Five star - Latest Top Rated Film Reviews from the Guardian

Kate Bush: Little Shrew review – this devastating film will make you weep at war’s violence against children
Written, directed and soundtracked by Bush, built up from sketches she drew herself, this four-minute animation is suffused with both love and horror - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
The Warriors review – Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis come out to play with firecracker musical
This concept album based on Walter Hill’s 1979 film features megastar rappers, Hamilton alumni and styles from metalcore to salsa – it is pulled off with breathtaking brio - Chris Wiegand
Carrie review – Brian De Palma’s horror masterpiece is a death metal spectacle of carnage
Sissy Spacek unforgettably evolves from ugly duckling to swan to something else entirely in the groundbreaking film of Stephen King’s novel - Peter Bradshaw
Young Frankenstein review – Mel Brooks monster comedy is wonderfully alive as ever
Gene Wilder’s giddy brilliance is backed by a tremendous supporting cast and only a few gags lumber as the film is re-released for its 50th anniversary - Peter Bradshaw
An Inspector Calls review – Alastair Sim drawing room drama brilliantly exposes its era’s hypocrisies
Sim is superbly insinuating as the detective arriving with a few questions for the complacent residents of a grand Edwardian home - Peter Bradshaw
Turn Me On review – dystopia’s kindly new manners
Michael Tyburski’s intelligent and funny film features a young couple seduced by an apparently bland regime promising to tidy away messy emotions - Catherine Bray
Slingshot review – Casey Affleck is impeccable in solid sci-fi saga
An unexplained impact leaves a mission to Saturn’s moon, Titan, in catastrophic danger, with Affleck and a skeleton crew struggling to keep a grip on reality - Phil Hoad
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl review – first they came for the trousers. Then they came for the robot gnome
Feathers McGraw is back and implacably frightening as ever in Aardman’s latest, belated outing for everyone’s favourite cheese eating duo - Catherine Shoard
Dahomey review – Mati Diop’s exquisite tale of repatriation
In this lyrical hybrid documentary, the French director brings to life 26 stolen artefacts as they make their way from Paris back to Benin - Wendy Ide
Black Box Diaries review – Japanese journalist’s courageous documentary about her own rape ordeal
Shiori Itō’s account of her sexual assault by a high-profile colleague, and her fight for justice, is a tough but important watch - Wendy Ide
Emilia Pérez review – Jacques Audiard’s riotously entertaining trans Mexican cartel musical
The veteran French director takes a huge gamble with this gritty crime thriller turned glitzy soap opera boasting standout performances from Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez - Wendy Ide
A Nightmare on Elm Street review – jauntily outrageous slasher is still cheerfully crass
Johnny Depp makes his film debut in Wes Craven’s imperfect but entertaining horror that still has considerable black-comic energy - Peter Bradshaw
Watership Down review – charming rabbit animation still has power to terrify
A band of rabbits must leave their warren to find safety in a film that, even in a digital age, still has the bloody force to scare young minds - Peter Bradshaw
The Room Next Door review – Almodóvar’s English-language debut is extravagant and engrossing
Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton give luxuriously self-aware performances as two old friends who are reunited in a doggedly mysterious drama - Peter Bradshaw
Black Box Diaries review – inside the remarkable events that triggered Japan’s #MeToo movement
Japanese journalist Shiori Itō tells how she pursued her rape case against a prominent TV executive - Peter Bradshaw
Woman of the Hour review – Anna Kendrick’s 70s-set true crime thriller is a winner
A serial killer tale unfolds in California’s TV land in the US actor’s fine directorial debut, in which she also stars - Wendy Ide
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things review – vivid portrait of 20th-century artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Mark Cousins’s poetic documentary about the late St Ives-based Scottish artist is among his finest films - Wendy Ide
Smile 2 review – horribly entertaining fright sequel
Naomi Scott shines as a troubled pop star in Parker Finn’s even more gruesome follow-up - Wendy Ide
The Wild Robot review – lost-in-the-jungle Roz joins animation’s robot greats
Superbly voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, the star of DreamWorks’ classy adaptation of Peter Brown’s bestseller learns to survive on a harsh, uninhabited island - Wendy Ide
The Apprentice review – Jeremy Strong is the Trump card in measured biopic of the Donald
The Succession star chills as US lawyer Roy Cohn opposite Sebastian Stan as his grasping protege Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s intriguing drama - Wendy Ide
