THE FIVE BEST FILMS

VERA DRAKE

(12A, Mike Leigh, 125mins)

A film of remarkable quality and integrity, with Imelda Staunton as the Londoner in the 1950s who helps out women with their unwanted pregnancies. Nationwide

LA NInA SANTA

(15, Lucrecia Martel, 103mins)

An erotically charged, controlled study of sudden sexual self-awareness, starring Mara Alche as the religiously inclined 16-year-old. Limited release

MILLION DOLLAR BABY (12A, Clint Eastwood, 137mins)

Hilary Swank gives a Golden Globe-winning performance as a white- trash contender in the ruthless world of women's boxing. Nationwide

ZTHE SEA INSIDE (PG, Alejandro Amenabar, 126mins)

In this poignant drama, an unrecognisable Javier Bardem plays a quadriplegic man petitioning the Spanish courts for the right to an assisted suicide. Nationwide

SIDEWAYS

(15, Alexander Payne, 123mins)

Two men go on a wine-tasting trip in California before one of them gets married in this beautifully toned movie. Nationwide

AND ONE TO AVOID

FIRST DAUGHTER (PG, Forest Whitaker, 106mins)

Dreary coming-of-age bauble about a US president's daughter going to college. This product contains sugar.