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The well-intended first film was simply too ponderous and self-iring to understand just how silly it was. Furthermore, the depiction of autism was colored by an Autism Mom/ABA sensibility that was unpalatable to say the least. With this sequel however, O'Connor - like David Ayer recently with "The Beekeeper" - seems to have discovered irony, and is all the better for it. Not a million miles from the recent "Memory" (a better film than the Belgian original), this is exactly like the kind of Neeson/Statham style actioner the first should've been, with character based detours reminiscent of Shane Black and Burt Reynolds capers. Another strong suit is making neurodivergence and neuroscience part of the plot, done with enough conviction tp forgive how ridiculous it is.

A very silly comedy about a Swedish sausage company heir who has 14 days to quit smoking and a year to stay tobacco free or lose his father's millions. Formally and visually inventive and energetic (it understands the importance of the camera as a character), with the spirit of Richard Lester and other anarchic comedies of the previous decade. It overdoes some of the running gags (honestly could lose about 15 minutes off the runtime) but it's enjoyable enough, and very Scandinavian.

One of Darren Aronofsky's favorite films is one I only just got round to finally watching from beginning to end (always caught sections of it). Remarkably ahead of its time thematically, and plays with psychological thriller and giallo tropes far better than the filmmaker mentioned above. Probes the darker aspects of Japanese pop culture but there's also a sour aftertaste of (likely unintended) ableism and mental health stereotyping and misunderstanding (within generic confines of course).

A formally dazzling, structural piece. More than anything it reminded me of Philip K. Dick: his life and works.

A coldhearted revenge tale. After the assured opening stretch it becomes less surefooted and involving, the Roegian format a little too showy. It all pays off in the finale however.

A confused mess. The portrayal of the central character's condition is strangely judgmental and unsure of what point its trying to make, the unfolding drama as equally confusing and, in the end, extremely unpalatable. Are we supposed to sympathize with the vultures preying on a vulnerability woman more than her?

The interviews with Paul Reubens here reminded me most of Maximilian Schell's "Marlene", wherein Dietrich refuses to be filmed and repeatedly refuses to answer an increasingly frustrated Schell's questions. Reubens is less prickly but his suspicions are understandable: he's simply too media savvy and understands the form. As it is, this is a moving and revealing insight, even if the subject is reticent to say too much. But as has been pointed out elsewhere, that's rather fitting.

Straddling the worlds of New Queer Cinema, underground filmmaking and poetic realism, this debut feature is amateurish in many ways. But it's zero budget chutzpah, artful aspirations and overall indie spirit make it the kind of American independent film we see little of anymore.

As with his most notorious film "Blind Beast", Masumura here crafts a disturbing tale of gender and sexual dynamics. Exploring war through the eyes of a nurse and the surgeon she comes to love is an inspired choice for a psychological drama, the various transgressions around and visited upon her feeding into the broken nature of the characters. A transgressive and emotionally satisfying watch.

Absurdism at its most playful and terrifying. The horror of living under Franco distilled in 35 minutes.

Having been an insufferable Manics buff in my youth, this was a pleasure to be in the company of. Much of it is well trodden ground but it's a concise and intelligent summary, with the band being as charming, funny, smart and infuriating as always. Marcus' best decision is involving the fans: they've always provoked a personal ownership of sorts so the perspectives are interesting. My own?: Sleepflower is an absolute banger, and the guys who made Lifeblood are in no position to argue!

With its novelistic structure, freewheeling spirit and confident approach to shifting tone, this is the kind of indie cinema we don't get enough of anymore. Exploring life for young people on a native reservation in Canada, this makes some unexpected turns and features a performance from Adam Beach that proves he should be a much bigger star than he is.

Imagine if Renard from "The World Is Not Enough" was the nerdy hero of an action film... the premise is solid, but as with the Bond film, it takes a conceptually interesting character full of scope and never really knows what to do with him. The pacing is slack at times and the stakes evaporate quickly, but there's some invention and convincing performances.

The synopsis on here gives far too much away. Still a trashily entertaining piece of amateur hour schlock: despite its creakiness there's a decent plot in here, riffing on the likes of Hitch and "Les Diaboliques" with some potshots at (and even some possible pandering to) hardline catholic hypocrisy of the time. Long for the days when you knew a character was dead from a trail of blood from one side of the mouth...

