Miss Sloane (out Mar 2) features a great leading performance from Jessica Chastain but it's a political thriller that lacks subtlety and doesn't feel an honest reflection of reality. Chastain plays a powerful lobbyist working with U.S. Senators to pass important gun control legislation. Grade: B-.

Jasper Jones (out Mar 2) is set in 1969 and is an Aussie coming-of-age tale. 14-year-old Levi Miller is terrific as the shy, awkward teenager who is trying to come to grips with his quickly changing world. Not afraid to challenge audiences with its content, this is a worthy adaptation of Craig Silvey's award-winning novel. Grade: B+.

Logan (out Mar 2) is the anti-Deadpool. Instead of a lightweight comedy spoof, this is a violent, heavy, serious superhero flick that we haven’t seen too often before. I was hoping for more substance to the story (the villain is a bit silly) but Logan still works as a great character study about a tired man who has had enough. Grade: B+.

Fist Fight (out Feb 23) is a comedy that runs out of steam after about 30 minutes. Ice Cube and Charlie Day play two teachers on a collision course with each other after a crazy end to the school year. The splattering of ideas upon which this film is based do not come together well. Grade: C+.

Trespass Against Us (out Feb 16) is a disappointingly dull British drama about a middle aged man trying to escape his father's criminal ways. Grade: C.

T2: Trainspotting 2 (out Feb 23) is a sequel to the iconic 1996 original from director Danny Boyle. While it’s great to catch up with these eclectic characters, the screenplay is slight. Knowledge of the original film isn’t essential but it would be a helpful prerequisite. Grade: B-.

The Great Wall (out Feb 16) is like an episode of Game of Thrones with a Chinese flavour. Set in "long ago" times, a group of soldiers use the famous wall to fend off intelligent monsters. Matt Damon is the film's weakest film. If you ignore his bland character, you're left with original, creative action sequences as the warriors use every trick in the book. Grade: B+.

Silence (out Feb 16) is the story of two Catholic priests who travel to Japan in the 17th Century to help grow the religion. The performances and cinematography are hard to fault. Still, it's a hard slog at 161 minutes and is as much an endurance test for the audience as it is for the characters. Grade: B.

Hidden Figures (out Feb 16) is simplistic, cheesy in places but it's still a beautiful tribute to three African American women who overcame much discrimination to forge a career at NASA during the 1960s. Starts Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe are very, very hard to dislike. Grade: B+.

Fifty Shades Darker (out Feb 9) wins a few points for being a less conventional romantic drama. Unfortunately, the storyline is slight and some scenes were laughably bad (such as one involving a helicopter). Grade: C+.