The first full trailer for Ghost in the Shell is out, and Scarlett Johansson looks fully hard-core as human-cyborg heroine, Major. Can’t wait for March 2017? Reacquaint yourself with Mamoru Oshii’s well-rated 1995 animated version, “an ode to technology, identity, collective vs. individual consciousness and boobs”.

Sometimes when you’ve been ruling as the baddest dude in the galaxy, it’s good to take a breather, maybe drive a bus and write some poetry. Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, starring Adam Driver as the, er, driver, is a soulful account of “the would-be struggling artist who chooses not to struggle”.

Asghar Farhadi’s revenge thriller The Salesman is Iran’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar. A couple move into a new apartment, but their lives take a dramatic turn following an incident linked to the flat’s previous tenant. “The moral conflicts that Farhadi creates in this feel both extraordinarily profound and completely normal.”

“Linguists, I bet you thought your discipline was too boring and obscure to be completely misunderstood, oversimplified and ruined by Hollywood, didn’t you? Well, think again.” —Bradley J. Dixon

“Arrival is a very important film for the time we live in. It’s a film that reminds us that the world is both frightening and beautiful. Yes, every day we watch various communities suffer, and dictators make amateur decisions, but we also live in a world where some pretty amazing things happen and we get to walk alongside amazing people. Movies do not have to be bleak just because the world isn’t perfect. … Considering his style, I would not have expected Villeneuve to be the one to make a film that reignited that bright light but he did. I’m so very grateful to be able to say that I’ve seen it.” —Njabs Phungula

“This is so, so many things but it is also totally the ur-slasher in which dream and reality overlap and become indistinguishable and a phantom figure projects from within and/or invades into a woman’s home/space/body… the immediate threat to the body inside/outside emerges in the knife, the dread of stalking/being stalked. Murder/suicide, escape and imprisonment, in bodies in domesticity… the subjective is made practically objective via the literalizing mechanism of film, turning the documentary camera into the medium of raw psychic affect, churned with symbols, but where dread/daze/momentum are primary… this might be the best horror film ever made?” —claire diane

“Some nitpicks. ‘Sound of Silence’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’ are overplayed in this film; both Dustin Hoffmann and Katharine Ross look older than their roles, which makes the affair between Ben and Mrs. Robinson unintentionally hilarious; the acting can be rather over-the-top from the supporting cast, and the plot could sound similar to a bad porn flick on a surface level. But I can overlook all that, because of how it presents its characters and themes in ways that never feel preachy or pretentious.

“The opening is [a] class act in masterful foreshadowing. Not only do the opening credits roll [with] Dustin Hoffmann’s Braddock staring forwardly with a hint of doubt, while the omnipresent ‘Sound of Silence’ plays in the background, but we also see a sign that says ‘Do They Match?’ and doors that say ‘use other door’. Not only is Benjamin Braddock's insecurity about his own future established without him uttering a single word, the introduction also establishes what’s to come for our young protagonist. Kudos to Mike Nichols and cinematographer Robert Surtees for a fantastic introduction to this masterpiece.” —Patrick Jensen

We are currently enjoying and absorbing all things Arrival. If you haven’t yet seen the film, definitely best to go in blind, but if you have, here are a few choice links: in this episode of the Song Exploder podcast, composer Jóhann Jóhannsson dissects a piece from the score called ‘Heptapod B’, and how, like the film, it revolves around the concept of language. This Business Insider piece talks to consultant linguist Jessica Coon about “the more linguistically relevant parts” of the film. And this super-geeky Space.com interview with consulting scientist Stephen Wolfram considers whether humans invented math, or whether math is “really just out there and merely discovered by humans”. Fun fact: Wolfram, his son Christopher, and designer Patrice Vermette collaborated to bring the alien language to the screen.

Legendary cinematographer Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Hardcore, The Last Waltz, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers) popped out of retirement recently to accept an industry honor, at the same time gifting the film world with several gossipy interviews about his time working the greats and his opinions on whether they still have it. “Steven Spielberg, I’m sure, does still do wonderful dolly shots and this and that and all of it—and, mostly, who cares?” More here.

We live in anticipation that each month will bring a new and ever more hilariously specific Letterboxd list. Steve G wins this month with his gratifyingly long list of movies where a character is involved in an incident which briefly impairs their hearing, resulting in that classic, disorientating audio effect: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

Another list of genius specificity this month comes courtesy of Letterboxd member 20XX, who has curated Magic Realist Labyrinths: Borgesian Cinema, a list of films that directly or indirectly inspired or were inspired by the works of Jorge Luis Borges.

The US election result didn’t go your way? Check out the possible realities now that Trump is President-elect, then soothe your activist soul with this list of radical leftist films (suggestions welcome). Also, maybe America was never great.

If you want to schedule some films to honor several greats who have recently left us, consider these options: musician Leon Russell is immortalized in A Poem Is A Naked Person, “a seminal rock doc that any fan of Russell should see”.

By all means, rewatch the sketchy Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, but consider stepping right back to 1965, ladies and gentlemen, when the epitome of Canadian cool was still making his way as a poet and stand-up comedian.

For an absolutely joyous, bittersweet commemoration of Sharon Jones (and another notch on your #52filmsbywomen list), watch Barbara Kopple’s Miss Sharon Jones!, “a case of subject transcending the documentary itself”.

While we mourn these losses, it’s reassuring to know we can also celebrate the nonagenarians who are still amongst us.

21 days till Rogue One. We’re ready.