Brian Lowry

DC finds itself at a bit of a crossroads. Yet that timing makes it all the more impressive to see how “The Flash” has managed to click on all cylinders, pay respect to the company’s past while achieving the kind of balance that could and perhaps should point the way to its future.

For those wondering who would build a giant holiday musical-comedy around Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, the “produced by Will Ferrell” credit provides a helpful clue. “Spirited” tries turning “A Christmas Carol” on its head, and while it’s big and boisterous, the movie (hitting theaters before Apple TV+) isn’t consistently irreverent enough to feel like much more than a streaming stocking stuffer.

A movie that offers gore, comedy and just plain silliness, but falls somewhat short of a complete meal.

The Current War is a fascinating story, badly told.

The Prom is indeed a demonstration of star power at work, but it's mostly a valentine to theater -- at a time when theaters are closed -- coupled with an overt message about LGBTQ acceptance and inclusion. All of that comes wrapped in a big neon bow, a joyous holiday gift for fans of musical theater, made by people who love the medium every bit as much as they do.

A polished and satisfying film, yet one that conspicuously feels even more like a consumer product than most Disney revivals of its animated classics.

The world-class pairing of Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen is the only calling card that The Good Liar needs. Yet even these two knighted performers -- in a rare star vehicle for a pair of senior citizens -- can't elevate this adaptation of Nicholas Searle's book, which clearly wants to be twisty and Hitchcockian but never quite gets there.

Reuniting star-producer Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy after their winning collaboration on "Free Guy," The Adam Project has the generic feel of a project created by committee, combining action, humor and smart-alecky one-liners in a way that's at best aggressively okay. That's probably enough for Netflix coming off a success with Reynolds in "Red Notice," but like the film's plot, this amounts to rehashing history.

The off-the-wall comedy of Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow leaves a mark on the script, but it would require a talent of Peter Sellers' magnitude to conquer this material, and he's not around.

Directed by Bartlett Sher and adapted by the play's author J.T. Rogers, "Oslo" serves as a haunting portrayal of what was, and a sobering reflection on conditions as they currently exist.

This is one of those movies that’s forgotten almost as soon as it ends, and it doesn’t even require any chemical intervention in order to erase the memory.

It's a fascinating exercise and superior to its predecessor, but clocking in at four hours, the operatic highs are somewhat offset by the lack of any pressure to say "cut."

Slick and briskly paced, the film incorporates its origins while conjuring enough laughs and fun to effectively deliver for parents and their cubs.

Helen Reddy might seem so 1970s, but her song "I Am Woman" became a feminist anthem of its time, and serves as the title and centerpiece of a reasonably good movie biography, if one that -- perhaps due to the nature of her life -- feels a little like the Hallmark Channel version of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Yet while Schumacher has largely accomplished the goal of delivering a cinematic comic book, he's also left the movie hollow at its core -- a distinction that may not trouble Saturday-night audiences but that nonetheless dulls the film's impact beyond its sheer and unrelenting visual grandeur.

The result has that calculated, tired feel about it, with a few moments of kinetic action but not enough to make the film play like anything more than a relic.

Those who give in to the gleeful crudeness of it all will be rewarded with some funny moments courtesy of the near-unrelenting dog’s-eye view, although fair warning, most of the best stuff is in the red-band trailer.

Late twists ratchet up the drama, but also make the movie feel as it has rushed toward a resolution.

Steeped in old-fashioned virtues and a feel-good underdog story, The Boys in the Boat isn’t bad, but it doesn’t ever navigate its way out of the shallow end of the sports-movie pool either.

A warmed-over collection of cinematic cliches that misses its shot what could have been a fertile premise, in don't-quit-your-day-job fashion.

Director Elizabeth Banks conjures bursts of absurdist energy and humor without delivering anything approaching a sustained rush.

Luckiest Girl Alive falls short of its promise, a reminder that, however ironic the title is intended to be, fortune tends to favor the bold.

Splitting the movie into three chapters seems appropriate, since the film delivers a trifecta: overwrought, overacted, and overlong.

Ultimately, The Little Things meanders a bit too much with stakeouts and the drudgery of police work before getting to the meat of its psychological core, which offers a provocative payoff, if not perhaps one good enough to fully justify the journey.

Director Chris Columbus shrewdly brings together many of the same selling points as in his "Home Alone" movies, mixing broad comedic strokes with heavy-handed messages about the magical power of family.

Penguin Bloom is harmless enough as family fare goes, which counts for something, with an inspirational message for these trying times. The real drawback lies in how the story flits around in the telling and seems unable to choose a lane, leaving a movie that feels as if it's neither fish nor fowl.

"Dark Fate" earns its favorable judgment by cleverly and effectively adding to that legacy. The only drawback is that accomplishment merely makes it more likely that in one form or another, sooner or later, yep, they'll be back.

The star’s latest film should attract flies, all right, not with honey, but rather the stale aroma of its inane premise.

Director David Frankel's picture delivers sweet and (more rarely) amusing moments, but this odd duck never completely gets off the ground.

There are no icebergs here, but that doesn't prevent the movie from sinking under its own weight.

