Get Out (dir: Jordan Peele, 2017, cert 15)
Not only is Get Out a fresh and original horror film it also fearlessly pokes a stick into the glibly dangerous racism of white middle class suburbia. English actor Daniel Kaluuya excels as Chris Washington, the black boyfriend of a privileged white girl meeting her parents for the first time.
Mon 11 Dec 9pm & Wed 13 Dec 6pm at The Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

Blade of the Immortal (dir: Takashi Miike, 2017, cert 18)
The most prolific filmmaker operating today has released over a hundred movies, all of which shock, unsettle and bemuse in equal measure. His samurai epic; the Manga based Blade of the Immortal, is all this and more, a cacophony of feudal violence writ large for over two hours. Stylish, extraordinary and at times positively revolting, no one produces cinema like Takashi Miike.
Mon 11 Dec to Thu 14 Dec at The Mockingbird, Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £5 veezi.com

The Red Turtle (dir: Michael Dudok de Wit, 2017, cert PG)
The Studio Ghibli produced The Red Turtle is a breathtakingly beautiful film, with every hand drawn shot fostering a sense of awe in the viewer. The Robinson Crusoe with magic style story is a subtly wordless exploration of one man’s journey from isolation and frustration to an acceptance of the need for mutuality.
Tue 12 Dec 5pm & Wed 13 Dec 3.30pm at The Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

The Handmaiden (dir: Park Chan-wook, 2017, cert 18)
Park Chan-wook is one of the most daring filmmakers at work today, he doesn’t so much push the envelope as douse it in petrol and burn it. The Handmaiden is a dizzyingly extravagant thriller soaked in an uneasy and intelligent eroticism, don’t relax for a second because Park Chan-wook will trip you up.
Tue 12 Dec 7.30pm at The Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

The Big Heat (dir: Fritz Lang, 1953, cert 15)
Fritz Lang brings all the disparate elements of German Expressionism into this superior film noir starring Glenn Ford as homicide detective Dave Bannion, who is investigating the suicide of a colleague. Watch out for a young Lee Marvin as unhinged thug Vince Stone. Screened as part of the BFI Thriller season.
Sun 17 Dec 2pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

The Angel’s Share (dir: Ken Loach, 2012, cert 18)
Loach’s film passed many audiences by, which is a shame as it is a film with a huge heart, lots of laughs and an expertly orchestrated whisky robbery. The usual Loachian tropes remain of the working class struggle to exist in a perfidiously inequitable society and they are handled beautifully. But this is primarily the story of earnestly lovable Glaswegian lads and lasses executing a heist and securing a future.
Sun 17 Dec 7pm at The Cafe Ort, 500-504 Moseley Rd, Birmingham B12 9AH £5 www.meetup.com

Check out the best festive cinema here.