Birdman
THE Alejandro G Inarritu directed Birdman's addictive blend of satire and the surreal comes wrapped up in an technically impressive production that which blasts along at an entertaining clip.
A dramatic comedy about a Hollywood actor and former superhero franchise star (Michael Keaton) struggling to kick-start his career by staging a Broadway play, Birdman boasts impressively kinetic yet nuanced performances from Keaton and his co-star Edward Norton.
A deserved winner of four Oscars, including Best Picture: some would argue that Keaton was robbed of Best Actor too.
Whiplash
FEW films truly manage to put audiences in the shoes of their protagonist, yet Damien Chazelle's Whiplash left viewers feeling absolutely wrung out from the palpable tension created between hopeful young jazz drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) and his sadistic tutor Terence "not quite my tempo" Fletcher (JK Simmons), the latter of whom won a Best Supporting Oscar for his chair-throwing turn as a musical tyrant.
An incredible experience in the cinema, Whiplash also stands up to repeat viewings at home.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
IN A year which saw the release of a new Mission:Impossible film and the highly anticipated Bond entry, Spectre, both mega-franchises were pretty much trumped by a Guy Ritchie's re-boot of cult 1960s spy serial The Man From U.N.C.L.E..
U.N.C.L.E. impressed with its abundance of retro-styled, campy action fun, offering a solid two hours of knock-about entertainment in the company of Henry Cavill's suave secret agent Napoleon Solo and his reluctant Ruski side-kick Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer).
A pleasant throw-back to the days when Bond left you shaken, stirred and smiling too.
You're Ugly Too
THIS low-key Irish indie gem played on a limited number of screens back in August and is well worth catching up with at home, mainly thanks to the double act of stars Aiden Gillen and Lauren Kinsella.
When Will (Gillen) is released from prison to become the legal guardian of smart Alec pre-teen skatebrat Stacey (Kinsella), he takes them off to a caravan in the Irish midlands for some quality bonding/bickering.
Thus begins writer/director Mark Noonan's enjoyably offbeat and refreshingly sentimentality-free drama that includes plenty of laughs with its gentle, character-rich proceedings.
Grandma
RELEASED earlier this month, Grandma instantly became one of the best films of 2015 thanks to a command performance by Lily Tomlin in the title role as a sassy septuagenarian who comes to the aid of her pregnant grand-daughter.
Julia Garner also makes a big impression as the troubled teen in need of a termination in this smartly written dramatic comedy from director Paul Weitz, while quality supporting turns by gravel-voiced screen veteran Sam Elliott and Marcia Gay Harden also help make Grandma a dramatic tour de force for all concerned.
2016: Five to see
Zoolander II (February)
BLUE Steel is back as one time international supermodel Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is dragged out of retirement to help put a stop to a string of celebrity murders, the victims – including Justin Bieber, Usher and Lenny Kravitz – having all taken pre-mortem selfies in which they seemingly mimicked his trademark 'look'.
Owen Wilson as Hansel and Will Ferrell's Mugatu also return for this highly anticipated sequel, which also features Penelope Cruz as an Interpol agent ("Global Fashion division") and a gender-fluid catwalk sensation named All (Benedict Cumberbatch).
Hail, Caesar! (February)
THE Coen brothers' upcoming film finds them recreating 1950s Hollywood as a glamorous backdrop to some shady goings on.
Hail, Caesar! centres on film 'fixer' Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), who must attempt to figure out what has happened to studio star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) after he goes missing during the filming of a Roman epic.
Turns out Whitlock has been kidnapped by a mysterious group calling themselves The Future – they want $100k for his safe return and Mannix is the man who must take charge of the exchange.
Scarlet Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill and Tilda Swinton co-star.
High-Rise (March)
STARRING Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss, director Ben Wheatley's adaptation of JG Ballard's classic cautionary tale about a private housing development boasts a striking retro-futuristic aesthetic that's pure 1970s sci-fi cinema a la A Clockwork Orange.
Partially filmed in Bangor, Co Down, and featuring a soundtrack by Clint Mansell (Moon, Pi, Requiem for a Dream) High-Rise looks set to be one of the first genre classics of 2016.
Batman v Superman (Dawn of Justice) (March)
BEN Affleck battles the nay-sayers to become Batman/Bruce Wayne while Henry Cavill dons the iconic cape/specs to become Superman/Clark Kent for this 'tentpole' superhero face-off/team-up (Gal Gadot is also in the mix as Wonder Woman) that's been one of the most talked about films of 2015.
Expect CGI-festooned action and an abundance of one-liners as the pair of DC Comics
icons put aside to their differences to unite against a common foe – Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg).
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (November)
POTTERITES rejoice – this film takes us back into JK Rowling's magical universe for yet more wands and wizards antics, this time set in early 1920s New York City.
Inspired by her fictional text book of the same name (Rowling also penned the screenplay) and directed by Harry Potter veteran David Yates, Beasts stars Eddie Redmayne as English magical creature expert Newt Scamander.
When several mythical beats escape captivity, it's up to Hogwarts alumni Scamander to round up the capering creatures and try to restore New York's wavering wizard/no-maj community relations before it's too late.
