Principally an investigation into the trading of illegal hormones in the beef industry, Bullhead drags the viewer into the dark mafia underworld where power and greed are creating a moral maze. But this film is mainly about one man’s wounded masculinity and his struggle for acceptance by both sexes. The film was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar last year, and was beaten by Iran’s A Separation , but has only just been released into UK cinemas.

We’ve been lacking in Bill Murray love for a while, haven’t we? Aside from his all too brief appearance (for us, anyway) in Moonrise Kingdom last year, we’ve waited long enough for another heartwarming starring role from Murray. In comes Hyde Park on Hudson; sentimental, amusing and heartfelt, the film follows the love affairs and political concerns of Franklin D. Roosevelt at the start of the Second World War. Murray may deliver a wholly believable performance, but the film’s tendency to drift in between storylines severely and unfairly lets it down.

After United 93, Snakes on a Plane, Red Eye and Final Destination, I thought I’d survived the worst airplane disaster movies (despite my fear of flying). That was until Flight came along, loosely based on Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which crashed in the year 2000 killing 89 people, and inspired a whole new level of plane-related fear. Plunging the viewer into the ground at a few hundred miles per hour should be enough to raise the heart rate, but it is Denzel Washington’s story of alcohol addiction that is the most powerful.

Reality is a modern-day fable for a new generation; a bleak yet superbly colourful and humorous observation on the impacts of reality television on today’s society. Reality treats whimsical notions of fame and fortune with a slice of satire, and remains visually stylish from beginning to end, slipping only in its Jersey Shore-esque depiction of Italian culture.

Claustrofobia is a Dutch horror debut from director Bobby Boermans, starring Carolien Spoor as a veterinary student who finds herself chained to a bed in the basement of one of her neighbours with no idea how she got there. The film explores some aspects of the condition of its title, but not nearly as deeply or darkly as you’d expect.

The Wee Man is written and directed by Ray Burdis, whose previous directorial offering Love, Honour and Obey featured gangsters in London; now we are removed to Glasgow. Based on an account of his time in the Scottish city’s underworld, the film gives us the rise and fall of Paul Ferris, the notorious ‘Wee Man’ of the title. Expect violence, crime and formula all the way.

Michael Winterbottom gets to the heart of the matter with Everyday; a family drama with a difference. Winterbottom’s regulars Shirley Henderson and John Simm play parents Karen and Ian who are split apart when Ian is jailed for a decade for drug smuggling. Sitting out his term puts a strain on his four young children, played by real-life siblings. This minimalist drama takes the viewer closer to real family relationships than any British film has in years.

Steven Spielberg’s foray into the well-trodden political battlefield of the Civil War and President Lincoln’s fight to pass a bill against slavery is a predictable candidate for the Oscars, but nonetheless has many exceptional performances to applaud. Daniel Day-Lewis in particular, proves himself to be an excellent President, and makes this worthy (if turgid) drama stand out from the crowd.

Despite the controversy surrounding Zero Dark Thirty (including an Oscar nomination boycott), Kathryn Bigelow’s latest politically-charged war drama still managed to bag 4 Golden Globe awards and bring in $24 million in its opening weekend. Zero Dark Thirty is intelligent, well-documented and manages to tug on our heartstrings whilst presenting us with the cold hard facts. Be that as it may, the film can sometimes feel like a prolonged episode of a TV drama that never quite surpassed its pilot.

Best For Film has finally Dreamed a Dream of Tom Hooper’s Oscar-baiting epic Les Misérables – and we loved it so much that we’ve decided to never ever see it again. Ever. From the tears and the music to the inexplicable facial hair and surplus of hats, this sprawling superfilm is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.