Five star - Latest Top Rated Film Reviews from the Guardian

System Crasher review – searing portrait of a broken psyche
Helena Zengel shines as a furiously traumatised child in Nora Fingscheidt’s extraordinary drama - Wendy Ide
Villain review – Richard Burton's masterclass in nastiness
The actor’s ruined handsomeness was perfect for his portrayal of a psychopathically violent gangster in this classic 1971 thriller - Peter Bradshaw
The Elephant Man review – David Lynch's tragic tale of compassion
Four decades on, John Hurt’s performance gives this biopic a poignancy that marks it apart from the rest of director’s work - Peter Bradshaw
Portrait of a Lady on Fire review – mesmerised by the female gaze
Céline Sciamma delivers an entrancing and perceptive exploration of power - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
DAU. Natasha review – an exquisitely sinister study of Soviet oppression
As part of a colossal art project, Ilya Khrzhanovsky has made an intimately eerie examination of the banality of evil - Peter Bradshaw
First Cow review – Kelly Reichardt’s superbly chewy tale of milk cakes in the old west
The Meek’s Cutoff director returns with a distinctive story about a pair of drifters trying to make money by stealing milk from a newly-arrived cow - Peter Bradshaw
The Perfect Candidate review – a Saudi woman's political awakening
A female doctor hits the campaign trail in Saudi Arabia, in a rousing if occasionally hoary battle against oppression - Wendy Ide
The Perfect Candidate review – accidental heroine takes on the cynics
When a doctor runs for office in Saudi Arabia, her campaign gathers unexpected momentum in this assured drama by Wadjda director Haifaa Al Mansour - Peter Bradshaw
System Crasher review – gripping tale of a nine-year-old on the edge
Child actor Helena Zengel is terrifying as a violent problem kid who tests the limits of everyone around her in this compelling German drama - Peter Bradshaw
Domains review – eerie echoes of a world in isolation
This stark, experimental drama about a woman in a troubled marriage who reconnects with an old friend is the first movie of the coronavirus era - Peter Bradshaw
Crip Camp review – rousing Netflix documentary traces disability rights movement
Starting at a freewheeling camp in the 70s and ending with profound political change, this impactful film shines a light on a forgotten fight for equality - Benjamin Lee
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants review – darkly humorous BDSM tale
A bereaved father chases his lost wife down a rabbit hole of domination and sadomasochism in this unexpectedly playful Finnish drama - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
Fire Will Come review – emotional Spanish drama
An arsonist falls under suspicion in a Galician village in Oliver Laxe’s Cannes prize-winner - Simran Hans
The Platform review – fiendish Netflix thriller about a gory battle for food
In this gruesomely effective Spanish fable, people are placed on rotating levels with different amounts to eat, leading to madness and horror - Benjamin Lee
The Truth review – mothers, memory and an imperious Catherine Deneuve
A legendary movie star’s dubious memoirs outrage her daughter – played by Juliette Binoche – in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s stylish, seductive family drama - Peter Bradshaw
Calm With Horses review – fear and loathing in Ireland's wild west
Cosmo Jarvis is haunting as a brutal enforcer torn between his duty to a crime clan and his son - Mark Kermode
Bacurau review – wildly entertaining Brazilian weirdness
A rural community comes under attack in a thriller with anticolonial overtones - Simran Hans
And Then We Danced review – heady tale of forbidden desire
Tbilisi is the setting for this charged romance between two men training as traditional Georgian dancers - Simran Hans
And Then We Danced review – freewheeling story of secret love
Levan Akin’s terrific romance about two male dancers in Tbilisi is electrifying in its physicality and fervent in its storytelling - Peter Bradshaw
Bacurau review – ultraviolent freakout in Brazil's outback
This disquieting horror-style western about a town under siege from a mysterious threat is executed with ruthless clarity - Peter Bradshaw
Misbehaviour review – likable comedy of bizarre and farcical 1970 Miss World
Keira Knightley and Jessie Buckley star in this funny, charming film as the feminist protesters who disrupted the beauty pageant - Peter Bradshaw
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am review – as elegant as its subject
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s generous documentary is a fitting tribute to the late, great author - Wendy Ide
Parasite: Black & White Version review – horror with a shade of Ealing comedy
Cinephile’s treat or ticket-peddling gimmick? Either way, this monochrome edition puts the masterful satire in a new light - Peter Bradshaw
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am review – powerful portrait of a cultural giant
Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis and Morrison herself explore her work and legacy in this documentary completed shortly before the Nobel-winning author’s death - Peter Bradshaw
