Girl Asleep (out Sep 8) feels like the kind of movie that Wes Anderson or Tim Burton might make if set in the 1970s. Blending fantasy with reality, it follows a teenage girl who finds her life getting a little crazy when her parents throw an unexpected party for her 15th birthday. Strange but still cool. Grade: B+.

The Queen of Ireland (out Sep 8) is a timely documentary about the life of a famous Irish drag queen and her role in the country's referendum on same-sex marriage in 2015. Offering moments of humour and moments of reflections, this is an enlightening documentary. Grade: A-.

Sunset Song (out Sep 1) is a slow, disjointed drama set in the early 20th Century. It follows an intelligent young woman trying to break free from her oppressive father and find a life of her own. There are a few key emotive scenes but these characters are remarkably dull. Grade: C.

Don't Breathe (out Sep 1) is a creative thriller about three burglars who rob the home of a blind army veteran and quickly discover that not everything is what is seems. A few parts feel implausible but the effective use of music, sound and cinematography make this an intense filmgoing experience. Grade: A-.

Blood Father (out Sep 1) is a strong action thriller about an ex-con (Mel Gibson) who must protect his teenage daughter from a violent drug cartel. Mel Gibson has created a compelling anti-hero and it's hard not to root for his character as events unfold. Grade: B+.

Nerve (out Sep 1) is a weak thriller about a shy high school student (Emma Roberts) who becomes entangled in an online game where she completes increasingly dangerous dares. The early scenes show promise but it's not long before the film jumps off the deep end and loses all sense of reality. Logical this is not. Grade: C.

Free State of Jones (out Aug 25) provides an underwhelming history lesson. Set in the midst of the American Civil War, Matthew McConaughey stars a simple farmer who creates an army to fight for equality. It tries to cover too many themes, it focuses too much on it's leading "superhero", and it contains the year's bizarrest subplot (a handful of scenes set 85 years in the future). Grade: C+.

David Brent: Life of the Road (out Aug 25) will not revitalize the career of Ricky Gervais. I wanted to walk out of the cinema after 10 minutes but stuck with it to see if the repetitive jokes actually got any better. They did not. Every scene feels the same. Grade: C-.

Ben-Hur (out Aug 25) offers a slightly different take on Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel by focusing on forgiveness as opposed to revenge. There are some interesting themes (the power of sport and its effect on national pride) but it lacks the passion and intensity that make Gladiator (another Roman epic) so memorable. Grade: B-.

High-Rise (out Aug 18) is reminiscent of Snowpiercer in that it's class warfare in an apartment building as opposed to class warfare on a train. It's a great concept for a movie but director Ben Wheatley but as the narrative becomes more and more chaotic, so too do the film's messages. Grade: B-.