The simple truth is that there is more happening inside of The Miseducation of Cameron Post than initially meets the eye, its ability to tackle so many varying thematic ideas with such appealingly awkward élan incredible…Akhavan has delivered one of the best films I’ll see in 2018, and I have a sneaky suspicion this is one teenage drama I’m going to be waxing poetic about for many years to come.

I love Blindspotting. It’s the kind of film I want to stand up and cheer the moment the end credits come up on the screen, the type of nail-biting human drama I wish studios made more of and the kind of incisive, take-no-prisoners satire viewers of all persuasions owe it to themselves to take a chance on and see.

Tully builds to a shattering climax that brought a cascade of tears to my eyes, Marlo’s destination as cathartic, and as gut-wrenching, as any I could have imagined it would be before the film began.

The bitter truths of life’s regrets and hardships are all ones Charlie gets to look upon with a forceful clarity that is rare for a teenager to experience, his ability to persevere and still cling onto the aspirational hopes and dreams of a future adulthood that’s right around the corner unforgettably inspiring.

A Fantastic Woman dives into the Transgender experience in a way that is refreshing in its subtle, naturalistic simplicity, Marina’s everyday struggle to unapologetically be herself achieving a dignified universality that’s all-encompassing in its sympathetic warmth.

I might even go so far as to proclaim Paddington 2 pretty much perfect, but let me indulge in one more marmalade sandwich before I make the decision to say just that.

Add in the obvious parallels to our current fight to keep a free, unfettered press that’s under assault by a corrupt political machine unlike any the First Amendment has ever faced before, the importance of the messages at the heart of The Post couldn’t be more imperative. Spielberg’s latest might not be his best, but it may be his most essential, those from all corners of the ideological spectrum urged to watch it with an open mind and a clear heart at their earliest opportunity.

Lady Bird never hits a false note, each beat of the story building one upon the next to produce a melodious coming of age symphony that’s absolutely sensational.

Never shying away from the stark, tragic truths always silently lurking in plain sight, there is something universal here that stops the heart right in its tracks, The Florida Project building to a single moment of selfless friendship that is as fantastical as it is breathtaking.