Sulphur and White review – a bold study of abuse and trauma
Mark Stanley is superb in this unflinching real-life story of a man left alienated from society as a result of a childhood ordeal - Peter Bradshaw
Vitalina Varela review – secrets and lies amid the ruins
Vitalina Varela stars as herself in Pedro Costa’s bleak but beautiful film about a woman discovering the hidden life of her late husband - Peter Bradshaw
Dark Waters review – Todd Haynes’s thriller fizzes with righteous fury
Mark Ruffalo is the reluctant hero in this sophisticated legal drama - Simran Hans
True History of the Kelly Gang review – rock’n’roll makeover of an Aussie outlaw
Director Justin Kurzel toys with Ned Kelly’s macho reputation in this swaggering adaptation of Peter Carey’s novel - Simran Hans
The Invisible Man review – Wells with a Hitchcockian twist
Gripping update of HG Wells’s classic - Simran Hans
Dark Waters review – Todd Haynes plumbs the depths of a poisoning scandal
In this gripping real-life thriller, Mark Ruffalo plays a lawyer who takes on the company that dumped toxic chemicals in West Virginia for decades - Peter Bradshaw
Vivarium review – the unspeakable horror of settling down in suburbia
Having kids and buying a house become the stuff of nightmares in Lorcan Finnegan’s black comedy, starring Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg - Peter Bradshaw
In Search of Chopin review – the composer with 'a gift from God'
This engaging documentary highlights the emotional power of his music – and his liaison with France’s most famous woman - Phil Hoad
Pinocchio review - wooden-puppet fairytale goes back to the sweet-sour original
Director and co-writer Matteo Garrone embraces the grotesqueness and sentimentality of Collodi’s 1883 story - Peter Bradshaw
The Assistant review - #MeToo drama offers unsettling study of day-to-day abuse
Film about assistant to a New York film mogul details how stress, humiliation and bullying become the enablers for abuse by powerful men - Peter Bradshaw
Little Joe review – The Day of the Triffids meets Little Shop of Horrors
This taut sci-fi thriller keeps the viewer guessing to the very end - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
Kill It and Leave This Town review - gaunt beauty amid the smoky smudge of memory
This raw, intense animation from Polish director Mariusz Wilczyński is a fiercely miserable fable that mixes realism with a kind of dreamlike sleep-talking - Peter Bradshaw
Midnight Family review – superb documentary on Mexico’s private ambulances
Luke Lorentzen’s film follows an enterprising family exploiting the gap in Mexico City’s dire emergency services - Wendy Ide
Hidden Away review - makes a rich, heavy meal of a biopic of feral Italian painter
This account of the tough, troubled life of naive artist Antonio Ligabue boasts a committed performance from actor Elio Germano - Peter Bradshaw
Wildland review – Danish crime drama with the makings of a big hit
When 17-year-old Ida goes to live with her aunt and cousins, she quickly becomes embroiled in a ruthless crime family - Peter Bradshaw
Onward review – Pixar's best film in years is Frozen with boys
The animation studio conjures some of the old magic with a touching tale of childhood grief and brotherly bonding - Steve Rose
In My Blood It Runs review – quietly masterful portrait of growing up Indigenous
Collaborative, open-hearted documentary of a young Arrernte boy is Gayby Baby director Maya Newell’s best work yet - Luke Buckmaster
Elephant review – Meghan Markle adds schmaltz to Disney yarn
The Duchess of Sussex has provided the voiceover – including plenty of unverifiable comment – for this sugary documentary about elephant migration - Peter Bradshaw
Vivarium review – home is where the hell is
Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots are plunged into a suburban nightmare in this unsettling satire on consumerism - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
The Truth review – Catherine Deneuve illuminates unsubtle family drama
Hirokazu Kore-eda takes his observational skills to France, with mixed results - Simran Hans
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants review – alarming antics in the sex dungeon
The hardcore story of a grieving surgeon who embarks on an odyssey of forbidden pleasures is intriguing but hard to watch - Peter Bradshaw
The Banker review – Apple's first movie is a slick yet patchy racism drama
Strong performances from Anthony Mackie and Samuel L Jackson lift this intriguing if not fully realised true story about black entrepreneurs in the 1960s - Benjamin Lee
Climbing Blind review – elevating portrait of a higher love
This captivating documentary focuses on the extraordinary bond between blind climber Jesse Dufton and his wife and climbing partner Molly Thompson - Cath Clarke
Fire Will Come review – pyromaniac's tale obscured by smoke
Oliver Laxe’s drama about a fire-starter in rural Spain is visually arresting but exasperating as a piece of storytelling - Peter Bradshaw
Big Time Adolescence review – Pete Davidson plays to type in low-key comedy
The Saturday Night Live star is a perma-slacker in this shaggy, warmly received Sundance coming-of-age tale which has finally shown up on Hulu - Benjamin Lee
