The Best Offer (out Aug 29) is a Geoffrey Rush led mystery about a wealthy art valuer/auctioneer who falls in love with a young woman suffering from agoraphobia. I was scratching my head a few times during the film. It was a little strange but perhaps it was heading somewhere interesting? Nope. It culminates with a dumb, nonsensical ending. Grade: C+.

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (out Aug 22) has potential but you can't help but feel this teen-orientated fantasy world flick, complete with demons, vampires and warlocks, is targeted only at those who have read the novels. It's hard to keep up and more frustratingly, many subplots are left unresolved for the inevitable sequel. Grade: C+.

Upstream Colour (out now) is beautifully shot and impeccably edited. So what's it about? Well, I'm not too sure. There are worms, pigs, orchids, thieves and samplers. My intrigue starred to wain during the later stages but it's nice to see a film that keeps you thinking throughout. Grade: B.

What Maisie Knew (out Aug 22) is the story of a fractured family told through the eyes of a 6-year-old girl. I grew tired of the film's narrow focus. It's hard to gain a full understanding of Maisie's situation when you're only seeing parts of the story and only listening to parts of conversations. Still, there's an emotional impact in the final 30 minutes that is quite effective. Grade: B-.

Kick-Ass 2 (out Aug 22) misses the mark. This story of ordinary people putting on masks and taking justice into their own hands could have illustrated the thin line between heroes and villains. Instead, it's a "black & white" action film with nothing to say and only a splattering of funny gags. Grade: C+.

Frances Ha (out now) features a charmingly irritating performance from Greta Gerwig as a directionless dancer trying to forge a life/career in New York City. I kind of wished there was more to the story but this is still an easy-to-like comedy from Noah Baumbach (The Squid And The Whale). Grade: B+.

We're The Millers (out Aug 15) sees 4 strangers pretend to be a family and then attempt to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the United States. The ending doesn't fit (although I'm not sure what ending would work) but enough jokes hit the mark to make this a touch better than the trailers suggest. Grade: B-.

The Bling Ring (out now) is based on the true story of a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of their favourite Hollywood celebrities. The story is repetitive and treats the subject matter too simply but it's still a disturbing/hilarious look at messed up kids in a messed up society. Grade: B.

Elysium (out Aug 15) is a sci-fi action film, set in year 2154, with strong political/social undertones. It's too action-heavy in its second half and the ending a little simplistic... but it's to be commended for its thought provoking premise and its interesting, metaphoric look into the future. Grade: B.

Red Obsession (out Aug 15) is a terrific Australian-made documentary that looks at China's sudden fixation with French red wine and how, with soaring prices, wine has almost become too expensive to drink! Narrated by Russell Crowe, this is both entertaining and informative. Grade: A-.