writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo reunite as holidaying friends sucked into a hokey sci-fi conspiracy - Simran Hans
To All the Boys: Always and Forever review – enjoyable enough Netflix threequel
The final installment in Netflix’s hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy is an improvement over the second, but still lacks the sizzle of 2018’s original - Adrian Horton
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar review – goofy Bridesmaids reunion
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo reteam for a likable but throwaway comedy about two best friends going on vacation - Benjamin Lee
Broil review – Jonathan Lipnicki serves up murder in fantasy thriller
A short-order cook is hired to poison a monstrous supernatural patriarch at a sadistic family dinner in Edward Drake’s stylistic but overstuffed offering - Phil Hoad
Pvt Chat review – refreshingly grownup take on virtual sex
This mumblecore drama about a man’s obsession with an online sex worker is uncomfortably funny and semi-insightful - Cath Clarke
Dragon Rider review – starry family animation seeks fire
Patrick Stewart voices a baddie trying to obliterate lovable dragons in this bland but entertaining family film - Cath Clarke
Dead Pigs review – winding tale of life in cash-crazed Shanghai
Cathy Yan’s sprawling drama uses a real-life discovery of 16,000 porcine corpses to pick away at Chinese commercialism - Peter Bradshaw
Slalom review – abuse on the slopes in tense teen ski prodigy drama
A French teen ski champion navigates sexual exploitation by her male coach in Charlène Favier’s difficult but impressive debut - Peter Bradshaw
If It Were Love review – a dance doc powered by the exuberance of youth
Patric Chiha’s film follows a troupe rehearsing a major production and draws its charm from the carefree energy of its performers - Peter Bradshaw
The Twentieth Century review – Canadian satire dials up the quirk
Pompous political history is rewritten in surreal style under the rule of avant garde director Matthew Rankin - Peter Bradshaw
A Glitch in the Matrix review – a mind-blowing dive into simulation theory
This messy but fascinating documentary explores the idea that the world is an artificial pawn in a game played by higher beings - Wendy Ide
Rams review – Aussie remake of a dour Icelandic delight
Sam Neill and Michael Caton star as the feuding, sheep-farming brothers in this sunny repurposing of Grímur Hákonarson’s 2015 hit black comedy - Wendy Ide
Lost Girls and Love Hotels review – submission and secrets in erotic Tokyo drama
Alexandra Daddario’s American English teacher drinks, parties and explores BDSM in this cool movie that only occasionally veers into orientalism - Peter Bradshaw
A Glitch in the Matrix review – deep-dive into simulation theory
Using animation, archive and clips from the movie franchise, Rodney Ascher’s genre-bending doc gives philosophers and kooks space to explain why we are living in a synthetic world - Leslie Felperin
Simple Passion review – sensitive French study of erotic obsession
Laetitia Dosch is sensational as a lecturer passionately embroiled with Sergei Polunin’s reptilian Russian diplomat - Peter Bradshaw
Pleasure review – bold, explicit and ambitious LA porn drama
In Swedish film-maker Ninja Thyberg’s strong debut, a young woman discovers a difficult, male-dominated industry as she strives for agency - Adrian Horton
Birds (Or How to Be One) review – flighty avian-themed drama-doc
Babis Makridis takes to the sky with an experimental and sometimes difficult to watch manifesto inspired by Aristophanes’s play The Birds - Phil Hoad
Palmer review – Justin Timberlake dominates modest family drama
The singer is just too charismatic to convince as a surly former prisoner forced to care for a bullied boy - Simran Hans
The Dig review – a quiet meeting of minds at Sutton Hoo
Kindred spirits Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes preside over the discovery of the Anglo-Saxon ship burial in this gently understated period drama - Mark Kermode
On the Count of Three review – hit-and-miss suicide bromance comedy
Strong performances from first-time director Jerrod Carmichael and Christopher Abbott buoy a shaggy caper about depressed best friends - Benjamin Lee
In the Earth review – Ben Wheatley's patchy pandemic folk horror
An ambitiously shot mid-lockdown B-movie boasts some eerie visuals and genuine suspense but stumbles with an overly convoluted mythology - Benjamin Lee
Coda review – formulaic yet sweet-natured crowd-pleaser
A hearing girl with a deaf family is torn between two worlds in a well-intentioned but conventional attempt to win over audiences - Benjamin Lee
High Ground review – Simon Baker narrowly escapes white saviour tropes in colonial Australia
A white sharpshooter and an Indigenous survivor of a massacre reunite after 12 years in a gracefully directed but rather Anglo-centric western - Luke Buckmaster
Wrong Turn review – skull-crushing Appalachian horror
The seventh entry in the franchise, with its weird cultists, takes a few original steps off the well-beaten hillbilly horror path - Peter Bradshaw
Gatecrash review – opaque auto-accident drama
A car crash provokes a torrent of toxic masculinity, but this strange film is neither surreal nor psychologically insightful enough - Leslie Felperin
Emperor review – adventure trumps accuracy in civil war biopic
The true story of an escaped slave turned insurgent is told in very broad strokes in this action-packed thriller - Phil Hoad
Erēmīta (Anthologies) review – lockdown experiments of varying accomplishment
Alexis Zabé’s mini-doc about a Venice Beach homeless community is the pick of this studiously serious grab-bag of shorts shot in lockdown - Cath Clarke
The United States vs Billie Holiday review – Lee Daniels' misguided biopic
Lee Daniels’ bizarre decision to root this account of the singer’s late years in supposition about her romance with a federal agent cheapens her courage - Peter Bradshaw
Blush review – midlife crisis drama leaves you discontent and unfulfilled
