As much as I would love to write a review for every film that I see, there simply is not enough hours in the day, and it is certainly also the case that some films are so bland and forgettable that even writing a paragraph about them will be a struggle. I also only came back to writing reviews halfway through the year, but certainly tried to still watch as many as possible.

Well, here is a fairly exhaustive list based on the film’s UK cinematic release date, the initial Netflix release date (for Netflix originals) or the DVD premier release date (for films starring Nicolas Cage)

January

Destroyer

An effectively atmospheric and genuinely gripping thriller – 8/10

The Favourite

Not the director’s best work, but an original and interesting film that is often darkly hilarious – 8/10

Vice

Some great performances and great individual moments are let down by ill-discipline and self-indulgence from writer / director Adam McKay – 6/10

Beautiful Boy

Two great performances elevate a lazy, cliché-ridden and repetitive narrative – 6/10

Stan & Ollie

Though very much a crowd-pleasing and generic story, thanks to its two great leading performances it manages at times to be deeply moving – 8/10

Colette

An interesting true story that tries to be topical and doesn’t always succeed, but the great performances elevate the occasionally disjointed material – 7/10

Mary Queen of Scots

A very well acted, but very flat and highly forgettable historical drama – 6/10

Green Book

A film that follows the textbook diligently, but does it very well and effectively – 8/10

The Mule

A perfectly watchable, but formulaic drama – 6/10

February

Capernaum

A stunning, original and deeply moving film that will linger in the memory for a very long time – 9/10

Can you Ever Forgive Me?

A very well acted and genuinely moving drama – 8/10

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Not quite on a par with its predecessor, but still an enjoyably bonkers film with enough heart at its core – 7/10

If Beale Street Could Talk

A film made with undeniable power and heart, but is occasionally let down by self-indulgence and points being laboured a little too much – 7/10

All is True

A light and enjoyable, but very forgettable film made with an obvious passion for its subject matter – 6/10

A Private War

A very well acted film about a powerful true story and fascinating real-life character, but it feels a little too preachy – 7/10

Burning

An enigmatic masterpiece filled with profound mystery and detail from start to finish that will stay with the viewer for a very long time – 9/10

Alita: Battle Angel

A very enjoyable and visually stunning film, but lacking any genuine heart or substance – 6/10

Boy Erased

A genuinely moving and well-acted drama – 8/10

Velvet Buzzsaw

Despite having some interesting potential ideas, the film is an incoherent and unsatisfying mess – 4/10

March

Border

A unique and unforgettable love story that is horrifying and engaging in equal measure – 8/10

Girl

A genuinely moving and delicately observed film with a stunning leading performance – 8/10

Fighting with My Family

A textbook crowd-pleaser that is elevated by some very good leading performances – 6/10

Captain Marvel

Entertaining enough, but nothing particularly distinctive to make it stand out against other Marvel films – 6/10

Everybody Knows

A gripping drama filled to the brim with secrets and revelations – 8/10

Benjamin

A very well-written bittersweet comedy that is often both painfully funny and surprisingly touching – 8/10

Fisherman’s Friends

A textbook crowd pleaser – 6/10

The Highwaymen

A quietly gripping and intentionally measured drama featuring two great leading performances – 8/10

Us

Yet another overrated film from Jordan Peel that has good initial ideas but fails to capitalise on them – 6/10

Minding the Gap

A surprisingly affecting documentary – 7/10

Dumbo

Visually stunning and watchable enough, but just lacking the magic and emotion required to be anything more – 6/10

At Eternity’s Gate

A very original and intriguing examination of a fascinating character, also featuring an exceptional leading performance – 8/10

The Dead Centre

An intriguing, but slightly flawed horror film that desperately wants to be a David Cronenberg film, but just well, isn’t – 6/10

Serenity

An absolutely nonsensical mess of a film with hardly any redeeming features – 1/10

The Kindergarten Teacher

A profoundly moving drama featuring some very topical and pertinent themes, and a superb leading performance – 8/10

Ray & Liz

A film of undeniable raw power told with an effectively unique style – 8/10

April

The Sisters Brothers

Despite the great performances, this strange wannabe Coen-Brothers-style genre hybrid often misfires – 6/10

Mid90s

A little gem of a film made with raw power and heart – 8/10

Wild Rose

A rousing and deeply affecting musical drama featuring an excellent leading performance – 7/10

Loro

A completely bonkers trip of a film from a director known for doing for his own thing, but as with most of his films, a slightly baggy, disjointed and ill-disciplined film – 7/10

Avengers: Endgame

Not quite the very best of the franchise, but still a cinematic spectacle with some individually satisfying and rousing moments – 7/10

Shazam!