Saint Maud review – desire, despair and ‘godgasms’ as Rose Glass’s shocker comes to life
Brogan Gilbert gives an extraordinary performance as the troubled nurse caring for a terminally ill dancer in a compelling adaptation of the 2019 horror film - Chris Wiegand
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin review – moving tale of disabled gamer’s digital double life
Using World of Warcraft-style animation, this documentary tells the story of Mats Steen, a boy with muscular dystrophy whose online popularity was only revealed after his death - Leslie Felperin
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things review – lovingly eccentric ode to a forgotten abstract painter
The work of the late Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham is brought to life by this idiosyncratically persuasive Mark Cousins film - Peter Bradshaw
The Wild Robot review – heartfelt animated adventure is a soaring success
Peter Brown’s much-loved novel gets turned into a dazzling big-screen film for all ages that’s one of the year’s most entertaining animated offerings - Adrian Horton
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands review – the joy and the fury
This documentary about pioneering female musicians is brilliant – yes, there’s misogyny and betrayal but mainly it’s the sheer elation of being in a gang - Cath Clarke
MadS review – one-shot French horror is an impressive exercise in tension and mood
A joyriding teenager drives headlong into the zombie apocalypse in David Moreau’s euphorically nihilistic film - Catherine Bray
Milisuthando review – a life haunted by, and isolated from, the horrors of apartheid
As a child, Milisuthando Bongela was unaware of white-supremacist South Africa, only to later wake up to the realities of a racialised political system - Phuong Le
Endurance review – Shackleton’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition, relived
Shackleton’s remarkable 1914 mission gets a stirring retelling by the directors of Free Solo as a fine cast of experts search for the remains of his ship - Wendy Ide
Transformers One review – action-packed prequel adds brains to the metal monster smash-ups
Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley brings a blast of energy, sharp wit and an all-star voice cast to this refreshingly different origin tale - Wendy Ide
Superboys of Malegaon review – boisterous heartwarmer about movie-loving underdogs
Inspired by a true story, this feelgood Indian film is about some Bollywood superfans making their own movies with a cheeky but admirable DIY ethos - Peter Bradshaw
A Traveler’s Needs review – Isabelle Huppert hypnotises in cool Korean comedy of manners
Huppert plays Iris, a modestly dressed French woman living in Korea who gives French lessons according to a strange procedure of her own that does not seem to involve speaking French - Peter Bradshaw
In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon review – heartfelt portrait of a generational talent
From his era-defining work with Art Garfunkel to the sometimes problematic legacy of 80s hit Graceland, Alex Gibney’s documentary strikes a pure and personal note - Peter Bradshaw
Terrifier 3 review – killer clown is tooled up for third helping of gleeful gorefest
Not everyone will have the stomach for this much gore, but for genre aficionados this Christmas killing spree is a cut above - Catherine Bray
A Long Journey Home review – family pressures reach boiling point in a shocking documentary
It’s almost painful to watch this oppressive autobiographical film, pieced together from footage the director shot in her family’s Chinese home - Peter Bradshaw
The Battle for Laikipia review – clash over Kenyan land is essential viewing
The smouldering conflict between the Samburu community and European settlers is captured in an arrestingly shot, shrewdly edited documentary - Wendy Ide
Dr Strangelove review – Steve Coogan scores a quadruple cold war coup
Adding a fourth role to Peter Sellers’ three turns in the classic film, the comic excels in a fun yet unadventurous adaptation - Arifa Akbar
Freedom (Libre) review – Lucas Bravo oozes charisma as gentleman robber
This frothy film tells the true-crime story of the so-called polite bandit Bruno Sulak, who goes on a crime spree in 1980s France, but insists his gang never fire their guns - Leslie Felperin
The Delights review – in-depth look at rural schoolboys reveals a hidden Argentina
An agro-technical boarding school is the subject of this striking documentary, which offers vignettes of growing pains and childlike wonder - Phuong Le
The Divided Island review – emotional stories from all sides of the Cyprus conflict
Cey Sesiguzel’s documentary covers a lot of history – and not always in the most dynamic way. But the testimony of survivors of war forms its powerful core - Phuong Le
Matt and Mara review – freewheeling Canadian romance
