Winter's Tale (out Feb 13) is an incoherent mess set in a fantasy world that is never explained. The music is overdone, the casting is wrong and the narration only adds to the confusion. Grade: C-.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (out Feb 13) is a French coming-of-age tale that centres on a 17-year-old high school student named Adele who falls in love for the first time. Rather than lead us by the hand to a predetermined destination, this is a film that asks us to stand back and observe. It'll provide plenty of conversation starters (good and bad). Grade: B+.

RoboCop (out now) is a surprisingly interesting remake of the 1987 original. It doesn't go overboard on the action and it explores some topical moral/political issues. Grade: B+.

Labor Day (out Feb 6) is set in the 1980s and follows an escaped convict who is shielded from the authorities by a lonely single mother with a shy 13-year-old son. The actions of these characters defy logic and while I'm sure there's more detail in Joyce Maynard's 2009 novel, this cinematic version was too much of a head scratcher. Grade: C+.

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom (out Feb 6) is squeezing far too much material into its running time and so the emotion/gravity of key situations doesn't get a chance to sink in. That said, many will still enjoy it as a "history lesson" given its breadth. Idris Elba puts up a strong showing in the title role. Grade: B+.

The Past (out Feb 6) is the latest film from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (the guy who won an Oscar two years ago for A Separation). This is not quite as powerful but it's still an engaging, complex family drama that offers a few surprises. Grade: A-.

Last Vegas (out Feb 6) is the story of four 70-year-old guys who head to Vegas for an impromptu bachelor party. They're shallow characters... and the film struggles to find a plausible ending that makes them all look good... but there's enough humour and enough sentimentality to win over the majority of cinema-goers. Grade: B.

Grudge Match (out Jan 30) is the tale of two 60-something former boxing champs (played by Robert DeNiro & Sylvester Stallone) who dust off their gloves for one final bout. This is designed more as a comedy than a drama (given that the plot doesn't make a lot of sense). A few moments will have you chuckling but there's not quite enough material to last the full two hours. Grade: B-.

12 Years A Slave (out Jan 30) is based on the autobiographical novel from Solomon Northup - an African-American who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. Dialogue is kept to minimum (a feature of other Steve McQueen films) and the performances are exemplary. It’s a heavy, depressing film but it’s also one that’s hard to discredit. Grade: A.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (out now) uses familiar techniques to get a few scares but that's about it. The shaky camera gets tired quickly. The editing doesn't make a lot of sense (why are their so many cuts in a "home footage" movie?). The story goes nowhere. Grade: C.