A thoroughly enjoyable, if slightly forgettable, superhero romp – 7/10

Pet Sematary

An extremely middle-of-the-road and forgettable film that comes nowhere near close to doing its source material any justice – 5/10

Once Upon a Time in London

Though it had potential, the result is an often disjointed, mockney drama – 4/10

Missing Link

A fun but forgettable animated romp – 6/10

Dragged Across Concrete

An unapologetically moody and nasty drama, but one with a surprising amount of redeeming qualities – 7/10

Eighth Grade

A timely, well observed and deeply moving drama featuring an exceptional leading performance – 8/10

May

Birds of Passage

A culturally unique and utterly gripping take on a familiar story – 8/10

Vox Lux

A strange film with some very unusual and dark themes that just about works more often than not – 7/10

Tolkien

A good concept, but the result is a very contrived and middle of the road depiction of a great writer – 6/10

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Despite a good performance from Efron, a very shallow and forgettable account of an extremely complex man and story – 6/10

High Life

A dark, complex and utterly unique sci-fi film that is positively brimming with thoughts and ideas – 9/10

Rocketman

A riveting, wonderfully put together and wildly entertaining musical biopic – 8/10

Sunset

A film steeped in detail and complexity that provides a challenging, but also richly rewarding viewing experience – 9/10

Aladdin

Yet another perfectly watchable Disney live action remake that will not live long in the memory – 6/10

Thunder Road

An intriguing and gripping drama featuring a highly committed leading performance – 8/10

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

A very expensive film with a dreadful b movie script – 2/10

Long Shot

A film that wastes the talents of all involved in the fact that it cannot decide if it wants to be a comedy or a drama, and badly misses the mark at being either – 4/10

The Hustle

The only actual hustle here is making people think they may be watching a film that will not be a completely wasted 90 minutes – 2/10

Wine Country

A great cast and a good concept are let down by a very lacklustre script – 4/10

The Corrupted

Very watchable thanks to some good performances and some visual panache, but let down by a cliché-ridden script that loses total control of the plot – 6/10

June

We the Animals

A film with a unique approach at depicting its coming-of-age themes that does not always work, but has enough to still engage – 7/10

Diego Maradona

The team that gave us Senna has put together another gripping documentary about a fascinating character – 8/10

I Am Mother

A potentially interesting premise, but it doesn’t ever manage to capitalise on it – 6/10

Avengement

Despite having a revenge story that could have been interesting, the film is let down by often resorting to unnecessary nastiness – 4/10

Toy Story 4

Another chapter that manages to be emotionally engaging, but also be a standalone instalment that will not undermine the completeness of the last three films – 7/10

Men in Black International

Yet another pointless sequel / reboot where everyone involved seems to think the famous film title alone is all that is needed – 4/10

Brightburn

A very interesting concept with plenty of potential is badly let down by a completely generic story that goes nowhere – 5/10

Dirty God

A raw, gripping and unforgettable drama – 8/10

July

Point Blank

An enjoyable enough and suitably short action romp, but not one that will live very long in the memory at all – 5/10

Stuber

Yet another wannabe 80s style buddy action movie that lacks the genuine laughs or thrills required – 4/10

Horrible Histories: The Movie: Rotten Romans

Not quite up to the standard of the TV series, but still a very amusing and effectively silly take on some real historical events – 7/10

Anna

One of Besson’s better films of recent years; it has way too many silly and predictable twists for its own good, but is tremendous fun – 6/10

August

Otherhood

Watchable enough and made with the right intentions, but let down by a flat and messy script – 6/10

The Souvenir

An alienating pile of extremely self-indulgent and pretentious tosh – 2/10

Opus Zero

Even Willem Dafoe adding his usual gravitas cannot quite save this ponderous nonsense – 4/10

September

For Sama

A very harrowing, but very human documentary that grips tightly from the start and refuses to let go – 8/10

A Score to Settle

Nicolas Cage’s latest straight to DVD ‘effort’ is a soulless, generic and very boring revenge flick – 3/10

October

By the Grace of God

Not an easy watch, but undoubtedly a gripping, haunting and suitably sensitive drama – 8/10

Fractured

Some initial promise let down by a plot that descends into a nonsensical mess – 4/10

Judy

An incredible leading performance, but a very generic and crowd-pleasing film that barely touches the surface of its protagonist’s story – 6/10

Wounds

Despite a promising start, this Netflix horror film cannot help but descend into being yet another frustratingly nonsensical genre piece – 4/10

Dolemite is My Name

A hilarious comedy lead by a welcome return to form for Eddie Murphy – 8/10

Kill Chain

The usual straight to DVD rubbish that we tend to expect from Nicolas Cage these days – 2/10

The Cave

An undeniably harrowing but powerful documentary – 8/10

November

The King

Proof that there is still a place for the brooding historical epic – atmospheric and gripping from start to finish (apart from Robert Pattinson) – 8/10

Brittany runs a Marathon

A likeable leading performance let down by a weak and inconsistent script – 4/10

Earthquake Bird

Steeped in effective atmosphere and featuring some good performances, but does not fulfil its promise – 6/10

The Irishman

Though certainly not perfect, a profound and gripping film that serves as a great tribute to the careers of all involved – 8/10

I lost my Body

A captivating and wonderfully engaging animated film from Netflix – 8/10

Atlantics

A haunting and deeply effective mood piece the successfully combines current political issues with the culture of its setting – 8/10