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.

The Wolf Of Wall Street (out Jan 23) is the true story of Jordan Belfort - a man who epitomised greed and created one of the world's largest stockbroking firms. Some might argue about the perverse content, the excessive coarse language, the frequent drug use, the workplace sex, the orgies, the nudity, the misogyny, the discrimination… but it’s hard to fault the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio. Plenty to think about. Grade: A-.

The Great Beauty (out Jan 23) is the story of a wealthy Italian socialite who starts to rethink his life following his 65th birthday celebrations. A few subplots left me scratching my head but this is a film to be enjoyed as much for its beautiful imagery as its reflective storyline. It reminded me of Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 release, I Am Love. Grade: B+.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (out now) is the first big failure of 2014. It's stunningly awful. The plot of Austin Powers had more credibility than this US-Russia terrorist thriller. The story is rushed, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, and the villains are pathetic. Grade: C-.

Inside Llewyn Davis (out Jan 16) is the latest collaboration from the Coen brothers and centres on a struggling folk singer (Oscar Isaac) living in New York 1961 who is his own worst enemy. There's a lot to think about here. It's not a commercial film (I have friends who will be bored stupid) but I'm looking forward to digging deeper into it on a second viewing. Grade: A-.

47 Ronin (out Jan 16) doesn't do this story justice. It's an iconic 18th Century Japanese tale involving samurais, witches and those just out for some good old fashioned revenge. Keanu Reeves can't carry the film and the bad guys are poorly developed. Grade: C+.

Her (out Jan 16) is the story of an insecure guy who falls in love with the perfect woman... the voice of a computer operating system who apparently can think and feel emotions. It's an unorthodox romantic comedy with a few good moments. It's just a shame the characters aren't all that interesting and the film chooses not to explore this futuristic concept more broadly. For such a complex issue, Her feels too simplistic. Grade: B.

Free Birds (out now) is a very ordinary animated feature about two turkeys who go back in time to the 1600s to change the holiday that is Thanksgiving. Kids will be confused. Adults will be wondering why the story goes off on so many strange tangents. Grade: C.