Beyond Fest — A–Z of films

Guadagnino is tilting at windmills and there isn’t even any wind.

Unutterably beautiful.

While some directors spend their lives crafting love letters to the worlds they create, Yorgos Lanthimos has developed a fine line in cinematic hate mail to humanity.

It's not a map, it's a blueprint, a means of telling fortunes and a handsome puzzle to boot.

Cannibal Holocaust is perhaps the ultimate example of a film that eats itself; it will be debated and misunderstood for years to come.

Unobtrusive direction, naturalistic performances and humanist sentiment are de rigeur, along with sequences of guys driving around, as well as, more often than not, impenetrable night-for-night visuals.

An opulent gothic romance in the vein of Jane Eyre or Rebecca rather than a by-the-numbers horror film.

Cinema in its most metal form.

The film takes standard ingredients of a good horror movie - the sinister setting, the horrible crime, the ghostly presence, the newcomer - and uses a surprisingly gore-free, old-fashioned way of scaring the audience.

Somewhere between the low brow cock jokes and the high stakes – by which, I mean the sharp wooden pointy ones – Radu Jude serves up a sharp edged critique of populism, capitalism and the modern world.

This film's sharp political observations are as relevant now as they ever were.

Most of Reece’s works are first and foremost character studies, so it’s not surprising that his adherence to plot doesn’t last; the film is better for it.

As much an arthouse as a grindhouse film.

In Good Boy, Indy the dog delivers not only a great animal performance, but one of the best performances by anyone this year.

Hellboy holds his head high above the mass of superhero characters thanks to a terrific performance by Ron Perlman.

Cinema is full of monsters, but few in recent memory have been so capable of eliciting our sympathy and understanding.

Hellcat is an unforgettable ride.

One of the flaws of Malick’s film is that the main character goes into introspective mode, thereby depriving us of any real insight in to his thoughts.

It’s a bit of lightweight fluff, but it has no pretensions, and its heroes are easy to like.

Cotillard is at her very best as a character we see only from the sidelines – earthy and opinionated in flashes, yet frozen by her art.

Rose Byrne anchors the whole damn thing with a performance that gives the sense of wobbling for eternity on a tightrope without ever quite falling off.

The takes are usually long and static, but every cut and move is justified for the purpose of dramaturgy.

While the film's ambition should be saluted it falls short in ways that frustrate.

Cox's Hannibal is a masterclass in moderation.

Mexican director, Guillermo Del Toro, does not follow Hollywood's traditional approach to nature's abnormalites. Fear is suggested, rather than flung at the screen.

From its first kindlings it draws breath from your lungs as surely and as steadily as it draws your eyes.

The underlying formula is a simple one but the chaos around it is managed magnificently so that you can never be sure what will happen next.

Park keeps inviting us to laugh, then forcing us to confront what, exactly, we’re laughing at.

A masterpiece of accomplishment.

I didn't go in with high expectations but I was thrilled.

Tina Romero is in her element.

The performances by Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson are intense and charming.

For something so lovely, it is hard-edged, and it sparkles with visual wit.

Hawkins has waited decades for a role like this, in which she can fully exercise her talents.

Marcelo is at home in the fine tradition of flicks where the fact that they are an agent is mainly a secret to them.

Alice Maio Mackay’s...most accessible film to date.

Stuckmann and co-writer Sam Liz keep it all under tight control, even when the imagery suggests chaos or excess.

The film looks amazing, but it sounds even more incredible.

I was entertained, in much the same way but not to the same extent as the first outing.

A thoroughly feel-good movie.

With a wrap-around story by Scotland’s own short film maestro Bryan M Ferguson, we are guaranteed at least some high quality entertainment.