West of Sunshine (out Aug 23) is a moving Australian family drama about a father, battling a crippling gambling addiction, who spends a day trying to connect with his young son. This is a tough watch (in a good way) as we see this guy self-destruct. Great performances all round. Grade: B+.

Book Club (out Aug 23) stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen and a group of sixty-something-year-old women who started a book club several decades ago and have kept it going ever since. The story may be cheesy and contrived but the film earns big laughs when they get together for their alcohol-fuelled meetings to talk about their failing love life and books such as Fifty Shades of Grey. Grade: B.

C'est La Vie! (out Aug 16) is a riotous French comedy about a wedding caterer trying to keep everything on track behind the scenes at a lavish wedding organised by a needy client. The characters are all fantastically memorable and it's one laugh after the other. Grade: A.

The Darkest Minds (out Aug 16) is a teen orientated sci-fi drama with similar themes to the X-Men and Divergent franchises. A group of kids develop special powers and the result of the population, who see them as a threat, try to take them down. I struggled to get into this. Characters make dumb choices (to obviously prolong the narrative) and there isn't enough time to explore the complexity of this world inside of two hours. Grade: C+.

Submergence (out Aug 16) is a sluggish drama from director Wim Wenders about a couple who fall in love but are separated in unusual circumstances. The film tries to devote a similar amount of time to the two characters but her narrative becomes dreadfully dull as she jeopardises her work and waits for a text/email. Grade: C.

The Meg (out Aug 16) is complete trash... but I think that was the intention and so it's mildly entertaining. Don't go in expecting a Jaws-style thriller. This is a shark "comedy" where the film mocks the genre by deliberately using dumb characters, well worn cliches, and farcical escape acts. It loses its way in the final act in trying to become more serious. Grade: B-.

BlacKkKlansman (out Aug 16) is based on some “fo’ real shit" and is the story of an African American police detective and his white partner who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1970s. It's a fun, uncomfortable ride and you won't know whether to laugh or cringe at the absurdity of the situation. It's likely to spark debate about how much America has changed… and not changed over the past few decades. Grade: B+.

On Chesil Beach (out Aug 9) is an unorthodox love story. Set in 1962 (just prior to the cultural revolution of the late 1960s), we follow an insecure married couple who try to harness the courage to have sex of the first time. This is a moving character study with newcomer Billy Howle and three-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Lady Bird) both delivering exquisitely awkward performances. Grade: B+.

The Spy Who Dumped Me (out Aug 9) could have been funnier but on the plus side, it does a great job mixing genres and it throws in a few surprises. It's the story of two not-so-bright women who become de facto spies and must deliver an important parcel to a contact in Vienna. Grade: B.

Knock (out Aug 2) is the tale of a middle-aged man who gets a new lease on life by becoming a doctor in a small French town. There's something odd about the whole film. The leading character is tricky to like and the inclusion of the villainous priest only adds to the silliness. Grade: C+.