Walt & El Grupo (2008) - A documentary which gives a fascinating insight into the ten week goodwill tour of South America made by Walt Disney and a group of his artists in 1941. Great production values and I couldn’t get enough of the archival footage. However the back stories of the family members giving their recollections of the time did not add anything. I felt like there was so much more to be gained and as such it’s really only of value to Disney fans. Average

Essential Killing (2010) - If you’ve spanned as much time as I have watching Vincent Gallo then you’ll know his acting style is frequently constructed of minimal dialogue and authentic anguish. In Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski’s latest film these talents are well suited as Gallo plays a man on the run who is taken to the physical limits in order to survive. It’s only a minor plot point that he plays a Taliban terrorist fighter, the real story is about instinct, isolation and one man’s struggle in uninhabitable surroundings. Recommended

Nostalgia de la luz (Nostalgia for the Light) (2010) - A remarkable documentary from Chile which juxtaposes three different threads of the country’s history - pre-Columbian shepherds, the struggle of people exposing the brutality of the Pinochet regime, and astronomy in the Atacama desert. Each of the stories has a haunting tone and each presented with the kind of passion for the material and search for truth you’ll find in a Herzog or Errol Morris documentary. In addition, the interwoven stories are beautifully shot by Patricio Guzmán, who also also directed the excellent Allende documentary from 2004. Recommended

30 Minutes or Less (2011) - Director Ruben Fleischer demonstrates that Zombieland was little more than a fluke by producing this mind numbingly terrible comedy about a pizza delivery guy who is forced to rob a bank. To quote a review from Time’s Richard Corliss: “For a soul-sucking 83 minutes, you’re trapped inside the film’s tiny, ugly mind”. Just awful. It’s rubbish like this that is driving people away from the theaters. Avoid

Les petits mouchoirs (Little White Lies) (2010) - A French comic-tragedy about a group of friends who gather at beach house near Bordeaux, and the pressures that break down their relationships over the course of a week. It puts forward a good case for the two-and-a-half hour runtime providing more interesting character development. Even though things don’t really feel like they go anywhere new, it’s still entertaining viewing. An eclectic selection of music also makes the time more enjoyable - including an unmissable placement of Moonage Daydream. Recommended

Warrior (2011) - A mixed martial arts spectacular that wants to be a serious contender this awards season. Its strength lies in the fight scenes and interaction between two estranged brothers and their alcoholic ex-marine father (the role Nick Nolte was born to play). As with any fight tournament film, the drama in the early rounds needs to be interesting enough to stave off the predictability. This aspect is handled well and the action in the cage is where most of the interest is. The background drama is a little too melodramatic and manipulative - a middle class couple losing their house doesn't really qualify as high stakes in my book. Outside of the lead trio, almost all of the supporting threads feel awkward as they are either poorly written, edited in, or acted. These lesser elements drag it down from an otherwsie well earned spot amongst the best in genre. Average

Carnage (2011) - Set inside a New York apartment, two couples meet over a schoolyard tussle involving their sons. This is classic Polanski material as he analyses what lurks beneath and the characters primal motives. It's a cynical take on liberalism and the hypocrisy in contemporary society. Good performances from Foster, Waltz and Reilly - not so great from Winslet. Average

The Debt (2011) - I love a good Cold War thriller so I had high hopes for this film set in East Germany about an Israeli mission to bring a Nazi war criminal to trial. There’s a lot of potential here, it captures the mood very well, but is let down by a plot that is laden with implausibly ridiculous decisions and motivations by the characters. Average

Restless (2011) - Can we stop with the Harold and Maude homages already. Gus Van Sant, what has become of you? A sappy romance between death-obsessed teens. Is this the kind of phony drivel we can now expect in a post-Twilight world? Henry Hopper (son of Dennis) delivers the most excruciating performance of the year. Just awful. Avoid

Tropa de Elite 2 - O Inimigo Agora É Outro (Elite Squad: The Enemy Within) (2010) - Jose Padilha’s ambitious followup is once again a brutal and intense mix of action and political thrills on the streets of Rio. Thirteen years has passed and in this time a new form of corruption far worse than gangs threatens society. Seemingly on a crusade to expose the real world injustices, Padilha portrays everyone as corrupt or corruptible and the mechanisms that protect this state. Domestically it was a box office smash, taking the record for a locally produced film in Brazil. Recommended

50/50 (2011) - The prospect of watching a 27-year-old guy (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) progress from a cancer diagnosis through to an eventual outcome is surely nobody’s idea of a good time in the theatre. The partial solution is to feature Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) as the love interest and Seth Rogen for comedic lift. The outcome is unfortunately unbalanced and does not add up to much. Some aspects fall flat and others are manipulative and predictable. However, there’s enough good stuff and bittersweet performances to make it worthwhile. Average

Le gamin au vélo (The Kid with a Bike) (2011) - This year’s Grand Prix winner at Cannes is another thought provoking study of both character and society from France's Dardenne brothers (L'Enfant). A young boy is abandoned by his father in a state home, but pseudo-adopted by a hairdresser on weekends. There is the inevitable conflict and despite the simple nature of the story, the drama is powerful and the pacing is spot on. Some first class acting from Thomas Doret who plays the kid. Recommended

Horrible Bosses (2011) - A handful of laughs and a few interesting performances hold together a flimsy story about a group of three friends who conspire to kill their intolerable bosses. However this is low grade crude comedy and you could save yourself the time and catch all the best moments nicely summed up in the trailer. Disclaimer: I caught this on a plane and so my capacity to laugh was severely impaired by a 24 hour transit period.  Average

Violeta se fue a los cielos (Violeta Went to Heaven) (2011) - Established Chilean director Andrés Wood takes on the subject of one of Chile’s most loved and respected artists and folklorists, Violeta Parra, and delivers the country’s best film since his powerful 2004 historic epic, Machuca. It’s beautifully made with unsettling honesty. You can never tell the complete story with a film like this, and Wood has instead opted to structure the film around a candid TV interview Parra gave in 1962. Though it is told in non-linear style, vignettes of her life are interwoven with her music and bound together using recurring motifs. It works and the result was been given the nod as Chile’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film - if successful, it will be their first nomination in the award’s history. Recommended

Tabloid (2010) - Errol Morris has established quite a career out of documenting eccentricity and obsession. Here he tells the true story of former Miss Wyoming, Joyce McKinney, and the salacious details of her tabloid exploits during the 70s. Things go well beyond a typical kidnapping case and Morris teases out the details of her life - perhaps to the point of exploitation, though without being judgemental. Not his best work, but recommended for fans of his previous films. Recommended

The Ides of March (2011) - A nicely made political thriller with all the cynicisms of the current era in US politics. But the script isn't up to the weight of the acting talent involved - it needed more wit and/or and higher stakes. Average

Melancholia (2011) - Regarding Lars von Trier - I have seen his last ten feature films and openly declare I’m a huge fan. Add to this that Melancholia is clearly a very personal work for him about his own struggle with this very subject matter. But I just wasn’t feeling it with this end-of-the-world drama. That’s not to say it isn’t expertly made - the themes work well with the visuals and the atmosphere is suffocating in depression. But it doesn’t offer anything the resonates at the same level as his previous portrayal of the same material, Antichrist. Average