I, Daniel Blake (dir: Ken Loach, 2016, cert 15)
Loach is angry and so will you be after viewing the tribulations of the titular Daniel as he strives to negotiate the bureaucratic behemoth of state welfare. No sitting on the fence here and the message is certainly hammered home but when the rhetoric of the right wing press is likewise hammered into popular consciousness maybe it’s the only way. An important antidote to the vile class stereotyping so beloved of the Daily Mail and its ilk and the most relevant film you will see this last year. You have been told.
Mon 30 Jan 7.30pm at Thimblemill Library, Thimblemill Rd, Smethwick B67 5RJ Free facebook

La La Land (dir: Damien Chazelle, 2016, cert 12A)
A film that’s probably going to clean up at the Oscars, this throwback to the heady days of the musical and its uplifting reanimation of what had cheerily been described as an ‘extinct genre’ in some quarters, is an unexpectedly thrilling delight. The world definitely needs more free form jazz musicals and more films featuring Ryan Gosling tap dancing for that matter. The saccharine overload might not be to everyone’s taste and the opening show tune is a bit cringe, but just let yourselves go and enjoy the dizzying thrill of blossoming love. You won’t regret it.
Mon 23 Jan to Thu 2 Feb various times at the mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham Mon 30 Jan to Thu 2 Feb at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 www.theelectric.co.uk/

Manchester By The Sea (dir: Kenneth Lonergan, 2017, cert 15)
It’s only January and we may have already seen the best movie of 2017. Kenneth Lonergan’s sharp study of loss and raging helplessness is an emotionally raw examination of the unsettlingly internal trauma of grief. Casey Affleck is astonishing and, most importantly, believable as a host of real world problems begin to crush the life of his character Lee. It’s a reality that the audience knows only too well and it’s this choking resonance that lends the film such awful power. Human experience laid bare. Beautifully scored, shot, acted and directed. In short, a masterpiece.
Fri 27 Jan to Thu 2 Feb various times at the mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham Fri 27 Jan to Thu 2 Feb at Lighthouse, Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street,  Wolverhampton WV1 1HT £8 light-house

Toni Erdmann (dir: Maren Ade, 2017, cert 15)
An utterly bizarre, hilarious and completely engaging near three hour romp through the tragedy and awkwardness of family dynamics. Peter Simonischek is the incorrigibly wacky and possibly cringe inducing Winfried Conradi, who decides that adopting the persona of Toni Erdmann and visiting his daughter is just what she needs in what he perceives is her unhappy life. A Riotously funny spectacle that skillfully manipulates perspective and agenda. This is a man going through a breakdown and it can at times feel uncomfortable. Despite the length it never lags and you will laugh throughout, you may even cry. There is the usual talk of a Hollywood remake but why bother when the original is so good?
Fri 3 Feb to Thu 9 Feb various times at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 theelectric

42nd Street (dir: Lloyd Bacon, 1933, cert U)
A star studded spectacle that ushered in the golden age of the Hollywood musical, this lavishly choreographed epic is a BIG film. The Busby Berkeley numbers are breathtaking in scale and still have an energy and power that will make collective jaws drop to the floor. The no punches pulled story of life behind the scenes of a Broadway production is not just glitz, glamour, singing and dancing. The whiff of the great depression still hangs in the air, there is violence and intimidation, but best of all there is Ginger Rogers as ‘Anytime Annie’ just before her long standing double act with Fred Astaire began. One of the greatest musicals ever made. This screening will be preceded by an introduction from B-Film academic Prof. Russell Jackson beginning at 3pm
Sun 5 Feb 3pm at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 theelectric

Moonlight (dir: Barry Jenkins, 2017, cert 15)
A heavyweight Oscar contender with 8 nominations, Barry Jenkins universally acclaimed drama is a powerhouse film of identity and sexuality that resonates with a heavy piquancy in these intolerant times. The ensemble cast is nothing short of astonishing with Trevante Rhodes’ performance as a gay black man adrift in an unaccepting culture being the highlight. The film swerves the sickly sentimentality that could dull its power and instead focuses unerringly on the fraught and fragile existence that living a lie begets. Moonlight is only Jenkins’ second feature and his first in 8 years, he is an exceptional and challenging talent. Moving and essential cinema. There will be an introduction to the film from Come the Revolution.
Sun 5 Feb 8.15pm at the mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham

There Will Be Blood (dir: Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007, cert 15) with live score
Epic Oscar winning film making featuring a heavyweight performance from Daniel Day-Lewis and an incredible score from Jonny Greenwood. What better way than to watch a film of such epic scale and grandeur than in the Symphony Hall, with Jonny Greenwood’s magnificent score performed live by the esteemed London Contemporary Orchestra. There will be gravitas. Read our full preview here.
Sun 5 Feb 7pm at the Symphony Hall,  Broad St, Birmingham B1 2EA £28 – £48 www.thsh.co.uk/