1 Moonlight (15)
(Barry Jenkins, 2016, US) 111 mins
Brave on so many levels, Jenkins’s portrait of a young, gay African-American man digs beneath the facades and cliches of black masculinity, and uses a bold structure to do so, casting three different actors to play its outsider hero as he grows up. The result is both dreamily sensual and unsentimentally harsh – a real original.
2 Hidden Figures (PG)
(Theodore Melfi, 2016, US) 127 mins
You can forgive this fact-based 1960s drama its broad strokes when it has such a great story to tell: of three African-American women whose maths skills helped Nasa put a man in space. That’s a lot of inclusivity boxes ticked, but a light touch and irresistible performances (Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe) give it liftoff.
3 The Lego Batman Movie (U)
(Chris McKay, 2017, US/Den) 104 mins
DC’s live-action superhero universe is upstaged and sent up by this hugely enjoyable animation, which actually gets deep into the Dark Knight’s relationship issues, even as it spools out an infectiously absurd adventure packed with in-jokes, one-liners and lively character turns (Will Arnett is note-perfect as the lead).
4 Toni Erdmann (15)
(Maren Ade, 2016, Ger/Aus) 162 mins
Sadness and hilarity mix beautifully in this one-of-a-kind German comedy, in which a father’s attempts to bond with his uptight daughter by deploying a jokey alter ego go painfully awry. It’s a film with much to say, personally and politically, but with moments of sublime farce along the way.
5 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15)
(Chad Stahelski, 2017, US) 122 mins
Ultraviolence saves the day, and Keanu Reeves’s career, as his grumpy hitman gets sucked into another web of criminal intrigue, which necessitates him having to kill absolutely everybody. Once again, the action is so gleefully, unapologetically excessive, and yet so elegantly orchestrated, you can only admire it.
