Dragon Rider (out Jan 1) is both mimicking and mocking the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. This German animated feature, dubbed into English, is about a dragon who teams up with a human to find a mysterious land. Grade: B-.

Pieces of a Woman (out Dec 31) opens with a 23-minute unedited scene of a young woman giving birth (all before the opening title) and then transforms into a character study centered around a tragedy. There are clunky elements (eg the legal case) and too many subplots but Vanessa Kirby’s lead performance makes it a film to remember. Grade: B+.

Soul (out Dec 25 on Disney+) is an animated feature about a middle-aged music teacher who falls down a pothole, travels to the afterlife and then must find a way home. This is deep, creative and beautiful. The kind of movie you could love as a 10-year-old and then love as a 40-year-old for completely different reasons. Grade: A.

Wonder Woman 1984 (out Dec 26) comes up short when compared to its predecessor. I’m energised by Hans Zimmer’s music score and I think Gal Gadot is a terrific choice for the lead role... but this is a formulaic superhero movie that takes few chances. The plot doesn't make much sense and the villain's motives are weak. Grade: B-.

Nomadland (out Dec 26) is centred on a 60-something-year-old widower (Frances McDormand) who, after losing her house and job in 2011, now travels around the United States in a simple van. Largely using non-professional actors, director Chloé Zhao pulls you into this world and makes you feel part of it. There's no huge character transformations or a “they all lived happily ever after” finale. It’s the kind of movie that asks you to observe and reflect. Grade: A-.

Superintelligence (out Dec 17) is centred on an ordinary woman who must prove to a powerful artificial intelligence device that the world is worth saving. It's light on laughs and the story is nonsensical and poorly developed. That said, I didn't mind the more poignant scenes between the two leads, Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Cannavale. Grade: C+.

The Croods: A New Age (out Dec 26) isn't selling any new messages but it's a serviceable sequel to the 2013 original. This time around the cave-dwelling family learn there's more to the world than they think (including bananas). Grade: B-.

Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles (out Dec 26) is the perfect documentary (it's just over 70 mins) for those who love desserts. An acclaimed Israeli-English chef teams up with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to recreate/reimagine desserts consumed by French royalty during the 17th and 18th century. It won't change the world but it delivers what it promises. Grade: B.

A Call to Spy (out Dec 26) brings to light the little known true story of two women, as part of a broader group, who served as valuable spies for the Allies in France during World War II. The dialogue is stiff but it's still a noteworthy drama that documents a small but important piece of history. Grade: B.

How to Be a Good Wife (out Dec 26) is set in 1960s France and is centred on a struggling school that teaches young women how to submissive housewives. It's like Foucault's Pendulum in the way it consistently swings between comedy and drama but on the whole, it's disappointing. The adults are absurd and the kids poorly developed. Grade: C+.