Best in its small moments, the movie should find receptive gal pals congregating for the mother of all viewing parties.

The Rise of Skywalker feels like a welcome course correction, featuring sequences and references that more cynical minds will dismiss as "fan service," but which derive emotion and power precisely from the bond and investment the audience has forged not just with this permutation on the story, but all of it going back to the original trilogy.

The Mauritanian is a bit of a throwback -- a solid, old-fashioned piece of entertainment, but not a great movie. But in its objective to present what being wrong meant for our view of "American justice" and democracy, that's one thing that the film gets very right.

Chalk it up to modest expectations -- starting with early previews that rubbed people the wrong way -- but Aladdin is a great deal of fun, with charming leads and elaborately mounted songs. It's hardly a whole new world, but in this suddenly well-populated land of live-action reboots, makes the most out of its familiar one.

The Forever Purge's once-over-lightly politics don't merit much of a fuss, playing like a cynical exploitation of real-world issues.

While the haunting aspect of the photograph grounds “Emancipation” in reality, there’s a pronounced Hollywood-ized feel to the finished product, one that doesn’t compare favorably with other projects that have covered similar territory, among recent examples the biographical “Harriet” and Amazon’s fictionalized miniseries “The Underground Railroad.”

Directed by actor and documentarian Fisher Stevens, "Palmer" certainly doesn't break any ground, but its simple story is sensitively told.

Full of good intentions, We Are Marshall has a game plan that's hard to fault, but as with any playbook, a scheme is only as good as how well it's executed.

The appeal of Fatherhood really boils down to its title, the resilience of the human spirit, and Hart being bold enough -- like his alter ego -- to think that he can do this. And like Matt, by the time it's over, he's demonstrated that he pretty well can.

What’s billed as a horror-comedy thus can’t entirely decide where it wishes to land on that spectrum, in a movie that benefits from letting Cage cut loose without fully capitalizing upon his full-throated performance.

Despite some amusing moments, everyone simply works too hard at providing rambunctious zaniness, until one grows painfully aware the inevitable outtakes reel will be superior to the movie.

A spare thriller from director/co-writer Robert Rodriguez that has the feel of a “Twilight Zone” episode, with no shortage of twists along the way.

Ultimately, it's a marketing pitch in search of a movie that proves punishingly flat.

Richardson, in particular, shines in the role.

While the movie falls apart toward the end, the mystery -- and crackling central performances -- cruises along at a low boil much of the way.

While there are some new details in the telling, the net effect leaves the Smith that people didn’t know, other than those meticulously airbrushed photo spreads, largely untouched.

Everything worth seeing in Pokemon Detective Pikachu neatly fits in the coming-attractions trailer, leaving a pretty numbing additional 100 minutes of sound and furry. Those deeply invested in the franchise will likely find bits to like, but in terms of fashioning a memorable live-action version, alas, that's not in the cards.

Writer-director Sam Levinson spends a good deal of time in Malcolm & Marie complaining about critics, which feels like a boxer leading with his chin. Pairing Zendaya and John David Washington, the movie -- quickly and stealthily shot during the pandemic -- wins points for ingenuity, then loses them with its shrill tone and the uneven hairpin turns of its writing.

Director Ridley Scott's lavish production isn't totally satisfying, coasting aimlessly at times before suddenly leaping to a more intense dramatic plane.

Unlike its protagonist, there’s a refreshing lack of guile or pretense here about what this modest but breezy movie is and wants to be.

The title, however, feels particularly apt in describing a series that burned quite brightly when it first arose, and despite the light and heat cast by its charismatic lead, gradually fizzled, faded and flamed out.

Despite the gravity of the situation (or lack thereof), the promising idea feels too weightless in the spare, underdeveloped execution, operating at the edges of a good movie without reaching that orbit.

Less than weighty in the comedy part of its equation, the film largely works as a vehicle for Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, even without completely sticking the landing.

Unfortunately, Four Good Days doesn't really give anyone beyond its central duo anything much to do, and even they're largely saddled with trying to class up the equivalent of a Lifetime movie.

This very nostalgic, mildly entertaining movie possesses a rather timely undercurrent, even if its delivery via Amazon -- like most issues facing Zamunda's royal family -- amounts to a high-class problem.

There's obviously a bit of calculation in introducing more depth to Poirot, making him more interesting for Branagh to play. Yet the filmmakers manage to incorporate that without detracting from the central mystery, and the pace chugs along briskly enough, with plenty of stunning scenery when outside those stuffy cruise rooms.

Eternals simply takes too long getting to the good stuff, and its more cerebral and adult elements – including a grand romance – could harbor less appeal among kids, a not-inconsequential demo, than most recent Marvel titles.

Thanks to the power of the subject matter and Day's knockout performance, The United States vs. Billie Holiday is worth seeing. But the film is generally at its best when watching, and listening to, the lady sing.

Black Beauty gives the original Victorian novel a significant makeover, a contemporary remake that relocates the story to the American West. The movie delivers a more pointed animal-rights message, but while its equine star fares well enough, the two-footed characters never really get out of the starting gate.

