Vera Loves movies

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith

Set in the near future, After Yang explores what happens to a family when their android, Yang, malfunctions. As dad Jake (Farrell) investigates, questions of bereavement and rules of service arise in a ruminative character study that’s as thought-provoking as it is symbolic.

Starring: Channing Tatum, Ethan Suplee

Dog lovers! Channing Tatum lovers! Film lovers! You’ll all adore this this wonderfully warm comedy about an army ranger who must escort the dog of his dead commander to the officer’s funeral. Needless to say, all does not go to plan.

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis

Any attempt to explain a plot about the owner of a launderette (Yeoh) plunged into an insane adventure involving different versions of the same universe is bound to end in failure. So we won’t. Suffice to say, this is just as action-packed as it sounds.

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Alexander Skarsgård

From horror auteur Eggers comes this violent and offbeat tale of Viking prince Amleth, who sets out to avenge his father’s murder. It’s epic in scale, incredible to look at and packed with stunning performances. Kidman’s turn in particular is showstopping.

Starring: Carrie Crowley, Catherine Clinch

This exquisite Irish-language film tells the tale of nine-year-old Cáit, who escapes a toxic family life and goes to live with distant relatives on a farm. At first her kin seem be a breath of fresh air. However, all is not what it seems...

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly

Not suitable for nervous flyers. Strap in and buckle up, because after what feels like years in gestation, the Top Gun sequel is finally upon us, and from its iconic opening (you’ll see), to its gobsmackingly action-packed finale – not to mention Tom Cruise doing peak Tom Cruise – it’s absolutely magnificent. 

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González

Strap in. Because as you might expect from director Bay, this is a very fast-moving Ambulance indeed. In it is Gyllenhaal, who has stolen the medic wagon in question after his daring heist has gone awry. Now the chase is well and truly on – and what a pulse-pounding chase it is.

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter

This second big-screen Downton outing sees Britain’s best-loved stately home playing host to a film crew. Needless to say, there are plenty of upheavals in store, but since it’s all done in the usual gentle fashion, the end result is a nice, warm bath in movie form.

Starring: Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer

A film of psychological suspense, The Humans corrals a brilliant ensemble cast into the tale of the Blake family who get together to celebrate Thanksgiving. However, as night falls, strange things begin to occur and long-buried family tensions surface with tragic results.

Starring: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch

Superb, cerebral thriller in which Rylance – brilliant, as ever – plays an expert tailor who fashions exquisite clothes for a family of local hoodlums. One night, however, the mobsters make a demand that he can’t refuse. What follows is a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Starring: Sheridan Smith, Jenni Agutter

The original The Railway Children is a bona fide family classic. Four decades later, this sequel sees Agutter return as Bobbie (a grown-up version of the character she played before) and looks set to become as beloved as the first.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tiffany Haddish

Nicolas Cage plays Nicolas Cage in this meta-comedy in which he takes a humdrum acting job only to find himself caught up with a superfan who may not be all he seems. Packed with action, very funny and featuring Cage doing peak Cage, this is a scream from start to finish.

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz

It’s been a long time coming, but this latest iteration of the dark knight starring Pattinson as Batman (sorry, ‘the’ Batman) has been well worth the wait. As Bats goes up against the fearsome Riddler, the result is Batman the way mother used to make: dark, tortured and intense.

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren

Based on the true story of the 1961 theft of The Portrait of the Duke of Wellington, this comedy from recently departed director Michell is an absolute treat. Broadbent is the somewhat hapless thief, Mirren his long-suffering wife. Both are (of course) superb.

Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Owen Teague

Superbly performed mix of family drama and post-modern Western as siblings return to their childhood ranch in order to be with their dying father. In doing so, they must confront some long-buried secrets. A heat-warming story that's well worth seeing.

Starring: Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins

Hugely entertaining true-life story of how, in 1976, amateur golfer Maurice Flitcroft (Rylance) managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship. Flitcroft then went on to play the worst round in Open history – but became a national hero in the process.

Starring: Ben Foster, Danny DeVito

No doubt about it, The Survivor is not exactly an easy watch, focusing as it does on the real-life tale of Jewish boxer Harry Haft, who fought fellow inmates while imprisoned in Auschwitz. After the war, haunted by his actions, Harry goes in search of redemption...