Brian Lowry

The new West Side Story doesn't entirely answer the most obvious question, which is why essentially remake a 60-year-old classic. Director Steven Spielberg nevertheless justifies the effort as a dazzling showcase for this generation's talent, in a film whose ties to lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who died last month, adds to its emotional resonance.

House of Gucci takes a seemingly can't-miss combination of talent and material and produces what feels like the knockoff version of a really grand drama. Lady Gaga and Adam Driver bring buzz to director Ridley Scott's dive into the dysfunctional family behind the fashion empire, but in a movie that doesn't rise to the level of delicious trash, winding up largely defined by its stylish accessories.

Deftly expanding the source material into a movie, the film is anchored by a sensational performance by Andrew Garfield as Larson.

Encanto compensates for the dearth of traditional conflict with a colorful world filled with powers and an abundance of music.

Smith aces the performance, which is the main attribute in elevating the story above the standard sports-movie conventions.

At its best Ghostbusters: Afterlife simply delivers a good time, combining the upgraded special effects with comedy and youthful angst, while taking a little too long to get to the good stuff.

The Power of the Dog is such a delicately constructed movie as to almost defy the ability to review it without saying too much. Keeping the audience off balance, writer-director Jane Campion creates a slow, ominous build around the fine performances toward a satisfying conclusion that nicely pays off on the slow-canter ride.

Mostly, the documentary premiering on Amazon serves as a social-studies lesson in how campaigns operate, with the most candid moments coming from those other than the candidate.

Home Sweet Home Alone is a very odd duck -- a movie that basically replicates the three-decades-old "Home Alone" template, but in a way that feels slightly weird and ill-conceived. Dropping on Disney+ in connection with the streaming service's two-year anniversary, it's a reminder that not all well-known intellectual property ought to be let out of the house.

Hall captures how the two women chafe against the system and its limitations in different ways, and shoots the film with a haunting, almost hypnotic quality. That atmosphere, in a sense, is stronger than the story, but it's more than enough to make Passing a movie that shouldn't be passed by.

Branagh has directed all kinds of movies over the past 30 years, from his frequent adaptations of Shakespeare to "Cinderella" and the aforementioned "Thor." It's perhaps appropriate, though, that his most personal film would also turn out to be his crowning achievement.

As big as he is, you still have to look pretty hard and uncritically to find much magic in "Clifford."

The net effect is mildly enjoyable, creating a throwback caper film that showcases its stars doing what they do best, or rather for which they're best known.

Director Miguel Sapochnik ("Game of Thrones") does what he can to wring the maximum amount of emotion out of this unlikely trio, finding moments of tenderness and humor in their interactions.

It's possible to admire the performance and still come away feeling director Pablo Larrain's fictionalized movie doesn't significantly add to a story many of us already know in exhaustive detail.

Overall Last Night in Soho's way-back machine delivers a thrilling trip, one that niftily brings a bit more Taylor-Joy to the world.

Strictly on its own merits, other than Emmanuel's standout performance, Army of Thieves doesn't steal much more than your time.

The net effect isn't necessarily bad assuming that expectations are modest, and there's something to be said for a more understated, small-scale approach to horror that doesn't confuse body count with scares. Yet considering where the story starts, the place where Antlers winds up doesn't leave much to hang one's hat on.

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.

"Part One" represents an admirable effort to do the material justice.

Four Hours at the Capitol might be unlikely to change many hearts or minds, but watching the evidence months removed from the heat of the moment and the chaos that unfolded live on TV makes it difficult to entertain arguments that the media has overblown or misrepresented those images.

It's an intense experience, one whose focus is undeniably stirring but which leaves certain aspects of Blair's life and resume somewhat underdeveloped.

If the previous movie conjured a bit of excitement by eradicating everything that had transpired after the original, that sense of novelty has quickly worn off.

A "Rashomon"-like tale that tells its story from different perspectives, this fact-based adaptation of Eric Jager's book is muddy, bloody and grim but too drawn out in filtering 14th-century feudal norms through a modern prism.

Fauci makes no pretense about where its sentiments lie, lauding a figure whose critics have seemingly twisted his image beyond recognition in their attempts to demonize him.

This animated sequel plucks enough of the right buttons to qualify as a reasonable addition to family movie time.

Diana: The Musical might make for a fine night out at the theater, but viewed on Netflix, what's billed as a "special presentation" becomes another shiny bauble that ultimately doesn't feel particularly special.

Two head-chomping symbiotes aren't better than one in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a mind-numbingly tiresome sequel, filled with uninspired comedy and a CGI monster fight that seems to drag on forever.