Small moments speak volumes as a poetry professor and a novelist rekindle their friendship in Anne at 13,000ft director Kazik Radwanski’s latest - Wendy Ide
The World of Tim Burton review – a tour around a singular creative mind
The director is the subject of an immersive touring show that ranges from his drawings since childhood to Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman outfit - Rowan Moore
The Room Next Door review – Almodóvar’s stylish end-of-life drama feels emotionally empty
Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore seem constrained in the Spanish director’s uneasy first English-language film, winner of this year’s Venice Golden Lion prize - Wendy Ide
Canary Black review – Kate Beckinsale kicks impeccably chic ass in gender-flipped Taken
Oblivious he’s married to a spy, Beckinsale’s husband is kidnapped – cue the baddies demanding a secret file, some fancy action sequences, lots of gunshots and a nice trenchcoat - Leslie Felperin
Don’t Move review – high-concept Netflix survival thriller has its moments
A grieving woman is paralysed by a psychopathic serial killer in a solid Sam Raimi-produced shocker that boasts some genuine suspense - Benjamin Lee
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band review – still blowing minds after 50 years
Thom Zimny deftly weaves archive footage, recent live performance, candid interviews and fan tributes to create a rich portrait of a modern icon and his legendary band - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
The World of Tim Burton review – Johnny Depp’s scissorhands can’t cut through the cobwebs and corpses
The Design Museum, LondonThis world-touring exhibition showcases the kooky, gothy director’s early passions and obsessions – but he’s no Edgar Allan Poe - Jonathan Jones
Family Pack review – Jean Reno is game for a laugh in card-based time-travelling caper
A family playing a game are sent back in time to a medieval village where they must kill werewolves in order to return to the future - Phil Hoad
Kenya review – Mexican trans sex worker seeks justice for murdered friend
Gisela Delgadillo’s pulsating debut documentary on the streets of Mexico City follows the magnetic Kenya and her tireless efforts to provide a voice for community - Phuong Le
The Crime is Mine review – Isabelle Huppert and co revel in Ozon’s frothy French crime caper
Set in 1930s Paris, François Ozon’s theatre-world courtroom comedy is a fizzing if throwaway delight - Wendy Ide
Smile 2 review – gory pop star horror sequel sings a familiar tune
Glossier follow-up to 2022’s hugely successful curse horror is well-made and well-acted but the franchise is struggling to carve out its own identity - Benjamin Lee
The Rubber-Keyed Wonder: The Story of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum review – glory and geekery
Home computing and the gaming industry have their origins in the iconic early 80s hardware, documented here in an homage to an eccentric pioneer - Peter Bradshaw
The Crime Is Mine review – François Ozon’s 1930s crime comedy is a moreish crowdpleaser
Ozon and a stellar cast serve up an entertaining, if shallow caper that shades a little too close to #MeToo - Peter Bradshaw
Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party review – 80s solid-rock nostalgia fest is a trip
Fans of the singer’s hits, fluffy mullets (and young Cameron Crowe) are well-served by unseen and remastered footage as this sweet look back ticks all the relevant rock doc boxes - Leslie Felperin
Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare review – flawed Netflix documentary still shocks
The jaw-dropping facts of an elaborate catfishing scheme will surprise those unfamiliar with the story, but they are revealed in a rushed and perfunctory film - Adrian Horton
Studio One Forever review – affectionate look back at LA’s legendary gay club
Frequented by those looking for a refuge from homophobia, this documentary charts the history of the venue and the effort to save its cultural legacy - Cath Clarke
Joy review – warm and intensely English portrayal of the birth of IVF
Bill Nighy, James Norton and Thomasin McKenzie form the unlikely trio who doggedly, quietly and courageously made the discovery that would change lives around the world - Peter Bradshaw
My Hero Academia: You’re Next review – old-style superhero battle anime with hint of the surreal
The fourth film spin-off from the daffy Japanese X-Men knock-off beams its dream-like action into a flying fortress where victims are turned into superfolk - Phil Hoad
Kathleen Is Here review – cuckoo-in-the-nest drama-thriller has a properly nailbiting ending
A young woman leaving the care system returns to her childhood home is a strong directorial debut from acclaimed Irish actor Eva Birthistle - Peter Bradshaw
Kulej. Dwie Strony Medalu review – glossy boxing biopic is Poland’s answer to Raging Bull
An overlong, overly lightweight tale of Poland’s two-time Olympic champion Jerzy Kulej is saved by a rallying last half hour - Phil Hoad
