Lion (out Jan 19) is a true story and an emotional story. It follows an Australian man's search to find his Indian family who he hasn't seen in more than 20 years. It’s hard not to feel a tingle down your spine as the film’s reaches its climax. My eyes were moist. Grade: A-.

Monster Trucks (out Jan 12) is about a high school student who befriends a mysterious, oil-loving sea creature. This film has been plagued with production problems and that's evident when looking at the finished product. The script doesn't flow well and several subplots add up to nothing. Grade: C.

Jackie (out Jan 12) is a rare U.S. film that focuses on the life of a First Lady as opposed to a President. Headlined by a beautiful performance by Natalie Portman, this offers a lot of food for thought. What is more important - what we do or how we are remembered? Grade: A-.

Ballerina (out Jan 12) is a simple, lightweight animated feature about an orphan girl who travels to Paris and becomes a ballet dancer. Elle Fanning and Dane DeHaan impress with their voice work but the premise lacks spark and originality. Grade: B-.

Collateral Beauty (out Jan 12) is the tale of man struggling to overcome a tragic event. Parts of this film come across as unnecessarily mean-spirited. Further, there are subplots designed to make us feel empathy for the friends that are unrealistic and manipulative. Very disappointing. Grade: C.

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (out Jan 12) is a chaotic family comedy that tries to win audiences over with its silliness but fails miserably. A troubled kid tries to "take on the establishment” and embarrass his school's controlling, sexist principal. Grade: C-.

The Edge of Seventeen (out Jan 5) stars Hailee Steinfeld as a teenager who needs to take a good hard look at herself. I can’t pretend to relate to the troubles of a teenage girl in today’s society but this comes across as realistic and authentic. We all make mistakes and that's just part of life. Grade: A-.

Passengers (out Jan 1) is the story of a man who wakes up and finds himself alone on a spaceship that is still 90 years from its destination. The film explores a great moral quandary (everyone will have a different opinion) and has a few solid action sequences. Not quite enough material to last two hours though. Grade: B.

Assassin's Creed (out Jan 1) is based on the video game series which a friend tells me is "fun when you ignore the storyline and go around bashing guards and seeing how long you could live before they all kill you." It's an apt description of the film too. Grade: C+.

Paterson (out Dec 22) is a beautiful told tale from writer-director Jim Jarmusch about a poetry-loving bus driver (Adam Driver) from a small town in New Jersey. It's the kind of movie that makes you appreciate life - complete with its richness and simplicity. Grade: A-.