THERE was an inordinate amount of high-calibre films released this year, addressing hot topics such as racism, female empowerment, mad monarchs and a whole range of social and political issues.

Whittling down such a bumper crop is well-nigh impossible but in my top 10 is Peter Farrelly's stunning Oscar-winning Green Book. It's inspired by the real-life story and friendship of a working-class Italian American bouncer (Viggo Mortensen), hired to drive an African-American classical pianist (Mahershala Ali) on a tour of venues through the 1960s US South.

Yorgos Lanthimos's The Favourite is a totally surreal but stylish period drama set in 18th-century England about the ailing and unpredictable Queen Anne — the magnificent and Academy Award-winning Olivia Colman — and the two women (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) competing for her affections.