Cunningham review – powerful 3D documentary about a dance pioneer
This highbrow study is fascinating less for its fancy 3D footsteps than for its insight into choreographer Merce Cunningham’s life and work - Cath Clarke
Run review – former boy racer driven to zombified despair
Mark Stanley is terrific as an Aberdeenshire family man whose dreams have gone nowhere - Cath Clarke
The Photograph review – a shimmering romance
Sparks fly in love stories from the past and present beautifully woven together - Wendy Ide
Military Wives review – on song with chalk-and-cheese Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan
This crowd-pleasing comedy drama from the director of The Full Monty hits all the right notes - Mark Kermode
Escape from Pretoria review – ingenious apartheid-era thriller
Daniel Radcliffe plays an ANC activist in this fast-paced prison breakout movie - Wendy Ide
Onward review – more emotional wizardry from Pixar
Tom Holland and Chris Pratt voice brothers trying to bring their father back to life - Wendy Ide
Onward review – Pixar conjures big-screen adventure with wizard quest story
Chris Pratt and Tom Holland play teenage elves in this standard-issue but entertaining supernatural quest story - Peter Bradshaw
Calm With Horses review – crime and brutal punishment in rural Ireland
Barry Keoghan and Cosmo Jarvis shine in an unflinching underworld tale with flashes of real poignancy - Peter Bradshaw
Broken Law review – headbutt of a thriller about brothers on either side of the law
Paddy Slattery’s Dublin-set thriller doesn’t land all of its punches, but its story about cop and criminal siblings has got lots of energy - Peter Bradshaw
Charlatan review – a fascinating, frustrating tale of bottled-up emotion
Agnieszka Holland once again proves she is the real deal with this austere biopic of a faith healer in 30s Czechoslovakia - Peter Bradshaw
Color Out of Space review – Nicolas Cage goes cosmic in freaky sci-fi horror
A repulsive alien organism is unleashed on Earth in Richard Stanley’s scary, hokey – and often funny – extravaganza - Cath Clarke
Villain review – tough Brit crime thriller shows a bit of class
With its brooding atmosphere and a charismatic Craig Fairbrass, this hard-edged drama is a cut above the genre’s usual suspects - Leslie Felperin
Push review – searing study of the global housing crisis
The real villain in the affordable-housing emergency is not avocado-eating creatives but the financial elites, according to this sobering documentary - Cath Clarke
The Invisible Man review – Elisabeth Moss brings murky thriller to life
A reliably committed lead performance ignites a mostly enjoyable, often timely, take on the HG Wells story that falls apart in the final act - Benjamin Lee
Hillary review – did the US presidential hopeful take the wrong road?
This epic documentary ranges across Hillary Clinton’s life, from the Arkansas governor’s mansion, through the White House years to her own shot at the top job – but the enigma remains - Peter Bradshaw
Undine review – a shaggy catfish of a story about a woman with a water obsession
The director of Transit returns with a somewhat pointless film about an art historian who has a passionate affair with a diver - Peter Bradshaw
The Call of the Wild review – a remake with little bite
Having a CGI dog at its centre diminishes this Arctic adventure - Wendy Ide
Greed review – Steve Coogan entertains in broad satire
A rambunctious caricature of Philip Green - Wendy Ide
The Salt of Tears review - classy-looking French love story that jumps the shark
A black and white Parisian relationships drama in the classic style which is hampered by the good-looking but conceited woodworker at its centre - Peter Bradshaw
Mogul Mowgli review – Riz Ahmed tackles British selfhood head on
Profound drama about culture, family and what it means to represent a community - Peter Bradshaw
Minamata review – Johnny Depp attempts redemption in heartfelt look at disaster that struck Japanese town
Johnny Depp plays real-life US photojournalist W Eugene Smith who travels to cover the story of mercury poisoning that caused horrendous disfigurements - Peter Bradshaw
Malmkrog review – cerebral period drama lives on in the mind
Cristi Puiu’s fourth film makes a virtue of high seriousness as guests at a country house discuss God, man, warfare and evil - Peter Bradshaw
United Nation: Three Decades of Drum & Bass review – a raving nostalgia trip
Club entrepreneur Terry ‘Turbo’ Stone co-directs this documentary about ‘a mad old time’ of pills and illegal parties - Cath Clarke
End of the Century review – post-coital reverie of sex, love and memory
Two men who meet in Barcelona have an unsettling feeling of deja vu in this elegant romantic drama - Peter Bradshaw
Uncorked review – sub-par Netflix wine drama is far from vintage
Solid performances aren’t enough to lift this familiar tale of a Memphis man trying to break out from his family business out from the middle of the road - Benjamin Lee
The Jesus Rolls review – John Turturro's Big Lebowski spin-off misses the mark
Turturro’s return to the role of the bowling champ he played in the Coen brothers’ cherished classic is an amiably indifferent caper - Mike McCahill