Charlie's Angels has just enough fun with the premise to be tolerable, and not enough to justify a reboot that nobody really needed. This latest big-screen spin on the 1970s TV series brings playfulness and a stronger feminist streak courtesy of writer-director-co-star Elizabeth Banks, but it lacks the consistency to earn its wings.

Mostly, this fun-in-the-sun romp in Australia (because hey, it’s summer there) serves as a showcase for Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, who amiably meet the demands of the exercise even if the script only occasionally follows suit.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is less a coda to the franchise than a muted riff on it, an encore without much of a purpose. What drew director Steven Soderbergh back to material this thin is anybody’s guess, but if strippers like to talk about making it rain, this third and (for now) final entry creatively speaking yields more of a drizzle than a downpour.

While time is likely on the side of its leads, their chemistry only goes so far in what feels, finally, like a half-baked movie.

The main challenge is that there’s simply not enough heft in the story to fill out this wild-and-crazy weekend, which requires a level of embellishment that alternates between cute and absurd.

Nobody should expect too much of a movie in this genre released on Valentine’s Day, and grading on that curve, Players happily punches above its weight class and exceeds expectations.

At its best, National Champions feels calibrated to provoke a conversation about the flawed framework of college sports, which is talked about plenty and still not enough. Then again, TV networks and sports-related media outlets benefit from the existing system, and many fans would rather just hear about wins and losses.

A tired, disjointed medley of madcap visual gags, the animated film yields roughly as many legitimate laughs as can be counted on a Minion’s three-digit hand.

As for “JUNG_E,” the film turns out to be visually striking and narratively muddled, with a story that starts somewhere in the middle, throws around lots of provocative science-fiction concepts and comes to a rather abrupt end.

Tilling some of the same conspiracy turf he explored in "All the President's Men," Pakula has improved on Grisham's book by excising much of the detritus, crafting a taut, intelligent thriller that succeeds on almost every level.

While the result deserves some credit for finding a creative way to bring the book to life, the overlapping storylines simply aren't compelling enough, despite the best efforts of a game and attractive cast.

The undercooked plot works just well enough to fuel this vehicle for Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, mashing up old movies in a fast-paced package.

The result is a movie with an exceedingly narrow target audience that should test Will Ferrell's appeal among boys maybe ages 12-14 -- about the only demo likely able to endure this laborious mess.

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette" offers a solid showcase for Cate Blanchett, in a movie that's notably slight, but finally sweet and touching.

These two Paramount+ projects ultimately feel pretty toothless.

The Program starts in a fourth-down situation by being a sports movie with virtually no one for whom the audience can root — a major drawback, no matter how hackneyed those “Rocky”-ized finishes have become. Instead, Ward and co-writer Aaron Latham seek to indict big-time college football through a collection of cliches (money-doling boosters, steroid abuse, academic negligence , shady recruiting practices) and still want us to care about whether these players and coaches win the big game.

The Gentlemen [is] just stocked with an inordinately good cast. Filled with crosses and double crosses, the plot is mostly irrelevant, but the outlandish flourishes make for a good deal of foul-mouthed fun.

It’s the kind of star-driven vehicle that yields obvious benefits to Netflix even if, qualitatively speaking, it doesn’t deserve to see the light of day.

Designed to showcase Jennifer Lopez playing a character that could hardly be called a reach, Marry Me trades in the "meet cute" rom-com formula for "meet dumb." Lopez still gets ample opportunities to sing a hummable soundtrack, but even within the genre's parameters, the silly premise deals the movie a blow from which it never entirely recovers.

Grappling with middle age, Clerks III turns out to be unexpectedly sentimental and nostalgic, reflecting that writer-director-editor-co-star Kevin Smith inherently recognizes this will likely be the gang’s final visit to Quick Stop Groceries. If so, it’s an uneven if gentle way to hang out the “We’re closed” sign.

Amy Adams nimbly steps back into the role of an animated princess trying to adapt to the live-action world, in an epilogue to “Enchanted” that has moments of magic without completely delivering on the premise.

Last Christmas isn't the assembly-line product it could have been, but nor is it as special as it seemingly intended to be.

Despite similarities as a vigilante creature of the night, however, the Shadow — a character that enjoyed its greatest success in radio after being created in pulp novels — lacks the visceral appeal of Batman and won’t strike the same chord with moviegoers.

Clocking in at a welcomely brisk 105 minutes, it’s Marvel’s shortest film, but a lighter tone that occasionally borders on a sort of cosmic “Freaky Friday” doesn’t consistently make the movie fly, much less soar.

An absurdly stylized action-horror-comedy mashup that somehow makes a satanic cult, wanton violence, and buckets of blood boring.

The movie, however, turns out to be the opposite of its central character -- namely, an underachiever, despite those advantages.

A thinly sketched out, wildly violent satire, one that rather cynically uses the current backdrop of partisan tribalism as the hook for an old-time exploitation piece.

A reasonably saucy action tale.

An adorable cast ought to provide some appeal for tweens and tykes, though interest should gradually dwindle the closer one gets to actual prom-going age.

The formula is obviously full of potential, which explains why writers keep returning to it, from “50 First Dates” to the recent Andy Samberg movie “Palm Springs.” Yet the concept is also fraught with peril.