The hard-hitting, fact-based drama Unplanned (Pure Flix) dares its viewers to confront the reality of what happens when a baby is aborted.

You can’t judge a book by its cover – or, in this case, a film by its title.

Regrets about “Greta” (Focus)? You’ll have a few. But this psychological thriller still rises to the level of a guilty pleasure thanks to the abundant talent of its lead players, Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz.

Leisurely paced and heart-warming, “Summer In The Forest” is a documentary that observes the day-to-day lives of several long-term residents living in L’Arche, a community that embraces those diagnosed with a mental or physical disability.

Wit, positive messages and lavish production values buoy the origin story Captain Marvel (Disney).

Everything viewers need to know about the futuristic action adventure Alita: Battle Angel (Fox) is summed up in the line of dialogue that describes its young heroine, played by Rosa Salazar, as having “the face of an angel and the body of a warrior”.

The Arthurian legend gets an inventive updating in The Kid Who Would Be King (Fox), a thrilling adventure that casts schoolchildren as latter-day Knights of the Round Table, destined to save the world.

Religion and politics make for a toxic brew in the highly spiced historical drama Mary Queen of Scots (Focus).

The ending of M Night Shyamalan’s 2016 psychological horror thriller Split surprised audiences as it linked universes with his mysterious Unbreakable drama of 2000, where a man discovers the shocking truth behind his super-human existence.

2018 was an especially strong year both for documentaries and for fictional films exploring real-life issues, the ramifications of racism in particular. Other timely topics included the place of social media in contemporary life and the centennial of the end of World War I.