The Hunt review – silly horror satire
Smug liberals are in the sights of this gory B-movie about elite groups killing ‘deplorables’ for fun - Simran Hans
Misbehaviour review – well-mannered Miss World drama
Jessie Buckley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw star this feelgood 70s protest story - Simran Hans
The Rise of the Synths review – the world's most nostalgic music scene
This documentary exploring the 80s-obsessed synthwave sound has admirable production values, but trades deep analysis for platitudes and boring asides - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
My Spy review – Dave Bautista takes the muscle-man's tweenie test
The wrestler turned actor walks a path well trodden by brawny action heroes in this mildly diverting family romp - Mike McCahill
Bloodshot review – Vin Diesel brings brawn in brainless action schlock
An ambitious franchise-starter offers only the smallest of pleasures, mainly thanks to the star himself, while mostly descending into cliche - Charles Bramesco
The Hunt review – gory Trump-baiting satire is more hype than horror
The delayed liberal elites vs rural ‘deplorables’ thriller isn’t quite the political hot potato it’s being sold as, offering boilerplate B-movie schlock instead - Adrian Horton
Lost Girls review – well-intentioned but plodding Netflix true crime drama
The story of sex workers murdered by a still-uncaught serial killer makes for a pedestrian narrative debut for documentarian Liz Garbus - Benjamin Lee
Fantasy Island review – Blumhouse's schlock horror lacks imagination
The latest film off the mega-studio’s production line is an odd attempt at genre-surfing that ends up well out of its depth - Benjamin Lee
Military Wives review – feelgood choir comedy strains in vain for laughs
Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Hordan saddled with a by-the-numbers script in a well-meaning but hackneyed Brit flick - Peter Bradshaw
Zenek review – synth-pop and showbiz behind the iron curtain
There’s music, mullets and vodka aplenty in this not-quite-biopic of Polish pop star Zenon Martyniuk … but zero thrills - Cath Clarke
The Way Back review – Ben Affleck battles booze in half-baked drama
A solid turn from the actor as an alcoholic coach can’t save an otherwise uninvolving and underwritten redemption tale - Benjamin Lee
Pretty Woman: The Musical review – tasteless romcom returns with tunes
Danny Mac and Aimie Atkinson star in the schmaltzy and shallow Hollywood tale, told with a few winning songs - Arifa Akbar
Downhill review – unsteady avalanche comedy inspired by Force Majeure
Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are sadly adrift in this avalanche drama - Simran Hans
All the Bright Places review – teen charm can't lift maudlin Netflix drama
Elle Fanning and Justice Smith make for a likable pair in a YA romance that tries, uneasily, to cover issues of suicide, mental illness and grief - Benjamin Lee
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears review – Essie Davis delights in hokey, lustreless film
The cult hit show’s first big-screen foray rarely conjures a cinematic feel, bogged down by dialogue, schlock and flavourless scenes - Luke Buckmaster
Like a Boss review – corporate comedy with little to laugh about
TTiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne are wasted in this female buddy movie - Wendy Ide
Tintoretto: A Rebel in Venice review – the rock'n'roll Renaissance master?
The 16th-century artist is painted – not quite convincingly – as a glamorous bad boy in this high-brow documentary portrait - Leslie Felperin
Waiting for Anya review – soapy second world war melodrama
Stranger Things’ Noah Schnapp stars in a gorgeous-looking but unemotional adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel - Cath Clarke
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising review – workies save the world
Apprentice superheroes fight the forces of evil in an anime adventure overloaded with Japanese bizarro zeal - Phil Hoad
Incidental Characters review – muddling along, looking for love
Four people in an English market town search for meaning in their lives in this quirky but underpowered comedy - Peter Bradshaw
The Public review – quiet showdown in the library
A group of homeless men stage a sit-in at a city library in Emilio Estevez’s high-minded but underwhelming drama - Peter Bradshaw
Spenser Confidential review – Mark Wahlberg crash lands on Netflix
The actor plays a justice-seeking ex-cop in a clumsy, unfunny adaptation of a much-loved literary crime series - Benjamin Lee
Immortal Hero review – silly vanity project made in bad faith
The self-produced film by faith leader Ryuho Okawa is woefully misjudged and reveals the laughable reality behind Happy Science - Cath Clarke
Brahms: The Boy II review – wilfully unscary evil doll horror
Katie Holmes is as bored as the audience in this lazy retread of the 2016 chiller about a havoc-causing doll - Benjamin Lee
My Salinger Year review – bafflingly insipid Berlin opener clunks hard
Based on Joanna Rakoff’s memoir, this simpering knock off of The Devil Wears Prada is so wet you could shoot snipe off it - Peter Bradshaw