La La Land and The Love Witch wove magic, Moonlight and Lion wrung out tears, while Get Out and Lady Macbeth got nasty. Plus, there were striking debuts, returns to form by seasoned directors and reunions for the Trainspotting rogues

As our countdown continues, Catherine Shoard heralds Denis Villeneuve’s emotionally bruising sci-fi which saw aliens – almost - land on Earth

As our countdown continues, Andrew Pulver admires Luca Guadagnino’s unnerving drama of desire and betrayal that boasts remarkable performances

As our countdown enters the final fortnight, Peter Bradshaw gives a nod to a documentary portrait of the wartime-like life of migrants to Lampedusa

As our countdown continues, Catherine Shoard bows down before Whit Stillman’s revisionist yet traditional take on Jane Austen

As our countdown continues, Peter Bradshaw pays tribute to Ira Sachs’s New York-set drama about the lost friendship – and the true cost of gentrification

As our countdown enters its final fortnight, Andrew Pulver goes on the march with Leonardo DiCaprio and Alejandro González Iñárritu for this epic frontier revenge western

As our countdown enters the final fortnight, Peter Bradshaw welcomes a documentary about disgraced US politician Anthony Weiner that’s a classic study of self-delusion

As our countdown enters the final fortnight, Andrew Pulver hails Sausage Party, the foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed talking-food animation that hits heights of surreal brilliance

A journey into blindness, strange magic from Japan, and an Iranian spine-tingler are among the year’s must-sees

As we approach the final months of 2016, it’s time to look back at the films our critics have so far rated the finest