A pleasingly unpredictable story and Pattinson in fine, wired, chaotic form, but Bong's latest is still unsatisfying. Lots of interesting ideas never fully explored, but many other over familiar ones, and as a satire it's too on the nose and ultimately toothless.

Good evening Czech New Wave James Bond parody, I've been... well, not expecting you, actually. A genuine oddity, this spy sendup is rather antiquated and much of the humor lost in translation. It does have charm and invention to spare, however, and has one of the most under-celebrated movie dogs in cinema.

By and large engaging portrait of Nass el Ghiwane, Moroccan "troubadours" and one of Martin Scorsese's favorite bands (this was the first in his World Cinema Project and he would utilize their services on the soundtrack to "The Last Temptation of Christ"). Lots of fascinating stuff for an outsider, with the musicians facing many of the same issues found in many a music doc. We never really get to the guys well enough, though.

Anna, as Akerman's alter ego, is exactly how we imagine daughter receiving correspondence in "News From Home", and the solitary Akerman herself from "Je Tu Il Elle" while at work. A film about depression and detachment where we, and Anna, focus on the mundanity and movements of the every day. In the smartphone era, films like this feel more and more like costume dramas.

The title says it all: we're in the head of said pigeon, and his perception of us says more than we ever could. Absurdist tableau vivant hilarity and general peculiarity from Andersson (as always).

Heroic Bloodshed up to 11: a plot that's convoluted and contrived, yes, but the various moral dilemmas are often affecting. It lags in places but more than delivers on the action front, with some stunning choreography, camerawork and sometimes grisly set pieces.

A logistically and technically impressive film certainly, but brings little new to an already tired subgenre. One big problem is that, early on, it draws attention to the FX and filters available on Zoom, so when everything kicks off we're too conscious of the fact they're being used by the filmmakers. The subgenre is also simply too contrived and reliant on unearned, cheap jump scares, the film never transcending this. "Ghost Watch" remains the benchmark.

Gen X end of history agit prop new queer cinema: yeah I think that covers everything. This has moments of inspiration and vitality but overall it's a fairly heavy going sensory assault. Always nice to see Ron Vawter.

British sexploitation horror with my very first crush, Vicki Michelle. Shot like a "Carry On" film played straight (terminally pervy angles) and 70s through and through from the mortifying sexual politics to the copious zoom lens use. It's still rather fun, with unintentional hilarity (a witch so powerful she turns a gay man straight) and a strange mix of British quaintness and stiff upper lipped thesping.

Expressionistic and supremely stylish heroic bloodshed from the mid 00s. Of course it utilizes every modish technique from the time and the plot is hazy, but it weaves its magic through familiar archetypes, arcs and utterly thrilling fight sequences.

A 70s crime drama with a European sensibility, this combination of old and new Hollywood tropes is languid by today's standards, but an engaging watch. Lancaster underplays the old hood and Sarandon is immensely appealing, the central dynamic is believable and the sense of time and place palpable.

An old-fashioned adventure story - nay, the oldest fashioned adventure story there is. Anthony Burgess' grunting and Annaud's direction mean this is utterly compelling, not to mention exciting, funny and (in the best way) perplexing.

Not as subversive or daring as the likes of "Coonskin" or "American Pop", this fairly messy Bakshi hybrid at least gets to talk about sex and not much else in a PG-13/12 certificate movie. Technically hasn't aged well but Basinger, even in doodle form, acts the two leading men off the screen.

A strange sort of hang out movie: not quite a thriller, less concerned with dramatic momentum than it should be, and decidedly questionable in its depiction of the native characters. All that said, it gets by Connery's charisma, McTiernan's craftsmanship (it's a better anthropology film than "Nomads") and a moral message that just about carries it through.

Lowkey but heartbreaking drama. Williams, in his final role, is excellent as a closeted, possibly sexless gay man who has seen the world move on without him while he continues to live separately from reality because that's what he's supposed to do.

Conventional but well made and entertaining western. Progressive for its time and featuring a great Bogart villain turn. Not worth shooting a mafia minion in the foot over, though.

An expensive blockbuster made with less ion and beauty than an AI generated social media post. Flaccid stuff from a director long past his best. Rod Steiger said Sergio Leone was one of the best directors of actors after seeing how iconic he was made to look: this takes criminally charismatic performers like Denzel Washington and presents them like extras. Lethargicus maximus.

This costume drama ticks many of the narrative boxes we expect from such material, but the assuredness of the direction and Adjani's etheral qualities keep it on course. No man is worth all that grief - not even the guy behind "Withnail & I".

