Usually, this annual list has more variety in it – a touch of arthouse, a romantic comedy or coming-of-age film or two, a soupçon of foreign movies, a hint of something hard to categorise. Oh well. Although not all these films were outstanding artistically, they did all provide something – entertainment, diversion, viewing pleasure – perhaps at the expense of intellectual engagement. I would have liked to include the latest instalment from the Mission Impossible franchise in this list, but alas, departed about two-thirds of the way though. These are the best films I kept viewing until the final credits rolled.

Living
In 1950s post-war London, civil servant Mr Williams (Bill Nighy) is part of an obstructionist government department that exists within an oblique Kafkaesque apparatus, seemingly with the goal of achieving as little as possible. Until that is, an epiphany changes things. Based on an Akira Kurosawa film of the 50s (Ikiru), with a script by Kazuo Ishiguro and boasting a wonderfully nuanced and subtle performance from Nighy, I found this so moving it warranted a return trip to the cinema for a second viewing.

John Wick 4
Hey boppers, the last instalment of the canine-related revenge epic is an opera of violence that takes in Tokyo, Berlin and Paris – a greatest hits of the best set-pieces from the previous three. The grandest of the series, it might also be the most moving since the first.

Oppenheimer
There is so much going on in Christopher Nolan’s exploration of the legendary particle physicist Robert Oppenheimer. You’ll find history, war, love, death, betrayal and politics – all wrapped up in an alluring cinematic package shot by the great Hoyte Van Hoytema. A (cliché alert) cavalcade of stars – look, there’s young Han Solo, and there’s Bill Conti – helps deliver one of those powerful, impactful experiences that was astonishing the first time around, yet I have no desire to see again.

Equalizer 3
Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington have been doing this kind of thing, and doing it rather well, since Training Day. This time our eponymous hero executes his efficient MO in small town Italy, to bloody and picturesque effect.

Marlowe
Liam Neeson plays cynical, world-weary gumshoe Phillip Marlowe, who has his own particular set of skills: smoking, drinking, immunity to being fooled by high-class dames, and a facility for cutting through to what matters.

Sisu
In this Tarantinoesque sanguinary free-for-all, a plucky and gnarly gold prospector in Finland near the conclusion of World War II might just be hiding a military past. This comes in handy during encounters with selfish Nazis, who (spoiler alert), get what they deserve.

The Deepest Breath
This visually impressive documentary provides insight into the cult-like world of free diving, and the tragedy surrounding the record attempts of Italian Alessia Zecchini. Free diving is truly an extreme sport, explored here in a film whose similarities to Luc Besson’s classic The Big Blue are remarkable.

Ferrari
Not so much a conventional biopic of the Italian sportscar maestro, Ferrari explores a pivotal few weeks in the life of legendary car maker Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver), culminating in the running of the Mille Miglia cross-country car race in 1957. Incredibly tense and slow-moving at times, elsewhere the film thrums and hums. What is rather odd is that director Michael Mann cast the tall, young US born-and-raised Driver (perhaps nominative determinism at work there) to play the diminutive, older Italian.

The Killer
David Fincher directs Michael Fassbender as a meticulous international assassin (they are thick on the ground these days) who compensates for a lack of empathy with bloody efficiency.

Barbie
Funny, clever and droll, Barbie is one of the best ever films to have been inspired by a doll. I enjoyed this film when I saw it, but it’s been so overhyped since that this may actually have detracted from that original screening (and feeling).