Haunted Mansion (out Aug 31) is a reboot of the 2003 original and is a safe, formulaic, PG-rated comedy pitched at the family crowd. There’s enough here to satisfy younger audiences. For everyone else, there's a few decent gags but not enough to entertain for the full two hours. Grade: B-.

My Sailor, My Love (out Aug 31) has three great performances at its centre but there isn't enough character development to fully understand what's driving each of them. It's the story of an elderly man who, against the wishes of his daughter, forms a romantic connection with his new housekeeper. Grade: B.

Past Lives (out Aug 31) is a sensational romantic drama which highlights both the simplicity and complexity of the human condition. First-time writer-director Celine Song enhances the already great material with a brilliant cast, a beautiful film score, and the use of long, unedited takes during key conversations. One of the year's best. Grade: A.

Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story (out Aug 31) is a documentary about the iconic Australian music producer/promoter and is interesting from start to finish. It doesn’t shy away from Gudinski’s flaws, but it also celebrates his incredible contribution to the Australian music industry and the number of people who benefited. Many terrific behind-the-scenes stories are told. Grade: B+.

Sound of Freedom (out Aug 24) is hard to watch in isolation of the growing controversy of the past month (you'll find more online). In critiquing purely on its artistic merit, I’ll describe it as a ho-hum thriller with average dialogue, an unsophisticated narrative, weak supporting characters (Mira Sorvino???), and some half-decent action pieces. Grade: B-.

Godland (out Aug 17) is an Icelandic 19th Century drama about a Danish priest tasked with building a new church in Iceland. Director Hlynur Pálmason does a terrific job capturing the bleak, isolated setting (you really feel it) and creating interesting characters. Grade: A-.

Strays (out Aug 17) isn’t a movie I’ll be taking my mum to see… but it can enjoyed for what it is.  If you’re after a filthy, foul-mouthed outing to the cinema and want eyebrow-raising jokes about humping, genitals, butt-sniffing, and faecal matter, this is for you. Grade: B+.

Sanctuary (out Aug 17) is a boring two-hander (or "one hander" in places) about the power games between a successful businessman and his long-time dominatrix. An interesting idea but I wasn't convinced by either of the two leads, Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, or the finale. Grade: C+.

BlackBerry (out Aug 17) isn’t as interesting and juicy as hoped. The real-life tale will provide great fodder in business textbooks but as a movie, this rags-to-riches-to-rags film struggles to get out of first gear. It feels every character has been overdramatised and the narrative focuses on silly, trivial events (like cancelling "movie night"). Grade: B-.

Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter (out Aug 10) is a dreary, slow, unadventurous thriller about a ship set upon by a vampire. Production values are fine and there’s nothing wrong with Corey Hawkins’ lead performance but it’s a weak script (what the hell were they doing during all the daylight hours?) with little tension or urgency. Grade: C.