Triangle of Sadness (out Dec 26) won the Palme d’or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Split into three distinct chapters and centred on a luxury yacht trip gone wrong, it’s a great movie film to discuss with friends as it explores class structures within society. For those who don’t want to delve deeply into messages, this can still be enjoyed as a wild, outlandish spectacle (complete with projectile vomiting). Grade: A-.

Ennio the Maestro is a two-and-a-half hour documentary about the iconic film composer which includes interviews with the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood and John Williams. Detailed and riveting. Grade: A-.

Avatar: The Way of Water (out Dec 15) is never boring... but it's the type of action story I've seen 10,000 times now – one where people make reckless decisions and put their lives in danger because nothing is more important than “family” and keeping them safe. From a visual/technological perspective though, it's simply incredible. Every other action movie of the past decade looks cheap and nasty when compared to this. Grade: B+.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (out Nov 24) is a beautiful looking stop-motion animated feature which puts a slightly more spiritual, political spin on the 19^th Century novel. With a fantastic voice cast including Ewan McGregor, Christoph Walz, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett, this is an engaging family flick with layers (some light, some dark) for viewers of all ages to appreciate. Grade: B+.

Matilda the Musical (out Dec 8) is a film musical based on a stage musical based on a book. The stage show is one of the best of the 21st Century - a rich, dark kids tale (a rarity) with a fantastic score. It's nice to see it on the big screen with a likeable cast (Alisha Weir is sensational) but the direction of the musical numbers is uninspiring (they don't flow well). Grade: B+.

The Road Dance (out Dec 8) is an early 20th Century tale about a young Scottish woman who, after an unspeakably traumatic event, must make decisions which will change her life forever. It takes a little while to get going but the ending packs an emotional punch. Star Hermione Corfield is very good. Grade: B+.

Violent Night (out Dec 1) is set on Christmas Eve and sees Santa Claus (David Harbour) stumbling across an elaborate home invasion while delivering presents. This is part Tarantino with its violence and part Disney with its syrupy, family themes. The writers struggle to make it gel. The family is one-dimensional, the villains are goofy morons, and the film relies totally on unexpected violence to win laughs. Not good. Grade: C.

Little Eggs: An African Rescue (out Dec 1) is an animated feature about Russian egg collectors who have kidnapped talking eggs for their own villainous purposes. This is weird and too hectic. Grade: C+.

Stars at Noon (out Dec 1) stars Margaret Qualley as an American journalist stuck in Nicaragua during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic who gets into trouble with local authorities after a negative article about kidnappings and hangings. The slow pace may annoy some but I enjoyed this as an interesting character study (she's a flawed hero) with a great music score. Grade: A-.

Kompromat (out Dec 1) is based on actual events and is the tale of a Alliance française director posted to Russia who convicted of false crimes after getting on the wrong side of government officials. It's clunky in the way it portrays the lead (he's so smart at times and so dumb at other times) but it's still an interesting true story which highlights Russian corruption within the government, media, and judiciary. Grade: B.