Wendi McLendon-Covey’s bored wife Cathy endures a series of seriocomic crises but they never really lead anywhere - Peter Bradshaw
To Olivia review – a glib exploration of Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal's grief
Keeley Hawkes and Hugh Bonneville are decent as the actor and children’s author whose daughter died aged seven, but there is no real howl of pain - Peter Bradshaw
Butchers review – worn-out horror tropes salvaged by good performances
Rural holidays get a bad rep in an atmospheric slasher that, despite one-note victims and questionable accents, has terrifying moments - Phuong Le
Long Story Short review – Josh Lawson’s time-bending romcom lands with a hollow ‘YOLO’
Zahra Newman and Rafe Spall star in a strangely prescient time-loop romcom with a distractingly limited scope - Meg Watson
Willy’s Wonderland review – Nicolas Cage cleans up in gory horror story
Cage’s bad-ass drifter is duped into janitorial duties as evil animatronic puppets go on the rampage in an abandoned arcade - Leslie Felperin
News of the World review – Tom Hanks rides straight down the middle
Hanks’s former Confederate captain tries to help Helena Zengel’s terrified orphan across lawless post-civil war Texas in this Paul Greengrass western that rarely comes alive - Peter Bradshaw
Modern Persuasion review – Austen in Manhattan is a load of old bonnets
This updated version of Jane Austen’s final novel is standard romcom fare –minus satire, wit and charm - Cath Clarke
The Recce review – madness of war in a wondrous land
An elite soldier is sent on a perilous solo mission in this underwhelming drama set during the Namibian war of independence - Leslie Felperin
A Nightmare Wakes review – Mary Shelley battles her inner monsters
Pitched somewhere between horror and historical drama, this film probes the personal trauma that may have shaped Shelley’s invention of Frankenstein - Peter Bradshaw
Life in a Day 2020 review – ambitious, bizarre and hugely exasperating
Kevin Macdonald’s film aims to give a snapshot of the modern world but its context-free clips look more like a corporate ad - Peter Bradshaw
Running Naked review – feelgood cancer comedy with teen pranks
Two teenagers who bonded in hospital grow up and have to deal with the effects of their illnesses in a film that might have worked better as a sitcom - Cath Clarke
Clementine review – lakeside retreat harbours damp passions
A spurned young woman’s urge to retaliate becomes subsumed by an oddly intense affair - Peter Bradshaw
Land review – Robin Wright heads into the wild for tame drama
The actor makes a muted directorial debut with a conventional film about a woman going off the grid after a devastating tragedy - Benjamin Lee
Mayday review – female-led action fantasy opts for style over substance
The feature debut of writer-director Karen Cinorre, orbits an intriguing premise – healing as purgatory, inspired by the Sirens – but its visuals far outpace its writing - Adrian Horton
Passing review – Rebecca Hall's elegant but inert directorial debut
The actor’s adaptation of Nella Larsen’s novel about race in 1920s Harlem features a scene-stealing Ruth Negga but a disappointing lack of verve - Benjamin Lee
John and the Hole review – empty psychodrama wastes early promise
A 13-year-old boy decides to trap his family in a bunker in a visually striking yet frustratingly dead-ending film with a talented yet wasted cast - Benjamin Lee
Twist review – try-hard reboot spray paints over Dickens' tale
Rafferty Law’s young hero is a graffiti artist and Michael Caine’s Fagin an ex-art dealer in this under-par update of Oliver Twist - Peter Bradshaw
The Queen of Black Magic review – derivative gross-out horror
An Indonesian family’s trip to the orphanage where dad grew up turns into an unrelenting stream of nastiness as vengeful spirits emerge - Leslie Felperin
The Little Things review – Denzel Washington killer thriller is a big mess
The star’s reliable presence can’t save a drab, self-important procedural that can’t quite decide if it wants to be thrilling or thoughtful - Benjamin Lee
Hellraiser: Judgment review – diminishing, misogynist returns for classic franchise
Pinhead is still lurking, but the iconic series’ once-interesting eroticism has degenerated into nasty titillation in this sorry sequel - Leslie Felperin
The Stylist review – an insipid thriller three decades out of fashion
With its vast plot holes, wooden acting and wanton violence, this serial killer tale has the feel of a straight-to-video flop - Peter Bradshaw
Shadowland review – hopelessly inept Highlands horror
The antics of an evil creature on the loose in an abandoned military base are stymied by impenetrable storytelling - Leslie Felperin
The Sinners review – inept teen horror dead on arrival
A cultish clique of teenage bullies commit a sin against cinema’s first commandment to show, don’t tell - Ellen E Jones
What Lies Below review – a dire coming-of-age horror with a fishy twist
A perplexing erotic storyline isn’t the worst thing about this sci-fi mystery, which is marred by wooden acting and poor judgement - Cath Clarke
Music review – Sia's tone-deaf treatment of autism
In the singer-songwriter’s simplistic directorial debut, a cartoonish portrayal of autism clashes with a tale of addiction - Simran Hans
Anti-Life review – ropey Alien-lite romp with Bruce Willis
Truckers-in-space realism dominates in this low-budget sci-fi about people escaping a dying Earth only to encounter man-eating extraterrestrials - Cath Clarke
Breeder review – muddled torture porn horror
Gonzo violence brings down what could have been an enjoyably bizarre melodrama about a creepy eternal-youth biotech facility - Peter Bradshaw
Bliss review – epically bad acting in tiresome sci-fi fantasy
Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek star in a conceited mess of a movie with a guessable finish - Peter Bradshaw
Eye for an Eye review – Travolta goes sleuthing in Texas
Hardboiled private eye John Travolta tussles with corrupt casino owner Morgan Freeman in a thriller whose biggest mystery is its plot - Cath Clarke