Garçonnières review – male insecurities revealed as film goes back to the man cave
Céline Pernet places a number of willing volunteers in front of a camera and asks them a series of candid questions, and the responses form a fascinating tapestry of experience - Phuong Le
Haunted Ulster Live review – mock Halloween broadcast evokes the spectre of Ghostwatch
Amiable lo-fi horror film presents itself as a live broadcast from a haunted suburban home. It’s well crafted – though unlikely to scare viewers the way the 1992 BBC mockumentary did - Cath Clarke
Jigra review – Alia Bhatt is lethal and luminous in sibling jailbreak thriller
Bhatt plays a woman trying to spring her brother from prison in a fictional East Asian state, after he is framed by their rich-kid cousins - Adrian Horton
Lonely Planet review - Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth heat up beach-read travel romance
A novelist meets a financier two decades her junior at a writers’ retreat in Morocco, in this welcome addition to a flurry of age-gap romances released this summer - Adrian Horton
Timestalker review – Alice Lowe’s anti-romcom is a darkly hilarious spin through history
The actor and film-maker’s ingenious comedy sees her play a gamut of characters who meet gory ends chasing a not-worth-it love interest - Peter Bradshaw
Buffalo Kids review – CGI old west adventure with a big, warm heart
Three children and a puppy traverse 19th-century America in this wholesome family film – which is especially admirable for its representation of disability - Catherine Bray
Blitz review – Steve McQueen’s rousing wartime adventure is surprisingly old-fashioned
The director unexpectedly channels The Railway Children as Saoirse Ronan stars as the single mother whose son is evacuated, only to run away in a perilous bid to find her - Peter Bradshaw
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person review – ethical kills for teen bloodsucker
This offbeat coming-of-age horror comedy about a vampire with qualms about killing humans is stylishly shot by first-time feature director Ariane Louis-Seize - Cath Clarke
Daddy’s Head review – a creature emerges from grief in clever British psychological horror
Director Benjamin Barfoot explores how heartbreak connects with darkness as pre-teen Isaac sees his dead father return - Phil Hoad
The Three Michaels review – trio of Michael Jackson lookalikes reach for the stars
Documentary follows a group of dedicated celebrity impersonators who band together to turn their passion into a decent living - Leslie Felperin
Maya and the Wave review – spotlight on the Brazilian surfer triumphing over a riptide of sexism
Breathtaking footage of Maya Gabeira invigorates a crowd-pleasing doc about her breakthrough in a world of fragile male egos - Wendy Ide
Joker: Folie à Deux review – Lady Gaga electrifies in mediocre musical sequel
Love is in the air for Joaquin Phoenix’s clown prince of chaos in this bold but indulgent comic book musical – lifted by Gaga’s weapons-grade charisma - Wendy Ide
A Different Man review – beauty is skin deep in a surreal dramedy
Sebastian Stan excels as a facially disfigured actor whose life is transformed in Aaron Schimberg’s mordant oddity - Wendy Ide
Die Before You Die review – stunt vlogger goes under in buried-alive survival thriller
A braggart absorbed in writing his own online legend with feats of strength can’t carry off being shoved underground for a spiritual experience - Leslie Felperin
The Friend review – Naomi Watts befriends great dane in sweet, slight drama
An adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s bestselling 2018 novel about a woman dealing with her friend’s suicide is tender and well-acted, if a little messy - Adrian Horton
The Last Front review – old fashioned first world war drama fights familiar battle
Iain Glen is a sturdy presence leading a Belgian village’s resistance to the German advance, but there are limp scenes and soggy cliches aplenty - Cath Clarke
Secrets of a Wallaby Boy review – low budget romp-com tracks delivery rider round his route
Nice performances from the leads aren’t enough to save this comedy about a bawdy bike courier from floundering in a slew of crass sex jokes - Cath Clarke
Venom: The Last Dance review – Tom Hardy’s jaded antihero carries messy Marvel finale
Alien parasites are only half the problem as Hardy’s Eddie Brock battles existential demons and an incoherent plot - Wendy Ide
Venom: The Last Dance review – messy sequel ends series with a shrug
Tom Hardy’s agreeably silly Marvel franchise wraps things up in a patchy final adventure that needed a tighter, and funnier, script - Benjamin Lee
My Freaky Family review – overly quirky and unforgivably mawkish animation
This children’s film about a normal girl in a magical family strives for zany, anarchic fantasy. Unfortunately it’s just boring - Luke Buckmaster
