- THE DESERVED DECTET - 

1. I, DANIEL BLAKE  I, Daniel Blake is beautifully written, performed, shot and directed by a marvellous team, led by the peerless Ken Loach, and manages to be a touchingly funny film about contemporary issues without coming across as political propaganda.

2. SPOTLIGHT  Spotlight is a tense, crackling, meticulous telling of a contemporary scandal in a major American city and ultimately worldwide.

3. TIME OUT OF MIND  The film’s bare-bones approach is quite wonderful – with Richard Gere embodying George as a wounded animal in a strange and foreign land. 

4. COUPLE IN A HOLE  Both leads, Paul Higgins and Kate Dickie are mesmerisingly brilliant and the film is stunning to watch.

5. HELL OR HIGH WATER  Hell or High Water  is one of the best films of the year due to David Mackenzie's ability to pull it all together into a great drama, constructed with steady direction, solid writing and powerful performances.

6. THE ONES BELOW  It’s an outstanding piece of work - as the air is slowly sucked out of the beautiful and increasingly deadly atmosphere.

7. THE BFG  Steven Spielberg has created yet another magical work of art, destined to live long in the minds and hearts of film audiences now and in the future.

8. THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS  Unless you have a cynical heart of stone you’ll find it a challenge to emerge from this enormously immersive film without being forever affected.

9. ANOMALISA  Anomalisa juxtaposes the queasiness around the minutiae of cliche/jargon-speak with the vulnerability and promise of new love.

10. STEVE JOBS  Steve Jobs is highly effective as an exercise in classical form, highlighted by Sorkin's biting brand of hyper-aware dialogue and a breathtakingly outstanding performance from Fassbender. In essence the film is a highly efficient dramatic device.