What’s it about?
A boy called Mason literally grows up before our eyes. No, seriously… This film uses the same cast over 12 years.

What did we think?
Elizabeth says: The sheer scope of this film is reason enough to make it compulsory viewing. IT’S 12 YEARS. WITH THE SAME CAST. Apparently not even their contracts could legally cover the whole span of the filming. Boyhood is the closest thing you’ll get to seeing real-life on the big screen without it being a documentary. It doesn’t feel scripted, and yet it is. It doesn’t feel directed, and yet it is – meticulously. Not a lot happens in Hollywood terms… there’s no big climax, no massive turning point, no soaring violin strings or life-altering decisions to make… Here is a film with next to no plot, and yet it’s one of the most compelling offerings to grace our screens in years.

What’s it about?
A French/Arabian co-production in which a family gather after the patriarch dies and secrets are revealed that threaten relationships.

What did we think?
Elizabeth says: Come on guys. Death as a precursor for forced disclosure of dysfunctional secrets has been done. Having the dead guy (a magical Omar Shariff) narrate the funereal action is a gimmick not used frequently enough to differentiate this from any other film of its ilk. It’s all been done – and been done better – before.

What’s is about?
A romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue.

What did we think?
Cindy says: I confess I’m a Woody Allen tragic, but as a rule, even I can admit only every second film he makes is a real winner.  Blue Jasmine was a hard act to follow, and Magic In The Moonlight IS lovely; just not amazing. Lovely scenery, lovely cast, lovely performances, lovely art direction, but something’s missing. For die hard fans and those looking for something, well, lovely.

What’s it about?
Ivan Locke takes a phone call behind the wheel that will put events in motion to unravel his carefully crafted life.

What did we think?
A man. A car. A phone. A life-changing night.

The audience literally rides shotgun in this tale of Locke’s journey towards personal redemption through his own destruction. Tom Hardy is the only person on-screen for the whole movie and he’s mesmerising. We watch in real-time for 85 minutes as he struggles to rebuild his life while the foundations crumble around him, confined to the driver’s seat and at the mercy of his relentlessly ringing phone. It’s close, it’s personal, it’s intimate and we dare you to try and look away.

What’s it about?
A time-travelling temporal agent must hunt down a criminal that’s eluded him his whole life.

What did we think?
The less you know about this film the better. Just know that it’s an Aussie film that looks like an American film, that it has excellent performances from Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook, that it involves time travel and that your brain may be doing loop-de-loops after it’s over. Don’t think about it too hard – the joy of Predestination is the watching, and the more you ponder the hows and what ifs, the more times you’ll find yourself asking “how?” and “what if…?” Which may send you mad.