Classified review – Aaron Eckhart hitman thriller mines newspaper ads for coded messages
There is shockingly bad dialogue and a lot of extras waiting to fall over dead as Eckhart’s killer for hire finds all is not what it seems - Leslie Felperin
Rebellious review – hero princess kidnapped by evil witch in tale looking for feminist cred
Even with a feisty female protagonist the convulted plot of this kids’ animation is full of outdated stereotypes and barely scrapes past the Bechdel test - Cath Clarke
Matt and Mara review – lo-fi answer to When Harry Met Sally offers uncertain relationship
This lo-fi Canadian dramedy feels like an excursion into nothing much, as a vague college friendship is rekindled - Peter Bradshaw
Brothers review – throwaway madcap comedy wastes a host of stars
Peter Dinklage, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei and Brendan Fraser are lost in this brief and silly Amazon caper about low-level criminals - Jesse Hassenger
Come Alive! review – acrobatic spectacle squanders The Greatest Showman’s songs
While there is strength and skill on display, this circus show lacks a knockout performance and the film’s enduring anthems don’t always fit the action - Chris Wiegand
The Apprentice review – cartoon version of chump-in-chief Donald Trump’s early years
Ali Abbasi’s film presents young Donald as an amoral narcissist, wastes the talent of Jeremy Strong and includes a grisly rape scene that is quickly glossed over - Peter Bradshaw
Members Club review – male strippers meet bloodthirsty witches in gory comedy horror
Hapless dance troupe Wet Dreams get a taste of the dark arts when they’re lured to a gig to raise the dead. Plus: a cameo from Peter Andre - Leslie Felperin
Children of the Pines review – David Lynch-style teen-angst horror takes a big leap
The emphasis is on the psychological in Joshua Morgan’s ambitious debut feature of family dysfunction, but it just doesn’t come together - Catherine Bray
Timestalker review – reincarnation romcom with nowhere to go
A woman pursues her beloved across centuries in Prevenge director and star Alice Lowe’s intriguing yet disappointing second feature - Wendy Ide
Salem’s Lot review – anaemic adaptation of Stephen King’s 70s vampire novel
Don’t expect any deeper themes in Gary Dauberman’s clunking take on the US writer’s much-adapted small-town horror - Wendy Ide
Endurance review – search for Shackleton’s Antarctic wreck overshadowed by history
Shackleton’s truly perilous 1915 ordeal – gussied up with colourised footage and AI voices – minimises the stakes of a 2022 hunt for its remains by Dan Snow and friends - Peter Bradshaw
The Last of the Sea Women review – female Korean divers as picturesque eco-feminist tradition
Sue Kim’s film about South Korea’s underwater fishers has everything from nuclear pollution to sexism to cover, but sticks to bland reportage - Peter Bradshaw
Stuntman review – spirited love letter to golden age of Hong Kong’s action movies
Stephen Tung plays a former 80s director-stuntman drawn back into the present-day action-film industry as it faces an identity crisis - Leslie Felperin
In Her Place review – true-crime drama of a court worker fascinated by author in the dock
Based on a real murder in Chile in the 1950s, Maite Alberdi’s fictional story of obsession has glamour and style, but no intensity - Peter Bradshaw
Take Cover review – Scott Adkins hitman thriller makes Fast & Furious look like Gilbert and Sullivan
Adkins’ veteran hitman goes against all action movie wisdom to accept ‘one last job’ – and promptly gets trapped in a hotel room and shot at - Phil Hoad
Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot review – Sound of Freedom followup is a test of faith
Based on remarkable work in a small Texan community to adopt children considered ‘too difficult’ to foster, the film gets lost in saccharine cliche - Phuong Le
Portraits of Dangerous Women review – dog car crash sets off baffling and peculiar drama
Three unlikely women are pitched together by a muddled plot with results that are short on both drama and comedy - Peter Bradshaw
The Platform 2 review – Netflix dystopian horror sequel falls off
A follow-up to the gory pandemic smash returns to the grim world where prisoners must portion out food or risk death but the novelty has gone - Jesse Hassenger
Hold Your Breath review – Sarah Paulson gets lost in scattered horror
A 1930s-set thriller, about a family battling mysterious dust storms and a possible intruder, is impressively made and acted but falls apart by the end - Benjamin Lee
Here review – cursed Forrest Gump reunion is a total horror show
The director reunites with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for an ugly de-aged nightmare that boringly follows the same house throughout time - Benjamin Lee
Dark Feathers review – erotic hitwoman thriller approaches The Room levels of kitsch disaster
Star and co-director Crystal J Huang plays a ballroom-dancing geisha assassin in this preposterous LA melodrama - Phil Hoad