1 Arrival (12A)
(Denis Villeneuve, 2016, US) 116 mins.
A familiar alien invasion scenario yields a different kind of sci-fi here – intelligent, atmospheric, spectacular and surprisingly moving. Gigantic ships hang in the sky over Earth, but who are they? Lonely linguist Amy Adams must work out how to communicate with these enigmatic ETs, who trigger memories of her dead daughter. The cosmic and human scales come together beautifully.
2 Nocturnal Animals (15)
(Tom Ford, 2016, US) 117 mins.
Ford pulls off an impeccably handsome Russian doll of a thriller with echoes of Hitchcock, Kubrick and Lynch. LA gallerist Amy Adams (again) finds her Texan past coming back to haunt her via a novel written by her ex (Jake Gyllenhaal), who’s refashioned his issues into a violent revenge story. The narrative flits between fiction, present and past with dazzling assurance.
3 Doctor Strange (12A)
(Scott Derrickson, 2016, US) 115 mins.
Marvel conjures another superhero origin story with a difference, as former playboy Benedict Cumberbatch is initiated into parallel reality-surfing and eastern mysticism by Tilda Swinton’s secret sect. Smart, inventive and relatively deep, it’s a mind-expanding spectacle.
4 Napoleon (PG)
(Abel Gance, 1927, Fra) 333 mins.
One of the most epic experiences cinema has ever offered returns to the big screen, after a 50-year restoration process. Despite its age (and length), it’s a trove of staggering imagery and technical innovation, chronicling the future emperor’s formative years and early conquests.
5 The Innocents (15)
(Anne Fontaine, 2016, Fra/Pol) 115 mins.
Comparisons with Ida and Of Gods And Men are appropriate with this austere, composed convent drama. But the story – based on fact – is unique. A Red Cross nurse is called to a remote convent in wintry, Soviet-occupied 1940s Poland to perform an unexpected procedure, which lifts the lid on a harrowing episode the nuns would rather keep secret.
