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Say 'Spielbergian' and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the film that probably pops into most people's heads. On the surface, it's a simple tale of boy meets alien, boy and alien become friends, boy loses alien, but like all good flicks there's more here than mere story, from the wonderful puppet design and John Williams's spine-tingling score to the script's understanding of its childhood characters and Spielberg's deft direction. It treads a fine line between involving drama and syrupy sentimentality, though.

This crime thriller hit cinemas earlier this year like a force of nature. Writer-director Edgar Wright's combination of ultra-slick action, rocking indie soundtrack, cult characters, music-based editing and memorable dialogue came out of nowhere to persuade us that, mercifully, there are still people in Hollywood willing to take a big-budget chance on a strong script and original idea. Kudos, too, to A-listers Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Jon Hamm for recognising this tale of a reluctant but talented getaway driver as worthy of their participation.

The latest and fifth instalment in the long-running Transformers franchise re-imagines the Arthurian legend with giant robots, opens with a medieval battle sequence and heads rapidly downhill from there. It's 2 hours and 27 minutes long with what feels like 2 hours 25 minutes of relentless action. There might have been a plot, but it gets entirely lost in the unremitting battles, hackneyed characters and puddle-shallow dialogue.

From its tortuous attempt to incorporate an 'eight' sound into its original US title (The Fate of the Furious) to its laboured bid to shoe-horn in an old-school race and its truly bonkers finale, this eighth instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise sometimes feels like it's trying too hard. Fortunately, though, some super-slick, energetic and spectacle-driven direction from F. Gary Gray keeps your pulse rate high, while the cast are now so comfortable in their characters that they manage to inject oodles of charm into proceedings.