Franklin (out Sep 8) is an Australian documentary with two key elements - one is a depiction of events in the early 1980s regarding attempts to block the government from building a dam on the Gordon River in Australia (an interesting history lesson), and the other is a current day story of a son honouring his late father (not quite as interesting). Grade: B.

The Quiet Girl (out Sep 8) is a simple, nice Irish drama about a young girl who is "palmed off" by her neglectful parents onto a pair of distant relatives for several months. There, she comes out of her shell and realises the value of true parental figures. Nice performances. Grade: B.

Flux Gourmet (out Sep 8) will entice those looking for something odd and peculiar... but not quite enough to sustain my interest here. It's the tale of eccentric performance artists trying to create artistic, musical sounds from food. Grade: B-.

After Ever Happy (out Sep 8) is the 4th movie in the franchise and is completely void of surprises and new ideas. There’s no meaningful arc to the two lead protagonists, the supporting cast offer next-to-nothing, and the storyline is likely to fade from memory within hours of leaving the cinema. Even the most passionate of After devotees must realise they’re being played with by this point. It’s tired, lazy filmmaking. Grade: C-.

Three Thousand Years of Longing (out Sep 1) is the tale of a renowned academic who, while on a business trip to Istanbul, discovers a genie in a bottle who will grant her three wishes. Taping into the same themes around storytelling we saw in Ang Lee's Life of Pi (a film I preferred), this new effort from Australian director George Miller is filled with colourful flair but is limited by its repetitive message. Grade: B.

True Things (out Sep 1) is an intense, gritty British film about a lonely, single woman who falls in love with an ex-con. The lead performance from Ruth Wilson is terrific and it provides an interesting exploration of the bad romantic decisions we sometimes make. Grade: B+.

Both Sides of the Blade (out Sep 1) is an underwhelming French drama about a middle aged woman (Juliette Binoche) torn between two men she loves. Too slow and sluggish for me. Grade: C+.

Orphan: First Kill (out Sep 1) fails to live up to the 2009 original. There's a great twist half-way through (it certainly got my attention) but the rest makes no sense, and the characters are poorly developed. Set a few years prior to the earlier movie, it follows the same girl who this time poses as a lost child and is welcomed back into the family. Grade: C.

Blaze (out Aug 25) is a moving, effective Australian drama about a 12-year-old girl who witnesses a traumatic event and relies on a series of fantasies to help cope. Directed by artist-turned-filmmaker Del Kathryn Barton (she won the Archibald Prize in 2008 and 2013), this is movie that impresses at all levels - from the subtle performances to the striking imagery. Grade: A-.

Beast (out Aug 25) has an unnecessarily contrived backstory but it's a very good action-thriller a family stuck in a South African safari park who must find their way back to civilisation while avoiding a hungry, vicious lion. Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur (Everest) extracts maximum tension by using long, continuous shots and convincing visual effects. Grade: B+.