10) Wiener Dog [15]
Possibly Todd Solondz's best film since 1998's Happiness, blending his usual concerns – the entangled lives of eccentric New Jersey small town folk – with the story of a sweet dachshund.
9) Julieta [15]
Alomodovar's 20th film may have inspired mixed feelings in audiences in the run up to its release. Thankfully, it proved to be his finest film in years, perhaps his best since 2004's
Bad Education, and a potent antidote to 2009's rather overblown Broken Embraces.
8) Anomalisa [15]
Charlie Kaufman brings the alienation of modern life into sharp focus in this surreal, disturbing story of lonely man stuck in his own head.
7) Adult Life Skills [15]
Ever wondered what it's like living in your Mum's garden shed? Perhaps not, but whilst that idea formed the basis of Adult Life Skills' plot, it was by no means the only original thing about this brilliant little film.
Tilda Swinton's second collaboration with director Luca Guadagnino, following 2010's superb I Am Love, this could not have been more different. Instead of wintery, grand Milan, A Bigger Splash is set in scorching, rustic Pantelleria.
The deserving winner of this year's Best Picture Academy Award was a gripping, insightful thriller about investigative journalism.
Set high in the Aspromonte Mountains of Calabria, where few Italians – let alone tourists – ever go, Black Souls (Anime Nere in Italian) was a rock solid crime drama.
3) Little Men [PG]
A sweet, shrewd little drama about the changing economic face of Brooklyn and the way it affects the friendship of two young boys.
Ken Loach returned to both the welfare state and form in his best film in years.
Few people realise that the original script for Pretty Woman had Vivian and Kit as crack whores, Edward as a cold hearted sociopath, a freezing winter setting, and a real slap in the face downer of an ending. 25 years later came a film that felt like the gritty, luck-has-run-out drama that Pretty Woman could have been - if someone hadn't decided to turn it into a sassy, albeit brilliant, romantic comedy.