Truffaut does pulp, with a frankly baffling sound mix. Works well as a deconstruction of the thriller up to a point, but the aloofness of it all makes it difficult to emotionally engage as the plot takes morally ambiguous turns.

A decidedly less successful outing from, very visibly, the director of both "But I'm A Cheerleader" and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia". Veers between witty and endearing and smug and edgdlordy.

Can the ruckus this sparked at the time, as well as the context-free clips attempting to show the singer at his worst. In reality this is brutally honest and a riveting portrait of a reformed addict wrestling with his past and creative obligations. Great hearing some Polari too.

A film about power dynamics and desire that keeps on telling you it's about power dynamics and desire. Well shot and performed but completely heavy handed in every way. No room for ambiguity or nuance and collapses dramatically, unsure of what it even wants to say.

When maladjusted, counterculture boomers attempt to grow up, or at least, imitate the process. Hilarious and wildly unpredictable satire, and one of the most neurodivergent assemblage of characters put on film.

Reichardt's Oregon Trail western owes much to the pre revisionist films of Hollywood, but the approach is very much her own: minimal, naturalistic, gritty, a cinema of process that sneaks up on your nerves and emotions.

Jean Rollin does cheap sexploitation: completely daft and made on a shoestring, but his sensibility and concerns are unmistakable. Closer to a Doris Wishman roughie than anything else, Rollin brings a degree of warped panache to the lurid proceedings.

Unintentionally a beautiful portrait of an autistic asexual in love.

Just an extremely well made, gripping, satisfying adult drama. Watched it at exactly the right time of course.

A music video montage/short film collage/imaginary rockumentary/call it what you will: this is ultimately a very expensive and very silly tribute to the King of Pop and his enormous ego and delusions of grandeur. Worthwhile as a formal and aesthetic time capsule, not to mention psychological insight. The tunes are indestructible at least.

A stalwart of the UK's Bravo channel in the 90s, this 80s trashfest does what it says on the tin, even if it can't sustain the wacky energy needed. Diverting but ultimately unsatisfying, though it betters "Revenge of the Nerds" in understanding consent.

Sarno's lesbian vampire opus is from 1971, so from the get-go they're hippy coded. Also from the get-go, this is completely mad, screamingly camp anf downright filthy. Witness candles used in... novelty ways. Stay for the subplot about induced horniness. It gets madder and hornier as it goes on, with woeful line deliveries and some hilariously deadpan ones Udo Kier would be proud of. Yes it's a total blast.

Absolute amateur hour zero budget incoherent misjudged meatheaded high camp gubbins. Great fun.

I knew too much about this going in! Found it very literal and lacking ambiguity, not to mention terribly self-serious (using diabolism as a metaphor is interesting but i find it hard to keep a straight face about. Better done in the likes of "Rosemary's Baby"). The characters are defined by trauma and not much else, rendering them hard to care about and therefore difficult to be frightened for. Still utilized some good ideas and extremely well made and performed.

Covers a lot of well-trodden sci-fi ground, but this is still a solid and satisfying thriller with Sophie Thatcher in true film star form.

Reichardt's typically understated and alchemical portrait of male friendship colliding with the realities of life and growing up.

Centres around a brother and sister who perform couples routines, so their fondness for royalty makes sense. Of course the whole thing is pure flimflam, almost devoid of drama, rather silly and massively entertaining. The outstanding dance up the walls and ceiling sequence is the most talked about, but the gymnasium routine is a music and dance masterclass.

Mooted as a project for Peter Weir, whose anthropological approach would have resulted in a very different film. Instead we have Craven in more academic and (mostly) restrained mode, until the final reel shenanigans that predate the gravity defying madness of "Shocker". Largely effective if slight, Pullman an unappealing lead but a terrific turn from the still underused Cathy Tyson.

• La Strada
• Nights of Cabiria
• Showgirls
• Secretary
• Ghost World
• Ghostbusters
• The Zero Theorem
• The Master
• Punch-Drunk Love
• Phantom Thread

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The titles discussed in my episode of "Girls, Guts & Giallo", unmentioned drug movies, or recommended for depicting Scotland on screen.

• Trainspotting
• T2 Trainspotting
• Perfect Sense
• I Know Where I'm Going!
• Outlaw King
• Hallam Foe
• Young Adam
• Elephant
• Elephant
• Unleashed

...plus 140 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.