In many ways Locke is the thriller of the year, a real time, ticking clock masterwork of tension and suspense that’s as unrelenting and unmerciful as anything likely to see a release in all of 2014. In others, it is nothing more than a quickly paced melodrama of responsibility and regret, focusing entirely on a single character, the choices he has made and the price he is forced to pay when the bill for his self-centered actions come tragically due.

For family audiences, Disney’s latest inspirational sports drama Million Dollar Arm fits the bill with appropriate life-affirming aplomb, and if the pitch being thrown isn’t exactly a strike that doesn’t mean it misses the mark by a whole heck of a lot.

Alien Abduction doesn’t do a bad job of following the found footage playbook, and there are definite hints that Beckerman might be a director worth keeping an eye on, but overall the film is a forgettable waste of time, ultimately kidnapping 85 minutes of my time that I’ll never get back.

Moms’ Night Out is a family-friendly sitcom masquerading as a feature film with more laughs than expected and enough heart to make the majority of the odious aspects borderline tolerable. If those obnoxious (and slightly noxious) elements are taken with a grain of salt it’s not too bad, and while not the greatest of recommendations, considering the alternative it’s going to have to do.

A comedy of errors, friendship and matrimonial love, Neighbors is a gross-out R-rated affair that still isn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve.

That’s what The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does best, waste inherent potential. It’s got a great actor as the main character; does almost nothing with him. Has a wonderful actress as the female lead; gives her embarrassingly little to do. Casts two great stars – one up and coming, the other a bona fide Oscar-winner – as the bad guys; gives them precious little of substance to do.

But the real star is Hessler’s script, the writer playing on ecological fears with playful irreverence. He doesn’t beat the viewer over the head with the climate changes aspects of the film yet at the same time he isn’t afraid of them, either, the filmmakers making their sociological points but doing so in the confines of a giddily gory creature feature.

Blue Ruin is a movie about revenge. It is about cycles of violence. It is about the hurt, resentments and insecurities that can build up over time leading to spur of the moment decisions which can have tragic repercussions.

With Only Lovers Left Alive Jarmush adds another borderline masterwork to the list, changing gears once again to deliver a supernatural love story hiding a deftly insightful social commentary within its intelligently labyrinthine layers.